No-pants subway ride has no legs here
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While the No Pants Subway Ride didn't take off in Pittsburgh, a few brave souls took part in New York City's version yesterday.
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Waiting to see if anyone else is going to take off their pants is always an awkward endeavor. But yesterday, at the Wood Street T station, it was a cold, sad one too.
Sharlene Choe, Katie Haines and Lizzy Kubicek staked out the station for hours, glancing hopefully at each person who arrived. Eventually, the three young women, who met last summer as extras on a movie set, lost their gumption. They remained fully clothed.
If three pairs of pants fall in a subway station, is it worth the trouble?
The crowd they were waiting for was supposed to gather between 2 and 3 p.m. for a Pittsburgh rendition of the "No Pants Subway Ride."
It is what it sounds like -- take off your pants and ride the subway. The annual stunt, organized by Improv Everywhere, a troupe whose motto is "We Cause Scenes," has been a success in New York City for years. It is the stuff of YouTube dreams.
This year, the Improv Everywhere Web site linked to No Pants Subway Rides advertised on Facebook and Craigslist in more than 40 cities, from Buenos Aires to Buffalo, N.Y.
When contacted via e-mail, Wesley Lucas, the 22-year-old Community College of Allegheny County student who organized Pittsburgh's event, said she showed up at the T station yesterday but could not find the other participants. Woe was Pittsburgh.
Ms. Lucas, of Highland Park, was not surprised at the low turnout; she said she had received negative e-mails warning her not to hold the event, which was organized on short notice.
If there had been just a few more people, Ms. Choe, 25, Ms. Haines, 27, and Ms. Kubicek, 25, would have gone through with it, they said.
After all, they had come prepared: Ms. Choe, of Bellevue, wore gray sweatpants, Ms. Haines and Ms. Kubicek, both of New Stanton, wore baggy jeans. (They all wore boxers.)
At 3:05 p.m. yesterday, four young men arrived -- one wearing pajama pants -- and it looked promising. But when the men were approached by a reporter who asked if they were waiting for the No Pants Subway Ride, they stared blankly.
Just before 4 p.m., Ms. Choe, Ms. Haines and Ms. Kubicek threw in the towel.
"I'm very disappointed, Pittsburgh," said Ms. Kubicek.
In her e-mail message, Ms. Lucas said she was re-organizing the event.
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again, right?" she wrote.
First Published January 11, 2010 12:00 am
