Beer for Breakfast

It's 7:45 am.  Where are you?  I'm guessing snuggled deep into your covers in your bed sound asleep.  Me?  Not so much.  Nope, this morning at 8am I found myself sipping a beer at O'Casey's with all the other crazy EPL fans in NYC.  Sitting there, I could have sworn I had been transported across the pond.  British accents everywhere!  And come on, who doesn't love a British accent? 

Look, Stella isn't really what I would consider to be the breakfast of champions.  But sometimes, you just got to go to the pub to really experience the morning soccer games.  And with Tottenham playing Chelsea, this was one such morning.  Especially since my sister is a huge Spurs fans.  And so after our alarm woke us up at 7am, we threw on our jerseys and jeans, stumbled across the street to Starbucks, hailed a cab, and then into the Spurs supporters bar.

The only game they show at O'Casey's is the Spurs.  And its completely full of British transplants, which is super fun.  Not quite soccer hooligan style or anything, but it just gives the whole experience a bit of authenticity.  Even if they don't really know anything, they at least sound like they do.

So what if I was buzzed by 10am.  I mean, its the weekend right?

A Legend

Giants Fans Invade Yankee Stadium

A heart divided.  That's what I felt like going into Friday's game.  My New York Yankees were battling my SF Giants in Yankee Stadium.  Tim Lincecum vs CC Sabathia.  Panda vs Cano.  So many loves, how do you choose which one to root for?

Ultimately, I decided on the Yankees.  They still have something to play for, while the Giants season has been done for awhile (Don't worry, the Giants are on the Every Other Year World Series Plan).  Still, I didn't feel absolutely great about it.  I couldn't really root for either team completely, but instead found myself cheering whenever either team did well.  That is, until Mariano Rivera came in.  Then I found myself on my feet, cheering as loudly as I can, hoping for three strikeouts. 

See the Fans Standing?

Camera Phones out in full force

And I wasn't alone.  With the Yankees up 5-1, you usually see people start streaming towards the exits to beat the traffic in the subways. But Friday, 90% of the original crowd stayed glued to their seats.  You could practically see the necks craning to see if it was Mo warming up in the bullpen, feel the anticipation of the fans urging the Yanks Batters to quickly get out and hear the conversations surrounding the Living Legend.  Then, just like everyone wanted to see in the stadium, "Enter Sandman" began playing and Rivera came running out of the bullpen.

The reaction was instantaneous.  The entire stadium rose to its feet, Giants and Yankees fans alike, and voiced their appreciation.  You can feel how every appearance is important to the fans. We know that this is it.  We won't get to see him do this for much longer.  And that one day, we'll be able to say we saw Rivera pitch in the same tone of voice our grandparents talk about Willie Mays and our parents talk about Mickey Mantle.  It was one of the coolest scenes I've ever seen.  Everyone standing, everyone with their cameras out, and everyone cheering as loudly as they could.  That's respect. 

A Shattered Bat Mariano Special

I am going to miss Mariano Rivera.  It just won't be the same in the 9th inning at Yankee Stadium without him. 

The Four Stages of A Redskins Fan

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, this NFL season has not started off the way I or any other Redskins fan wanted it to.   And while I watched the game at our friendly neighborhood Redskins bar, I was able to see first hand the four stages of a Redskins fan as defined by my boyfriend.  What are the four stages you might ask? Let me take you through them.

1) Optimism:  Who cares that we just lost that first game, we are definitely super bowl bound this year!  I mean you saw the second half of that Eagles game right?  Our offense was moving!  RG3 was just a little rusty, but by the end it was like, what ACL injury? 

2) Reality: Wow, that was super easy for Green Bay.  What did that take, like 40 seconds?  So maybe we aren't quite Super Bowl favorites.  But come on, we are still a good team!  We'll for sure make this competitive. 

3) Depression: Our defense is the worst thing on the face of the planet.  I mean do we even have a secondary?  And wait did we really give up FOUR FIRST ROUND picks for this guy?  RG3 who?  We are not going to have a first round this whole game, you watch.  And you know what else, I bet we don't even win a game this year. 

4) Eagles Fan (this person is the perfect example): F*** You!  You want to fight?  Do you, do you?  Take this B****!

Needless to say, the fourth stage (angry, sarcastic, bitter aka the classic Philadelphia fan) isn't a pretty picture.  So please Redskins, start winning.  Or I'm going to be dealing with a lot of Eagles fan dressed weirdly in  Redskins jerseys. 

Starting the Weeknd Off Right

There's just something amazing about running along the water.  I don't care where you live, or how often you run, or how much you like to run.  Running by the water offers something refreshing.  And this is especially true when you live in the concrete jungle of NYC.

