Courtesy of Professor Thom’s The crowd at Professor Thom’s during the AFCchampionship game.
According to the owner of Professor Thom’s, every one of the bar’s tables has been reserved for Super Bowl Sunday – mostly by fans of the New England Patriots. “If we had 10 more floors, we’d still be booked,” Pete Levin told The Local. He said the bar’s phone has been ringing off the hook since early Monday.
As The Times noted yesterday in its “Neighborhood Joint” column, the Second Avenue bar is a notorious Boston sports hangout. In fact, the first 100 customers that show up for its pregame tailgate party on Sunday will get “W.W.B.D. (What Would Brady Do)” wristbands.
Mr. Levin estimated that 98% of his crowd would consist of Pats fans. Kenny Williams, the head bouncer at the bar, expected to see a few Giants fans, as well. He’s sacrificing a day off to work on Sunday, but not because he expects trouble. “Sure, there’s a knucklehead or two, but that’s anywhere.” Referring to Giants fans, he said, “They’ll be fine.”
Mr. Levin said the bar gets the occasional influx of G-men supporters. “During the game earlier this year we had a contingent of Giants fans that came just to screw with Pats fans. They were great. Loud, but not violent in any way.”
Those looking for Switzerland-like neutrality may want to watch the big game at Standings. Gary Gillis, the owner of the Seventh Street bar, said over e-mail that he expected a 50-50 turnout of Patriots and Giants fans, and he’ll offer beer specials from both New York and Massachusetts breweries in an effort to appeal to both. “Things rarely get out of hand at Standings,” Mr. Gillis wrote. “Probably because we only serve beer and wine. No hard liquor or shots.”
