What’s the deal with Old Sac? Why comedian Jerry Seinfeld called Friday night ‘special’

Have you ever noticed that “Old Sac” has a bit of an odd ring to it?

As fans in attendance noted, quickly turning the phrase into a social media hashtag, the affectionate nickname for the city’s historic district was the subject of ribbing for famed comedian Jerry Seinfeld as he performed at the Sacramento Community Center Theater on Friday.

The star of the eponymous NBC ’90s hit and creator of the Netflix fan favorite “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” apparently peppered playful references to “Old Sac” throughout his performance.

Just two days earlier, the city launched efforts to revamp and rebrand that part of town – the Old Sacramento Waterfront, “come find it,” a tagline suggests.

Seinfeld’s performance, an early stop in his current North America tour that runs through December, made an impression on the sitcom legend himself, who gave the city a rare (for him) shoutout on Twitter the next morning.

The “special thing” in question was a 90-minute performance that, as many things are these days, was chronicled the next day via social media paraphrasings and bootlegged video snippets – so it’s tough to know exactly what the comic said about Old Sac. But it left an impression nonetheless.

This story was originally published August 25, 2018 at 5:03 PM.