If you’ve caught Olympic Fever, I’m sorry to say that your cure is on the horizon. It’s an illness you probably enjoyed having, but all good things must come to an end. The Olympics officially end this Sunday. We’ve witnessed so many amazing moments already, with a few more sure to come. But we need to ween you off of the obscure sports you’ve been binging on, because God knows you’re not checking out the World Water Polo League or the Archery Association of America once this week is over. You’re not. Because those aren’t real things. But also because you don’t give a shit about those sports outside of Rio.
So this week we’re highlighting five spots that excel at bringing you sports that are not the Olympics. These aren’t exclusively sports bars, and you don’t need to be watching sports to enjoy their specials this week. But if you can’t get enough Olympics, you need to start getting something else soon. So get drunk.
Walters
This is my favorite bar for no reason other than that it’s close, it’s unassuming, and it’s cheap. I’ve seen many sports here, and people will not bother you here. It’s welcome respite from the neighboring establishments of DC Reynolds and Looking Glass. Don’t get me wrong; those are both great bars. But chances are, they fill up long before Walters does. There’s a patio. There’s $5 signature cocktails from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. There’s $4 beers from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. There’s probably Olympics still going on here, but avert thine eyes and watch baseball instead.
Nellie’s
Nellie’s is still one of the best places to watch football in this city. I will probably be here at least two Sundays in the fall. Nothing complements football like buckets of Bud Light and wings, and Nellie’s excels at both of these things. Immediately following happy hour on both Thursday and Friday, there will also be football. It’s preseason football, so it’s useless football. But there will be football. I do not know if it will be on the televisions here. What I do know is that there will be happy hour, with rotating specials each day.
Drafting Table
From the American type of football to the European, Drafting Table on 14th Street is a top spot to catch all the soccer you want, as one of the big English Premier League bars in the city. The season just started, and my passion for the sport is so strong that I’m writing this article with the audio feed from a Champions League game in one of my ears. Distracting but necessary. Drafting Table has a quaint little patio, a decent selection of taps, and board games to help take your mind off the World Games. No more Olympics dude, seriously.
Penn Social
Maybe you need to take your mind off of Olympic sports by playing your own sports? If so, come to Penn Social and you can lose to me at pop-a-shot. Or cornhole. Or big Jenga. They’ve got an every day happy hour that runs 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., with $2 off drafts, $5 rail drinks, and $6 wine. They’ve got an outdoor patio if the unwashed game pieces downstairs don’t appeal to you. And if you do head downstairs, you’ll find their better draft beers displayed on some nifty LCD screens.
Vendetta
This swanky little H Street bar uses Vespa scooters as wall ornaments the same way a hunting lodge uses the severed heads of animals. They also have bocce, which is not an Olympic sport and is also a thing you can do to keep you from watching Olympic sports. Happy hour runs Monday-Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., and features $1 off drafts and rails, $5 wine, and $2 off starters.
