‘Been waiting 46 years’: Bruce Springsteen fans on fire for the Boss’s 1st Winnipeg show

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Peggy

They weren’t exactly dancing in the dark — more like shuffling in pre-dawn chill to stay warm — but Bruce Springsteen fans in Winnipeg are most certainly in their glory days as the Boss is finally here.

More than 50 people started lining up outside the Canada Life Centre around 6 a.m. Wednesday, more than 13 hours before the long-awaited concert is set to start at 7:30 p.m.

“Bruce means the most to them. They’re the most passionate, absolutely committed fans and they get to be right up the front at the stage,” said super fan Graham Atkinson, who is from Australia and helping to run a long-standing tradition among Springsteen devotees known as roll call.

Those with general admission floor tickets (rather than assigned seats) have a tradition known as the lottery and roll call.

People line up outside a building to get inside — Bruce Springsteen fans line up outside Canada Life Centre on Wednesday morning. (Meaghan Ketcheson/CBC)

The lottery determines who will be admitted to the pit area at the front of the stage, then roll calls determine entry order.

The fan-run system is designed to avoid a mad rush into the pit.

Those who won a pit spot in the lottery are given a number, and roll calls are carried out every few hours to check that everyone is still in the queue.

A man in a black jacket and black tuque smiles and stands in front of a door — Graham Atkinson, from Brisbane, Australia, is helping organize the roll call for Springsteen fans ahead of the Winnipeg concert. (Meaghan Ketcheson/CBC)

People don’t need to stay in line for the entire day but must be there for roll call or risk losing their place.

This is the first time in his 52 years of performing that Springsteen, 75, will play in Winnipeg.

The concert was originally scheduled for Nov. 10, 2023, but was postponed as Springsteen was being treated for symptoms related to peptic ulcer disease.

“I’ve been waiting 46 years for this day,” said Winnipegger Stu Reid.

“This will be my 45th [Springsteen] show, but you know, you say that to a Winnipegger, and it’s like, ‘Oh, I can’t believe it.’ You say it to these people here, who’ve been travelling around and have gone all over the world to see him, it’s like that’s small potatoes to them.”

A woman with glasses and long grey hair stands beside a tall bald man who also wears glasses. — Kathy and Stu Reid check in for roll call on Wednesday. Stu says he’s been waiting 46 years for this day. (Meaghan Ketcheson/CBC)

Among those in line on Wednesday were people from Brazil, Scotland, Ontario and Quebec.

“We have never been in Canada before. I went to Montreal concert [Oct. 31] and then Winnipeg, and it’s a beautiful country,” said Virgilio Amaral, from São Paulo, Brazil.

Springsteen hasn’t played in Brazil in his lifetime, so he travels the world to see him, he said.

“It’s always an opportunity to meet new people, meet new places. We love Springsteen, and it’s always is an excuse to do all those things.”