I love the city.  But, not so much when I am going for a run.  So its amazing to me that I just travel west four blocks, and suddenly its like I've completely escaped the city.  Now instead of dealing with crowds and having skyscrapers obscure my view, I find myself running along the Hudson with a great breeze coming off of the water to create the perfect runner's weather.  What can be better than a water view, boats and perfectly chilled temperature to start off your weekend?  Not much from my point of view.










Sometimes you forget that the water is even there when in Midtown.  But whenever you find your way to edges of Manhattan, you're constantly amazed by the active harbor life.  Need to run 7 miles?  Trust me, its a lot easier when you have a view such as what the piers of NYC offer you.

Beautiful View of the Freedom Tower

A Redeeming Win to Save My Sports Weekend

Wow, that was a tough weekend.  Not because I didn't have fun (believe me, I had a blast).  But because let's just say, the results weren't really what I was looking for.  Let's review the weekend, shall we?

Broncos vs. Ravens, Thurs Night

Thursday: Pro Football is back.  Finally right?  So I started the weekend off at home, as I knew that I would be seeing the insides of a lot of bars this weekend.  Marathon not a sprint comes to mind...got to start off slow so that can actually finish the sports viewing craziness.  And hey wine seemed to be the perfect drink for the night, as the master performance that Manning put on deserved a classy accompaniment. 

USA vs Costa Rica, Friday Night

Friday: First bar of the weekend, and it feels so good.  Pour house on the upper west side was feeling USA soccer, let me tell you.  Standing room only in the bar.  But sadly, USA soccer wasn't up for the game.  Almost immediately Costa Rica scored, quieting the rowdy crowd.  And as the minutes passed with the USA team never getting any better, let's just say the beers started to slide down a little quicker.  Introducing the theme of the weekend...team not doing well, leading to nervous drinking. 

Saturday: Katie making the one and only Fifer dip!

Saturday: ND vs Michigan.  And the last game at the big house deserves a special sendoff.  My answer?  Getting the one and only Katie Fifer to make the best dip ever.  Fifer Dip!  Guacamole, Salsa, Sour Cream and Shredded cheese.  Hungry yet?  Sadly Fifer dip and Wine/Fresca didn't work.  ND went down and went down big early.  So clearly a change of location was called for at half time.  Off to Brickyard we go!  But the gluten-free beers weren't any better luck than the Fifer dip.  And the theme of the weekend continues...my team loses as my tears fall into my mostly-consumed drink. 

Sunday: Hor D'oeuvres and Football

Sunday: First Sunday of Pro Football.  What's that mean?  Constantly checking my Fantasy team of course!  So at 11am I made some fun appetizers, including the always-a-hit mushroom tartlet. The rest of the day?  A blur of bars on a west-side bar crawl.  Wish I could tell you everywhere I went, but to be honest, I have no idea. 

Monday: Redskins at the Australian

Monday:  It's Australian time!  Redskins games mean a trip to the Australian, your friendly neighborhood Skins bar in NYC.  And let me tell you, it was crazy! Standing room only, skins outfits everywhere, and the beers were seriously flowing.  The best part of the whole bar?  The entire bar singing the Skins Song with each and every Redskins touchdown.  Buy you know where this is going right?  Skins lose, Megan drinks. 

Tuesday: I sat on my couch drinking water and eating salad.  Detox was seriously needed after my weekend of fried foods and beer. And guess what? FINALLY A GOOD RESULT!!!!! USA qualifies for Brazil!  If USA had lost to Mexico, this would have officially been the worst sports weekend of all time.  Wait...does that mean being healthy is the new good luck? 

I don't know how I am going to get through this week.  No, not because I have tons of work.  And no, not because I have conflicting parties/social events to go to. I have a much larger scheduling issue.  There is so many sports games that I just don't know how I am going to watch everything that I want to watch.  Let's look at what I got on my plate:

Thursday: Denver vs. Baltimore, NFL Opener, 8:30pm
Friday: USA vs. Costa Rica, World Cup Qualifying resumes, 10pm
Saturday: ND vs. Michigan, College Football first real game of season for me, 8pm
Sunday: Yankees vs Sox in person at 1:05pm, NFL marathon starts at 1pm
Monday: Skins vs. Eagles, MNF and Redskins season opener, 6:55 pm
Tuesday: USA vs. Mexico, World Cup Qualifying and USA victory officially qualifies for World Cup, 8pm

I mean, look at that! Do you know how many bars I will be visiting, beers I will be drinking over the next 6 days!  But hey, if anyone can bring the same level of intensity and focus to each and every one of these games, its this girl right here.  So here is my challenge: to fully watch every game to the best of my ability, while documenting where I'm watching the game.  I accept it.  Cross your fingers I survive the experience!