Friday, March 14, 2008

Where Do You Watch the NCAA Tournament?

This column by Big Daddy Drew made me lament the end of my longtime place to watch the first round of the NCAA Tournament: The Park Avenue Country Club, now defunct.

I would arrive at 11 a.m. and stake out a small round table by the bar with a good view of all the large TV screens. Obviously, I was by myself, so I'd put some stuff on the other chair to discourage people from sitting next to me. Some years, Mrs. Quickie would drop by for the late-afternoon games; other years, I simply maintained the facade -- I just needed a little space for myself in an otherwise insanely crowded bar.

Last year, on the first Thursday I live-blogged the afternoon for Deadspin, and while that was a ton of fun, it wasn't the same. This year, I will likely take advantage of CBS's online access to watch all the games from home or work.*

But, as Drew laments, it's just not the same as watching an early-round buzzer-beater in a bar, even if you don't know anyone.

(Ironically, given my usual interest in watching alone-among-a-crowd, my favorite first round viewing experience of all time was in 2002, when I led a group in taking over a corner of the Sports Depot in Allston, Mass. with a huge group of business school friends.)

-- D.S.

* - It was a crazy Costanzan "collision of two worlds" that Drew put this above-mentioned post on Deadspin (where I regularly contribute) that referenced and linked to the company I work for in my "real" job. (What? You mean all that unpaid, unadvertised blogging doesn't pay for a mortgage or toddler daycare? Say it ain't so!) Drew had no idea, making the coincidence all the more fascinating and funny for me. But needless to say, to paraphrase George: "A Dan divided against itself CANNOT stand!"

(Update: +100 for the first two comments.)

4 comments:

Unknown said...

You work at Stagedoor Johnny's?

Sean McGurr said...

Wait? You work for Stagedoor Johnny's?

WuzUpG said...

The best place to watch the opening week is, without a doubt, Las Vegas. However, a very close second is being at the games. This year, I'll be in Anaheim in a sports-filled week. Currently, I'm watching the Pacific Life Open tennis until Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday, I'll be watching my hometown team, Sharks and Warriors, at Staples. The Friday, in between NCAAs, I'm going to the Lakers/Sonics game. This is the ultimate sports trip. March is definitely the best month for sports.

Your Humble Correspondent said...

Vegas. Everyone there seems to be from either Chicago or Los Angeles.

And now, they have go go dancers at Luxor!