I have heard and read about psychology experiments where test subjects are put into a stressful situation and then observed to see how they react. For example, hungry people may be put in a room full of food and asked to solve problems while being forbidden to eat the food.
Another example might be to put strangers in a room see how they interact when there is a horrible noise in the background versus soft pleasant music. Of course, the possibilities are endless. I took it upon myself to conduct such an experiment while tailgating at last week’s Razorback game. At football games, some of the premium tailgating spots are at the end of the rows where the yellow lines shaped in a triangle prohibit parking. In the particular lot I was in, there are two triangles at the end of each row. The rule is first come first serve as far as claiming these spots for your pre-game festivities. I rolled up Saturday morning about 8 a.m. and found a choice end spot. There was a car in the adjoining spot, but there was nothing set up to save the triangle next to the car. Since we have two passes for the lot, we customarily take both spots at the end of the row.
A quick glance inside of the car made it clear that the people had some tailgating plans of their own. I gave the matter a minute’s thought, remembered a couple of times that I lost a spot by not setting up and claiming my space early enough and decided that I was taking the entire end. I figured the folks may be upset, but I figured they would be upset in the same way I had been in the past. The thing was, the person I was always upset with was myself. You see, I understand the concept of “first come-first serve.”
The folks in the parked car did not roll up into the stadium until well after noon. They did not initially make contact with us, they kind of circled around pointed. It took us a few minutes to figure out exactly what they were doing. Finally, a woman walked up and said “this is supposed to be our spot.” I simply smiled and said “First come, first serve.” She stomped off letting some expletives fly as she walked away. In anticipation of this event, my son William and I had discussed how we were going to handle the situation. We decided to do our own psychology experiment. We decided that if the people came and were civil we would give up half of our rightfully claimed area and enjoy the game together. However, if they came at us in a negative fashion, we would stand our ground on our “Hog Given” right to claim parking lot real estate that was unattended.
It did not take long to figure out which way things were going to go. Three people (in a car with a different parking lot pass) rolled up with a woman hanging out the car yelling at the top of her lungs telling me how things were going to be and that there was no way we were going to keep “their” area. I simply walked over and said “if this is going to be a stand off, you lose.” I have parked in this lot for five years and almost always on the end. I had never seen these folks, but they were acting like they had been born and raised in this parking spot and it was their birthright to tailgate there. All of which may have been true, except I got there first; and according to the experiment’s parameters, they were rude and did not get to stay.
To make a long story a little shorter, there were parking lot attendants, Razorback Foundation officials, and police all called up and converged upon the scene. The driver was acting a bit uneven. I was calm, controlled and polite to stay in the spirit of the experiment and prevent any government action against myself. The matter had turned into a full blown standoff. Fortunately, I am a regular parker and was known to most of these folks; plus the history and culture of first come, first serve was on my side. The sad thing was, all I wanted to do was tailgate. My experiment had turned on me and was forcing me to be tested.
While waiting for the police, I told William that, as soon as these folks were told that we win, we would offer to share the area with them. I wanted to win the stand off. The problem was the women just kept yelling the same things over and over again; and honestly, she wasn’t someone I wanted to tailgate next to. There was only one man with the women. I called the guy over, who with the exception of telling me what I low-life thing I was doing, had been pretty calm. He knew the rules, he knew he was late. He had probably been telling those with him that they needed to hurry to get the spot. I saw the pain in his face. The person he was really mad at was himself. I have been to football games where the women I was with were mad and it certainly can take the air out of your fun balloon. I talked to him and told him I understood. I thought we had worked something out. Then, I guess he decided that he wanted to win, so he said “let’s just see what the police say.”
In sum, I won the stand off. The police and the foundation folks told the late comers that the rule was first come – first serve. The Foundation hooked them up with some passes somewhere else in what I can only assume was an attempt to pacify them. That women did yell pretty loud. The rest of the day was perfect; and I saw many old friends and even made some new ones. The Hogs played great, and we beat Auburn.
On the way home, I spent some time thinking about the “standoff” and how it was handled. While I am convinced I was right, I am not convinced that I did the right thing. We could have made do with the smaller area and all lived in peace. On the other hand, I was there first and while I was setting up I imagine they were sleeping in, getting ready, and maybe even eating a fine brunch somewhere. I could have easily diffused the situation if I had chosen to do so, but instead I let my experiment run it’s own course. It is my understanding that next year, these end spots are going to be reserved. That would be great with me, I like to sleep in too. In sum it was a great weekend, but I was reminded of a valuable lesson. Sometimes in life, just because you can do something, doesn’t always mean it is the right thing to do.
Of course, there is that other age old rule that says when you are in the wrong and need something from someone, it is rarely a good idea to verbally attack them. That is especially true when the people you are attacking are accustomed to sitting in the CHEAP SEATS!