Sports Bars

[Neuqua]

What do you guys think of them?

Would you rather invite the guys over to watch the big game or is going out to the local bar still fun for some? What do you guys like/dislike about going to them?

I'm asking for personal reasons and was wondering what exactly people enjoy and don't enjoy about going to them. I can understand sometimes its harder to do as you get older.

[Eaglesfan27]

What do you guys think of them?

Would you rather invite the guys over to watch the big game or is going out to the local bar still fun for some? What do you guys like/dislike about going to them?

I'm asking for personal reasons and was wondering what exactly people enjoy and don't enjoy about going to them. I can understand sometimes its harder to do as you get older.

I think they can be fun if the bar is in your home town/the home town of the team in question and you are rooting for your team there. However, generally for the SB and such, I'm not a fan of them as I find it somehow detracts from the game. I like to focus on the nuances.

For the SB, I'd much rather just invite the guys over.

[Craptacular]

Can someone please just say SUPER BOWL and stop with the "big game" crap. We see enough of that in ads.

[Neuqua]

Can someone please just say SUPER BOWL and stop with the "big game" crap. We see enough of that in ads.
I'm not talking about just the Super Bowl though.

I'm talking about any game. I'm curious as to what FOFC thinks about sports bars in general. What they liked about them, what they disliked about them, etc.

[Craptacular]

Ok ... just hit a sore spot, I guess.

I'm not a bar fan to begin with, but I'd definitely watch the games at my house or a friend's house. The only time I've really ever gone to a sports bar to watch a game is if either:

a) I'm out-of-town for business, etc, or
b) I meet up at a central location with friends from out-of-town

[Honolulu_Blue]

I don't mind sports bars. In some instances their your only place to watch a game. If that's the case, I'll go and have a good time.

That said, if I had a choice between a sports bar and my place/a friend's place, I would skip the bar everytime. This would be especially true if it were an "important" game. Sports bars tend to be a bit more distracting and I don't want that during an important game. Also, even if I am surrounded by home town fans, there is a strong likelihood someone will piss me off by continually saying something stupid. I don't like to watch angry, especially if I'm nervous.

[Arctus]

I like sports bars. The main reasons I go to them are:

1) To catch games that I want to see which are not nationally televised.
2) To watch several games at once (football season).
3) To provide an excuse to catch up with friends and get hammered and/or consume large quantities of wings.

[Swaggs]

I don't like watching football at a sports bar, basically because I like to pay very close attention to every play without being distracted and they last a little too long for me to be comfortable at a bar.

I really like watching college basketball at sports bars, though. The games are about the right length that you can go, have a beer, have a meal, have another beer and then leave.

The other appeal is that, if/once you move away from your home area, you can go to watch your team play. Since I have moved to North Carolina, WVU and Pittsburgh Steelers games are not as easy to get down here.

[Neuqua]

Thanks to the responses so far.

Do you usually consider food just as important as drinking when you go? Would you go to a smaller bar a few blocks away if the food selections was very minimal?

[Desnudo]

I definitely prefer watching games at home. The SB is definitely a party game, not a bar game. As for other games, I just feel a little idiotic as a grown man letting out cheers and yelps of joy in public over a game on tv. I've been to a few bars since I cheer for an out of town game, but it's never as relaxing as spending a Sunday morning/afternoon on the couch.

Of course, you know you could always just go to the bar and see if you like or not. ;)

[MrBug708]

Home is better because I can do other things. But I like going to see halves or quarters at a place with food

[WSUCougar]

I prefer to be home or at a friend's house for a game involving a team I have definite allegiance to (i.e., Wazzu, Vikings or Seahawks, baseball Cardinals). I want to watch intently and openly display my loyalties. For example, I would feel weird strutting around a sports bar in STL if/when the Seahawks score in the SB.

For general sports viewing, though, I do like the environment of a sports bar. The one MAJOR caveat to that is how smokey the place is. I simply cannot stand that anymore. If it's smokey, I'll just leave.

[timmae]

I usually prefer a game at home versus going out to the bars... however, back when the Avs (w/ Borque) won their cup over the Devils we watched at a sports bar in Chicago. It was near the loop and there were quite a few Avs fans watching... it was a great time.

I agree that it fills a niche when you are rooting for an out of town team (i.e. the reaosn why the college bars are so popular, Buckeyes, Hawkeyes, etc..).

Edit for devils..

[rkmsuf]

If it's Hooters count me in. Otherwise I find friends with hot wives.

[Warhammer]

I prefer the house. If its a good game, we'll all watch. If the game goes to crap, then we pull out a game.

[George]

Thanks to the responses so far.

Do you usually consider food just as important as drinking when you go? Would you go to a smaller bar a few blocks away if the food selections was very minimal?

