Football is here, and the bars all over Newport are open for business!
Once again the pages of the calendar have turned and autumn is upon us. I know some people feel like we were cheated out of a summer because of the poor weather, but fall is here, college football is well under way with upsets and rivalries, and week 1 of the NFL is in the books. For national sports fans, this has to be the favorite time of the year. Football is getting started, baseball pennant races are heating up, and the NBA season is just around the corner.
For some Newport residents, this means sneaking out of work early on Monday afternoons and heading to the closest sports bar to watch some games.
Due to the recession and stagnant economy, lots of bars in the area have been beefing up their walls with brand new flat screen HDTVs and offering different things during the week to get people in.
My favorite of these offers is free food during Monday Night Football. It’s a win/win situation for the bar and its patrons. We get a bevy of free food to choose from, and the bar gets our hard-earned money, which we spend on drinks, while watching football with friends. Sure it costs the bar a few bucks for the free food, but it gets at least 20 or 30 more people in there than a normal Monday, so I’m sure they’re happy with the deal.
However, it’s a funny situation. It reminds me of keeping a secret surfing spot, well, secret. We love going to these watering holes to spend time with friends and enjoy the food and drinks, but I don’t necessarily want to spread the word too much so that my favorite place is inundated with people cashing in on the same deal.
On the other hand, I want these bars to keep up the free offers, so I feel the need to keep bringing in more people so the bars think it’s still worth their while.
To be honest, it doesn’t take much coaxing to get us Newport citizens out to the bars to watch football, but it’s always nice to be appreciated and offered free things. To put it in plain terms for the bars, you can throw in a few wings if I pay $6 for a Corona for which you paid $0.80.
There’s something unique about Monday Night Football starting here on the West Coast while the sun is still out and people are getting off the beach. The colors of dusk seem completely different once the calendar flips to September. Football, beers, friends, and food all blend together in a beautiful stew of autumn goodness, and I look forward to it all year.
Quick side note to Anheuser Busch and newly created MillerCoors Co.: Please stop making beer commercials where a guy picks his beer over his girl. Not only would that never happen, but if it did, it wouldn’t be with one of your beers.
