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BEER,BUFFET AND
OUT
by Caleb Regan
BALL
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION / KIMBERLY WESTPHAL
Sports bars provide the ultimate entertainment
It's 11:30 a.m. at Set 'Em Up Jacks, 1800 E.23rd St. The crowd begins to saunter in, with plenty of time to grab a prime seat in front of the projection screen for the noon Chiefs-Broncos kickoff. Attendance climbs toward capacity. Soon, the crowd resembles a Las Vegas casino during the NCAA basketball tournament, with jersey-clad men and women swilling 25-ounce beers, yelling at surrounding television screens and giving high-fives to complete strangers.
Even though most college students can't afford NFL tickets, being around a raucous crowd gives the game more life. It makes the highs even higher and the lows even lower. So what do students do if they can't make it to the game? Head to the nearest sports bar.
Tyler Leiker, Olathe sophomore, and his pals frequent Buffalo Wild Wings, 1012 Massachusetts St., on most Sundays but resort to other bars if they hear of good specials."We definitely pay attention to the
specials, try to save some money, but in the end there's more people, a better atmosphere and more televised games in the bars."
More games are televised nowadays, giving Lawrence bars an opportunity to draw more fans, Leiker says. DirectTV's NFL Sunday Ticket is a cable package that gives sports bars the ability to show every game of the
NFL season. The package costs commercial establishments up to $2,349 per year, depending on maximum occupancy, according to directv.com, and more if a bar wants other sports packages similar to NFL Sunday Ticket, like NCAA College Gameday for college football.
bar and watch all of their players' performances. Fantasy football lets fans assemble a virtual team of individual players and accumulate points based on the
With fantasy football leagues forming, students want to go to a college football team.
[STUDENTS] WANT TO COME IN, DRINK CHEAP BEER, EAT AND WATCH THEIR FANTASY PLAYERS AND THEIR FAVORITE TEAMS." SCOTT NEWELL CO-OWNER OF THE PHOGGY DOG
performances of their players each week. Fans compete with other fantasy league members every week.
watch his beloved Chicago Bears and pay attention to the progress of his fantasy team.
D. J.Gumowski Chicago senior, has participated in fantasy football leagues in the past. Going to a sports bar on Sundays let him
Fantasy league owners show up in throngs to watch their players, says Michael Cuper, general manager of Buffalo Wild Wings."We have groups of both men and women coming in to watch their players each week, and the Sunday Ticket is a big
reason for that,"he says.
Buffalo Wild Wings and the Phoggy Dog.2228 Iowa St.,claim that 50 percent of their patrons on NFL. Sundays are students. "They want to come in, drink cheap beer, eat and watch their fantasy players and their favorite teams,"says Scott Newell coowner of the Phoggy Dog.
Rick's Place, 846 Illinois St., neither serves food nor has the DirecTV package, so business doesn't spike on NFL game days. "Without serving food, it's hard to entice kids to get out of the rack with a hangover and go to a bar before noon," owner Rick Younger says. His patrons on game days are more likely to be groups of non-students coming in to watch the Chiefs.
In either case,the NFLregular season is two weeks away, and Lawrence sports bars are ready to tap into student business.Big beers,buffets,chicken wings and football loom ahead on Sunday afternoons,with both sports bars and students ready to take advantage of each other.
WHERE GO GO FOR THE SUNDAY SPECIAL
TBigg's BBQ (2429 Iowa St.): $9.99 Barbeque brunch buffet, $3 Bloody Marys, $3 refillable big beers
Buffalo Wild Wings (1012 Massachusetts St.): $2.20 Bloody Marys, $3.75 23-ounce Coors Light, $5.01 23-ounce Fat Tire and Sam Adams
JB Stouts (721 Wakarusa Drive):
$9.95 Brunch buffet, $1.50 domestic draws and bottles, $1 house shots
Set'Em Up Jacks (1800 E. 23rd St.): $2 Bud bottles, $2.50 Bloody Marys and Memosas, brunch menu
Henry T's (3520 W. 6th St.): $0.75 tacos, $2.75 margaritas, $2.75 Coronas and Corona Lights
Here are three more sports bars with specials but without the NFL Sunday Ticket package.
Phoggy Dog (2228 Iowa St.): $5 any pitcher
Johnny's Tavern (401 N. 2nd St.) $4.50 domestic pitchers, $5.75 cheeseburger, french fries and pop
Wayne & Larry's (933 Iowa St.): $3
23-ounce domestic draws, $2 Bloody
Marys
Molly McGee's (2412 Iowa St.):
$0.30 Wings, $2 domestic pints,
$2.50 Bloody Marys
Quinton's (615 Massachusetts St.): $2 23-ounce tap beers 08.24.2006 JAYPLAY <13