An Afternoon With Pliny The Younger | Defector

"Sunday was a rather dry sporting day, even if you include the "discovery" of Kevin Durant's supposed burner account. The combination of the NBA's All-Star break and the Milan Cortina Olympics delivered a great deal of incident, but very little of consequence. There were no fresh allegations of cheating curlers or references to serially violated hog lines; that mad Norwegian bastard who has mastered running uphill while wearing skis presumably picked up five or six more gold medals."

"This left a window in the schedule for a little author time, and fortunately this was the day the local tavern was tapping its annual keg of Pliny The Younger, a supremely rare and extremely good locally made and nationally renowned craft beer. All it required from your correspondent was standing in the rain for half an hour, waiting for"

"That last part of the plan sadly failed; the person in question here was actually quite tolerable and even borderline delightful, defying the well-worn stereotype that people are at their best when avoided. But the rest went to plan: the U.S.-Germany hockey game was on, the NBA All-Star Games were not, and the bar was filled with devoted day drinkers who finally had proper cover for their daily nooner."

Sunday offered few sporting highlights because the NBA All-Star break coincided with the Milan Cortina Olympics. No new curling controversies emerged, and a Norwegian skier likely added multiple gold medals. The FA Cup's notable moment was learning that Wigan Athletic's mascot is named Crusty The Pie. A local tavern tapped its annual keg of Pliny The Younger, a rare and renowned craft beer available for only two successive weeks. Securing a pour required standing in the rain and finding a corner seat. An intended solitary experience instead included an unnamed, pleasantly tolerable companion. The bar filled with day drinkers watching the U.S.-Germany hockey game.

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