Lines wrapped around Globe Life Field hours before Stray Kids’ Friday night concert. The same is expected on Saturday.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Thousands of people lined up outside Globe Life Field in Arlington Friday ahead of the K-Pop group “Stray Kids” concert.
Some told WFAA they waited for five hours for merchandise, but many of the VIPs were waiting for the coveted numbers for their pit tickets. The line snaked up and down parking lots, wrapped around sidewalks and stretched as far as the eye could see.
From the Arlington Police officers working traffic to the attendants working in parking lots, most said they had not seen anything comparable to this kind of crowd in a long time.
K-Pop is Korean pop.
If you aren’t familiar with Stray Kids, it’s an eight-member boy band from South Korea. With more than 20 million subscribers on YouTube, the Stray Kids are a global sensation.
Some of those in line, like Celina Binkley, said when it comes to K-Pop, “The fandom is ginormous. Stray Kids are amazing humans, and we all love them.”
Their music is tough to describe, simply because there’s no specific genre.
“They do more of a heavier rock sound, more rap, R&B, things of that nature,” fan Lina Hanson shared.
“They make music that’s really impactful to a lot of us. People of various ages,” said Melissa Rice, who drove 8 hours from New Mexico to attend Stray Kids’ Friday and Saturday night concerts. “I’m close to 40, they really do impact a lot of people.”
Rice crossed state lines.
But Paula Dominguez made an international trip.
She and her sister took their first-ever flight from El Paso after driving from their hometown in Mexico – something she said she looked forward to someday telling her kids about.
Strangers became friends while they stood in line and exchanged what they like to call freebies. Those are often handcrafted trinkets like bracelets, charms, or stickers.
It’s symbolic of a kind, generous fanbase.
When it comes to the line for pit ticket numbers, they were given out in random order.
“We’ve been in line since 6:30 this morning, and it’s because we all want to be as close as we possibly can to them,” Kaylan Stroke said. “Be able to have our interaction with them because they come down off the stage and come up to the barricade.”
“I would absolutely just die on the spot if Han approached me and I could just pat his head, I would just — I would die happy,” Sara Garza told WFAA.
Garza also said to pass the time, they have been doing “freebies” for everyone to make bracelets or keychains, so that they can turn waiting in line into a memorable event.
Then, there was the moment where a woman received the number 42 for her pit tickets, in a sea of 40,000 fans.
“We’re literally shaking,” Karla Rodriguez said. “I’ve been with the group for like 6 years now, so I’m emotional. I’m so emotional. I’m literally about to cry.”
Like so many of those who got higher numbers, Stroke said she will be moving fast when the doors open at Globe Life this weekend.
“I’m going to move as quickly as I possibly can,” Stroke said. “Olympic speed walk if you will.”
Stray Kids is on a stadium tour of the U.S. during June. They play a Saturday night show at Globe Life Field as well.