Fells Point, Women's Rugby and the 2008 Olympics

18 comments

August 21, 3:37 PM

by Mark Burlet, Baltimore Drink Examiner

 

 

Or you may read it and think, "I may not yet comprehend the connections among these three seemingly disparate topics, however, inasmuch as I understand the air of levity behind the writings of the Drunken Intellectual, I imagine the links between each will herein be established and revealed in a tale fraught with humour and inebriation. Therefore, I shall read on..."

If you were thinking the latter, I applaud the eloquence of your inner musings... although the fact that you thought the word "humour" with a "u" makes me think you're trying to be British. Everyone knows you're not, so quit it.

But yes, there is a story to be told here. A little story of some brave young women and their quest to raise money, celebrate the opening ceremony of the Olympics and drink way more than the Recommended Daily Allowance, even for a Friday. This is the bawdry tale of the Chesapeake Women's Rugby Pub Crawl, in which I participated on the evening of the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. But let's get something straight here... I am neither a woman, nor a rugby player. Just wanted to clear that up. There has been some confusion in the past...  Don't ask.

So if you're like me, you've been spending WAY too much time watching the Olympics over the past two weeks. From the amazing display by the girls of U.S. gymnastics to the bizarre and disappointing failures of our formerly dominant track stars. And from the ridiculous run of beach volleyball wins by Kerri Walsh and Drunken Intellectual favorite, Misty May (no, I will not acknowledge her married name) to the relatively poor showing by the U.S. wrestling team... especially as fellow Louisiana wrestler, and medal contender, Daniel Cormier (men's freestyle, 96 kg) was forced to withdraw from competition due to dehydration caused while cutting weight for the tournament. Yes, I have been following it all. But it all started with the night of the opening ceremonies, and a little gathering of friends in Fells Point.

I arrived a wee bit late, so I didn't get to experience all the events, but I did show up in time to catch the opening ceremonies on NBC. I have to say, however, that I was disappointed in myself for not donning my old red, white and blue freestyle singlet (see image to the right), especially with the wide array of Olympic-themed costumes displayed by the rugby ladies (see images below)... although the bar-hopping public is probably silently thanking me for my inability to find it. But let me go through the night and talk a little bit about the bars in Fells that hosted this event. After all, this is really all about the drinking, isn't it?

• Alexander's - 7:00 PM - I missed this part, but since this was our starting and finish line, I figure we can talk about it here. A nice bar on one side, a cozy dining room on the other, the new-ish Alexander's gives the west side of Broadway a solid step up in the war between the two halves. Plus, this evening offered $2 domestics and $4 grape and cherry bombs, so there's little to complain about here.
• The Greene Turtle - 7:35 PM - As the Greene Turtle is not one of my favorite places in Baltimore, I chose to wait until they moved on from here before joining in. A little more of a college (or slightly post-college) scene, I always feel a bit old hanging out with all the 22-year-olds in here. Besides, I gave up on bar fights ages ago. Still, I was briefly tempted by the prospect of $4.50 orange crushes, and the specials on Killian's and Blue Moon. Somehow I managed to stay away...
• Leadbetters - 8:10 PM - I was sorry to have missed this stop, however. Leadbetters is a casual watering hole (i.e., dive bar) with some decent brews and a near-constant live music scene. For the pub crawl here, the ladies upped the ante with $5 for a Buttmeister shot and a Bud draft. Hopefully it didn't take them this long to start doing shots... although they were still in workable condition when I found them at the next bar, which was...
• Slainte - 8:45 PM - This is where I come in, and where the party really got going. A couple of $2.50 drafts in one of my favorite Irish pubs, served by one of my favorite bartenders (the lovely Bridget), started the night off perfectly for me, with the opening ceremonies in the background. This is also a great place to catch any of your favorite soccer (aka "football") matches, and therefore always friendly to the rugby types we brought around. Despite the great costumes, however, it still seemed like a low key evening at this point.
• Max's on Broadway - 9:20 PM - Next on the list is simply one of the best beer bars I've ever had the pleasure to frequent. Max's has an enormous selection of beer on tap and even more in bottles, so there's always something new to try. The best part of this particular visit was the $5 Big Ass Beer special... 32 ounces of anything on draft. Not a bad price for a giant Saison Dupont. It was also here that the rugby ladies began to feel the effects of their endeavors, and the party began to get a little rambunctious. Good times were only beginning...
• Blarney Stone - 9:55 PM - This was my first visit to the Blarney Stone, but I have to admit, it won't be my last. I suppose with the large number of drinking establishments in the area, it's tough to get to them all... which is exactly what the pub crawl offers, a chance to try each bar for a short period of time. Anyway, it was a comfy little place with some decent specials ($3 Yuengling and Fordham, $4 rail drinks) and a diverse crowd. Although, once our tour director, LBJ, began blowing the whistle to signal the time to depart, one female patron, apparently with dog-like sensitive ears, started giving her the evil eye. I seriously thought the tough-looking girl in leather was going to assault her. Luckily, we moved on just in time.
• Alexander's - 10:30 PM - And we're back to where it all started! This time, the games were officially begun. And not just the real Olympics. In the dining room of Alexander's, a large table for games such as beer pong and flip cup had taken center stage, with many separate, smaller tables for other assorted drinking games along the walls. Yes, it was also opening day for the Bar Olympics! With my attention now diverted from the spectacle of the opening ceremonies in Beijing, I was able to concentrate on bringing home the silver medal in flip cup for my team. Not the gold I wanted, but I can't blame my teammates... we won as a team, and so we lost as a team. We played our hearts out, but the other guys were just better that day. There's no shame in silver... right?

Anyway, hopefully we've all learned a thing or two here. And maybe this will tear you away, albeit briefly, from any of the 38 channels upon which the Olympics are being shown, or the internet, where you can watch just about every event not shown on television... including the numerous wrestling losses, not to mention the big medal wins by Randi Miller (women's freestyle, 63 kg, bronze), Adam Wheeler (men's greco-roman, 96 kg, bronze) and that 21-year-old surprise Henry Cejudo (men's freestyle, 55 kg, gold).

Either way, I'll have mixed feelings when the Games of the XXIX Olympiad are over. On one hand, I'll miss the level of competition and the drama, the heartbreak and the elation of the world's greatest athletes (especially Baltimore's own Michael Phelps), and the sheer beauty and artistry that accompanies every Olympic Games. On the other hand, I'll finally be able to get some sleep.

Wake me up in 4 years. Anyone want to buy me a ticket to London for 2012?

Just asking...

Mark Burlet
Drunken Intellectual

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