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So this is 2011. Nice. We made it. Happy New Year, people! In keeping with tradition, about a million revelers packed themselves into New York’s Times Square–agreeing to go without access to a bathroom and any semblance of personal space for hours on end just for a chance to see the proverbial ball drop in person, and maybe to catch a fleeting glimpse of New Year’s Eve confetti falling onto the silvery locks of Anderson Cooper.

A sad bit of news for those of who who’d hoped and dreamed of celebrating New Year’s Eve by witnessing the spectable of Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi dropping out of a ball in Times Square: the ball-drop’s been scrubbed.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the bad news to surely devastated Jersey Shore fans today, saying producers of the annual New Year’s celebration in Times Square denied MTV’s request to allow the drop–and an attempt to set a world record for mass fist-pumping–all because the Snooki request arrived, Jersey Shore style, a bit fashionably late:

Woo! Happy New Year — and Happy New Decade! Even if you’re not in New York — or in the same time zone, for that matter — it’s a tradition to watch the ball drop live in Times Square, especially if you’re somewhere warm and the weather there is crap, as it was tonight. No matter. It’s a sacred tradition and one that, for the few minutes or so before Midnight EST, is shared by millions of peopel around the world, who all count down in unison as the ball drops and we ring in another New Year. It’s nice. Watch it here.