It was five years ago today that an event occurred that I didn't know at the time would change my life. It was the day I discovered the Riviera Cafe and Sports Bar in the West Village.
The day before I found an article in the Boston Globe written by Jules Verdone (who I later came to know) called "Lansdowne On The Hudson." It was about a bar in Manhattan that Red Sox fans hung out in and watched games in peace, away from heathen Yankee fans. (I had seen just a handful of Red Sox games in NYC bars in my life previously and none catered to Sox fans specifically.) I had never heard of the Riv. But on this day five years ago, the Red Sox were down 3-2 in the 2003 ALCS, and it was returning to Yankee Stadium. But I made a fateful decision that I'd watch the game there among other Red Sox fans, even to the bitter end. (And I've become friends with many of the folks mentioned in the original article.)
I got to the place about two hours before the game and the bar wasn't crowded. I took a table right next to the entrance on 7th Avenue South. But as game time approached, I saw a whole slew of people come in, and just about everyone was decked out in Red Sox attire. I was floored to see so many in New York, and it made me feel like I was in Boston. (You could count on one hand how many Yankee fans were there that day.)
I had such a blast that day, as it was a great game the Red Sox won and forced a Game 7. I was high-fiving with other Red Sox fans I didn't know and was screaming myself hoarse. And I also thought I had a perfect place to watch the game the next night, which I did. (No need to go into that.)
But even after the loss the next night, I had a place to watch the Red Sox with other fans in the future. I spent countless hours there in 2004 and made many new friends, many who are now Professor Thom's regulars like myself. I don't go to the Riviera anymore (that's a long story for another time), but it opened the door for a new chapter in my life.
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