|
Stadium of Fire seats open for the best 300-word essay
Janice Peterson
When Stadium of Fire tickets featuring superstar Miley Cyrus went on sale, Provo resident Cameron Postelwait was sitting at his computer, ready to buy.
Like many of the people who managed to acquire the tickets, Postelwait's plan was to resell the tickets for a tidy profit, until his friends told him it was kind of a "scummy" thing to do.
"I have to give my friends some credit for making fun of me," he said.
Now, instead of selling his tickets online, Postelwait has posted online classifieds at craigslist.com for an essay contest to win the four tickets. Postelwait, who majored in English, chose to have applicants submit a 300-word essay detailing why they deserve the tickets, with an emphasis on creativity. In the week his site, mileycyrus-tickets.com, has been online, more than 60 essays have been submitted.
Some entries detail financial hardship, and others are written by parents whose children say they are dying to see their idol. Postelwait said some tell of hardships that are clearly false, such as losing 14 toes and a leg.
"And then yesterday, my mom died 3 times," wrote the person who lost a leg. "3 TIMES! And the last thing she wished every time was that I got to see Miley (see, no last name, because we are so tight in our souls) just once before I died."
Some of his favorites, he said, are the essays that have taken some creative energy. One entry claimed to be Miley Cyrus herself, but in a new body as the result of some sort of "Freaky Friday" episode.
"Oh my gosh my dad is going to freak when he finds out that I've been gone for this long!" the writer exclaims.
Postelwait said he enjoys reading the entries and the humorous stories that have been made up. The more creative the story, the more likely it will win, he said.
"Something like that is more likely to win because it stands out," he said.
Postelwait said there have been plenty of stories about financial and health struggles, and he has a hard time knowing what is true. He cited reports about a similar contest in which the winner admitted to falsifying her story.
"It would just be really sad to be duped by a fake person," he said.
Postelwait said he and some co-workers will most likely decide on a group of favorite essays, then do a sort of raffle to determine the winner. Postelwait's co-worker, Jimmy Dunn, will be among the panelists choosing the essays. Dunn said he will enjoy being able to pick out favorites and defend them against other entries as the group tries to determine which ones stand out.
Dunn said reading the entries has proven entertaining, but he also finds himself skeptical of what he called "sob stories." Some of the stories seem real, but it is hard to tell, he said.
Online contests to win some sort of prize are often unbelievable, Dunn said, and it has been fun creating something that is real. There is no catch, he said. Just submit an essay and hope to win.
"I guess it's almost a social experiment just to see what people will do," he said.
To enter the contest, submit an essay of 300 words or more to mileycyrus-tickets.com. There is no entry fee. The last entry will be accepted at 11:59 p.m. July 1, and a winner will be announced on the Web site on July 2. |
