MECHANIC FALLS — Rob Wheeler, head bartender at the Mill House Pub in Mechanic Falls, is the “Tom Brady of bartending,” at least according to regulars, and his boss, Yvonne Franklin-Perry.

“We honestly should advertise that Rob’s here for the Super Bowl,” said Perry, who owns the pub with her husband, Steve. “(Rob) came in last night, and the whole bar erupted in a giant cheer.”

Wheeler said he plans to pour drinks while stealing glances of the game on one of the pub’s televisions.

“Everyone’s watching the game, so I can just watch the game too,” Wheeler said.

Perry said the bar, which will celebrate its first anniversary of being open next week, has a devoted core of regulars.

“We’ve been really blessed with a lot of really die-hard regulars. They are here for everything we have going on,” she said.

And Perry thinks most of them will be at the bar to watch the game.

“I’m sure quite a few of them will be here,” she said. “On the day of the AFC championship), the day they won it, one of the wives said, ‘Super Bowl party at my house!’ I thought, I hope everyone doesn’t go over there! Then I talked to her husband a couple days ago, and he said, ‘I don’t want to do that at the house! I don’t want to cook, I don’t want to clean! It will be cheaper for us to have some beers and shots and call it good,’” Perry said. “A lot of people just don’t want the hassle.”

While Wheeler might have time to glance at the game, Perry doesn’t anticipate having much free time.

“I have no idea what’s happening,” she said. “Everyone gets all excited, and I’m just like, ‘I don’t know what happened.’”

Julie Haney-York of Poland works in the health care field and rarely gets a chance to watch the Super Bowl.

She said she misses the commercials more than the game itself.

“They never replay the commercials, and that makes me so mad,” York said. “With the game, they show highlights, and you know who wins. They pay so much for the commercials and never replay them.” 

York said she’s dreading co-workers, family and friends asking her if she saw the commercials during the game.

“Every year, someone will say something like, ‘Did you see that Honda commercial?’ And I’m like, ‘No I was working. I was passing out medication!’” she said. “I get to see one of the Clydesdale commercials every 10 years, if I’m lucky.”

Joe Philippon, a community resource officer for the Lewiston Police Department, said he picked up a patrol shift during the meat of the game.

While he’s not a huge fan, he has reasons to root for the Patriots.

“I recall one year when the Patriots seemed like they were doing well in the game, it seemed pretty quiet, but when they were doing poorly, we started getting more calls. It fluctuated with how they were doing,” Philippon said. 

“In those terms, I’m hoping that it’s going to be a landslide for the Patriots, and it will be a slow eight-hour shift,” he said. 

 

Rob Wheeler, head bartender at the Mill House Pub in Mechanic Falls, will be working during the Super Bowl. He said he plans to steal glances at the game Sunday while he pours. (Sun Journal photo by Jon Bolduc)