From Significance to History

This was a significant weekend… Between the Arnold Classic, UFC 96, and the various other activities and festivities that were occurring, the average resident likely did not note that the Blue Jackets opposed the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday… But, for people who followed the organization since it’s inception, the numbers were inescapable… 49 contests vs. the Red Wings… Only 13 victories… Never three consecutive…

As I walked the Arena District corridor, the crush was incredible. Seventy-degree weather, a soft wind, every patio open, every table packed, every venue either equaling or exceeding visible capacity… Now, you would expect all of this for a weekend on this scale (alright, you wouldn’t expect seventy plus weather, shorts, and short sleeves, but I’m not arguing)… But, this wasn’t what made it special…

As I walked the Arena District, there was a vibrant beat to the early evening… From the people engulfing the grand weather and the discounted drinks to the couples holding hands and snapping pictures to the throng (and I am talking lines that would have made Ohio Stadium proud) gathered outside Nationwide Arena, it was a carnival of sights to see… All the cheap thrill-seekers, the spectators, and the splendor… They crowded around me… (And yes, those are modified lyrics from something)…

I will say from the outset, no crowd at any venue… Gordon Biersch, Frog Bear and Wild Boar, or R Bar disappointed for size… Pre-game, In-game, and Post-game, they were superb… The content of each crowd, that was another story… And that story takes me to Gordon Biersch, where I was scheduled to observe the first period (which would ultimately tell the story for the remainder of the evening, both for the Blue Jackets and the Arena District)…

Apparently, the manager was one of those unaware people I addressed in the lead… Five minutes to face-off and he finally turns on the game… I can’t entirely fault him, the restaurant was crowded and as I said this was a significant weekend… Still, they are located near the Arena… you would assume they have a team schedule lying around… Speaking of assumptions, I assumed that this contest between the Blue Jackets and Red Wings would be another close encounter… I was wrong… After shutting down an early power play, the Jackets scored two goals inside ninety seconds to score a 2-0 lead.

You would think given the magnitude of this night and the sizzle with which the Jackets were playing that the crowd would have been overjoyed… But, this crowd’s mind was clearly somewhere else… As I circled the venue (twice, in fact), the UFC insignias were everywhere… Hats, t-shirts, coats… This wasn’t a crowd who had ever heard of hockey, much less one which would hang on every shift… This was a crowd ready to see a “sport” where physical maiming were a possibility…

This “sport” apparently attracted some of Frog Bear and Wild Boar’s massive patronage as well… When I arrived for the second period, the venue, which had been difficult to walk through in the pre-game, could have allowed me to lay down in the middle of the floor and take a nap… Yes, there were people; there was actually a stellar patio crowd and a teeming inside population… But, they were not on the level of the crowd that had inhaled Bud Light Aluminum buckets prior to Nationwide Arena opening their doors…

Also not on the level of another time was the Red Wings play (and that other time, would of course be, two weeks ago, when the Blue Jackets edged them 3-2)… As I stood speaking with Owners David Allsbrooks and Tom Selvaggio and Promotions superstar Jeff, the Blue Jackets assumed a 3-0 lead. Then, they assumed a 4-0 lead. And for as thinned as the crowd was at Frog Bear and Wild Boar, the recognition of the Blue Jackets impending history was immediate… Every great shift or goal drew a cheer…

Now, I can’t conclude the second period without returning for a moment to my previously mentioned conversation… I know I discussed David and Tom’s enjoyment of their job and the appreciation for everyone who walks into their venue… But, the more I speak with them, the more moments I spend around them, the more I am impressed with their character… There are not two classier owners of anything (business, restaurant, venue) in this city… I cannot (even if I dedicated an entire column to the subject) begin to tell you how much I respect them…

My respect for R Bar was an unknown quantity… I had never been there before… I had heard that it was the venue for Blue Jackets contests… I had heard that it was the old time hockey bar that I should visit… Aesthetically, I can’t argue with that… The penalty box tables, the memorabilia lining the walls, the game on every screen… R Bar certainly cavorted itself as a great game venue…

