Man spends four days on bleachers to win WFU tickets

Winston-Salem, N.C. — Bob Yakos, a longtime fan of Wake Forest University football, spent four days sitting outside to win 15 years of free football tickets and seat rights.

Yakos, a 40-year-old physician's assistant from Clemmons, spent 74.5 hours sitting on hard, cold bleachers before capturing the "Last Fan Sitting" prize Thursday.

His prize includes football seat rights and Wake Forest season tickets for 15 years. The first prize is valued at $22,000.

Yakos chose his four seats in Section 7 of BB&T Field, close to the location of the season tickets he has purchased for the last several years.

The contest started at 6:30 a.m. Monday with 23 people sitting on the bleachers.

Contestants were allowed to bring one bag of no more than 20 lbs. Most brought along sleeping bags and extra clothes. They were allowed a 10-minute break every two hours and a 15-minute break every six hours.

During the contest, the competitors were exposed to wind, rain and temperatures that dropped into the 30s at night.

During times of rain, the contest was moved to the outdoor seats in front of the Club Level of Deacon Tower so that the competitors were not directly exposed to the rain.

Five people had dropped out by Tuesday morning, and nine fans made it to the final day. The remaining nine people competed in a Wake Forest football trivia contest to determine a winner.

Yakos spent his time in the stadium studying for the trivia questions. His efforts paid off when he won the contest and was crowned the winner.

The other eight finalists received football season tickets for the 2009 season.

Yakos said he bonded with his competitors.

"We had a lot of excellent conversations, and we were all supportive of each other. The Wake Forest bond brought us together and made the experience enjoyable," he said in an interview posted on Wake Forest's Web site.

"The first night was by far the worst. I think everybody out here considered leaving at some point that night," Yakos said.