PEABODY – The North Shore Mall was one of many locations across the country to host the most competitive and highly anticipated sporting events of the year: Black Friday shopping.OK, so it may not be officially recognized as a sport, but it does have all the components. There are players (both rookies and veterans), coaches and assistants (store personnel, spouses), equipment (credit cards, checkbooks, elbows), competition (grabbing the last iPhone before someone else), and the goal to win something (bargain prices).People from all over the state showed up, some as early as 4 a.m. to participate in this day-after-Thanksgiving tradition. Mall manager Mark Whiting said that this year’s turnout, considering the mall construction, was very comparable to last year.”I’m very happy with the way things have started out,” said Whiting, who said he typically notices a “big bump in the morning” because of all the early bird specials. The mall itself opened up at 5 a.m., but stores like JCPenney opened their doors an hour earlier. He expected things to peak around 2 p.m.”The good thing about shopping at the North Shore Mall is the tremendous amount of parking,” Whiting said. “We’re in for a very good day.”And so were all the shoppers.”This is our first one,” said Dianne Faulkner of West Newbury, who came with two teammates, daughter-in-law Carolyn and granddaughter Elizabeth, both of Maine.”We’ve done fabulous,” she said. “We really got some good buys.” With hands full of bags from stores like American Eagle and the Children’s Place, it certainly appeared that way.Carolyn purchased for herself three pairs of pants and a cashmere sweater from Ann Taylor, all of which were discounted at 40 percent off.”I really needed some new clothes,” said Carolyn about why she decided this year would be the year to take on Black Friday.Malden resident Peter McLean was found wandering the mall with his 18-month-old son, Jake, while his wife was off shopping for deals at Express.”It’s been pretty easy so far,” McLean said while his son refueled on a donut from Dunkin’ Donuts. The father and son duo had been shopping since 7 a.m. “We’ve sailed in and out of stores. There are just a few more left to hit, then we’ll grab lunch and go from there.”McLean said he’s taken part in the shopping event for years and prefers the North Shore Mall over any other.As for Dottie Bell of Danvers, her shopping day wasn’t such a breeze. She began her quest at 10 p.m. the night of Thanksgiving, after celebrating the holiday at her nephew’s house. She dropped the kids off at home then hit the road to the Wrentham Outlets, where stores opened at midnight.But, after sitting in traffic for three hours, she opted to turn around and head back, making stops at Target and Kohl’s before arriving at the mall. There simply wasn’t time to sleep.”I’m resting while my niece shops,” said Bell, who waited on a bench, surrounded by bags.Bell has participated in Black Friday for the last five years. “It’s like a tradition,” she said. “It’s fun. You just have to laugh about everything.”John and Shayne Fowkes of Woburn were caught taking a quick catnap on a couch, but who could blame them? The father and son team had been up since 4:30 a.m.”We’re waiting for my wife in Macy’s,” said John. “She took (Shayne’s) sizes and told us to wait out here.”The family’s biggest purchase was Nintendo’s Wii, which wasn’t in their original game plan. But there were only five left, so they made the offensive play to get not one, but two.When asked what time they planned on calling it quits, “Hopefully by 9,” said John.”Uh, Dad, it’s 9:30,” his son shot back.”Well, then, hopefully by 10.”