Some skipped work to catch a glimpse of the parade. Some carried signs. But all 50 or so of the wrestling fans waiting in the cold outside 44 Bow St. never saw World Wrestling Federation (WWF) star the Rock yesterday.

A sizeable crowd formed, even though yesterday's Crimson reported that the signs around campus announcing the "Rocky Maivia" Parade at the Lampoon--a semi-secret Bow Street social organization that used to occasionally publish a so-called humor magazine--were not posted by the organization.

At about 2:30 p.m., the "scheduled" start of the parade, people began congregating on the street corner anticipating action. But when nothing happened, the onlookers grew suspicious.

One of the many angry fans, Clint W. Kollar '00, said his favorite wrestling star would not be happy when he got wind of the situation.

"If this is some kind of hoax and they're messing with the Rock's name, there's going to be hell to pay," Kollar said. "The Rock is probably going to be more mad than anyone."

Aaron G. Dumas '03 agreed.

"When [the Rock] finds out who did this, he's going to lay the 'smackdown' on the 'rudy-poo' candy asses," he said.

Confirming the incident was a prank, Ryan McKenna, a public relations specialist for the WWF, said he had no knowledge of any Rock appearance yesterday.

"I'm looking at the schedule right now and there's nothing on here," he said. "It's a big hoax, so we don't have any comments."

But the rapidly growing group of spectators continued to keep faith that the Rock would show up.

Tightly gripping his banner that read: "Harvard...The People's University," Damien C. Matthews '03 remained confident.

"We're going to wait here," he said. "The People's champ will appear."

When they saw a New England Cable News truck pull up and a series of limousines circling the area, they seemed even more certain--until it was revealed to them that Billy Crystal, the Hasty Pudding Theatricals man of the year, was just a few blocks away.

University of Massachusetts student Sean Quinlan, whose sister told him to come down to Harvard today expressed the sentiment of this crowd. "Who cares about Billy Crystal?" he said.

While people milled about on the front steps of the Lampoon, the people inside the castle were quietly waiting for everyone to leave.

Lampoon President Stephen C. Hely '02 said he believed the Spee Club, a campus final club, was likely responsible for the Rock debacle.

Hely said that people had been knocking on the door asking about the status of the event.

"More people have been looking for Jacob F. Lentz '00, who we call the Rock," Hely said. "So there might be confusion."

He added the source of the mix-up was more likely the Lampoon's May 6 presentation of its Wrestler of the Century award to novelist John Irving, known for such books as The World According to Garp and A Prayer for Owen Meany.

The ceremony, which will be a private affair in the Lampoon castle, will celebrate the author's Greco-Roman wrestling ability and bestow him with an honorary membership.

But as mad as many people were at the Lampoon for pulling their legs, there was also a great deal of animosity focused on The Crimson.

"The millions and millions of Rock's fans are disappointed in the 'jabronis' at The Crimson for implying that this is the day the Rock would finally come back to Cambridge," Matthew R. Devine '00 said.

Others were equally ticked off. When Patrice and Mark, two people who had taken off work to make the trip, found out the event was not going to happen, they hurried to get back to the office.

"Well then we better get back to work," Patrice said. "These Harvard pranks--it's all the high SAT scores."

As the clock kept ticking past 3:30 p.m., people slowly left the area and gave up. But McKenna said the WWF is proud to have such diehard fans.

"We're specifically excited about our fan base at Harvard," he said.