Photo by Greg Wood/Special to Knoxville.com Jaystorm, right, and Lindsey Guy visited Wild Wings Cafe for the food, not the big-screen sports.
Photo by Greg Wood/Special to Knoxville.com Jaystorm, right, and Lindsey Guy visited Wild Wings Cafe for the food, not the big-screen sports.
Months ago I wrote half-jokingly about where I'd go to watch my favorite baseball team, the Texas Rangers, play in a hypothetical World Series setting.
Lo and behold, this hypothetical situation became a reality. And since I said Wild Wings Cafe would place high on my list to watch such an event, I grabbed my fellow Texan friend Glenn and went out to catch Game 1.
It didn't take long before we suspected we were at the wrong spot.
In the past I've headed to Wild Wings to catch arbitrary sports games, and it's always worked well. Wild Wings has TVs hanging from just about every spot you could possibly attach a TV; the club's interior is pristine and smoke-free (without even a hint of that spilled-beer fragrance); and their service speedy.
On this evening, placed up against the back door and stage area was a DJ from local radio station Star 102.1 blaring beats into the crowd - not an ideal accompaniment for a slow-paced, pitching-driven baseball game.
The PA didn't have the sound from the game but, instead, the DJ's clashing mash-ups. Most TVs had the series on but it wasn't a main focus. There were no Giants or Rangers jerseys. I didn't even see a ball cap.
Glenn and I have been making jokes that we're probably the only two people in town to care about the World Series. But we didn't believe it until we saw how empty Wild Wings was for Game 1.
Photo by Greg Wood/Special to Knoxville.com Samantha Davis and William Hyppoliteenjoy an evening at Wild Wings Cafe.
The few customers ran the gamut with their age range, with people in their 20s through 60s, and even a few families with small children enjoying a meal - an aspect of the bar I've always appreciated. But since it's so family friendly I expected a larger crowd for the ever-wholesome sport of baseball.
Don't get me wrong - Wild Wings wasn't a strikeout.
Wild Wings acts more like a restaurant than a bar, and the food lives up to it. They offer wings in more than 25 styles in various level of spiciness - including Jamaican jerk and Cajun - and as we discovered on this visit, they also marinate burgers in those flavors. Unlike bars that happen to have food, Wild Wings serves up elaborate, well-seasoned meals like a restaurant would.
We sat at a booth near the back door with a flat-screen directly above us, watching the Rangers take a brutal beating as we drank beer and ate dinner. Our plan was to share pitchers (we thought it appropriate for a baseball game) of beer, but Wild Wings doesn't offer pitchers. After opting to order several beers individually we discovered we were surrounded by signs advertising their beer buckets, which would've been a better deal. That's what we get for ignoring advertising.
Despite being ignorant consumers, we experienced great service - something Wild Wings always knocks out of the park. Our waitress never tested our patience and accommodated our tricky tab arrangement.
But over time it became apparent we were the only people watching the Fall Classic. People sitting nearby glared with irritation as I yelled at the TV when plays didn't go my way. I don't blame them for being annoyed, but I'd expect such behavior for a championship series of a pro sport and would never ostracize someone for it.
It seemed everyone was just there to eat and then go home. I ran into local musician Jaystorm who confirmed my suspicion when I asked him why he and a lady friend chose Wild Wings, by comically saying, "She was hungry, and it's nearby."
The crowd wasn't feeling it, and halfway through the game we decided to head out.
I'm not sure if any bar in town drew a crowd for Game 1 of the series. I guess it frequently goes uncelebrated in Knoxville unless the Atlanta Braves are playing. But to me and a few friends it was a special occasion. And whereas I thought Wild Wings would be the place to host our celebration of the Rangers' first Series appearance (despite their 11-7 loss that night), it seems better suited for less-consequential games.
© 2010, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!
- |
Comments » 0
Be the first to post a comment!
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.