DC's Best Sports Bar

Lots of much better writers than we will type eloquent about the importance of Jason Collins' public acknowledgement of his homosexuality. Since we don't really do eloquent, we'll leave it at this: it's about time an active player came out. We fervently hope that this becomes a complete non-story as quickly as possible. Judging by the public's reaction, a mixture of support and 'what took you so long' with a pinch of bigotry couched in appeals to reverse political correctness (looking at you, Tim Brando), it seems a pretty good bet that gay athletes will soon be no more unusual than white NBA players - a minority, but not a lonely one.

If he or she is in Washington, DC's best sports bar, chances are really good that loneliness won't be an issue. The Washington City Paper conducted its annual Best of DC poll recently, offering readers an opportunity to weigh in on the Capitol's finest fare. In the category of Best Sports Bar, the natives eschewed local faves such as the Crystal City Sports Pub and Grevey's for a dark horse entrant.

Washington DC's best sports bar, apparently, is Nellie's. Located at 900 U Street, in the shadow of Howard University, Nellie's is a bit off the beaten path for DC sports fans, but it features authentic Griffith Stadium seats, a vintage scoreboard, and perhaps the only world-famous drag brunch hosted in a sports bar.

Nellie's, as it turns out, is a sports bar with a twist. Or a rainbow wig, whichever. It's aggressively...normal. People go there to watch games, drink too much, gather with their teammates, cheer on the local sides, and generally revel in the communal experience that's one of the most vital and enjoyable parts of being a sports fan.

I assume the folks at Nellie's are proud of Jason Collins. But they're probably proud of Bryce Harper, too. And the sooner we get to the point where the latter matters way more than the former, the better.

See you all at Nellie's.