The Bars

Yesterday was Saturday, so that meant College Football. I started the day early by heading over to Sweet Caroline's to watch Michigan at the Boston alumni viewing. I have been to the Cambridge viewing party at Tavern in the Square before, but this seemed to have a better showing and a better atmosphere. One of the great touches was that they played Bo Schembechler's "The Team" speech. There are few things that can get a Michigan fan more excited than listening to that. The other nice touches were the well timed playing of The Victors and the cowbell.

Of course, the game was a one sided romp. This was the crowd after one of the big plays:

Obviously, it wasn't like the Big House, but it was a good showing. The great thing about this is that it brings people together. I saw some familiar faces including the guys who stood next to me all last year at Yost. It was fun to catch up with them and enjoy the game with them. We all came to watch the game, but it's the people that tend to make the games special. 

There were a lot of other great things about the viewing. There were Jim Beam girls giving out mixed samples of Beam and Coke and Beam and ginger ale. There were Bud Light representatives giving away t-shirts, beads, and signing people up for a competition at the Patriots' practice bubble. There was also a raffle at halftime, which I ended up winning:

The seal is a nice touch.

After the Michigan game, I walked over to Game On! right by Fenway and the Red Sox' championship banners:

Game On! is located at the corner of Brookline Avenue and Landsdowne Street:

It's in the same building as Fenway Park. I believe that the bar replaced a bowling alley. It's very impressive as a sports bar. There are TVs everywhere and pretty much every game is on. I should have gotten a picture of the TVs, but I didn't think to at the time. I don't know if it's the best sports bar in town, but it has to be up there.

I was there for the Penn State-Ohio State game as it is the alumni bar for the Buckeyes. This year has been a trying year for the Bucks with quarterback Terrelle Pryor leaving before the season and several of their best players suspended for parts of the season. It shouldn't have been a surprised that the turnout was disappointing:

I asked the bartender if this was a normal crowd and the answer was "yes." It's a big bar, but there still weren't that many people there. As far as the experience, it was sort of dull. The place wasn't really geared towards Ohio State. They played Hang on Sloopy once, but it wasn't a recording of the band. Overall, the experience was very generic. I wasn't impressed. 

Lastly, I did head over to the USC bar, McGreevy's, but I stayed upstairs. Most of my attentions were set on the Bruins game too. There was, however, a fair contingent of USC fans/alumni downstairs. It wasn't overbearingly full, but it definitely seemed like a good place to watch USC games. This is in a season where USC is banned from bowls and are not allowed to play in the Pac 12 Championship game. 

Overall, I like being around other college sports fans. It's so much more fun to watch a game with other fans. This week is rivalry week, so I will be talking about and discussing the different rivalries that are playing, including The Game.