by Shane Campbell » Sun Apr 01, 2012 8:40 pm
The BBC was a very good call. Well mostly. When I told Chris where we were going he scoffed and said we'd never get in there. I thought he might be right and when we walked in at 4:15 it appeared he was. There were signs on the door saying that the dining room and patio were booked. That left only the bar.
We walked all the way around the bar finding one or two empty spaces but these seats had poor TV viewing angles or none at all. We returned to the hostess stand and asked her to confirm that the bar was the only area available. She said that was true, smiling brightly and asked if the hi-top we were standing next to would be acceptable. Uhhh, yes it was! We could not only see three TVs from here but could observe the whole bar and everyone coming in. If I had been able to reserve a table of my choice this one would have made the short list.
Chris wore an IU shirt and I was in neutral brown. The crowd streaming in sported an incredibly diverse array of clothing and paint (more on that later). I would say this crowd was about ninety percent or more Cardinal fans. Several people noticed Chris's Hoosier shirt even though the fist size IU stitched on the left breast was the only thing that distinguished it from much of the Louisville gear. I saw several people in the place who I recognized as regulars at Bank St.
Our server (Becca) came around and I knew we were in good hands. I had watched her interact with the table next to us. She had written nothing down and ignored the lout who boasted “I'm a home brewer and I certainly do know what mead is. Its..blah blah blah..” I think I even saw a little eye roll. Becca was calm and appeared to be completely unaffected by the riotous atmosphere in the bar which was being punctuated regularly by loud C-A-R-D-S chants.
When she came over, I was ready. I had checked the BBC's website before I left the house and I ordered two pints of their “Wheat Session IPA.” Chris did his usual “What kind of beer do you have that's most like a Bud Light but not actually a Bud Light because I'm too embarrassed to order a Bud Light even though I would most certainly prefer a Bud Light? I've come to enjoy watching this awkward interplay which frequently results in Chris having to drink several beers that he doesn't really like. I could just tell him what to order but he resents this and likes to interact with the server himself. He too was started with the Wheat IPA. This turned out not to be enough like a Bud Light and so he tried again and found himself drinking a Brown Ale. What is the definition of insanity again?
By 6:00pm we had each eaten a burger and I had ordered two more Wheat IPAs (whatever that is). I enjoyed this beer but I couldn't find any information about it on the BBC's website. It did seem to be very sessionable so I was content. Chris was forcing his way through that nice cloudy brown ale and pretending not to hate it. After his second failure, he had asked Becca if they had a lager. Becca said no, not at the moment but she had their Alt Bier available which was similar. I had pointed out the bottle of Miller Lite on Mr “Home Brewer's” table but Chris would not relent. He switched back to the Wheat IPA. I didn't say a word. I switched to water at half time.
Aside from enjoying Chris' struggle to obtain a beer he liked while sitting in a brewery with a full bar, I pretended to admire Mr Doosh bag home brewer who had received some kind of water tower to drip over his absinthe (Becca had mouthed “pain in the ass” when I flicked my eyes towards it) but I was having the most fun observing the “beautiful people” as they made their entrance. Yes by “beautiful people” I mean women. The full range of ages, sizes, and attire was on offer. I got to see my first pair of skin tight sweat pants dyed up to look like jeans and then the tightest pair of actual jeans that looked painted on. The most remarkable was a woman sporting only red and blue body paint for her blouse. Yes, right half red and left half blue, her......loyalties were on full display. She was quickly asked to leave.
By the time the game started I was thrilled that I was a part of this scene. The fan fervor was barely restrained and while I was only a casual fan when I walked in, I allowed myself to be swept up in the moment even joining the last couple of chants. The game was well-contested the whole way and when the lead was cut to four late in the second half it was pandemonium! There would be no fairy-tale ending. With seconds to go, as the blue team, made up of the NBA's soon to be newest millionaires, ruthlessly finished off the scrappy red team now reduced to walking wounded, scholar athletes, and charity stalwarts, Chris and I slipped out into the cool evening air.
All seemed calm with no signs of unruliness or gangs of roaming hooligans. In other words, not at all like the aftermath of the typical summer time Bowsox - Bombers battles I'd witnessed so often at Fenway. We walked around the corner and slipped into Drakes. The crowd here seemed to be made up of a bit more blue but was still overwhelmingly red. The atmosphere was not at all subdued and I was impressed. This was the first time I've ever been to Drakes and it looked like a great place to watch a game. The whole side of the restaurant is open to the street and it is much larger inside than I thought. They appeared to have an extensive beer selection and Hidef TVs in abundance. Now that the college boys are nearly done my thoughts turn with excitement to the boys of summer. I bet a Redsox vs Yankees game would be quite enjoyable here. Assuming the red team's millionaires win this time.
I'm a bitter drinker....I just prefer it that way
