UConn’s Dan Hurley became Royals fan because of George Brett’s Pine Tar Game outburst

Connecticut men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley slipped on a No. 15 Yankees jersey on Sunday and threw out a ceremonial first pitch before the Royals’ game in New York.

But if Hurley had his druthers, he’d rather have been in Royals blue. That’s what Hall of Famer George Brett was hoping would happen.

“I want to text him Sunday morning and tell him to throw a strike and wear a Royals jersey,” Brett told the Hartford Courant’s Dom Amore. “He’d get booed out of the stadium if he wore a Royals No. 5 jersey, wouldn’t he?”

Hurley told Amore that watching a Royals-Yankees game changed his life. As a 10-year-old kid in Jersey City, New Jersey, Hurley was enthralled with Brett’s reaction during the Pine Tar Game.

Because of that game, which was 40 years ago Monday, Hurley became a Royals fan.

“It shaped me as a kid, and it’s kind of shaped me as a coach,” Hurley told Bally Sports Kansas City’s Joel Goldberg and Jeff Montgomery on Sunday. “That’s kind of the way I attacked a referee is when I’m coaching on game night, but I was probably 10 years old when I saw that game and obviously George Brett’s greatness and then he became my sports idol as a kid.”

Hurley remains a Royals fan to this day.

“(It was) the combination of George, that moment, the success that he had against the Yankees because both my brother and father were Yankee fans, and I’ve always gone against the grain,” Hurley said. “So I would literally go outside throw that big chew in and try to emulate that unique Charley Lau batting stance.”

Hurley, who guided UConn to the men’s national championship in the spring, also talked about the Royals’ consecutive American League pennants nearly a decade ago, which culminated with the 2015 World Series championship.

“That two-year stretch was incredible, really,” Hurley said. “Even the series versus the Giants, if not for (Madison) Bumgarner, you’re talking about back to back World Series championships. But what a fun group of guys: (Mike) Moustakas and (Eric) Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, (James) Shields and just what an incredibly fun team.”

Hurley coached an incredible team, too.

The Huskies rolled through the NCAA Tournament winning each game by more than 10 points. He’s looking ahead to the upcoming season when UConn plays Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse.

“What a bucket list as a coach, to get a chance to play in that environment. I’ve never been to Phog Allen,” Hurley said. “Obviously, it’s not the easiest place to go in and try to get any type of win, especially in nonconference, but the last two national champions get together. I think we’ll both be kind of popular picks to get back to the Final Four. So it’ll be pretty cool.”

Here’s the interview with Bally Sports KC, and Hurley seemed genuinely touched to receive an autographed Brett jersey.