Royalty finally sees the Kansas State Wildcats win!

Dot and I

After the volleyball game we saw, we walked back to Dot's car and we had a little tailgate party. She brought burgers and hot dogs and we cooked them and we ate.

After eating, we headed over to the Bill Snyder Family Stadium, home of the K-State Wildcats.
Thanks to Scott Garrett, the assistant athletic director who arranged to get me a $10 ticket for the game which was right next to Dot's in section 8 row 45.

I want to personally thank Scott for being so accomodating. That turned out to be a very wise decision since the game was sold out. Dot said she hadn't seen the stadium that full in a few years. All the benches were filled up with people all dressed up in purple. The fans brought their pride and passion with them.

It was a great experience for me finally getting the Wildcat off my back.

I've seen the Wildcats on the road back in October 2002 in Boulder, Colorado but they lost to the Buffaloes that day in an exciting game, 35-31. More recently at Yankee Stadium I was at the Pinstripe Bowl that Dorothy and her Mom came in for last December and they fell short to Syracuse, 36-28.

This time they were playing the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at home. The question was with me in the house would they be able to "pop" the colonels.

For most of the game it looked dim. The game was scoreless into the third quarter. The Colonels finally got on the scoreboard to take a 7-0 lead. The Wildcats cut the lead to 7-3. Despite committing five turnovers the Wildcats put themselves in position to win the game. They wound up scoring a touchdown with 1:39 left to take the lead at 10-7. They wound up holding on for the slim victory as I escaped Manhattan with a W.

It was a thrill to be there. In matter of fact, we wound up sitting by some young people. One of which was a young man named Josh Allen. Josh and I spoke during the game and he said he's been a football Giant fan since he was 4 years old. I hope he gets to come to NYC some day so I can arrange to take him to a Giant game. He goes to school in Minnesota at a school called Bethany he said.

Stay tuned as the next installment of my heartland getaway continues.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty enjoys Heartland hospitality in the State of Kansas!

Kansas State University

After the minor league baseball game in Des Moines, Iowa I said goodbye to a new friend in Tige Hutcheson.

I barely survived the 210 mile drive back to my hotel in Lenexa, Kansas which is in the Overland Park area. I was running on fumes but I managed to check in shortly after 2AM.

I had to get up early so I could meet up with an old friend, Dorothy Straney who came with her Mom. I met Dot as I call her back on August 13, 1993. That was one of my many lucky days in life that I came in contact with another good person.

Over the years, we've taken turns meeting up either in the Heartland, in NYC or another part of the country.
Dot and her Mom who is a such a lovely lady both graduated from Kansas State. Her Mom in 1951 and Dot in 1974. They both love their Wildcats. They follow them all over. They always dress up in purple from head to toe.

I always wanted to see a Wildcat football game at their home in Manhattan, Kansas aka the "Little Apple" if you will. I got more than I bargained for. Dot informed me that their volleyball team was home too. They were playing at 1PM and the football game was at 6PM.

Dot told me she would give me a ride to and from the game which was about 125 miles each way. I couldn't be more thankful since I was exhausted and I needed a break from being behind the wheel.

She came to my hotel shortly after 9AM. On the way to Manhattan, she gave a guided tour as we visited Lawrence, Kansas home of the Kansas University Jayhawks. She drove us around their campus.

We continued on our way through the Flint Hills on I-70 as we made our way to the "Little Apple". Once we arrived in Manhattan she drove me around the downtown area which consisted of three or four blocks.

After that, we proceeded to drive around the Kansas State campus which was beautiful. All the buildings were made out of limestone except for two of them. They were made out of red brick. Dot said they received the wrong shipment of bricks that's why they're different then the others.

In addition, she showed me where her and her mother lived when they went to school there back in the day.
Furthermore, we visited the cows in the Dairy Unit. Dot used to milk them when she was in school. We got to see them up close. It was quite a treat for me.

Stay tuned for the special posts I'm going to do about the volleyball game and the football game we saw.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Kansas City here I come and then some over Labor Day Weekend!

