BATON ROUGE — Someone unfamiliar with the almost annual migration of LSU baseball fans 793 miles basically due north to Omaha would have been a bit taken aback by an advertisement Wednesday in a Baton Rouge newspaper.

"We look forward to seeing and serving the Tiger team, the coaches and the loyal and knowledgeable LSU baseball fans," the ad read on page three under the continuation of a LSU baseball story. "Hope to see y'all this week." — Signed The Barretts & Staff. Under that was a sketch of a player throwing a baseball to the right of the words, "Barrett's Barleycorn Pub & Grill."

An uninformed visitor to Baton Rouge that night might have thought this Barrett's Barleycorn place might be a great sports bar to go watch a Major League Baseball game and enjoy some liquid barley. Such a visitor would struggle to find Leavenworth Street in Baton Rouge if he did not realize that the 402 area code before the phone number in the ad is not in these parts.

Barrett's Barleycorn is in Omaha, but it has had a distinctive Louisiana flavor since 1991 when the Tigers won their first College World Series championship.

For example, non-indigenous LSU fans were tweeting about loud cheering and much celebrating that they were a part of June 8 at Barrett's during LSU's win against Oklahoma that got it back to Omaha.

The staff could not wait either.

"Oh yeah, we love it when LSU comes to the World Series. I don't think it's quite the same when LSU isn't here," said Steve Buchholz, a manager at Barrett's who has worked at the bar since 1989 and is known not by Steve but by Tiger.

The nickname came from the old Exxon "Put a Tiger in your tank," ads and not for his love of LSU fans in his bar, but he does not go out of his way to correct people.

"It's a coincidence, but hey it's all right," he said. "We love the LSU fans. They're different. They bring a lot excitement. It's just a different atmosphere when they're here. They like to have a good time. They eat more. They drink more. I don't there is a team out there that is followed the way Louisiana follows the Tigers. And I was pulling for them, too."

Barrett's has been around since 1987, and LSU went for the first of 16 trips in 1986. Barleycorn did not become LSU's brew, though, until about 1991 when the Tigers won their first of six national championships, Buchholz remembers. That's also the year LSU players played beach volleyball behind the bar.

"Barrett's really got big in '91," said LSU fan extraordinaire Mike Serio, who owns Serio's Po-Boys and Deli in New Orleans and is in Omaha for the 19th time.

"I've been three times when LSU didn't make it because I had already made the reservations," he said. "I went in 2001 to pull against Tulane (which beat LSU in the super regional)."

But it's not the same as when Omaha turns purple and gold.

"It's so much better when LSU's there. It just feels different," Serio said. "It's not as peppy when they're not here, especially at Barrett's. It's a great place to see all the LSU fans. It's been awhile since we've gone, so I can't wait. The place will be packed with LSU people again. Omaha's a special place. It's our place, and believe me they want us to be there."

LSU fans also congregate at the Upstream Brewing Company restaurant and bar on 11th Street in the Old Market district.

"LSU does wonders for the Upstream when they make it to the World Series," Upstream manager T.J. Dixon said. "We have regulars who are LSU fans who have been coming here for years. So we're really excited about them coming back. The LSU fans are just a lively group of people who really enjoy themselves."

The Icehouse in north Omaha just got hotter.

"I was overly ecstatic when I saw LSU would make it back," Sara Dunn, a manager at the Icehouse for 14 years, said. "We were talking about it the other night. They have so many followers. Most of them are good people, and they create a warm environment."

LSU fans might tailgate with various seafood delicacies and Cajun dishes, but when it's time for a steak they often choose Omaha Prime, also on 11th in the Old Market.

"I love Cajun people," said Omaha Prime owner Mo Tajvar, a native of Mashhad, Iran, who has lived in Omaha for 35 years and has run his steakhouse for nearly two decades. "LSU brings the most fans by far. You look at the Super Regional. They had 11,000, and just about everybody else had 5,000. It's the same thing up here. LSU fans are second to none. You could combine all the other teams, and they don't bring as much as LSU."

The cash registers are ringing.

"Obviously, the business side is better when LSU is here," Tajvar said. "But the Louisiana people are great people. We have a lot of LSU fans that come here every year whether LSU is here or not. But we're glad LSU is back."

Glenn Guilbeau also writes for Gannett Louisiana.


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