They arrived even before Albert Belle's grand slam Friday dashed hopes of an O's sweep, dragging chairs, sleeping bags and credit cards to Camden Yards, eager to buy tickets for the next series.
And they were still there last night, after Roberto Alomar's homer snagged a berth in the American League Championship Series for the Orioles, transforming those tickets from possible seats into golden passes.
By 10 o'clock last night, all 30,000 tickets available to the general public -- 10,000 for each home game -- for the series with the New York Yankees were sold, split between the O's box office and Ticketmaster. Some people were annoyed that a ticket voucher system was quickly arranged but poorly publicized.
There was an hourlong delay in the sales yesterday at noon after a security guard spotted an unattended silver object near a bench. As a result, hundreds of fans were moved from the box office to the nearby train station. A police emergency team found just an empty thermos, said Sgt. Vincent Moutler of the Central District.
Yesterday morning, bleary- eyed and unshaven, this army of sports refugees curled around onto West Camden Street. They tossed footballs and slumped into lawn chairs and blankets. Some blankly drank coffee or madly worked cellular phones to get a clear line into Ticketmaster. "Joy to the World," by Three Dog Night, thumped through huge speakers.
A disc jockey declared that the O's will "kick butt."
"Yeah!" the crowd rasped.
"We got here about 5: 30 [Friday] afternoon," said Dave Cirillo, 42, of Annapolis, his eyes red-rimmed and his credit card $1,600 heavier.
By 10 a.m., Cirillo and his wife, Darlene, had bought "the max" of tickets: 18 each for three games. "We're not scalpers; we have a big family," Darlene Cirillo explained with a chuckle.
Three hours before game time yesterday, Dave Cirillo was confident the O's would win. "I had a bad feeling about [Friday's game. Orioles pitcher Mike] Mussina's been letting us down. The first ball to Bobby Bonilla, he dropped."
The Cirillos did not have to stay all night. At 9 p.m. Friday, the
Orioles began handing out numbered vouchers that would allow patrons to buy tickets when the box office opened at 9 a.m. yesterday. By 7 a.m., about 1,200 vouchers had been handed out and about 600 were distributed during the day.
One went to Mike Parietti of Arlington, Va.
