Winner!!!!

There is always something so alluring about raffles - don't you think?
During our football game viewings, we have halftime raffle prizes - where we raffle off merchandise from Purdue...or more recently, we decided to go nostalgic and also raffle off stuff from around campus - like the local bars, record store, eateries, etc. I think it was a good idea - thanks to one of our friends from Boston who also runs the raffles for their local Boston club.
But to get back to the point, these raffles are quite the draw - especially when we have good stuff being raffled off. The regulars, at these game viewings, oftentimes ask when we're selling raffle tickets or already have their money whipped out and waved at me so I know that they want to purchase some raffle tickets. The non-regulars often quirk an eyebrow and wonder what the heck we're doing in the 2nd quarter when we start moving about the crowd with a roll of raffle tickets, an ice bucket for the tickets and fishbowl full of money.

For those non-regulars, my sales pitch goes like this:
"Would you like to buy some raffle tickets?" (Notice I say some, and not one.)
If they ask, "What is this for?" this is where the real sales pitch comes out:
"You're buying tickets to try and win cool Purdue stuff." (is the wallet out?)
If yes --> "It's $1 /ticket, 6 tickets for $5, 12 for $10...you can do the math after that."
If wallet has not been taken out yet --> "The money goes towards the scholarship fund...so it's for the children."
Is the wallet out yet?
If yes, revert to prices above.
If still not out, I yell, "IT'S FOR THE CHILDREN!"
At this last remark, they usually do try and scrounge up some cash and if they only purchase a single ticket, I usually say, "All it takes is a dollar and a dream. Thank you."
Some of the younger alums start reaching in their pockets and some do hesitate but then I reassure them, "I do accept laundry money." I say this with a smile...and believe it or not, I have received laundry money. I always reassure them that it's for a good cause. Maybe I should try and work in the angle of "Pay it forward" if they're still hesitant - we'll see if I can do that at the next viewing.

Okay so you might be saying to yourself incoming college students are not children - more like young adults. But in my case, they are children - so no, I'm not misrepresenting here.

And then when we finally do the raffles at halftime, wow - it's a big deal. People crowd around...the crowd gets eerily quiet just so they can see if they're a winner....and once they do win, it's all cheers and some jeers - but mainly cheers.

But it's not only winning raffles that makes you feel good - it's winning auction items too - like from eBay. I recently won an item on eBay - being the lone bidder, my chances were pretty good....but when you're up in an auction with multiple bids, it can get cutthroat. I remember looking for an 80s prom dress (two years ago) to wear to an 80s cover band concert (the Legwarmers - they're fabulous) and if you can believe it, I was up against like four other bidders in two different auctions. I also happened to be on vacation so I was constantly checking the bids, seeing if I was the highest bidder. I couldn't get to the computer hours prior to the auction closing, so needless to say, I lost out on two auctions. Who knew 80s prom dresses were in such high demand. I was pretty down about losing those auctions but fear not - I managed to find a great 80s dress at the local church, in rural Indiana (at 50% off $10 - you can't beat that)...now there was a great source for flashback clothing!

But let's not beat around the bush - it feels good to win just about anything (as long as you don't cheat along the way). And that is my PSA (public service announcement) for the month.