Patrons watch the Lazy Dog's widescreen TVs intently, waiting to see how their football team will do Sept. 13. In addition to hosting a trivia night and live music on various days of the week, the Pearl Street bar also shows most major sports games. (CU Independent/ Lauren Walter)
It was almost 10 p.m. when small groups of four or five came in waves through the glass door on the corner of Pearl and 14th Street. They walked under the blue awning and past the emblematic caricature of a hip dog with a droopy face wearing a backwards baseball cap. The bouncer, who they call “Chops” for obvious reasons (his mutton chops come halfway down his cheek), checked everyone’s identification and then stamped the hands of those who pass with a smiley face.
People gravitated towards the large wooden bar once inside and ordered $7 pitchers of Bud or Bud Light. Then they continued to one of the plentiful tables or booths dispersed throughout the remainder of the bar. The high ceilings were littered with television sets. Little green and blue lamps sent glowing yellow light onto the tables and booths that stuck out from the otherwise dim light.
“Hello, everybody,” said the MC over a set of loudspeakers. “Get your $4 Jägermeister shots and $6 Jägermeister bombs.”
It was Wednesday, and that means trivia night at the Lazy Dog Sports Bar and Grill. Trivia night is a magnet for college kids, and a great way to mix up the monotony of drinking. Being quizzed on random bits of trivia provides people with a reason to leave the bars on the west end of Pearl Street and go east.
The first round of trivia was “Games We Used to Play.” A freeze frame of a video game from the Sega and Nintendo days was put on the screen and teams were supposed to identify them. A tie between four teams was settled with a chug-off at the front of the bar. Team “Shuttlecocks and a Pussycat” won the challenge.
During one round the MC announced that the fastest runner from every team should come up to the front.
“The trivia host is great,” said Ross Villarino, a senior economics major.
The participants agreed to wave all responsibility as they broke out into an extended wind sprint to touch an object outside the building and return as quickly as possible.
James Overton, a veteran bartender at the Lazy Dog, said these races are among the contests that set the Lazy Dog’s trivia night apart from other local bars.
The Lazy Dog has challenged its customers to frozen drink chugging and frozen T-shirt contests in between rounds of trivia.
In the T-shirt contest, the contests are given a frozen twisted T-shirt and the first to de-thaw and put it on wins.
“People were banging it into the ground and putting it under their armpit. Anything to try and get it unfrozen,” Overton said.
Trivia night bartender Buck Oberhansly said the Lazy Dog is trying to cater more to the college demographic.
“We can barely squeeze them in here (on trivia night),” Oberhansly said.
While Wednesday trivia night is one of the most popular nights among CU students, the Lazy Dog holds multiple special events throughout the week.
Every Thursday, The Brickhouse Bar, which is one of the restaurants’ bars on the main floor, has a D.J. come spin and live music is performed on Fridays and Saturdays.
The rooftop bar is another watering hole at the Lazy Dog.
“There is always a beer of the day,” Oberhansly said.
The Lazy Dog is a good spot for CU students who are looking for a fun time and good drinks and food, especially on Wednesday nights when wings are 45 cents and sliders are $5.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Seth Gitner at Seth.Gitner@colorado.edu.
