Chicagoans ride 'El' without pants for No Pants Day

By Madeleine Wright
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Viewed 698 times.

Hundreds of subway riders, including at least 16 Northwestern students, stripped down to their underwear on the ‘El’ for the 9th Annual No Pants Subway Ride on Jan. 10.

Wearing coats, boots, and even ski masks to protect from the outside cold, about 225 people took their pants off that day inside the Red Line trains between Granville and Roosevelt stations. In some cars, the pantless riders outnumbered the fully-clothed ones, but pantless bunch acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

When NNN asked a commuter named Julia why she was wearing no pants on the train, she said she was in such a rush to leave her home that she didn’t have time to put on pants. “I’m going to work right now,” she said with a smile. “My boss said I have to be on time, can’t be late.”

The No Pants Day prank started in New York City in 2002 and came to Chicago in 2008, according to Justin Hardesty, one of the event’s organizers. A comedic performance group called Improv Everywhere organized No Pants Day, which takes place every winter with the purpose of “creating scenes of chaos and joy in public places.” According to the group’s website, the prank has spread to 43 cities and 16 countries around the world, including Sweden, Japan, and Australia.

The playfulness of No Pants Day in Chicago sparked cheering, chanting, singing, and dancing throughout the day and an overall happy mood. A large group of pantless riders on the Roosevelt station platform danced in circles and sang the Hokey Pokey song while waiting for the train, while another group chanted, “Shrimp fried rice! Shrimp fried rice!”

When inside the trains, pantless riders occasionally got a blast of cold air when the car doors opened at each of the above ground stations. Some pantless riders even wound up waiting for the train in the freezing, 11 degree weather that day.

Hardesty said Chicago police officers, some undercover, rode the Red Line subways throughout the day to protect passengers from potential inappropriate sexual conduct.

A CTA representative told NNN wearing no pants on the subway is against the CTA’s policy, but Hardesty denied this, saying there are no legal risks in participating in No Pants Day.

More than 1,100 people joined the No Pants Day Facebook group. Improv Everywhere’s lead organizer, Bradley Wray, created the group. Wray instructed everybody to meet at Berger Park to receive instructions on how No Pants Day works, including which train stops to get off at.

But only about 175 people showed up at Berger Park at the designated time, said Hardesty.

"This is like, 10 percent of the people who said they were going to come here, so we've got a bunch of wussies,” said Wray. The crowd enthusiastically shouted, “Yeah, wussies!”

“These are the hard-core people here,” Wray said to the cheering crowd. “These are the people that represent Chicago.”

Some riders still said despite the cold, No Pants Day was worth it because of the fun, good memories, and chance to band together as a community.

“My friends and I just decided it was a crazy thing to do and that we should do it,” said Eric Drain, a Chicago resident of nine years. “Just to have fun.”