The Quiet Man and I decided to live a little and throw down with a TBC Doubleheader last night starting first at Coach's Corner on the west side of Iowa City. In times past it used to be Bob's Your Uncle and something else whose name escapes me at the present time- but it's current incarnation is a worthy successor.
The question of the evening confronting us was twofold. First, was Coach's Corner the 'Shakespeare's' of the West Side? And second, just how the hell was I going to make sense of my bracket this year...
The first question was easy: I'd say no, not the Shakespeare's of the west side- and that's a good thing. Coach's Corner has a flavor all it's own- although they paper over their door with advertisements making it something of a nerve racking experience to go in and out of the place (not wanting to jack anyone in the face either coming or going) what lies inside is a nice, clean and more importantly affordable neighborhood bar. Beers were 2 bucks a piece (I sampled the Summit Seasonal- a perfectly serviceable if forgettable beer) and we tucked ourselves away in a table near the windows centered under a celebratory green light presumably green for St. Paddy's Day and not for some other obscure reason.
The layout of the place was interesting- there was a raised seating area to one side of the bar and a collection of pool tables and games hiding behind what I'm assuming had been a live broadcast of some kind for the local ESPN radio station on the other side of the bar. In the middle was the main seating area and behind it all was the bar itself. The bar itself was impressive- the television arrangement, in a kind of pseudo-jumbotron octagonal display of televisions (all of which contained ESPN of some variety or another) tied the place together. I really liked it because in a lot of bars, television are sort of haphazardly placed everywhere which can be very distracting to the eye- especially when you have a bracket to fill out.
Coach's Corner seemed like the appropriate place to tackle my yearly kamikaze mission to the land of ballas and the bracket this year is as troubling as it always is. The Quiet Man pointed out that he himself had yet to wrestle with the bracket and was considering just not doing one because he felt he deliberated too much and his bracket was 'totally fucked' by the Sweet 16 anyway. Those, I felt, were valid points indeed- but part of the fun, to me, is getting mocked by people who know more than you for picking say, a Belmont over a Georgetown only to have said upset actually happen. Everything else usually goes to hell after that, but it's the little things when it comes to March Madness that counts.
So, for the record: I'm going with Sparty this year. That might be foolish, but of all the number one seeds they look like the best bet- Kentucky is really good has shown vulnerabilities. 'Cuse lost to Cincy in the Big East Tourney and Carolina lost to the surprising Florida State- while conference tournaments are probably a silly way to decide this, I still think Sparty's experience, depth and strength of schedule will get them there in the end. (Plus, how wonderfully symmetrical would it be to have Sparty and Carolina in the title game- finish the season exactly how we started? I like symmetry so I'm going with that. Now watch as it all goes to hell by Friday.)
Overall: The Quiet Man said that Coach's Corner reminded him more of the now defunct Hawkeye Hideway than Shakespeare's-- I said I would take his word for it. To me, the bar was impressive, the layout nice, the green lights were a nice celebratory touch and the beer selection affordable and decent. There was a good mix of clientele in the place- young, middle aged and old and although the low tables did look kind of drab and the ESPN on surround sound got to be just a touch excessive, it felt like a good neighborhood bar. Hopefully it's a well-appreciated one, though it was hard to tell on Monday night.
The Verdict: B
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