Thirsty Thursday at the Green Jackets

What: I have to be up front and say that if I was stranded on a desert island and could only have one beer, it would be Killian’s. It’s been my favorite since a strange night in May of 1987 when I was working on my Masters Degree at Ohio University. I was walking through the Kroger in Athens, OH, buying Pop Tarts when I got a weird notion in my head to actually try shaving with a actual shaver, not a electric shaver as I had done for some 20 odd years. I carefully selected a brand of shaver and picked out the shaving cream my dad used and headed for the checkout. I stopped at the beer cooler thinking I might need moral support. I saw Killian’s for the first time and it said “Irish” on the label and I said “I must have it.”

I sat on the couch that night waiting for bleeding to stop. After a few swatches I remembered my dad always shaved up the neck, not down. But I didn’t care, because I was already on my second Killian’s and knew I had found my beer. No more MGD with Dave and Lou on the back porch back in Roanoke.

I digress.

It was Thirsty Thursday at the Green Jackets game and that means $1 drafts. We had group tickets behind home plate with a group of folks I work with when I’m lucky enough to get contracting work. (Mrs. Dan works with them also). We were running late because of Bubba’s funeral and wake. Plus I’m a cheap bastard and made sure we ate 50 cent brats at home before driving around the corner to the game. The last Thirsty Thursday I attended only cost me a few bucks for the beer but the food left me crying in my $1 beer. It’s not as bad as paying an arm, a leg and half a lung at Regal Cinemas for a small popcorn and a drink but without full-time employment I can’t be spending $15 on hotdogs.

I digress.

Former Brave’s pitcher John Smoltz was pitching for the visiting team, a Red Sox affiliate. I can’t even tell you where the team was from. I was there for the beer and the fact that Smoltz was pitching. It was his first pitching start since coming off the DL. We managed to miss the first two innings, per Bubba and the fact I had to hike a mile from where I parked the car. Mix $1 beer and John Smoltz on the mound and you are going to sell some tickets. The place was packed and parking was crazy.

Last season’s Thirsty Thursday’s featured the usual boring “Buschweiser” type beers that are basically worth a buck. I was beside myself when I saw the Killian’s tap on the cooler. I was a bit stunned when I forked out $11 for two large Killian’s for me and Mrs. Dan. “I thought it was $1 beer night.” “That’s way over there” I was told.

There were lots of people standing in line for $5.50 beer. Then I saw the $1 beer line and realized why. You could grow old an die in that line. I already missed 2 innings, I didn’t want to miss an additional 4 innings to spend $1 on a beer about third the size of the one I just bought. I made it to my seat in time to see John Smoltz pitch his third and final inning. He got a standing O when he left the field. I met him years ago taking some photos for the Chronicle leading up to the 1991 World Series. He’s a pretty good guy. Shame the Braves let him go.

I digress.

It was great sitting in the stands behind home plate watching the Green Jackets maul up the next guy after Smoltz. Killian’s in hand and runners on all three bases. That’s nice. But Mr. Ben was thirsty and wanted a snack so I set out to find some popcorn. It took more than an inning to move through the line (only 6 people were in front of me). I got to talking to a fellow named John who lamented that the Green Jackets should have posted on their web site that they were moving the $1 beer table over to one small area. He said it pretty much made it impossible for anyone who is a baseball fan to enjoy the game and a $1 beer. He also was stuck in this line because they took plastic and he didn’t have cash. When he complained at the food window the server shot back “You want these beers or not!” Not wanting the evening to become a total loss, John apologized and paid his $11 for 2 beers.

I had to agree with him. Thirsty Thursday was pretty much a joke. At least for the baseball fans. For the 20-somethings that are pretty much there for the $1 beer and to be seen by their crowd it was a good evening. For the rest of us… at least the tickets only cost $5 a piece, and we saw John Smoltz pitch. Add in the Killian’s and it beat staying at home, writing a eulogy for a $3 fish.
Brewery: George Killian’s (Coors)
Cost: $5.50