Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / Feb. 6, 2009, edition 1 / Page 11
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SPORTS WWW.GUILFORDlAN.COM By Mary Bubar Staff Writer Nestled deep in the back of Jefferson Village lays a sports bar that is worth checking out. Buffalo Wings and Rings features "burgers-to-die-for," savory on ion rings and some of the tastiest chicken wings I have ever enjoyed. As I entered the restaurant, which was surprisingly busy for a Monday night, I headed straight to the bar. Enthusiastic sports-lovers were glued to game high lights shown on five flat-screen TV's. ESPN, The Golf Channel and NFL Net work provided the backdrop for patrons sharing thoughtful insights on player per formance. The ambience was as familiar and com forting as the food. I started with a custom order of ten chicken wings for $7.49. The hotness fac tor can be modified from mild to atomic, with a variation of sauces such as lemon pepper or teriyaki. Ordering very hot food in a restaurant can be embarrassing for amateurs. No one appreciates the mouth fanning (as if that helps!) and whoo-ha noises that follow the first bite. I played it safe with "me dium" wings. The crispy wings were served with a generous amount of sauce that had a nice bite but didn't obliterate the flavor, or my tongue. I also appreciated the smaller wing-size; I'm not a fan of jumbo wings aimed at more meat-per-bite. Each table is appointed a generous roll of paper towels; handy for providing a semblance of propriety after one finishes licking ones fingers. 1 felt right at home. Next I ordered a bacon-cheeseburger that was delightful; the bacon appeared to be cooked right into the burger making it a wonderful melange of flavor for my tastebuds. It came with a predictable side of curly-fries that were sub par; they ap peared to have sat around the kitchen for just a few minutes too long. Rounding out my order was a side of rings. Delivered hot from the kitchen and reasonably priced at $5, they were made with real onion in a light deep-fried bat ter. The beer selection is mostly domestic, but every night there are specials posted on a big chalkboard. On Mondays you can get a domestic-draft pint for $1.75, or if you celebrate thirsty Thursday, 99 cents will get you a 10-ounce draft. Brennon, my waiter, provided friendly banter and superlative service. He in formed me that the biggest crowds are for football games and college basketball. Several NC State Wolfpack fans have made Wings and Rings their home bar, and Guilford students will be happy to know Buffalo Wings and Rings sponsors several Guilford teams. Go Quakers! 1 enjoyed watching several rowdy cus tomers drink Bud Light buckets for $10 while playing a game called cornhole. They were gearing up for several upcom ing tournaments that the bar sponsors. Practice never looked like so much fun. If you need a break from sports fanat ics, you can grab a bite on the back deck in the warmer months. Several tables of fer a lakeside view; a surprisingly peace ful area considering the strip-mall set ting. Head downtown if you're a foodie looking for the latest version of pureed artichoke drizzled over baby asparagus. Step into Buffalo Wings and Rings if you just want to kick back, have a few beers and chow down without the aid of pesky utensils. Commercial domination ♦♦♦ loss of the game By Liz Farquhar Staff Writer It's the last minute of the game, and the Pitts burgh Steelers make it to the five-yard line. In the last 40 seconds. Santonio Holmes catches the pass that ends the game and leads the team to their sixth Super Bowl victory. Each year the Super Bowl is the number-one watched program on tele vision. Millions of people gather in anticipation to see which team will go home as the champion. The game also attracts an audience that, although not die-hard football fans, anxiously watches the game in search for the best commercials of the year. In 2005, consulting firm Penn, Shoen & Berland did a survey stating that 58 percent of the partici pants would rather miss a portion of the actual game than any of the Super Bowl commercials. First- year Kyle Ennis is not sur prised by the results of the survey. "There are dead mo ments in a game. The sec ond and third quarters are sort of boring; the first quarter sets the pace for the remainder of the game and the fourth quarter is the last stretch," Ennis said. "People usually get bored with commercials but the Super Bowl is dif ferent. They are all well done, which makes them awesome." Super Bowl XLIIl has broken the record for ad vertisement sales. Thirty- second slots were sold for $3 million each, which is an 11 percent increase from last season, according to the Associated Press. This seems outrageous with the current situation the economy is in. "Spending the money on a Super Bowl com mercial is worth it; it's the most viewed thing in the whole world," senior Craig Walrath said. "For marketing purposes, it's a very smart choice." Apparently many busi nesses agree with Walrath. The majority of the com mercial slots were sold be fore September, only eight of the 67 remained, and this year the tone of the advertisements changed. According to The Wall Street Journal, companies moved away from the slapstick comedy and fo cused more on emotional connections with the au- dieh'ce. "Right now, with what is going on with a new president and the econo my crashing, we are tak ing things more seriously; things aren't so funny anymore," Ennis said. "The commercials are all good but it is dumb that we spend so much money, that's one of the biggest problems with our econ omy." Companies took the re cession into consideration this year and some incor porated it into their plan ning. As a marketing strat egy, Monster.com, an em ployment site, gave away a job with a $100,000 sign ing bonus. Kellogg's ran a com mercial to announce their National Field Renovation Program. The focus of the advertisement is the idea of "planting a seed" so children can continue to be active and healthy. According to USA To day, in the Super Bowl polls from the last 10 years, Anheuser Busch has had the best commercials, and this year their campaign focused on the majestic Clydesdales as opposed to humorous skits. One Anheuser Busch advertisement told the legacy of one Clydesdale that had come to Amer ica from Scotland, and after failing at a number of jobs, he found a place with Busch, and every generation following him remained in the "family business." The commer cial is heart-warming in a sense, but also funny in many ways. A company that kept their advertisements light was Coca-Cola. The soft drink company remade one of their hit commer cials, "Mean Joe Greene," from 1980; this season they used Steelers' safety, Troy Polamalu. I’he com mercial was a bit disap pointing, and Coca-Cola tried too hard to be funny. One of the night's more humorous commercials was done by careerbuild- er.com. The theme of the advertisement was unique and interesting. The nar rator pointed out several scenarios that were indi cations that you needed a new job. One scene showed someone hating their job so much that they had the urge to punch small animals. Careerbuilder.com did not, however, win the cov eted title of best advertise ment. The companies that came out on top were Doritos and Bridgestone. Anheuser Busch received a spot on the list but audi ences weren't as impressed with their advertisements this year. Overall, viewers were indifferent about all the Super Bowl commer cials. According to Walrath, "There's so much hype around (the commercials) that everyone watches and ends up being disap pointed except for one or two ads." In one of this year s Super bowl advertisements, a Budweiser Clydesdale arrives in the United States from Scotland in search of good work.
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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Feb. 6, 2009, edition 1
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