The UCLA men’s basketball team has begun its preparations
for Thursday’s game in Tucson, Ariz.
Question is, have you?
After a few disappointing seasons that saw them miss the NCAA
Tournament, the Bruins are back on the bracket. However, the short
absence from the big dance has left many Bruins inexperienced and
forgetful of what to do when it comes to postseason collegiate
basketball.
But look no further than Westwood.
Nothing creates a sense of community like having your college
team become part of March Madness, and there is no better way to
harness that sense of camaraderie than to gather with fellow UCLA
students, head for the bars, take to the sauce and yell really
loudly at a TV screen.
Here are some of your options:
MALONEY’S
Bars are supposed to be dark, windowless and cut off from the
exterior world.
Maloney’s is all three.
From the moment you walk into the place, your eyes adjusting to
the darkness and the intense flicker of sports highlights jumping
off of over 10 TV screens, it’s easy to understand why it has
been a student favorite for so many years. It’s impossible to
sit out of TV range and all of the wood trim makes the place look
really smart.
Maloney’s is steeped in Bruin tradition and you can even
find some UCLA old-timers come around to catch a game from time to
time. Looking for a little St. Patty’s Day spirit?
Maloney’s will be serving Irish breakfast, corned beef
sandwiches and green beer throughout the day.
SEPI’S
Sepi’s has been around forever, and is thus the
traditional favorite.
The place is considerably smaller than Maloney’s and less
stocked, with only three TVs, but owner Alex Cho came across as
such a nice guy that I’d be willing to stop by and take in a
game at this place, drink his brew, and eat one of his giant
submarine sandwiches any day of the week.
Representatives from Budweiser will be around to pass out $1 off
coupons to spread St. Patrick’s Day joy, which will make
getting well plastered that much more affordable.
Cho himself assured me that his place would be the tops on
Thursday night.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said.
“This is UCLA’s place, and we’ve got a history of
Bruin basketball here.”
Red-and-white checkered tablecloths are a plus, as well.
WESTWOOD BREWING
COMPANY
Didn’t find time to return my phone call, so I don’t
think I’ll be finding time to spend my money here.
It has more of a restaurant feel to it than, say, that of a
place to let loose and watch the game, anyway. The tourney will be
on and if they run out of booze they can just make more, so come
here if you must.
BJ’S
Don’t go here. There is nothing UCLA about this place.
They don’t care about the team or the tournament because
its just another one of those chain stores. There’s barely
any UCLA paraphernalia in the restaurant, and the place just
isn’t sports friendly with the poorly positioned TV sets.
And if you get too rowdy, they’ll probably kick you out.
Pizookies should be enough to lure some Bruins, however.
YOUR APARTMENT
Are you seriously that lazy …?
AND THE #1 PICK IS:
Maloney’s. The place reeks of charm and is the only true
sports bar in Westwood. Go ahead and say what’s up to Cho at
Sepi’s on your way there, though.
E-mail Johnson where you are watching the tourney at
ejohnson@media.ucla.edu.