Weirdest thing at PAX East 2015: Mineplex freezing cold fan line

Popular Minecraft Lets Players meet fans on the streets

Videogame events are know for their strange sights, but after going to PAX or E3 for a few years, one can start to feel like they know what to expect. That sense of routine was thrown out the window this past Saturday while I was running back from PAX East to put quarters in my parking meter. On my way, I stumbled upon a line of hundreds of shrieking teenage girls, parents, and younger children waiting for… something. They didn’t want to tell me what they were doing there at first. In fact, one cheeky teen went as far as to look me straight in the face and tell me that they were all waiting in line for Starbucks to open. “They have a new flavor shot,” she quipped. I had almost forgotten how sassy and extroverted teenagers could be. Thanks for the fun reminder, sassy teen.

After talking to a few more people in waiting, I was told that the line was dedicated to a group of Youtube personalities called “The Q” who were having a meet-up that day. I’ve tried researching them since and I’m still not entirely sure who they are. The only one I found confirmation of is named Parker, who I actually met for a brief second here. He seemed nice. 

To be clear, this line wasn’t planning on going anywhere. It didn’t lead to a building or a door or any other semblance of an end point. The line was apparently an “event” in and of itself. By the time I stumbled upon them, they had been out there for at least an hour. Members of “The Q” had been running up and down the line occasionally, signing autographs and high-fiving fans, but other than that, nothing was happening. That was apparently enough to keep their fans in place. They seemed happy, shivering there in the freezing cold, waiting for another high five or “Parker sighting” opportunity.

I saw the line again about two hours later, when I was headed back to my car to fill the parking meter for a second time. They were still cold, and still shrieking. Did they ever end up going somewhere and doing something, or did they all eventually decide to go home? I may never know. Regardless, knowing that we’re in a time when teenage girls are sometimes just as excited to meet professional videogame enthusiasts as they might be to meet a professional musician or actor has me feeling a weird mix of confusion and happiness.

Revenge of the Nerds indeed.