DE Campus Life Editor

. . . you know the rules of the game your (whore) chose me. Now we can handle this like we got some class , or we can get into some gangsta (action) . . . have it your . . .way.

Anyone approaching Shryock Auditorium this weekend deserves fair warning that Saturday night is reserved for serious players only. Those unprepared for the sixth annual Ms. Diamond Jubilee/Players Ball just may get their feelings hurt.

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To attend the Kappa Alpha Psi-sponsored Players Ball, one has to be dressed to impress and ready for a night of razor wit and blue humor. The event, fast becoming an SIUC tradition, is steeped in the rich blaxploitation era of American cinema.

One of the most memorable scenes from the 1971 blaxploitation classic The Mack was the Players Ball a stylish convention of high-rolling pimps and glamorous ladies of the evening. The winner of the ball’s prestigious Pimp of the Year honor determined by a fashion show, explicit poetry recitation and humorous skits reigned as the baaadest player on the street.

For Goldie, a serious player portrayed by actor and hip-hop icon Max Julien, capturing that enviable title was the ultimate goal after serving prison time for drug running. With his creme-colored ride, smooth ’70s wardrobe, large afro and heart-melting lines to bed all the foxy ladies, it was a safe bet Goldie would outsmart his competition to become the biggest mack of all time.

The Mack’s beloved and enduring cinematic images, humor and style captured in its Players Ball climax have been resurrected and copied in numerous movies, song lyrics and videos.

And in their 1992 bid to provide entertainment for SIUC’s African-American community while also paying homage to The Mack, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity members devised a small Players Ball that was held at the old Carbondale City Hall. Eventually the event moved to Shryock Auditorium to accommodate the hundreds of people migrating to SIUC from all over the state and from as far away as Texas to attend.

Taking Kappa Alpha Psi members by surprise, the Players Ball also featuring the Ms. Diamond Jubilee talent contest for ladies now is one of the largest student-run events on campus.

We never thought it would become this big, said Chris Hicks, a first-year graduate student in manufacturing systems from Chicago. Last year the event was sold out with 300 people outside trying to get in.

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That scene may be repeated this year as tickets for Saturday’s event, co-hosted by HBO Def Comedy Jam comedian B. Cole, are some of the hottest commodities on campus. Only 176 of about 1,200 available tickets were available as of 2 p.m. Wednesday. Those are expected to be sold by today.

They’re selling like crazy, Judy O’Connor, assistant director of Shryock Auditorium, said Wednesday morning. [Tuesday] we sold 300 tickets in one day.

The Players Ball has become a success story for SIUC’s Kappa Alpha Psi members. Kappa Alpha Psi, a prestigious African-American fraternity, was founded in 1911 at Indiana University. The SIUC chapter, Mighty Gamma Upsilon, was organized March 4, 1950.

Fraternity members helping to coordinate the six Player of the Year contestant hopefuls have been in near constant preparation for Saturday night. The electrified mood as contestants polished their acts at Tuesday night’s bawdy rehearsal under the direction of Players Ball coordinator Alphonso Johnson gave a tantalizing sample of what could be the most memorable Players Ball yet.

One contestant, Marvin Hill, has wanted to compete at the Players Ball ever since he attended the event last year. Hill, a sophomore in elementary education from Chicago, hopes his Pimpology 101 skit will not only help him become the campus’ most well-known player, but will also help prepare him for his chosen career.

Although all in fun, he knows Players Ball subject matter may be a little much for grade-schoolers. But, his performance skills during the event could do wonders for his teaching abilities.

It’s going to break that nervousness I would have out in the real world speaking in front of large crowds, he said.

And in true Goldie form, Hill’s ambitions also include an essential trait found in all real players.

Plus, he said with a smile, I wanted people to know me. I’m teaching the foundations of pimpology.

Factoid:The sixth annual Diamond Jubilee/Players Ball will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday with doors opening at 7 p.m. Tickets, which are expected to be sell out today, are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. For ticket information, call 453-3493.