The crowd of Best Buy employees slowly made their way to the front of the store. It was a motley group: teenagers, middle aged men, women, Blue Shirts, Geek Squad, short, tall, rookies, veterans.

It was 11:30 p.m., just an half hour before D-Day. Or in retail parlance, Black Friday.

The vanguard of the more than 300 people waiting outside pressed their faces against the door.

"The crowd is so close the door, it's making me nervous," one store manager observed.

The employees started to clap. Louder, louder, and louder.

Up to the front strolled Mike Ersfeld, the store's general manager. He is technically 31-years old but he looks more like 20. It's Ersfeld's second Black Friday managing a Best Buy store but his 11th overall Black Friday.

"Are you ready to rock this thing?" Ersfeld asked.

The crowd roared its approval.

"A lot of prep works goes into this day," he said. "But I can't think of time when we were more prepared than we are today."

"It comes down to you guys," Ersfeld continued. "To simplify things, just pick one thing that you're best at, and then be the best at it."

Around midnight, the first customers streamed into the store.

"Welcome to Best Buy," Ersfeld said. "Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks for waiting."