Thursday, January 21 was a sad, sad day. It was the end of an era, the bittersweet goodbye to a dear, dear friend. It was the season finale of MTV's Jersey Shore. How can we possibly cope with this loss? How will we fill the void in our hearts left by Snooki, J-WOWW, Pauly D, The Situation, Vinny, Sammi Sweetheart, Ron Ron and even Angelina? Fear not Loyola, for your favorite Jersey Shore cast members will be in Baltimore this month! Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino will be guest bartending at one of our favorite Fed Hill establishments, Mad River, on February 11, and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi will be making an appearance at Mex in Power Plant two weeks later on February 25. The Facebook event invitation for The Situation at Mad River went out months ago, and the overwhelming response from fans--over 2,000 people replied "attending"--caused Mad River to have to sell tickets to the event at $20 a head. True fans know, though, that a few minutes with The Situation in person will be well worth it. "I already have my ticket and I can't wait," said Brianna Grasso, '10. "He's such a tool but I love him anyway." Baltimore Sun editor and reality show expert Sarah Kelber says it's a good business move for local bars to book appearances by the Jersey Shore guys and gals, if only for the spectacle they will provide. "I think people are heading to the event to find out if The Situation is really like that," Kelber said. "Is he really going to walk around talking about himself in the third person? Is he really going to lift up his shirt to show off his abs?" Power Plant marketing and sales director Chris Furst knew they had to get in on the Jersey Shore action too, as soon as possible. And who better than the 4'9" self-proclaimed "queen of the guidettes" herself? "Snooki just has a personality that we thought would be the most outgoing and would party and get into the mix of the crowd the best," Furst said. Loyola senior Amy Choi will actually be bartending at Mex when good old Snickers makes her Baltimore debut, and she couldn't be more excited to compare poofs with the Poughkeepsie princess. "If there's anyone out of the cast I want to meet and take a picture with, it's her," Choi said. "I definitely think she will attract a big crowd. She is snookin' for love!" Ah yes, aren't we all? Members of the cast, particularly Mike, Snooki, and Pauly, have been making appearances at bars and clubs all over the country since the show's popularity skyrocketed. DJ Pauly D (on the ones and twos, six nights a week!) has even been spinnin' at big venues in Vegas and Boston. Also, a recent appearance by J-WOWW and Vinny at a bar in Montclair, NJ caused quite a ruckus--a major street had to be shut down because of the hordes of people trying to get in, and police had to escort the two out of the bar because the crowd was so out of control. Now that's a situation. The Jersey Shore finale broke an MTV record by having 4.8 million viewers, and the network has been scrambling to show as much of the cast as possible because fans just cannot get enough. They even put together old casting tape material for a "Before the Shore" special last week, and the episodes and reunion special are still aired several times a day. "It seems like MTV thought they were just putting together another whacky little reality show where some people who wanted some fame and a nice house to stay in for a while would live together," Kelber said. "But they really struck gold with this particular group. They were all so un-self-conscious and out there. It was like, as a viewer, you couldn't quite believe it was real." A second season of Jersey Shore with the original cast is already more than in the works--both Vinny and Pauly D recently posted on their Facebook and Twitter accounts that they signed on for a second season with the original cast. While this controversial yet hilarious show, perhaps the most "real" reality show MTV has ever broadcasted, has certainly drawn a lot of negative attention to itself, it's obvious that Snooki, Mike, Sammi, J-WOWW, Vinny, Ronnie, Pauly D and Angelina don't care what the haters say because they aren't going anywhere. "They are who they are and they're proud of it!" Furst said. "I think Baltimore will welcome them with open arms...and pumping fists."
The Greyhound > Arts & Society
Cause down the shore everything's all right
Published: Monday, February 1, 2010
Updated: Monday, April 19, 2010 01:04
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