Source: BroBible
Summary
A Texas man, Oscar Nordin, posted a TikTok about being ignored when he asked a bartender to turn on a TV for a game. The video showed the server laughing and walking away. A follow-up clip suggested the TV was eventually turned on, though it was unclear if it was for him. Comments on the video reflected divided opinions on whether sports should be shown in dive bars. Some argued that dive bars should not have sports on TV, while others believed it was a basic expectation.
Our Reading
The habit gets a new name.
Requesting a game on TV is now a lifestyle choice.
Bartenders are now brand ambassadors for no-sports zones.
Relaxing means not watching anything at all.
Dive bars are just sports bars with better bathroom smells.
Dive Bars: No Place For Sports?
Commenters who replied to Nordin’s video had strong opinions on whether sports should be played in certain locations.
One person wrote, “Perfect! No stupid sports [expletive]!”
Someone else added, “Looks like my kind of spot.”
Another defended the bar’s decision to not turn the game on, stating that dives are no place for broadcast sports.
“Dive bar means no [expletive] DSs yelling at the TV. Supposed to be relaxing not a goddamn scream fit. [Expletive] stupid sports.”
Other Dive Bar Staples
In the same article, the writer states that bathrooms should be endearingly disgusting. Additionally, drink specials should be cheap, like “$6 or less” beer and shot specials. And if mixed drinks contain more than three separate ingredients, then guests have officially landed in a cocktail bar.
Others have opined on the metrics that definitively classify a bar as a dive. Spot On argues that this classification is largely subjective, but there are commonalities between all types of spots. Chief among them are local support, a low-key atmosphere, and a limited menu.
If there are food options, they’re usually limited to light offerings. French fries or tater tots, small bags of chips, popcorn, but no utensils or washable plates to speak of. Also, as the Medium piece argues, cheap drinks are a dive bar’s ultimate currency.
Oftentimes, they must be paid for in cash, as many dives will eschew credit/debit cards and modern-day point-of-sale systems.
Dive Bar Origins
Per The Takeout, the first recorded instance of someone using the phrase dates back to 1871. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary writes that an issue of the New York Herald associated the term with a negative connotation. Defining them as “illegal drinking dens in the lower levels of a building, like a cellar or a basement.”
Hence, the word “dive” suggests guests would have to travel to the bottom of a structure to reach this establishment.
The same write-up places authenticity above all when it comes to a dive bar. Yes, you’re probably thinking of well-worn wooden furniture. Luxuriated leather seats and rivets stained and broken-in after decades of use are a hallmark.
As are artifacts placed on the walls accumulated throughout the bar’s history.
Other Dive Bar Staples
Others have opined on the metrics that definitively classify a bar as a dive. Spot On argues that this classification is largely subjective, but there are commonalities between all types of spots. Chief among them are local support, a low-key atmosphere, and a limited menu.
If there are food options, they’re usually limited to light offerings. French fries or tater tots, small bags of chips, popcorn, but no utensils or washable plates to speak of. Also, as the Medium piece argues, cheap drinks are a dive bar’s ultimate currency.
Oftentimes, they must be paid for in cash, as many dives will eschew credit/debit cards and modern-day point-of-sale systems.
Dive Bar Origins
Per The Takeout, the first recorded instance of someone using the phrase dates back to 1871. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary writes that an issue of the New York Herald associated the term with a negative connotation. Defining them as “illegal drinking dens in the lower levels of a building, like a cellar or a basement.”
Hence, the word “dive” suggests guests would have to travel to the bottom of a structure to reach this establishment.
The same write-up places authenticity above all when it comes to a dive bar. Yes, you’re probably thinking of well-worn wooden furniture. Luxuriated leather seats and rivets stained and broken-in after decades of use are a hallmark.
As are artifacts placed on the walls accumulated throughout the bar’s history.
Author: Evan Null
