Before a Husker game, the lobby of the Kindler Hotel is much like everywhere else in downtown Lincoln.
It's swarming with people, most wearing scarlet and cream, but with its share of visitors, like this weekend's out-of-towners from Grand Forks, North Dakota.
"It's a pretty good mix of both sides, and there is a lot of excitement," said Jena Stevens, the lounge manager for Boitano's Lounge.
And then the game starts and the mood changes. The lobby clears out and what remains are the folks who don't have tickets to the game.
"We have our regulars," said Stevens, a native of Madison who grew up on a farm and moved to Lincoln. "They can sometimes be a little older. They don’t want to go to the game, so they watch it here."
There are at least 50 places where the roar of the nearby Memorial Stadium crowd can be heard, where a seat at the bar comes with a high-def view of the game from every camera angle imaginable and the promise of a cold beverage comes on demand, as does the luxury of not having to wait in line to get the aforementioned cold beverage.
People are also reading…
But the Kindler is a different viewing experience, Stevens insists.
"People can sit, relax and watch the game in peace because it’s not a sports bar," she said. "It’s a nice place to watch a game. No one is yelling at the TV. It’s just a relaxing place to watch the game."
Wondering if that solitude -- Boitano's inner Zen, as it were -- was in full working order last Saturday when, with his team leading by 11 points early in the third quarter, Huskers coach Scott Frost called for an ill-fated onside kick that changed the momentum in a 31-28 loss to Northwestern in Dublin.
It's hard to imagine such a moment without at least one curse word. One well-placed F-bomb. Not sure a deep cleansing breath would do the trick in releasing the anxiety of that moment.
Still, maybe the Kindler is breaking ground on something new and inspiring: football without the unbridled emotion -- a safe space where the game is served with a wine spritzer and charcuterie board.
Just kidding. Really. Any place where perspective is practiced -- especially where Husker football is concerned -- has my full-throated endorsement, which inside Boitano's Lounge (named for Olympic gold medal figure skater Brian Boitano), might be relegated to a library-level whisper.
There are worse ways to watch football, and a soothing four quarters in Boitano's sounds in many ways better than some of the mosh pits around town that showcase the Huskers each week.
The Kindler has found its niche, and as it starts its third season of operation, the hope is that it will finally have a season of normalcy.
Actually, 2019 was supposed to be normal, but the first year of operation is seldom normal. A sewer line backup delayed the boutique hotel's opening by a month and the final 15 rooms were not ready until late September.
The 2020 season featured no fans, while last year -- even with a mask mandate in place at times -- the hotel still had a pretty good year.
"We’re excited to be back to normal," Stevens said. "It wasn’t bad at all last year, but this is going to be bigger. There is more hype. ... People are tired of being stuck inside. They want to come out. That’s always how Husker fans are."
She's not wrong. Nebraska is a state that lives for the seven Saturdays when football is played here. Even in the aftermath of Saturday's disappointment in Ireland, there remains more than a glimmer of hope.
And that's good for business -- especially for an independently owned hotel with a total of 45 rooms that prides itself on its own brand of Nebraska Nice.
"That's our niche," Stevens said. "We want that Nebraska friendliness. ... I can’t tell you the number of travelers that we have where we have created connections and they return to us. They comment on this."
Plans are in the works to put a Kindler in the Power & Light District of Kansas City in the next three years, and owner Nick Castanada wants the same kind of vibe there.
After that, the plan is to build one at Baltimore's inner harbor, a beautiful place, but one that lacks the kind of Midwest Nice that are prevalent in places like Lincoln and even Kansas City.
Unlike Lincoln, Baltimore is a place known for its crabs.