As London crowds fight to navigate the city to and from the Olympic games, we
Boulderites can take a more leisurely approach. Although one may be able to
enjoy the games from their very own home, there is something to be said for the
camaraderie of cheering alongside your fellow countrymen.
We are lucky to be able to hop on our cruisers and peddle to our nearest flat screen-infused establishment. Typical sports-watching radar may send you to standbys
like The Lazy Dog Sports Bars and Grills or Harpos Sports Grill. Each bar boasts a
tremendous amount of screens, ensuring that no matter the direction you turn, you
will not miss a play or back flip. Beers will flow at their standard rate, following the
usually scheduled nightly specials.
If one is longing for an experience more reminiscent of London (in honor of the
Olympics 2012 host city), a journey to The Hungry Toad is your best bet. This will
work in your favor if you are traveling solo or in a small group and able to secure a
spot at the bar. Also best to enjoy your pint and avoid the long menu as there are
many missteps, although you can’t go wrong with the potato skins.
The Dark Horse Bar and Grill holds a unique appeal when it comes to sport. In
addition to viewing, it provides the grounds to host your own competition. Order a
pitcher and create a beer-drinking Olympics with events such as air hockey, foosball,
darts or pool. Visit on a Tuesday night and add in a trike race. For those new to the
term “trike night”, it refers to Tuesday nights at the Dark Horse where one can ride
a tricycle around the bar with beer in hand as you submit yourself to heckling
while navigating tight turns. Enforce healthy competition and make the loser buy
burgers. Burgers are pretty darn good and pretty darn cheap at just $6.49 for a
cheeseburger and fries.
Last but not least, we have an alternative contender as an Olympic watching venue.
While the others (The Lazy Dog, Harpos, The Hungry Toad and The Dark Horse)
each provide a unique atmosphere, they align in offering standard pub fair where
beer and wings are a given. Should you desire a less guilty way to indulge while
watching toned athletes turn and flip through the air, BOOM Yogurt Bar just might
be the answer. BOOM offers delicious and nutritious frozen and fresh yogurt with
a variety of local toppings (topping range from cake pieces from Kim and Jakes
Cakes to chai spiced nuts from Olomomo Nut Co). Great yogurt and flat screen TVs
are not the only reasons making BOOM the place to be for the Olympics. Triathlete
and Olympian Matty Reed owns BOOM Yogurt Bar with wife Kelly Reed. BOOM
is named after Matty’s athletic nickname, Boom Boom, for being able to “boom” past
competitors. Of being an observer during this Olympics games, Matty says that he
is interested in viewing the other sports (aside from the triathlon) as he didn’t get
a chance to actually see other competitions last time around as he was competing
himself in the Beijing 2008 Olympic games.
BOOM will be streaming the Olympics all day every day for the duration of the
games and hosting a community event Saturday, July 28th, the day Taylor Phinney
rides as a part of the USA Road Cycling Team. BOOM will donate 15% of all profits
that day to the Davis Phinney Foundation, helping people live well with Parkinson’s.
During the triathlon, Boom will be showcasing Matty’s uniforms and several
area triathletes will be making an appearance. So, take a seat at the yogurt bar and
you are likely to engage in some pretty knowledgeable Olympic speak. The Reeds
look forward to sharing their excitement with the community, “The Olympics for our
family is very special and a very special time for both Matty as an athlete and for us
as a family. We are thrilled to hopefully share that excitement at BOOM.”
Well, my fellow Boulderites, there are many venue viewing options this Olympics
season. I may have to try them all throughout the games, depending on event and
mood. To map out your stops by Olympic event, consult the official schedule here.
Let the games begin.
