Rooty had a fun weekend in the Big Apple– New York City– land of bright lights, big dreams, fashion trendsetters, investment bankers and a little bit of Wisconsin.

After walking several blocks he tried to trade some Root Beer and Rooty charm for a free Rickshaw ride. That didn’t work so he proceeded to the hot dog cart hoping for a bite of a genuine NYC hot dog. Alas, the vendor wasn’t ready to serve so Rooty wandered across the street to visit with a horse whose pulls a carriage (full of tourists) for a living.  Unable to talk the price down to something Rooty could afford (free), Rooty decided to hang for a bit and keep the horse company.

On Sunday morning  Rooty headed to the celebrated Kettle of Fish (57 Christopher St.) to watch the Packers play the Colts. As many people know, and many Wisconsinites set their alarm clocks for, the Kettle is the place to go for Packer games. Word of warning: all though the news is out, in case you weren’t previously aware, get there early or you’ll never get in.
All the bartenders and waitresses at the Kettle do a great job

at keeping Packer fans happy. They sell Sprecher Special Amber, Black Bavarian and Root Beer; have cheese and sausage to snack on; and you get a Usinger’s brat with your entry ticket.  Including and beyond these goodies, the Kettle during a Packers game is a cultural experience. Another chorus of “I Love My Green Bay Packers,” anyone? Owners of the Kettle, Patrick and Adrienne, have put Wisconsin on the NYC map (in a good way).

If you love basketball, especially college basketball, Milwaukee is the place to be tonight!  In less than 30 minutes, the Marquette Golden Eagles (8) meet the UConn Huskies (2) on the Al McGuire Court in the Bradley Center.  A lot is riding on this game — beyond bets — top position in the Big East, post-season seeding, etc.  The crowd will be WILD!  Marquette students started lining up at 3pm CST yesterday for seats at tonight’s game.  Throughout the 20-40F weather they remained waiting on cold sidewalks for the gates to open so they could cheer on their team.  And it will be a very loud Bradley Center this evening.

If you don’t have your seat now and don’t have a wad of cash to get one (as of yesterday, the least expensive seat with a view was selling for about $300), then find a good bar and join in the fun.   As always, in Milwaukee you can pick almost any watering hole and have a great time when there’s a sporting event.  Ahhh, camaraderie.   A word of warning: Milwaukeeans seriously love their teams, so if the Golden Eagles don’t win, there will probably be a big sense of depression in town for the next couple of days, kind of like the day after feeling when the Packers lose.

I emailed my friend Gary who owns Standings, a fun beer and sports bar in NYC’s East Village, to put in my long distance cheer for Marquette.  Most important since he’s a UConn alum and a huge Huskies fan.  If you’re looking for a locale to watch the game in NYC, check out Standings or Kettle ‘o Fish.  Maybe Mad River Grill as well.  That’s a dedicated Badger bar but for a contest this big I bet they’ll have the game on.

GO MARQUETTE!