I had no real appreciation for St. Patrick’s Day until I took a job in Savannah, Ga.
This was, of course, the last place on Earth that I figured would be a place that would stir up my St. Paddy’s Day juices. But that is precisely what happened for – as I quickly learned – Savannah has the third-biggest St. Patrick’s Day celebration in America. Complete with a parade followed by a massive party on River Street.
So now I’m a complete St. Patrick’s Day parades and celebrations fan. Each year I look forward to the second weekend in March when most of the parades take place (including a big one here in San Diego, while in Savannah it’s on the actual St. Paddy’s Day) and then March 17 is like a second Irish green party.
I now love Irish bars and Irish music, Irish lyrics, Irish sayings, Irish beer (well any kind of beer, really) and pretty much everything Irish except, of course, the University of Notre Dame.
I can get a taste of St. Paddy’s Day year-round by going to an Irish bar that has a band playing Irish songs. Whenever I was in Vegas back when I went there a lot, I would always make it a point to to the Fine Nine Irishmen bar in New York/New York, which has a full-on Irish band – compete with an Irish step-dancer – six nights a week.
If you wanted to find PubClub.com in Vegas, you just would head to the Fine Nine Irishmen.
For several years, I lived in Los Angeles and only once did I make it to a true Irish bar (Brennan’s in Marina del Rey, known mostly at the time for its Thursday night turtle races) and never to Molly Malone’s (too far to drive and too expensive to Uber/Lyft or cab there and back).
So I spent it in Hermosa Beach, which has a small St. Patrick’s Day parade that can be pretty fun, followed by the bars on adjacent Pier Plaza. Three years ago, we were on the balcony of Tower 12 for the launch of our livestream show PubClub LIVE! And man was THAT fun!
A group of huge friends went to the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade and celebration and provided PubClub with an excellent “beers in the hands” account of the scene. There, as in Savannah, they dye the river green. This is done not as much to show the city’s support for the event but to keep others from pouring potentially harmful dye into the rivers.
March Madness & St. Patrick’s Day
Another fun and exciting element to St. Patrick’s Day in the USA is that it usually takes place the opening weekend of March Madness, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. This became really big oh, about 10 or so years ago when the field expanded and offices and friends around the country started brackets for guessing the winners.
The first weekend the tournament goes from 64 to teams to 16 in four thrilling days and nights that involves jump-off-the-seat buzzer-beaters, upsets and close calls for favorites
There’s no other sporting event like it anywhere else in the world. Come Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, bar floors are littered with toss and torn-up brackets from frustrated fans. It’s awesome!
So here’s to St. Patrick’s Day, all you lasses and lads. Erin Go Brah!
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