New Year's Day = Football

What do you do on New Year's Day? Watch football, naturally. Trevor Michael of Margarita's Mexican Restaurant and Sports Bar in Grass Valley says "come on over" to the faithful on Jan. 1 and 2.

Not only do they have three TVs (two of which are high definition), they've got the "best marqaritas in town," he says, and that is, indeed, the favored drink of his clientele, although beer, he admits, is a close second.

While there's no betting pool he knows of, Michael says fantasy football is big. "You have to belong to a group, usually a bunch of guys who figure out how to handicap the game, point spreads, and such. It's practically a sport to itself. It's very serious and you don't mess with them."

Does money change hands? He doesn't know about that, but "they get the thrill of being right and getting bragging rights at the office."

It's important to know, though, that when it comes to pro games there's a Raiders bias at Margarita's. "The 49er fans are solid," says Michael, "but the Raider fans are loud." Kings fans come in "hopeful, but they usually leave discouraged."

With the bar drawing a pretty decent Monday night football crowd normally, this Monday, the day of the bowls, might be off the charts.

Margarita's is open noon to 9 p.m. on weekends, although Michael promises they won't shut down when patrons want to see the finish of a game that's taking longer. "And, there's never a cover," he says, "Just come and enjoy."

The address of Margarita's is 988 Plaza Dr., off Brunswick. Call the restaurant/bar at 272-6974.