March Madness Bar Challenge

The brackets are set up for the first Annual 2009 DC March Madness Challenge. Six qualifiers will battle it out to determine which is the best college basketball venue in the city. The preliminary rankings were determined by the NiteNetwork Drinking Establishment Committee (NNDEC). Committee members include Me, Myself, and I.

After heated debate, Buffalo Billiards earns a first round bye after picking up the number one seed. Their solid performance during the pro football season coupled with key screenings of marquee boxing matches enabled them to win the highly touted Northwest Conference and receive an automatic bid. They will face the winner of Rhino Bar and Penn Quarter Sports Tavern, ranked 4 and 5, respectively. Both venues scored at-large bids, falling short in the Northwest Conference tourney. Solid college football representation combined with a binge-drinking inducing atmosphere gave them high RPI ratings and their difficult strength of schedule(SOS) merited that they go dancing. Will one of them be this year's Cinderella Story?

In the bottom part of the bracket, Crystal City Sports Pub snagged the number two seed on mere hearsay. I have never been there, but I am told it is a premier venue for a sports fanatic. Will they live up to the hype? They will take on the winner of Nellie's Sports Bar and Bugsy's Sports Bar, ranked 3 and 6, respectively. Bugsy's earned an automatic bid by winning the lowly Alexandria Conference, and Nellie's is currently the only team in the "Alternative Lifestyle" Conference. They will do battle this weekend to take on the supposed perrenial powerhouse, Crystal City Sports Pub.

In order to bring some sort of objectivity to this competition, I will be adhering to a strict limit of fifteen drinks per evening so as to give each establishment their rightful review. Venues will be judged on four important criteria; atmosphere, service, patronage, and intangibles. Furthermore, they will be judged solely by me and my vast expertise in March Madness Hosting Technique. For my complete review schedule reference my earlier blog. Tipoff starts at Bugsy's on Thursday at 7pm.