I'd much rather watch the game at home or at a friend's house. As for the importance of food, it's right up there with the game. Drinking is less important than in was in our younger years, but we'll still put away some beer.

[revrew]

Prefer the freind's house myself for big game watching, but I enjoy sports bars...or at least some of them. I've found three VERY different kinds of places that all call themselves "sports bars"

1. The first kind carries a few neon sports teams' logos in the window, and other than the fact that it has a few TV's is little more than a hokey, smokey bar. Food? Who cares? It's about getting drunk and yelling at the TV. Personally, can't stand these kinds of places.

2. The second kind actually has a menu, usually a big-screen TV for watching the game of local interest and several smaller screens for alternate interest. Expect to sit at tall tables with stools rather than belly up to the bar. These places I've found to be a lot of fun during playoff series time, like World Series, March Madness, etc. There are always a few drunks making fools of themselves, but it's mostly in fun.

3. The third kind--like Benchwarmer Bob's in Minneapolis--is closer to an actual restaurant with food worth going for whether you're going to watch the games or not. Expect to sit in booths or around tables in the "game centers," where several tables are tightly packed around a bigger screen. These are my preferred places to go on Sunday afternoons, because they usually carry NFL Sunday Ticket and you can ask to sit by the game of your choice. Especially in the last few weeks, when the playoff berths are being decided, it's a nice mix of food plus the occasional excitement, without people screaming in your ears all day long. I'm married to a HUGE sports fan (she was late for an appointment Sunday because she was watching the Buick Invitational. GOLF??? What a woman!), and we love going to these kinds of places for a "date". Good food, we can watch the game, and still talk while rooting it up with fellow fans at nearby tables.

[JeeberD]

They're good for getting together with the Dallas UTEP Alumni group for watching games that otherwise wouldn't be watchable (thanks to my cheap spending on cable). Otherwise I'm much happier staying at home to watch games. Well, except for that one EXTREMELY hot waitress at the Stadium Cafe who kept rubbing up against me last time I was there. Even the little lady thought she was hot...

[Kodos]

I actually prefer to watch the Super Bowl by myself. At least, that's better than watching it with people who are more interested in the damned commercials than the game. Last year, I Tivoed it and zipped through the commercials and half time crap. Best Super Bowl viewing in years.

It'd probably be fun to watch at home with a bunch of actual football fans, but I don't have that as an option.

[ice4277]

I enjoy going to sports bars when there are multiple games on that I want to watch. They can get pretty pricey though, especially for an afternoon/evening of extended viewing. For the most part, I'll go a couple Sundays a year when the Lions are on the road, maybe for a college football Saturday or two, and again around March Madness.

[Radii]

hate it, but I hate people and I hate watching sports in a loud crowd unless i'm at the game. If I don't care about the game then why waste my time and money going out to a bar and if I do care about the game the last place I want to be is in a bar with a bunch of strangers. the North Carolina/Villanova game in the NCAA Tournament last year wasn't on local TV (thanks stupid Kentucky), so a friend of mine and I went out to watch the game. It was a pretty crappy experience aside from talking to my friend during the commercials in the first half(we didn't talk much at all anyway about small talk/catchup kind of stuff, the game was too tense).

[Jonathan Ezarik]

For the most part I like to stay home and watch the games, but this Sunday I'm going to be watching the Super Bowl in one of the neighborhood bars. If the Steelers win, it'll be great to be surrounded by hundreds of other fans. If they lose, well, at least I'll have some shoulders to cry on. And lots of beer to drown my sorrows.

Now, watching soccer is completely different. Watching it in a bar with other soccer fans (a good portion of them British) is a lot more fun than watching at home.

[moriarty]

Now, watching soccer is completely different. Watching it in a bar with other soccer fans (a good portion of them British) is a lot more fun than watching at home.

Totally agree with that. Best part is if you're watching the English leagues, you're in a bar at 10:00 am on Saturday and drinking Guinness with your bacon and eggs. Nothing better than that.

Agree with most people in general though. If I don't care about the football game and am more interested in having fun, I'll go to a bar. If I actually care about the game I'm more likely to watch it at home where I can hear, and don't have to worry about some waiter or drunk idiot blocking my view at the most inopportune time. Edit: One caveat is if your team has a "home bar" where only fans of your team go, then it can be the best place in the world to watch a big game that your team is playing.

[Karlifornia]

I went to a bar for the Rose Bowl, and it was good time besides one idiot who seemed to view football as less of a game to enjoy, and more of a reason to get angry. He kept calling Leinart "Lein-hart". And I kept asking him why he was so interested in a Van Damme movie at a time like this. He stared at me for a while and then yelled "BUSH GIVE BACK YOUR HEISMAN!!!!!" after a 3 yard run.

I generally like them, though.