Back on December 30, 2010 when I was at the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium, I had my good friends from Kansas, Dorothy Straney and her Mom with me.

They were dressed up in their Wildcat colors that being purple and silver to see their Kansas State Wildcats play. I told them I'm finally going to get the "Wildcat" off my back.

True to my word this time, I have booked a trip to go back to the Heartland over Labor Day weekend.

Here's the game plan:

I'll be flying out there on Friday September 2nd on American Airlines. I leave New York-LaGuardia Airport at 7:45AM Eastern Time. I have a connecting flight in Dallas-Ft. Worth and I land in Kansas City at 1:40PM Central Time.

Upon arrival I'm going to rent a car from Alamo and drive myself to Des Moines, Iowa which is about 200 miles from KC.

I'm going to see the following game there:

Friday September 2nd Omaha Storm Chasers at Iowa Cubs 7:05PM

After the game, I'm going to drive back to the Kansas City area where I'll be spending the night to sleep.

Saturday September 3rd I'll be going with Dorothy and her Mom to Manhattan, Kansas for the following:

Eastern Kentucky Colonels at Kansas State Wildcats 6PM

As Dot says and I quote "it's going to be a hoot." Trust me I can't wait to see those 'Cats!

Sunday September 4th I'll be seeing the Kansas City Royals play the surprising Cleveland Indians at Kauffman Stadium at 1:10PM.

I plan to see my boy Chris Coats aka Superfan who attends all the Royal home games as well as many on the road.

I most likely will have to leave this game earlier because I have to catch my flight on Frontier Airlines at 6:15PM to come back home. I arrive at LaGuardia Airport at 9:59PM Eastern Time. It's the last flight out of KC.

Monday September 5th I'll be renting a car so the King and I can go from the Yankee game in the afternoon at 1:05PM with the Baltimore Orioles to Philadelphia that night to see the Phillies play the Braves in a National League East Showdown at 7:05PM at Citizens Bank Park.

If you want to join me along the way please feel free to do so. All you have to do is let me know so I can arrange to make it happen.

Stay tuned when I get back so I can fill you in on how it played out. I promise it's going to be a "royal" blast.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

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

Royalty is closing out 2010 and opening 2011 in "Classic" fashion!

2010 is coming to a close and Royalty is going out with a bang. In addition, we'll be starting 2011 in "Classic" style thanks to the NHL.

The game plan is as follows:

The King and I are going to see our first ever college bowl game which takes place in our backyard at the New Yankee Stadium.

Thursday, December 30th after I work a half a day I'm going to Avis to rent a car for the weekend. Once I pick up the car then I'll go to get the King after he gets a few hours sleep after working. After that, we're driving to the Bronx home the newly created Pinstripe Bowl between a team from the Big 12 Conference and one from the Big East. This year it features the Kansas State Wildcats and the Syracuse Orangemen. The kickoff is scheduled for 3:30PM. We'll be leaving town after the game to make our way towards our next stop that being Columbus, Ohio.

Friday, December 31st we'll arrive in Columbus in the mid to late afternoon which will get us plenty of time to get to the 7PM face off between the Ottawa Senators and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

After the game we'll be bringing the New Year somewhere along I-70 as we make our way to Pittsburgh for New Year's Day.

Saturday, January 1st we'll be starting the New Year like we have 3 of the past 4 years at an outdoor hockey game aka the Winter Classic. This time Heinz Field is the host for this unique event that hockey has taken by storm. The game features two of the league's greatest young stars, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. The puck drops at 1PM Eastern Time so if you want to watch the game tune into NBC and you'll see it. If you do so, you can think of the King and I who will be in the house.

After the game, we'll be driving back home so we can be at the Jets game on Sunday at the New Meadowlands Stadium against the Buffalo Bills at 1PM.

Please feel free to check back for all the details of how this getaway turned out.

If you want to join us, please let me know so I can arrange to make it happen.

Happy New Year to all!

2011 is going to be another great year especially if you add some royalty to your life. Don't just read and think about it, contact me and we'll make sure you do something about it. Life's too short why not go for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman