WEEKEND writer Zack Teibloom takes a drink for the team on his quest to uncover what makes the Kilroys Sports' atmosphere so intoxicating.
Bloomington has spoken. They enjoy the packed porch and one floor "birth canal" that is Kilroy's with "Sweet Caroline" wafting through the speakers. They still love sinking the biz and catching up with alumni at the "Cheers"-like atmosphere of Nick's. But most of all, the newly renovated Sports with "something for everyone" is where IU students want to spend their nights.\nAfter winning the last three years, Nick's English Hut was knocked off the top bar podium, according to the results of the 2006 Best of Bloomington poll. After not even cracking the top three last year, Sports won Best Bar with Nick's ranked second and Kilroy's taking the bronze. I went out Saturday night to talk to bartenders, managers, and the people who love the bars to see what the drinkers and drink dispensers really think. \nStarting at around 10:30 p.m., I went into Kilroy's to talk to the people who run the place before the onslaught of the late night crowd. Located at the corner of Kirkwood Avenue and Dunn Street, it is the smallest of the three bars in terms of size but is often so packed that it takes the longest to get from one end to the other. With the atmosphere of a wild house party, Kilroy's is known for its yellow birthday shirts, lively dance floor and young staff and clientele. \nBartender and senior Matt Carnevale says his night really begins at 12:30 a.m., and there's "never a dull moment at the very high energy bar" from Thursday to Saturday.\n"Wednesday night most people are at Sports for half-priced specials," he says. "Thursday to Saturday it's packed here." \nSenior Richie Lim says he prefers Nick's over Kilroy's and doesn't like the "frat house" atmosphere of Kilroy's. \n"If you're 'frattastic,' you go to Kilroy's," Lim says. "It's like their house." \nSenior Zach Benson says he spent a lot of time in Kilroy's during his first few years at college and defends the bar, even though he says he now spends more time at Sports.\n"People called it 'frat-Roys' for a while, but they just have to get over it," Benson says. "The Greek crowd has spread out this year. You go to Kilroy's to hang out with your younger friends, but it gets too crowded. They need to open up the space and make it bigger."\nHalf a block down and across the street stands Bloomington's oldest bar. A lot of the crowd at Nick's has been going there since before much of Kilroy's clientele was born. Rick McClung has worked at Nicks for over 25 years as bartender and manager.\n"It's a lot like 'Cheers,'" McClung says. "You'll see all the same characters here. People have gotten married here. It's a family place."\nSpending a night at Nick's could mean rubbing elbows with award-winning authors or professional sports coaches. \n"You never know who you're going to meet here -- celebrities and bums, professors, doctors, lawyers and students."\nA few of the celebrities McClung remembers seeing inside Nick's include author Kurt Vonnegut, Chicago Bulls head coach Scott Skiles and former NFL coach, Dave Wannstedt.\nIU graduate and attorney Sandy Ante has been coming to Nick's since 2000 and even studied for the bar exam at the bar. Sitting in one of the traditional wooden booths that fill the first floor, Ante shares her favorite memory at Nicks. She waited from 11 a.m. to 8.p.m to make sure she had the best seat in the house for a Final Four game. What keeps Ante coming back year after year are the people and memories.\n"Whenever I come back people remember me," she says. "It's like I never left."\nAn alumnus who asked to be called "Buzz" Howard remembers plenty from his six decades of hanging out at Nick's. When asked if he has spent a lot of time there he replies, "I've only been coming here 50 plus years."\nHoward, who graduated in 1953, looks over his shoulder before admitting he used a fake ID back in the day. \n"It was easy to make a fake back then," the silver-haired alumnus says. "Now they don't ask for my ID anymore."\nA few blocks north and west of Nick's on Walnut resides the number one rated bar. One bartender known as Michael "Spanish" has tended at Sports for two years and had plenty of explanation for why it's the best bar in town. \n"It's a Chicago-esque bar with two patios, a diverse crowd and good specials," Spanish says. \nSports is like a few bars put into one, he continues: there's the big screen TVs for sporting events downstairs, a spacious, caged-in porch on both levels, a dance floor with DJs upstairs and a game and pool room downstairs. The half-off drink special on Wednesdays, dueling piano Thursdays and multiple rooms are other big selling points.\nAfter going through a major renovation this summer, Sports now has more booths and has added another bar downstairs. The renovation allows Sports up to 20 servers, making Spanish confident that no one will go thirsty.\n"If you can't get a drink here, something's wrong," he says.\nSenior Jordan Kafenstok, a server, says he enjoys coming there whether he's working or not. He boasted the bar's assets like the good '80s music downstairs and good-looking bartenders and servers, and he was impressed by the remodeling this summer. When his sister visited for the weekend, Kafenstok says the obvious choice was to take her to Sports.\n"It's the bar that everyone goes to," he says.
