Because nobody likes Mondays: Where Everybody Knows Your Name....As Long As Your Name is Sean.

Saint Patrick's Day is upon us and for some reason it always makes me reminisce of the old days. You know those day, back before kids and serious responsibilities? When your life was your own and you did a lot of crazy stuff (most of which is very hard to remember). I was chatting with a friend of mine today about friends from the past and he asked a good question. He said, "When am I going to see a blog about Sugrue's Pub?" So in honor of St. Paddy himself, welcome to Sugrue's Pub.

Back when I was in college there was a guy who lived across the hall from me named Dean. I never realized when I met him my freshman year the adventures I would have thanks to him and his friends from his hometown of Quincy, Ma. His friends and his girlfriend used to come up to UMASS to party all the time. They were always a lot of laughs and I became close with all of them. What I never realized all those weekends at school was that in their native setting they were not just a lot of laughs but they were the craziest, funnest bunch of people on the face of the earth.

My first summer home from school I was invited to Sugrue's Pub for the first time. I remember Dean calling me and telling me to head over because everybody was going there. My first question was how I was going to get in as I was still just 19 years old. I got a laugh at that question and was assured it wouldn't be a problem. I got in my car and drove into Quincy. Turns out that Sugrue's Pub wasn't a pub at all, it was actually the somewhat finished basement of our friend Mike Sugrue's house. It was where all those crazy people I had met over the past year hung out and partied. It was dark, a bit dingy, cramped and the best place on earth.

The first thing I learned at the Pub was that half of the patrons where named Sean. It was an Irish town after all. We had Sean Conroy, Sean Hannon, Shawn Dougherty (ok he spelled his name the fake way but whatever), Sean Sugrue and a few more that came and went. It was also the first time I realized that to the Irish the name Kerry worked for not just girls but boys too. Although I had grown up with Irish heritage my eyes were opened to just how great being Irish could be.

These new friends taught me how to enjoy every minute of life. We drank, we laughed, we cried, we watched a lot of sports. I learned how important Larry Bird really was and why it was a must for all to touch the Larry Legend poster whenever our team was losing and Larry would make things better. I learned that Sugrue's Pub was just as great as the Boston Garden because it too had obstructed view seats to watch the big game in. We played every drinking game known to man and even made up a few of our own. The vegetable game was the best. Just watching Lisa Gilman trying to say rutabaga three times in a row without showing her teeth when she was shitfaced will forever be etched my my memory.

I spent many night sleeping on a random couch, or the floor or whatever spot I could find. There was no need to drive drunk after a night spend at the Pub. Everybody was welcome to crash. The rug had absorbed so much spilled beer through the years that it was actually kind of like a water bed to sleep on. At one point or another I had a crush on somebody at the Pub. Dean was the only one who was safe because his girlfriend Kim would have kicked my ass if I even thought about it. And my friends Liz and Jessica found a few of the guys to be charming as well.

I could go on for hours with all of the memories I have of this time in my life and these great people I knew. I am sure I will revisit some stories in my blog as time goes on. It was one of the best times in my life and I miss it so much sometimes. I will have to contact some of the guys about a reunion and the near future because that I am sure would be great fodder to write about. So until then, Happy Paddy's Day!!!!