Riding back in the car Sunday, while it shuffled through the snow sprinkling down in the Ozarks Sunday, I started going over just what kind of weekend I experienced. It was food filled, family and friends filled, and just enough football filled. We saw a true Border War this weekend and we were thankful for a great time. But before I jump on the recovery treadmill, let’s do a flyby of Skybox.
From what I heard, Skybox is the place to be for sports in Springfield. Walking in, I thought it was small, but after some poking around I discovered a big TV area, a banquet room, and even a patio. The TV area had two huge screens and HD flat screens plus analogue screens all over. It was dark for a bar, but the spaciousness of the ceiling made it a warm and cozy retreat from the weather outside. Apparently I could win a Cruizin Cooler too.
I neglected to mention the game room because there is so much to talk about. As you can tell from above, the room was a big surprise. There are 3 pool tables with Bacardi and Jagermeister felts you can play on for only 75 cents. Skybox had the standard Golden Tee, Silverstrike Bowling, and both Buck Hunter Pro and Safari. If that doesn’t get your goat, then Keno and NTN Trivia will keep you distracted. Real big bonus points go to Skybox for having a drop claw game.
The service didn’t drop at all during our time at Skybox. The waitresses were nice and prompt. There were no food specials but for $7.50 you can nab a Coors Light or Miller Light pitcher. Now I’ve never seen the beer cooler contraption before, but really helped keep the brew cold while we sipped our way through the game. The Build a Hall of Fame Burger was not as good as the burger from the Jaywalker’s, but the pepper jack and bacon made it a tasty selection none the less. After which, you can light up as Springfield lets you smoke or you could do what I did and chase down a can of Sparks.
Speaking of Chase, we made our way out to Skybox for the expressed intent of watching Missouri play Kansas in the Border War at Arrowhead Stadium. Much like the muck outside, the muck in the stadium made for sloppy play. Back and forth were turnovers a plenty and from the get go we could tell it was going to be a wild game. KU went up quick but Mizzou came back only to let the Jayhawks nab a safety on Chase Daniels. Jake Sharp was the difference for the Jayhawks in the game as he pounded away on the slushy ground.
MU kept it close and took the lead late but a pass from Todd Reesing to Chad Meier for a touchdown put the Jayhawks up 40-37 with under a minute to go. Mizzou, led by Chase Daniels, drove back down and setup a 54 yard field goal for Jeff Wolfert. Wolfert missed and KU won. This seriously was one of the best games I’ve seen all year and I’m glad they renewed the Arrowhead Border War through 2012.
The football experience for the day was over, except for the last quarter of the Bedlam series where Oklahoma pulled away from Oklahoma State. It jacked up the BCS and the Big 12, but we’ll get to that later. For now, we enjoyed the best sports bar in Springfield, Missouri in Skybox. This Purple Yeti will be gnawing on the football leftovers for a couple of days.