09 January 2009

Let me set up the situation for you guys. It was Tuesday night and thanks to ESPNU, my beloved Huskies' game against West Virginia wasn't anywhere to be found on a normal TV. Since the game wasn't coming to me, I would have to go to it. That left driving to Morgantown (I don't like my friends that much) or down I-95 to Bobby V's Sports Cafe in Stamford (It's Bobby Valentine's place, in case you were scratching your head).

After a short drive we were there, seated pretty far away from the bar with a nice view of a frustrating UCONN game on one of the TV's. After a couple of drinks and some angry shouting by my party of three (the two guys with me were Yankees fans), it was halftime and just seemed like the right time to take a trip to the bathroom, which coincidentally is right past the bar. On the walk there I did a double-take and on the way back I got one of my friends to confirm the sighting of the one and only Bobby Valentine.

Without so much as a disguise, the former Mets' manager (1996-2002) was manning the bar and then it struck me, that whole night Bobby Valentine had been serving me drinks. Close your eyes and try and imagine the satisfaction (as a Braves fan) of that for a second. The man who had been managing our most hated rivals during the Braves' glory years was ready to respond to any and all of my beverage needs. I was torn between going up and doing the chop right in front of him or just thanking him (in the end I did neither) for all the years I enjoyed with him at New York's helm.

With the loss of John Smoltz, you may be asking why the hell I'm passing on such a random story, but hopefully it gave at least a few of you a quick smile after a frustrating off-season. For all the fun I've poked at Bobby V, it really is a great place to watch a game and grab a bite to eat. So, if you're ever on your way through Stamford, CT, you should stop in (preforably while the NPB is in it's off-season).

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