Royalty has company at the Pinstripe Bowl!‏

The King, Mom, Dot and I 

Back in the middle of July, when we went to the Show Me State, we visited some people from Kansas. They were Dorothy Straney and her Mom.

These people are very special to us. The King and I met Dorothy aka "Dot" back in August 1993 at a souvenir store near Wrigley Field.

We've been in contact ever since. Over the years we've taken turns visiting each other.

In July, Dot told me that she was planning to come to NYC if her Kansas State Wildcats made it to the Pinstripe Bowl.

Early in December it become official Kansas State was coming and so were the Straneys.

When she called and told me the news I was tickled purple.

She planned to come in on Tuesday, December 28th but luckily she changed her plan to arrive on Christmas night.

She called me up that Monday from her hotel room to tell me she was in New York.

Ironically I was in a hotel room in Chicago at the time.

Mother nature did her best to mess up our plans but we still found a way to meet up at Yankee Stadium for the Pinstripe Bowl.

Dot told me she was sitting in section 309 row 7. The King and I wound up sitting there too.

It should be known we weren't alone. Our friend Larry Peim was there too.

In addition, my new found friend Eddie who drove me to Avis meet us there also.

During the game, I got a surprise visit from a former co-worker of mine, Kim Reznicek.

She is an absolute sweetheart. She made going to work something I looked forward to. It hasn't been the same since she left back in January 2010.

As for the game we saw, it was a thrilling affair. It was a seesaw battle throughout. Syracuse took the lead for good in the fourth quarter after K-State scored to go ahead by one, 28-27. The Wildcats were down by 8, 36-28 then they scored a touchdown to pull within 2 but they were called for a controversial celebration penalty that was accessed on their 2 point conversion attempt. As a result, they failed to convert giving the Orange a hard fought 36-34 victory in the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl.

Marcus Sales, wide receiver of the Orangemen led the way catching three touchdown passes as their offense exploded which enabled them to emerge as the winner in the end.

Our friend Dot who was all dressed up in purple, her mother and the rest of the Wildcats fans who sat in our section were left with an empty feeling. They had a long ride back to Manhattan, Kansas that is.

Despite the outcome, we all had a great time. It's always a pleasure to see our friends from the heartland.

Stay tuned for the closing of 2010 and the beginning of 2011 royalty style.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman