Getting Started

This blog is about football, or rather, football fans, specifically those with sizable contingents in the Washington D.C. area. I’m talking about the 'Skins, Pats, Steelers, Ravens,  Giants, Eagles, Jets and (if the rumors are to be believed) the Buffalo Bills. They're all here in force.

Each week I’ll visit a different team-themed sports bar and write about it. These won’t be game recaps, or reviews of the venues – what I’m looking to do, primarily, is soak up the “vibe” of the fans, and compare and contrast.  There are the obvious metrics, like the number of fans who show up, how many are wearing the colors, the number of people engaged in the game as opposed to their Blackberries.  But I’m more interested is gauging where peoples' heads   are at in regards to their teams’ prospects, and watching the dynamics of the fan bases change over the course of a game, the season, through losses and injuries, and so on and so on...

Anyway. With no further ado, let me hit you with the schedule* for the first few weeks:

Week 1 (Sept. 12): Dallas at Washington

Week 2 (Sept. 19): Patriots at Jets

Week 3 (Sept. 26): Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay

Week 4 (Oct. 3): Baltimore at Pittsburgh

*The ongoing schedule is designed to allow me to catch each of the 'Beltway' teams at least once, and playing their most significant games of the season. Beginning in Week 5, I'll schedule 4 weeks out based on what happened in the first 4 weeks, and the next four based on the previous 8. You get the picture. I'm open to suggestions as to the games and the venues, particularly if wing specials are involved.

Check back on Friday 9/10 for an update on the selected bars.

-K.C.