By the looks of things in local sports bars, most Albert Lea Twins fans watched Tuesday’s sensational playoff game at home, if they watched at all.

At Philly’s Bar and Grill at the 3 p.m. game start time, a group of five men was sitting around the bar, but no baseball game was on. Instead, the sounds of an Scottish-accented soccer announcer ebbed through the bar speakers, and each television was broadcasting the Bayern-Munich and AC Milan European Cup game.

Though the Twins game was turned on shortly thereafter, the first two innings passed without game sound. Instead, the Scotsman’s words gave play-by-play of the soccer match, as the Twins battled through one-and-a-half error-filled innings.

In the second inning, the sound for the game was turned on. Only then did the bar customers seem to become engaged.

The scene at Philly’s, one of the only sports-bars in town, left one with a few questions. Are there Twins fans in Albert Lea?

Rainbow Foods general merchandise manager Chuck Helleksen has some evidence that there are. &uot;I’m guessing we’ve sold close to 1,500 Homer Hankies in about a week-and-a-half,&uot; he said.

At local sports stores, sales have been good according to some, slow according to others, but there is a relative shortage of Twins merchandise in any of them.

&uot;People are being a little bit cautious,&uot; said Gary Hillman, manager of Tiger City Sports, who said Twins merchandise sales haven’t been spectacular for the postseason. &uot;We’re selling on occasion, but I don’t think Twins fever will really hit until the World Series.&uot;

Tom Jones, who buys Twins merchandise for the store, said he thinks that maybe the change from a two-round, four-team playoff format to a three-round eight-team playoff has toned down the excitement a bit.

Hillman questioned whether past playoff experiences have brought down the exhilaration a bit. &uot;People have been through this twice before with ’87 and ’91. I think that might be a part of it.&uot;

Jones added, &uot;I think it was definitely more crazy in ’91.&uot;

Action Sport, an athletic clothing store at the Northbridge Mall, has a corner of the store dedicated to Minnesota sports. Plenty of Vikings, Gophers and Wild clothing items are on display in that area. But only one side of a large clothing rack was dedicated to Twins gear.

Store manager Brian Cook said this is typical because the store orders most of their clothing in advance, and sells most baseball clothing in the summer instead of the fall. He said hat sales and jersey sales for the team apparel have been up in the past weeks and throughout the season.

Cook said the store is a bit hesitant to order more at this early a stage in the playoffs. He also said he feels customers are hesitant. &uot;People are just a bit more cautious. No one knows how things are going to go,&uot; he said.

Though there are slow merchandise sales at the apparel stores, Rainbow has done well selling &uot;Minnesota: Central Division Champions&uot; shirts, according to Helleksen. &uot;The more they win, the more we sell,&uot; he said. &uot;I hope that we’re selling them right through the week and the month,&uot; he added, smiling.

Empty barstools may just mean that people would rather watch these games at home. Or with three 3 p.m. games this work week, it may mean that people aren’t able to get off work, or aren’t heading to bars that early in the day.

Philly’s manager Dale Tews did report that more fans came in after 5 p.m. and brought the fan total to about 15. &uot;I think we are expecting a bigger turnout later in the week. The further they go, the more turnout I think there will be,&uot; he said.