Mac Mania


1210944313The line to get in to the Boylston Street Apple Store stretched down Fairfield Street for several blocks for last night’s grand opening. Some determined souls had spent the night in front of the three-floor Mecca of Macs, but most of the people we spoke to showed up sometime during the afternoon.

Though no one seemed to know why.

As we all know, the Apple guides us. Do not question the Apple.

“I don’t even know why I’m here,” one man told us. (See?) He said his roommate had grabbed a spot in line around 2 p.m., so he figured he’d join him.

Most of the crowd didn’t plan to make any purchases on the store’s first day. A group of wildly enthusiastic college girls said they might buy some accessories, but they had spent the better part of the day in line hoping to get some free stuff. Shortly before 6 p.m., Apple employees ran down the line, giving out high-fives and riling up the crowd. The college girls described it as, “Marathon Monday all over again.”

1210945414The girls got their free limited edition t-shirt and iPod sock, but perhaps their favorite part of the festivities was meeting several Red Sox players who turned out for the event. Jason Varitek took a long tour of the store with an Apple employee. Jon Lester left with a new iMac. Alex Cora and DeMarlo Hale goofed around with the little stools set up before a bank of children’s computers.

“We should get one of those for Petey,” Cora said, making a not-so-subtle dig at Dustin Pedroia.

We caught up with Clay Buchholz as he rooted through his bag of purchases. He showed us his new MacBook Air and iPod Touch. We asked him which was bigger—Apple mania or Red Sox mania.

“Oh man,” he said, reeling slightly. “They’re both pretty big.”

After watching the crowds parade in hours after the doors first opened, we’d say the Apple Store was the biggest show in town. At least for one day.