OT: Rick's American Cafe

Cool story bro!

From umichmemes.comL

I beat Michael Phelps in beer pong there at one of their weekly tournaments.  I prefer to just tell people "I beat Michael Phelps" and leave off the (at beer pong) part.  He honestly has an unfair advantage because his arms are so long he reaches across half the table when he throws but w/e I couldn't miss that game ;)

I was there one OSU weekend night when Kid Rock and some Red Wings came there.  They were roped off in the back bar, and everybody was standing around and on chairs trying to see.  Through the crowd I saw this short red head trying to fight his way up to the rope, and once he got closer I noticed it was Kris Draper.  Nobody in the crowd really noticed him, until he got back with the others. Cool story I know.

Oh, and this one time, it smelled like [email protected]#$ there...oh wait...

I'm pretty sure I smelled the first puddle of puke ever given up to the floor in about 1981 when it first opened.  'tsall I got.

I got on the dance floor and spun around in circles. The dance looked like this, but imagine a far more attractive occupant.

You guys know that back in my day Madonna used to waitress there?

If only I had known she wasn't just another bar floozy, but an incredibly talented floozy.

are getting Drew Hensen's autograph (for my sister, I swear) and taking a picture with LaVell Blanchard after his senior season and thanking him for sticking through all the tough times. (I had to look up how to spell LaVell and the first google link brought me back to mgoblog)

If I can expand this to bartending stories...

Threw a guy out of the bar on my first night ever working at a bar.  One of our barbacks was yelling at him so I jumped the bar and threw him out.  When I got back and asked the barback why he was yelling, it turns out the guy was pissing all over himself.  I didn't even get a heads up...

Terrelle Pryor shoved a tip in my the pocket of my polo shirt.  It was like three dollars.  His tab at the time was probably $80.  Only time he ever tipped me.  His bar tabs always managed to disappear, if you'd believe that...

Tried to do a shot with Don Vito a few months before he went to prison for child molestation.  His manager informed me that Don Vito is no longer allowed to do shots.  The dude killed close to a case and a half of Budweiser though.

A buddy of mine who was my manager at the time had to meet DMX in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn with a paper bag full of money.  He was supposed to be paid half up front and half after he played, but his boyz informed us that he wasn't going to perform without cash up front.

Met my wife at a bar that I managed.  She was a regular, and I kept giving her free drinks, she finally gave up and let me take her out for a date after a few months of $5 bar tags.   That is also the reason I'm probably going to stop with the crazy bar stories, although there were plenty more...

College basketball is on and is a lot better to watch than the NFL.

On my 21st birthday, a bunch of buddies and myself went to Ricks for the traditional 21 shot fest. I think I was on shot 17 or so when I had to blow chunks in the Men's room (I'm sure I was the one and only to ever blow in there). After I relieved myself, I went back inside and finished the rest of my shots. My buddies were very impressed that I was able to finish what I started. Like Tom Brady, I'm pretty sure I went home alone that night - stuttering drunk 21 year olds just don't pull the ladies, even at Ricks ...

in 99, i played pool with woodson in the back.  he was nice and talked football without being a prima donna.  he gave me a nice brohug.  then he left w/ 47 girls.  pretty sure he boned each one.

however I end up there far to often ...

drinks aren't cheap, cover isn't either, lines are long, and the crowd can be a bit much for me. I would rather go to skeeps/charlies/lep on most nights.

That being said, amazing moments do happen at ricks. However, my stories aren't board appropriate seeing as most of the kids still play for michigan. 

Thanks for the memories - spent way too much money there from 82-84...they used to have great bands there, if I remember right...first place I saw what was left of the Stooges (I think they called themselves the _____ watusis, with the blank replaced by a different adjective every night)...

One night while I was bartending, Dhani Jones and Ian Gold were watching a group of guys doing flaming Dr. Pepper shots and thought it was a good idea to try one.  Dhani had one of the dirtiest, scraggly beards you've ever seen.  Apparently it was pretty flamable too as he spilled some of the shot down his chin and his face burst into flames for a second.  It went out right away but it scared the hell out of everyone around.

Welcome week, one of my teammates face-planted outside of Rick's and needed stitches.    She did not get to perform at that Saturday's game.  

Another friend stepped on broken glass at Rick's and ended up on crutches.  They gave her tons of "skip the line / no cover" passes so she wouldn't sue.  

I smell a pattern...

Wyclef was in the house my senior year, in the spring.  But my favorite Rick's moment was when we ordered fifty Yagerbombs ca. 2003. 

