Sunday in Boston

In my short 26 years on this earth I have been to quite a few sports bars. Whether in Boston, Florida, Maine, or even in my hometown of Beverly, I have never truly enjoyed myself at a sports bar. The closest I have ever come may have been the Bostonville Grille on Route One, some of you may know it as “Big Dog”, or “Full Blast.” But unfortunately, I can no longer step foot in that bar due to an incident involving human poop and my fiancé's sneaker. My point is that a sports bar, in principle, should be a fun time where sports fans gather, most of the time cheering for the same team, to drink and eat for hours on end.

So last week, when my friend Erica sent me a text message and asked if I wanted to meet up in Boston to watch the Pats play the Colts, I should have said no. At home I have a 42 inch plasma TV in my living room (with surround sound), a stocked fridge and two CLEAN bathrooms close at hand. Not to mention two other TV's in my apartment to insure that I do not miss a single play of any game. (This also comes in handy on those rare occasions when the Pats and Sox play at the same time.) At one point in college I actually had two TV's in my room and a TV card on my computer. This allowed me to multi- task while watching baseball, football, and play Xbox all at the same time…it's a wonder I ever graduated.) So anyway, this past weekend my Fiancé Sherri and I hopped in the car and headed into Boston to watch a game that was readily available at home to go to a bar called "Boston's Greatest Bar", call me crazy- I know.

I first have to say this about the bar. Referencing a classic Seinfeld episode titled the "The English Patient", Jerry gives his Dad a t-shirt that says "#1 Dad" which, in turn, ticks off Izzy Mandelbaum, played by the great Lloyd Bridges, whose son in turn gives him a shirt that says "World's Greatest Dad". Izzy then explains to Jerry how that makes him better than just #1. Jerry responds with, “Well I don't know how official any of these rankings are”. The same can be said about “Boston’s Greatest Bar”. Where are these rankings that make them the “greatest”, and if there was a vote can there be a recount? I understand that this bar maybe perfect for scantily clad-fresh 21’s who are looking for their next one night stand on a Saturday night, but to watch a game it was awful. There was little to no seating, the service was awful and some “wanna-be” DJ ruined the game by constantly playing music while the game was going on. Before each football game on TV there is a short montage that is meant to pump you up for the game that is about to start, “Patriots Vs. Chargers, Brady Vs. Rivers, Merriman disrespected by dancing patriots, Patriots date with destiny Blah, Blah, Blah”. Instead of this gloriousness, I was forced to listen to the old Monday night football song, which was wrong for so many reasons, but most glaring of course because it was Sunday afternoon, not Monday night.

After dashing from the “Greatest Bar in Boston”, we ended up with seats, and a great view, at Boston Beer Works. I highly recommend the Beer Works. If you aren’t a fan of traveling into Boston, like my friend Ben, then the Salem Beer Works is just as good, and a lot easier to get to. From this point on I enjoyed the game immensely, mostly because we won, but also because of how we won. Between Maroney and Faulk, we proved that we, not only have a backfield, but giving them a rest for the first 17 weeks of the season was the best game plan. Plus, the mere fact that the defense held the Chargers to no touchdowns meant I was in heaven.

I still have a gift certificate to Boston's Greatest Bar which I have to use, I will probably have to wait till my friend Lindsey Drew comes to visit because she will drink anywhere.

I will write about the Giants as we get closer to the game. I feel that one of there boneheads will say something to rile up New England and if they don’t there is always Tiki Barber.