Big Blue Nation from Coast to Coast (Part II): Chicago

@JohnWilmhoff

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The Pony Inn Celebrates #8[/caption] The following post is Part II of a series of posts highlighting some of the most unique UK fan groups from around the country. If you belong to any kind of UK fan group or organization (official or unofficial) that meets regularly for games or other regularly scheduled meetings, email me at [email protected] and tell me your story. Where are you located? How did the group get started? What is interesting or unique about your group of UK fans? Today's featured group are the UK fans that gather together for every game at a Chicago bar named The Pony Inn. The next group I will feature is a group that meets up at Zeke's Sports Bar in San Francisco. If you missed Part I of the series, click here to read about the Ohio UK Convention. Today's submission comes from UK Alum Kim Parks in Chicago, an avid follower of the Cats at Chicago's Pony Inn. She writes the following:

If you have ever spoken to anyone that has been to a UK game at The Pony in Chicago then you will know that it is the place to be on gamedays. For the big games, we absolutely pack the place with hundreds of UK fans. They play the fight song before, during and after the game and some other songs that have grown to be a tradition there (for whatever reason, Party in the USA is always played immediately after the buzzer sounds...I have no idea how/why it started but we've been doing it for 3 years and its now expected). There's nothing specifically unique or interesting about it, except for the fact that we are in Big Ten land. In Chicago, all the schools have their "bar" and it took us years to finally find one that wasn't a total dump and would take us in (and one that would be loyal to us during football season and not sell out to a Big Ten school who would without a doubt pack the place). Oh and the owners are Kansas alum. The Pony is a great bar and the UK fans have a blast during the season. Check out their Facebook page for pictures from the 2012 season.

I did give the Pony Inn Facebook page a look, and their UK albums are full of pictures with "UK Fans of the Day" written all over them, like this one: [caption id="attachment_115456" align="aligncenter" width="500"]

If you're ever in Chicago while the Cats are playing, come see these ladies at the Pony Inn![/caption]