A comfort away from home
WILSHIRE BLVD. Clad in a green-and-white Celtics jersey, Bostonian Brett Geary sat near the end of the bar and ate his beef tips and mashed potatoes. He was a little early for the Celtics’ game so he decided to grab a bite and a pint and pass the time, something he has a lot of since he’s unemployed.
Having moved to Santa Monica just five months ago, Geary has gravitated to what is familiar, that being the Irish pub Sonny McLean’s, a safe haven for the Boston-bred where Red Sox, Celtics and New England Patriots memorabilia cover nearly every square inch of wall space.
It has all the comforts of home — including fried clams with the bellies still on them — making the past few months that much more bearable.
“It’s fantastic,” Geary said of the camaraderie at McLean’s. “It’s got me here at one in the afternoon, so you can’t beat that.”
Geary isn’t alone. For the recent World Series, in which the Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies last week, people were lined up outside waiting to get in and get a taste of home.
The same thing goes for Philly fans across the street at The Shack or Cleveland Browns boosters at Over Under on Santa Monica Boulevard or New York Yankees loyalists at Rick’s Tavern on Main Street.
There’s a bar for Chicago Bears fans too. Even soccer gets some love at some of the English pubs in town like The Britannia off the Third Street Promenade, which broadcasts English Premier League games and caters to members of the Red Army who can’t get enough of their Manchester United.
For transplants from major cities across the country, Santa Monica offers plenty of spots to gather with like-minded ex-pats and root for the home team, even if home is a thousand miles away.
“I was delightfully surprised when I walked in and saw a Yankees banner hanging over the bar. That made me feel good,” said Steve Levette, who moved to Venice from Manhattan last year and hits Rick’s Tavern at least once a month for their regular burger special.
“During the (baseball) playoffs, the place was packed,” Levette said. “It was nice being around so many New Yorkers for a change.”
As to which fans a bar caters has a lot to do with the owner. If they’re from a city other than Los Angeles, chances are they’ll be rooting for their respective home team along with their patrons.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 3, 2007. Read the original PDF.