And the fans were outstanding also… As I arrived for the third period, the Blue Jackets scored again to assume a 5-1 edge and the crowd was crazy… The Blue Jackets assumed a 6-1 edge and the crowd was delirious… They scored again to garner a 7-1 edge and the crowd was ready to skate the Stanley Cup… The level of energy and enthusiasm in the eyes and voices was impressive… Also, there were not a lot of random conversations… The fans treated this evening like an OSU football Saturday… The attraction was the game…

I wish the management would have treated this win with the magnitude it deserved… Seconds after the Blue Jackets concluded their 8-2, historic third straight win over the Red Wings, the management turned on the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat contest… Granted, it was a single digit game and they had turned off the sound, but as a Red Wings fan rightly pointed out to me, if this were Detroit, the game would have remained on with voice, win or lose… (And I believe the same is true for the Buckeyes in most venues)… I guess it is simple… When I last visited Frog Bear and Wild Boar for the Blue Jackets vs. Red Wings, I was told that I should attend a real hockey bar (R Bar), instead of a nightclub pretending to be one (Frog Bear and Wild Boar)… Maybe R Bar should stop pretending to be the Hockeytown Bar and instead settle for being another bar that caters to fans who could care less…

As much as this win was significant, as much as it was historic, as much as it screamed the Blue Jackets are a franchise determined to make the playoffs this season, the mentality of the fans when the contest concluded, even at R Bar, was, hey we won, great, wonder when the Seinfeld rerun starts… In the twenty minutes I spent talking to fans after the game, I had one solid hockey conversation… The rest was unintelligent, bordering on hockey illiterate… Columbus knows they have a team… Ask them anything about that team or the team’s season and they shut up faster than small children in front of vegetables…

Speaking of shutting up fast… The post-game at Gordon Biersch was more like an elegant cocktail reception… When I entered the venue, several tables were empty, and the tables that were occupied were couples, families, people discussing their financial situation and what they were planning as activities on Sunday… The Blue Jackets conversation, the fact that they had just made history… nowhere…

The same true at Frog Bear and Wild Boar… A few stragglers were talking hockey as I arrived for the post-game session, but the vast majority of the crowd (and unlike Gordon Biersch, there was a crowd) was soaking up the scrumptious weather on the patio or enjoying Introspect in the stage room… (I’ll return to the band in a moment)… I know I alluded to the anonymous comment someone left about Frog Bear and Wild Boar’s pretensions earlier… The fact is, they are not a nightclub pretending to be anything… Why I enjoy them (aside from David, Tom, and Jeff), is that they have something for everyone… If you want drinks and conversation, they have it… A Dance beat, they have it… Live music, they have that too… They let you choose…

And on this evening, they chose an excellent band… Introspect featured a unique sound, one I had not even heard attempted in this city… Several bands cover classic rock anthems… Several bands have diverse set lists… No band opens with “Trippin On A Hole In A Paper Heart.” The willingness to take a risk and the stage presence of the band was simply amazing…

Since we’ve mentioned amazing, I have to spend my next to last paragraph (I know you’re sad this is ending) complimenting Frog Bear and Wild Bar’s immaculate staff… It’s not that they are efficient or look great… Several venues in this city can claim both of those attributes for their staff… It’s that, from Abbi and Athena to the other inside bartenders to the patio bartenders to the servers, they dance, they strut, and they have more fun with their job than is humanly possible (although, I will question some of their dance moves)…

With the crush reconvening at Frog Bear and Wild Boar and the fact that the Blue Jackets made history as far from anyone’s intoxicated minds as conceivable, I walked the Arena District Bridge, still teeming with masses and exited… This was a significant weekend and tonight, the Blue Jackets recorded a significant milestone…

And tomorrow, Gossip CBUS will have a significant announcement concerning this summer… (That, is what we call in the business, a tease)…