November 4, 2001 PINSTRIPES IN A SEA OF RED. Yankees fans and Husker fans mix it up at Connecticut bar. Imagine you’re a New York Yankees fan living in the New Haven, Connecticut area. I know, it’s a tough pill to swallow for many outside the greater New York metro area, but imagine you are just this time. You are excited about seeing your beloved Yankees clinch another World Series title in game 6. You put on your Yankee best, dressed in blue and pinstripes from head to toe. You decide to head to a sports bar in downtown New Haven, a city about an hour and a half from Yankee Stadium. Yea, that’ll be fun. It’ll be filled with Yankees fans cheering on the Bronx Bombers. You’ve been practicing your “Let’s Go Yankees” cheer. You’re ready to let loose. To watch the Yankees come from 2 down to win the World Series. And then you walk into TKs American Grill, home of the Connecticut Yankees for Nebraska alumni game-watching parties. And right before your eyes, your Yankee pinstripes get sucked into a sea of red. You look up at the big screen TV in the main area of TKs and the only blue you see is the blue on the Kansas Jayhawks’ uniforms. What? The Yankees are playing in game 6 of the World Series, and we’re watching a Husker blowout over Kansas, in New Haven, Connecticut, an hour and a half away from Yankee Stadium? What’s wrong with this picture? Absolutely nothing if you’re a Husker fan. And if you can believe it, there were more Husker fans cheering at TKs Saturday night than fans of the men in blue. That was the case Saturday night. The Huskers and Kansas were in the middle of the first quarter, and Yankees fans came streaming into TKs. They gazed across the bar, doing their best to eye an open table. What, no tables? “Yea, it is game 6 of the World Series, we should have gotten here earlier.” “Wait, why is everybody wearing red?” It was an amazing sight to see. Yankees fans outnumbered by Husker fans in the Yankees home territory. The looks on the faces of the fans were priceless when they saw the Husker gathering. Jaws dropped. People did double-takes on the big screen TV. People looked at their watches. Confusion reigned. “The Yankees DO play tonight, right?” I guess if the Yankees hadn’t been getting blown out by Arizona, maybe they would have been a little more demanding on the big screen TV. By the third quarter of the Husker game, the outcome was not in question. A few Husker fans starting heading to the exits. By then, Yankees fans outnumbered Husker fans. But the big screen TV stayed on the Nebraska-Kansas game. Like I said, it would have been different if the Yankees were winning, or if it was a close game, but by the end of the night, Husker fans were singing “Let’s go Yankees” and Yankees fans were singing GOOOOO BIIIIIIIIGG REEEEUUUDD. GO BIG RED! One Yankee fan leaned over to say to me that he appreciated our enthusiasm for the Yankees, but our cheering was too little too late, as there would be no 15 run 9th inning Yankee magic on this evening. I say the Yankees fans are good sports. They could have raised a major stink about not being able to see their Yankees on the big screen, but didn’t. They settled for watching the game on the TVs located in each of the booths at TKs. They were told that TKs is the official watch site of the Connecticut Yankees for Nebraska, and that we come there every week and spend money on food and drinks. And, money talks. A few left. Most stayed. Most enjoyed the incredible Husker spirit, even if it was a little strange to be surrounded by a sea of red. We wish the Yankees all the luck in the world in game 7 tonight. And we promise we won’t be at TKs taking up your front row seats. Unless someone has the video of this years NU-OU game… Share your experiences as a Husker fan outside Nebraska. Feedback