WASHINGTON, D.C.— Any norm and presumption of etiquette you thought existed within the hallowed White House grounds, consider it shattered this weekend.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Walking around the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, it was as if you entered a festival taking place anywhere around the country.But look past the Monster Energy-branded main stage and you’ll see in the distance — past the motocross bikes doing jumps and flips-off of a ramp, and past the 600-ton, 92-foot “Claw” — there’s the Truman Balcony of the White House, where tonight UFC fighters will step in before heading down toward the South Lawn Octagon to fight until someone is knocked out.Thousands of fans gathered Saturday afternoon on the Ellipse for Freedom 250’s “Fan Fest” event, a sprawling fair of booths and vendors set up in the park south of the White House to celebrate the UFC Fight planned for Sunday night.
Natalie Keyssar for NBC NewsTens of thousands of people — mostly young men — have traveled from across the country to be here this weekend.They’ve flown from Ohio or Tennessee, and driven from New Jersey, and are now standing in line for a chance to meet a fighter they have spent years watching — some even idolizing.
For a chance to see Zac Brown Band.For a chance to see a bald eagle fly across the crowd.
And for a chance to watch history unfold Sunday night.“Americans,” Landon Higdon from Kentucky said, “We like watching people fight.”While UFC CEO Dana White has said he would be paying for the event’s production — more than $60 million — one look at the hundreds of federal law enforcement officers from every agency you could think of roaming the crowd makes it clear there are significant government resources going toward this event.Was this a good use of taxpayer dollars?“I’ve seen worse uses of it,” Mark Bates of Michigan said, “for a lot wors...