Fan's View Fan's View 22/23 - No.24 - Sheffield Wednesday away

[holdsteady]

I somehow knew that the Fat Cat and Kelham Island Tavern would get a mention this week.
Had friends that lived in Sheffield, and it became an annual ritual to go up for an Oxford game somewhere in Yorkshire, and then head back for a curry and an evening in those two pubs.

It's why I put off reading Fan's View until today.....feared that it would cause me to descend into a mess of teary-eyed nostalgia and raging jealousy......

.....and yep, that's a fair approximation of current emotions......

Out of interest and going off on a tangent here but what are pubs/bars like in the US? Never been there but does it have a similar drinking culture to here?

 

[tonyw]

Out of interest and going off on a tangent here but what are pubs/bars like in the US? Never been there but does it have a similar drinking culture to here?

In a word - No.
(Ricky O can probably chime in on this as well)

There is a certain charm in a proper American dive bar; and whilst I would prefer a pint of real ale, there are a lot of great American beers.

But it always feels (to me anyway) like a more intense, less relaxed atmosphere than drinking in a British pub.
Either you're sat at the bar, and it's a Cheers-style hard-drinking public conversation; or you're sat at a table and it's waiter/waitress service and you feel obliged to keep ordering stuff or move on.

It's rare to find an American bar where you and a group of mates can find a corner table and while away a whole afternoon with dumb conversation and a session beer before stumbling home. I miss that very much!

[as an aside, American beer is also a lot punchier! In my drinking heyday, I did the Circle Line pub crawl a couple of times - and 27 pubs over the course of a day is manageable if you're drinking mild or similar. Did a twelve bar crawl when I first got to Philadelphia, and boy was I a mess.......]

 

[holdsteady]

In a word - No.
(Ricky O can probably chime in on this as well)

There is a certain charm in a proper American dive bar; and whilst I would prefer a pint of real ale, there are a lot of great American beers.

But it always feels (to me anyway) like a more intense, less relaxed atmosphere than drinking in a British pub.
Either you're sat at the bar, and it's a Cheers-style hard-drinking public conversation; or you're sat at a table and it's waiter/waitress service and you feel obliged to keep ordering stuff or move on.

It's rare to find an American bar where you and a group of mates can find a corner table and while away a whole afternoon with dumb conversation and a session beer before stumbling home. I miss that very much!

[as an aside, American beer is also a lot punchier! In my drinking heyday, I did the Circle Line pub crawl a couple of times - and 27 pubs over the course of a day is manageable if you're drinking mild or similar. Did a twelve bar crawl when I first got to Philadelphia, and boy was I a mess.......]

Cheers, I suppose you can’t really do a pub crawl in a lot of the US with how spread out it is.

 

[Foley]

In a word - No.
(Ricky O can probably chime in on this as well)

There is a certain charm in a proper American dive bar; and whilst I would prefer a pint of real ale, there are a lot of great American beers.

But it always feels (to me anyway) like a more intense, less relaxed atmosphere than drinking in a British pub.
Either you're sat at the bar, and it's a Cheers-style hard-drinking public conversation; or you're sat at a table and it's waiter/waitress service and you feel obliged to keep ordering stuff or move on.

It's rare to find an American bar where you and a group of mates can find a corner table and while away a whole afternoon with dumb conversation and a session beer before stumbling home. I miss that very much!

[as an aside, American beer is also a lot punchier! In my drinking heyday, I did the Circle Line pub crawl a couple of times - and 27 pubs over the course of a day is manageable if you're drinking mild or similar. Did a twelve bar crawl when I first got to Philadelphia, and boy was I a mess.......]

How long have you been in the US Tony and what made you want to go?

 

[tonyw]

How long have you been in the US Tony and what made you want to go?

Been here about eight years now (although I also did another two year stint from 2007-09).

Short answer to the second question is love! My wife is American; we met whilst she was studying in Oxford, and when we decided to get married, for a myriad of complex reasons it made more sense for us to settle over here.......

 

[tonyw]

Cheers, I suppose you can’t really do a pub crawl in a lot of the US with how spread out it is.

Cities are fine - but if you live in a small town, then you're lucky if you have one bar and you're probably driving to it!

(my general European views on not wanting to drive after I've had more than a couple are often viewed as noble but impractical over here!)

 

[The mighty Aldo]

Thanks for all the reports during the year Paul

Lets hope you are reporting on OUFC wins for the most part for the rest of the season

 

[Manorman]

Thanks for the write up Paul and Merry Xmas to you and yours. How I wish we could have someone like Paul Moody, Andy Crosby or even Mous to just step up and lash it into the net on a penalty. Maybe Mous should coach someone to do it his way.