Judging by the reactions of our interstate colleagues on social media, or "electronic graffiti" if you will, Canberra is possibly the worst place to celebrate after winning a cricket grand-final on a Wednesday night.
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The all-too-predictable criticism came during the Perth Scorchers thrilling victory over the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League final at Manuka Oval.
"Good luck now finding a bar open to celebrate the win in Canberra on Wednesday night," said Andy Bartlett, who lists his location as Mawson Lakes in South Australia.
"Worst thing about winning for the Scorchers – Canberra doesn't have anywhere open to drink," said Marc Ohlmus with typical Melbourne derision.
But try telling that to the bar staff at Public Bar in Manuka who kept pouring beers until 1.30am on Thursday morning to cater for cricket lovers spilling from the grounds with KFC buckets on their heads.
"Every time there's a big game on at Manuka Oval we are busy with people coming over afterwards," said a manager.
"About two weeks ago we had a lot of English players in here after their match with Australia."
Perth Scorchers captain Adam Voges, who said he was disappointed the final was not held in Perth, could have walked a short distance to Little Brooklyn in Kingston for a celebration beer.
"We closed well after midnight last night and we had a lot of bookings for the cricket with people who couldn't get a ticket, which tells me it was a very busy night," said Little Brooklyn manager Costa Fallas.
But it appears none of that even mattered to the Perth Scorchers, with a team spokesman saying "the boys decided to spent time together in the change rooms after the game to celebrate the victory".
Perth Scorchers are of course partners with Healthway (the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation), which aims to reduce harm from alcohol consumption and promote healthy lifestyles.
It also appears many of the players didn't share the Canberra-bashing mentality of some jealous interstate cricket fans.
"We knew for a long time that the final was always going to be in Canberra and it didn't come as any surprise to the boys, who were more than happy to get on with the job and get down to business," the spokesman said.
"On top of that, a few of the boys have links to Canberra, like [bowler] Jason Behrendorff, and our chief executive [Christine Matthews] used to represent the ACT when she was playing, so no one had a problem coming to Canberra."
