Last night a few of us headed out to Red Sox fan haven Riviera Cafe & Sports Bar to root on the Red Sox against the Athletics. Three summers ago no Yankees fans were around on a Sunday afternoon and so a few Red Sox fans asked if their game could be on the big TV. The vibe was great and so the next night they invited some friends, and among that group was a writer for the Boston Weekly, who wrote that a 'safe space' for Red Sox fans had been created in NYC. The rest is history.
Tyler, a bartender from Atlanta who roots for the Braves and against the Yankees (so usually for the Red Sox) told me it was the busiest night in the bar's history. I can only imagine it was also the loudest and near the latest (although once a Bruins game there went to 3:30AM). The staff generously kept the bar open until the game's amazing conclusion, Ramón Hernandez's game winning suicide squeeze with the bases loaded. The noise in the bar dropped from a defeaning roar to utter silence as everyone quickly filed out.
My photos start in the sixth inning, click previous to move through the evening. Their's a nice radio program about the Riviera over at the ironically named onlyagame.org, featuring the quote: "It's like the Boston Tea Party, but in New York."
Bonus Link: Snarkout on the The Curse of the Bambino.
Posted by: david | October 02, 2003 at 02:29 PM