Head
First Sports Cafe is the next best thing to being in the
Jungle
*BY BRENT COLEMAN
ENQUIRER
STAFF WRITER
An occasional peek inside places
drawing a crowd and positive buzz.
It was supposed to be pretty
much deserted inside Head First Sports Cafe
about 15 minutes after kickoff. That's what Smiley, the security
guy, said.
But it was a beautiful
day, the Bengals-Browns game was sold out, and close
to 200 fans had come downtown to catch a Who Dey buzz, even though
none of
them had tickets.
When it comes to game days, Head First has the
advantage of being the
closest bar to Paul Brown Stadium, some 45 strides east on
Third Street to
Elm Street and then south, over Fort Washington Way, to the
stadium 11⁄2
blocks away.
Under new management (who must be thanked for
taking down the panties that
used to hang from the ceiling), Head First caters to the football
crowd by
making it easy to buy a beer.
Owners Gary Schutter and Rolf
Obrecht hike the serving crew from the usual
one or two to eight on game days.
In addition to the three-sided bar in the back, they set up
a temporary bar
up front, made of blue plastic coolers packed with ice and
- what do
Cincinnati football fans drink? - plenty of Budweiser beer
products.
Also special on game day are burgers ($5), hot
dogs ($2) and brats and metts
($3) grilled by a Head First cook just outside the door.
With
10 televisions, you can watch the game from anywhere inside the
bar. But before and after the game, people watching is the main
sport.
SEEN
AT HEAD FIRST:
A long-standing vinyl sign
on the building's side that explains the bar's
attractiveness to Bengals fans. It says: Head First Sports
Cafe Welcomes You
to "Marvin"Nati. Relax it's just football.
Plenty of
new paint, from WHO DEY spelled out in large block letters on
the exterior shutters to a big Bengals B and a Reds C on the
walls inside.
A savvy salesman on the Head First stage peddling
bright orange T-shirts
with a black, over-the-chest slogan that cleverly somehow promotes
himself,
Chad Johnson and the Bengals at the same time. Turns out he
has a Web site
by the same name that describes itself as "a network marketing & tailgater's
party portal."
Bengals jerseys, mostly with the numbers 9,
85, 32 and 51, but once in a
while an 80, 84, 20, 23, 24, and for the old-timers, a 7. Most
of the
high-fiving shirt owners are in their 20s or 30s.
Female Bengals
fans wearing feather boas, Mardi Gras-style bauble necklaces
and Who Dey headbands - in orange and black only, of course.
One pool table, protected on game
day by a beer-splatter-proof tarp.
Two barmaids dressed for the occasion in orange
netted tops.
One guy on a Bluetooth.
One window, big enough
to provide a view of the stadium and part of the
reason Seth Browning of Centerville loves Head First.
Got a ticket,
Seth?
"No."
Why are you here then?
"I came down here
from Dayton four years ago. There's the stadium right
there," he says, gesturing out the window with enthusiasm. "It's
awesome."
A beer or two and one Kelley Washington touchdown
later, he comes by again.
"The Who Dey Nation is gonna rise.
The Browns have no business in the 'Nati.
No business," he yells.
Browning stays at Head First long
enough to prove Smiley wasn't completely
wrong about the ebb and flow of Head First's crowd. Like he said
before the
game, many of those who leave right before the game starts come
back when
it's over to get the party going - again.
*Article
slightly edited. |
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