Sport of a different kind takes over TVs in bars

Suzanne Struglinski

Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2004 | 9:40 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Questions about a bar's number of televisions have little to do with watching the start of basketball season tonight.

Crowds will gather at bars and restaurants, claiming seats early to watch the news. Hours and hours of the news. These are a different sort of fan cheering on a different sort of team.

Republicans and Democrats will flock to favorite spots tonight to watch the networks announce voting results to see if President Bush or Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., takes the White House after a long campaign season.

In no city in the country is this more evident than in Washington, D.C. Election Night is like the Super Bowl in Washington. For those politicos left in the district -- most are gone working on various campaigns -- there is nothing better than sitting with like-minded friends and cheering as their candidate scores the equivalent of a touchdown -- a state's electoral votes.

The Washington Post weekend section on Friday included a two-page listing of Election Night happenings, including all-night drink specials, Texas chili and clam chowder buffets, trivia contests and concerts.

One Capitol Hill favorite is the Hawk and Dove, which is doing its own polling with Texas Shiner Bock beer standing in for Bush and Boston's Sam Adams substituting for Kerry. A top selling point is the bar will feature a different network in each room.

Most Election Night watchers will stay until a candidate wins the magic number of 270 electoral votes, the amount needed to win the race. During the 2000 election, bars were standing room only with unofficial but distinctive areas for each political party. When a state is decided for either candidate, one side of the room will cheer while the other will offer a different response and probably order another round of drinks.

Emotions run high, and a bystander may well see tears wiped away with a cocktail napkin out of sheer joy or undeniable grief.

Regardless of who wins, Washington will wake up Wednesday facing the end, in theory anyway, of the 2004 campaign season. The facts and figures, some serious and some not, will be a part of history and future trivia games.

But until then Washington is ready to wait and watch. Some will celebrate another four years while others get ready for 2008. Or some will look forward to an administration change and cross their fingers until 2012.