Last weekend, thousands of Gophers fans traveled behind enemy lines to watch their football team play the Badgers. Students rode down Interstate highway 94 in packs, and alumni poured in from all corners of the Midwest. But one of the most passionate fans was neither an alumni nor a student. Meet Steve Erban , the 66-year-old owner of Creative Charter , a company that shuttles Gophers fans to and from away games across the country. Erban grew up in Montana, but has lived in Minnesota since the 1970s. HeâĂ„Ă´s a Big Ten sports junkie. It all started in 1993 when Erban wanted to get to a Gophers basketball game in New York, but couldnâĂ„Ă´t find an efficient way to get there. Taking advantage of his pilotâĂ„Ă´s license, he decided to charter a plane and ended up escorting fans, cheerleaders and the band to New York for the basketball game. Erban never looked back, and since then he, his wife and their clients have been parading across the country following Gophers sports. Their trip to Madison, which started Friday, was fairly typical: First beers cracked before 11 a.m., a stop for lunch to make friends and talk smack at a small-town bar in Wisconsin and then finally off to their final destination. âĂ„ĂşThese are the core fans; if they werenâĂ„Ă´t, they couldnâĂ„Ă´t come back when we get beat,âĂ„Ăą Erban said. ThereâĂ„Ă´s no doubt that ErbanâĂ„Ă´s companions, many of whom are middle-aged alumni, are hardcore Gophers fans. Sanford Brown was along for the ride Friday and has traveled with Erban for years. Over the years heâĂ„Ă´s had season tickets for volleyball, basketball and football. Brown even has maroon and gold shoes. âĂ„ĂşThere have been times when IâĂ„Ă´ve been at the University more than IâĂ„Ă´ve been at home,âĂ„Ăą Brown said. Student fans Erban said he wished the student population was as devoted to Gophers football as his friends are. The reason for lack of interest has to do with the âĂ„Ăşlost generation of Gopher fans,âĂ„Ăą he said. Since the football team moved into the Metrodome and its season records began to decline, fan interest has decreased, he said. âĂ„ĂşIâĂ„Ă´ve never been more disappointed in the students,âĂ„Ăą Erban said. But on Saturday, there was a healthy population of University of Minnesota students who braved the cold weather and Badgers fan taunts to cheer on their team. All of the 3,000 tickets that were designated for Gophers fans were gone by June, University assistant ticket manager Scott Bucholtz said. The Badgers game is the only away game that tickets are sold out that quickly, he said. âĂ„ĂşWisconsin is Wisconsin; it doesnâĂ„Ă´t matter if weâĂ„Ă´re 11-1 or 1-11, people are going to want to go,âĂ„Ăą Bucholtz said. Marketing junior Scott Schofield attended the game Saturday and said there was noticeably more excitement at Camp Randall Stadium than there is in the Metrodome. âĂ„ĂşWithout question, weâĂ„Ă´ll have more spirit next year with our new stadium,âĂ„Ăą Schofield said. Schofield said he didnâĂ„Ă´t have any altercations with the home fans, but there were several scuffles between Badgers and Gophers fans after the game. Gophers fans left the game under a flurry of taunts and some refused to take the jeering. One Gophers fan ran up and punched a Badgers ringleader in the back of the head on the way out of the game. The fan was immediately covered by a sea of red before security intervened. But unlike some fans, Erban was not overly discouraged by the GophersâĂ„Ă´ loss. He and his friends are already planning to follow the Gophers to their bowl game at the end of the season, even if that game happens to be the Motor City Bowl . âĂ„ĂşThis is just the beginning; wherever [the team is] going, weâĂ„Ă´re going,âĂ„Ăą Erban said.
Gophers fans take on Madtown
Published November 16, 2008
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