Sports & Social is a sports bar on steroids. Some may call it soulless, but in the state’s new era of legalized sports gambling, it’s a reality. Here, fans’ loyalty is to the betting ticket they hold in their hand, not necessarily to their favorite team. Welcome to Sports & Social, Baltimore’s first sports bar in a sports book-that is, an establishment where people can place bets on sporting events. In fact, cheers and groans are heard from every corner of this space throughout the afternoon, as they undoubtedly will this month during the NCAA Final Four and the start of the NBA playoffs. The patrons seem equally excited when the Lions take the lead over the Falcons in a meaningless game. But then, minutes later, something curious happens.
On the day after Christmas, when third string Ravens quarterback Josh Johnson (Who? more than one person asks) throws a touchdown pass to put Baltimore up 7-3 on Cincinnati, the crowd at Sports & Social Maryland at Hanover’s Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland erupts. It was a scene that no doubt played out similarly in sports bars across the region.
