Remember when an Apple retail store grand opening used to be news? When the first two stores opened way back in May, the press couldn't get enough; there were photos, videos, editorials, in-depth interviews with the mall janitorial staff-- the works. When the second wave of stores started to open last month, the enthusiasm was back; the Plano and Mall of America openings both got good coverage, and the Woodfield opening caused a decent stir as well. But by that time, Apple was opening literally a store every week, so when the Northshore store opened a week ago, there was definitely some media fatigue setting in. Once store number seven opened its doors last Friday at the Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio, most pundits were yawning and reaching for the remote to see if that night's episode of The Love Boat was a "Charo."

Basically, it's going to get harder and harder for these Apple store openings to pull in the press, because after a while all the articles (like all the stores) start to look alike-- "hundreds of people in line hours before the doors opened, mall staff amazed at the turnout, some fans drove hundreds of miles," yadda yadda yadda. There needs to be a hook, something to grab the media's attention. If Apple were really on the stick, it'd be providing those hooks itself by seeding the crowd with agents who can inject a little extra drama into the occasion. Twins born in line, the heroic defusing of a terrorist explosive device using nothing but a stick of gum and an iBook, a legal wedding ceremony performed inside just after the doors open-- this is the stuff of which national headlines (and free advertising) are made.

But until Apple clues in and starts milking these grand openings for their maximum media potential, it's up to the customers to give the press something to write about. And no, we're not suggesting that you stage an emergency appendectomy while you're in line, so put that thought out of your head this instant or we're turning this car around and taking you all home right now. No, we were thinking of something a little less life-threatening. For instance, according to MacCentral, Mac fans Kevin Holland and Jennifer Wojcik have raised the bar for this whole "showing up early" thing; these two wacky kids actually showed up to wait in line at 9 PM the night before. Is it safe for us to assume they were first in line? Indeed, they were so early, mall security kicked them out and the couple had to resort to "moving their car from place to place and ducking under the dashboard when the security vehicles came near them."

Now that's a story! Granted, it may not be zany enough to be picked up by the newswires, but it was something that made that the Columbus store opening stand out from the crowd-- and Apple liked it enough to list Kevin and Jennifer on their main Retail web page. So what's in store for the International Plaza opening in Tampa this Friday? Is anyone in Florida game to camping out three days early? C'mon, Floridians, don't let Columbus show you up; those Star Wars fans camped out for longer to get Episode I tickets, and we think we can guarantee that this experience will be a lot more rewarding. Bring a tent!