Halifax meets the Jersey Shore

HALIFAX (CUP) — He's the only guy, standing in a line of girls dressed in white. It's half-past midnight; he's been waiting for about 10 minutes. When his turn finally comes, he stands on a couch beside an unusually muscular man in white pants and a white vest on top of a white T-shirt. They shake hands, grin for the camera, shake hands again, and it's over.

Colin paid $85 to get his picture taken with Michael Sorrentino, a.k.a. The Situation, in the VIP lounge of Halifax's Pacifico nightclub, and he's proud of every penny.

“The Situation is the man,” Colin explained, staring at the man's arm around the girl next in line. “There's really no other way to put it. Any guy would want that.”

The Situation is one of eight housemates featured on MTV's hit reality show, Jersey Shore. The show puts proud young Italian- Americans together in a summer beach house, where they spend their time partying and working shifts at a boardwalk store.

But, on June 17, Sorrentino took a break from his Jersey Shore companions to help Pacifico host its first-annual White Party — attendees were required to only wear white. A limited number of tickets were available for those wanting to spend a few minutes with The Situation himself.

“There's no reason you wouldn't want to be The Situation,” Colin said. “Quote me on that: There's no reason you wouldn't want to be The Situation.”

The Situation drew people from across Canada to the Halifax nightclub. Nick came on a whim because his girlfriend bought him a white leather jacket the day before. Victoria and her friends drove from Wolfville, N.S. — just over an hour away — to celebrate her birthday, though she emphasized neither she nor her friends really like The Situation. They're Vinny fans.

Alex boasted that he flew all the way from Vancouver “just for this,” adding as an afterthought that his brother, Max, happened to be stationed in the army in Halifax. Max said that even though he's a Jersey Shore fan, tonight isn't about The Situation.

“Mike is just one guy,” he explained. “The Situation is great and all, but the real situation is everybody here.” He points to a girl: “That's the situation,” and another: “That's the situation.”

“This club is the situation,” Max said. His brother nodded in agreement.

Nonetheless, most of the night was spent waiting for the guest of honour. It was just after midnight when a crowd began to form near the DJs — a mass of white-clad girls armed with camera phones and lip gloss.

But when the crowd thickened, The Situation stepped back. He leaned against a booth, behind his identically-dressed security guards, and lit a cigarette. He looked tired and didn't really smile. In fact, he barely opened his mouth the whole night. He almost looked unhappy.

“They're just a bunch of regular dudes,” a Pacifico security guard said. “That'll be me up on the screen next week.”

Then the VIPs got in line. Like Colin, they're the ones who paid $85 to stand on a couch, have an arm thrown around their waist and get their picture taken.

“He didn't talk very much,” a girl noted when she stepped off the couch.

Her friend was more upset: “90 bucks for a picture, then he stands around showing off to a bunch of other girls?”

One of those girls was next in line. She grabbed for The Situation's trademark abs. He grinned slightly, but kept her at bay. A group of three middle-aged women laughed drunkenly as they took turns posing and snapping photos of themselves beside Sorrentino's recently-waxed chest.

The night seemed to gloss over The Situation, as if he'd done this a hundred times before. He probably has.