City’s residents are ‘Minnesota nice,’ say Gopher backers
Vancouver has fans, it seems, in the Minnesota Golden Gophers booster club.
“I’m really impressed with the friendliness of the people here. They’re Minnesota nice,” said Mike Hanson, one of 60 members of the Golden Dunkers here to watch the Gophers take part in the inaugural TCL Vancouver Showcase, the NCAA basketball tournament being held at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
“It’s been a good, good trip.” Fan groups following teams for road games are routine, particularly at the marquee NCAA schools. Steve and Dorothy Erban, who run Creative Charters out of Lake Elmo, Minn., have been organizing trips for Gophers backers in various sports since 1993 and boast of helping more than 20,000 fans get to away games.
The majority of Minnesota backers on this particular excursion to Vancouver are aged 50 and over, according to Steve. Most will have been here for a week when the Gophers wind up the men’s portion of the tournament with a 3:30 p.m. game today against the Washington Huskies.
It seems the Erbans get their fair share of return business. Hanson, 73, a former high school basketball coach, said he has gone on Erbanled jaunts to watch games in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas over the years. Cheryl Anderson, 68, said she has been making these sorts of trips for 15 seasons now.
“I know so many of these people … it’s almost like a reunion,” Anderson said Tuesday at the EXchange Hotel before the Gophers faced the Santa Clara Broncos.
Anderson’s scouting report on Vancouver was similar to Hanson’s: “I like everything about Vancouver. One thing you should write down, though, is that the people are extremely friendly.”
Whether Hanson, Anderson, the Erbans and their like-minded cohorts will have exciting trips for March Madness remains to be seen. Minnesota reached its highest national ranking (No. 12) since 2013 last season, but they battled injuries and finished 15-17. They made the NCAA Tournament the season before, losing in the first round. They were 24-10 overall.
The Gophers have a social-media phenom in their mix with sophomore guard Isaiah Washington, who has 632,000 followers on Instagram thanks to his moves, including a flashy finger roll he dubbed a “jelly.”
Washington and a buddy dubbed a group of friends and fans as the Jelly Fam and it has caught on.
“I think we have a good shot at it,” Hanson said of the NCAA tournament. “It won’t be easy.”
The Golden Dunkers have gone on various day excursions during their time in Vancouver. Some went to Whistler, some went to Gibsons. Hanson talked up Stanley Park, Anderson spoke highly of Granville Island. Erban coaxed the nearby Butcher and Bullock pub into featuring Minnesota’s football game against Northwestern Saturday morning on its biggest TV.
The Erbans head out almost immediately after returning to Vancouver, leading a group to a Minnesota football game on the road against Wisconsin.
The Vancouver Showcase switches Thursday to its eightteam women’s draw, featuring the top-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Notre Dame, behind legendary coach Muffet McGraw, won the national title last year. Notre Dame opens the tournament at noon Thursday against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Bulldogs feature sophomore guard Louise Forsyth, who starred with Langley ’s Brookswood Bobcats in high school.