Although not a flattering story for the Michigan football program, Chris Perry got knocked the f out by a bouncer at Rick's one night after he decided, unwisely, to spit in the bouncer's face after he was asked to move from where he was standing because he was blocking the entrance to the bar for the guys getting ice and beer and whatnot.  It was the classic one punch, knocked totally off his feet and dropped flat on his back.  He jumped back up and a bunch of people grabbed him and broke it up before anything more could happen.  The look on his face was priceless.

and discussing Rick's, a friend of a friend started this website for the folks out there who like cutting lines:

http://linebouncer.com/index.php

Back in the late 80's a (former) friend of mine invited me to dinner at that pizza joint on Liberty (near State). Can't remember the name of the place, but it had those silly/cute names for various pizzas on the menu (like the "Fungus Amongus" for their mushroom pie). Anyway, I get there and find that my friend failed to tell me that she had also invited my ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend! Tried to be polite and ate my pizza, but lost it after we went to Rick's afterwards and got to watch my ex dance and snuggle with her new boy toy. Made up some lame excuse to leave and never went back to Rick's or the pizza joint again. 

Was that pre or post addition of the wooden "stall" doors??

Since everyone in the free world was there that night I think....what year was it that Jeter came back with his teammates and showed up at Rick's Ohio State Weekend? I'd lean towards 2003...but maybe it was back in '97. It was definitely a wild night.

I've met sleezier skanks at Applebees.

I got thrown out on my 21st birthday for puking all over our drink table.  3 wise men x 3 was the coup de'grace.

Insert cool story bro meme here.

Scariest thing I've ever seen in my life was the sole time I went to Rick's with my then-girlfriend and her friends.  It was a late-night "let's go to Rick's!" decision of which I didn't approve.  Some Tuesday night in the middle of the summer.  So we get there at like 1:45, right as they turned the lights on.

Some things you can't unsee.  

Some idiot drunk frat dude was yelling pretty desperately at Darius Morris "you better not leave us!!!!!!" in April of last year. I blame him for Darius Morris leaving.

...used to camp out at a high top against the wall near the back bar and girls would line up to wait to talk to him.

First, pooping in the Rick's bathroom is a legendary move, and one performed by a few Michigan legends. Jim Harbaugh is rumored to have done this many years back (well after his undergrad days though) and Bennie Joppru once shit in the sink.

One night in 2005 or 2006 I think I ended up hanging out with John Navarre and his uncle during the Cardinals bye week (as John was in the NFL at that time). Navarre you could tell had some real mixed feelings about the treatment he had received from fans during his early years, but that's not really the fun part. His uncle apparently just sort of hung around with him all the time and man that guy could drink. He was essentially Don Vito without the lazy eye. I must've done somewhere near a dozen shots alone with that guy and proceeded to blackout. From what I remember, he was not faring so well either.

Another year, Jeter and a bunch of Yankees came to Rick's and got a whole area blocked off in the back where they could pick up chicks. I think Posada, Giambi, Jeter and Gerald Williams (yeah, I know) were there, holding court and having to turn away women. However, one of the Yankees who I had noticed with them at the basketball game earlier in the night was not there. It was middle reliever Tanyon Sturtze, he was at the front bar telling girls he played for the Yankees. I think the best he could pull was a makeout session with some girl that my buddy had made a habit of hooking up with at Rick's on the regular. I somewhat appreciated his effort, given what he must have witnessed by his teammates on a regular basis.

There are infinitely more non-athlete related stories, but I'm sure they would all venture into cool story bro mode, so I'll spare you.

Used to be a fun place. Saw Buddy Guy and Matt Murphy there (lost a good portion of my hearing with BG). The most fun was a band called Loved by Millions. They used to let you come up and sing some of the songs and, with the right amount or alcohol, we sounded so good. Only athlete I recall interacting with was Bruce Kimball who was quite drunk and given his history, quite sad.

I feel like it's a universal truth in Ann Arbor that every circle of friends has at least one person who knows a bartender at Rick's.

I have two memories from Ricks...

My Sr. year flew back from Spring Break in FL on a Sat night, it was snowing and single digits outside. Met up with a friend, went looking for another friend on North Campus.  We "found" a fire extinquisher in Bursley so we drove around campus spraying people with water. Ended up at Ricks and there were only about 20 people there. The "wonder twins" came in and sat next to us (if you were class of '86, you know who I mean).  The rest of the night is history.

A year later I brought my ex-girlfriend's curious roommate to Ricks. Jimmy Harbaugh and Mike Husar came in and sat at the bar right by our table. She kept saying she wanted to meet them. Then some dolt friend of hers came in crying and told her his girlfriend broke up with him.  She went off to console him. I got tired of drinking along so I went over and introduced myself to Jimmy and Mike told them what was going on and then started chatting about football.  While we were drinking beers, she came back and said let's go.  I told her to have her dolt friend walk her home, I'm hanging with Jimmy and Mike.
 

Ask me about checking beer expiration dates at the grocery store sometime.

Any old farts here remember Del Rio?

 the same year this was made, and then many more times there. These guys are still playing!

Many dicey games of 9-ball against Cam, the chicklet grinning, ticket scalping, pool playing bar rat who often frequented Rick's.

You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done

My favorite moment was partying with Kid Rock and the Detroit Red Wings after their "celebrity" game with the USA U-18 team. Nothing more will be said. 

Jake Long and Taylor Lewan got kicked out the night after the OSU game this past year.