‘Seinfeld’ Fanatics in O.C. Bid Farewell to Fab Four

“Seinfeld” fans, some of them dressed like their favorite characters, gathered at bars across Orange County on Thursday night to watch the final episode and mourn the end of a TV show that has become part of their lives.

At Geckos bar in Huntington Beach, patron Debra Lynn described a sentiment that seemed universal.

“Everywhere you go it’s ‘Seinfeld’ night,” she said.

The bar’s deejay, Mike Granch of Huntington Beach, said he set his VCR to tape the finale. He started getting religious about the show three years ago, he said, and has seen every episode, thanks to reruns.

Why does he like it?

“It’s just, um, sick and twisted and funny. They say what’s on their minds,” he said.

For Tammy Smirin at the National Sports Grill in Santa Ana, the attraction was more personal.

“I’m in love with Seinfeld. I can’t believe he’s leaving me,” she confessed.

Smirin, 28, was positive that once the show’s final credits rolled, her life would not be the same. “It’ll feel like an empty space,” she said. “I’m serious. I depend on that show to make me laugh.”

Marina Robinson, a native of Russia, said it took her some time to appreciate the show’s absurd humor. But the Irvine resident eventually grew attached to it. Now that it’s over, she said, she will have to change her routine.

“I’ll have to find something else to do on Thursday nights,” said Robinson, 30.

But other fans said they were at National Sports Grill on Thursday for the drinks as much as for the big TV event. Mike Shearer, 39, of Mission Viejo said he just stopped by for a beer after work. How will his life change after “Seinfeld”?

“Zero. It’s just TV,” he said.

But for Tom Hofreiter, the establishment’s promotions manager, the final episode was much more. He had been busy promoting the event for weeks, buying T-shirts and Kramer-style polyester shirts for the employees. He also ordered lithographs of Kramer as prizes in a “Seinfeld” trivia contest.

Hofreiter said he had considered offering instead a lithograph of George in boxer shorts, “but that was too risque. We didn’t want to offend anyone.”