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Subject: OT: What makes a good sports bar?
Posted by: blue hen
- [34342811] Tue, May 24, 2005, 15:29
We're all sports fans here, and a lot of us are between 21 and death, so let me ask: what do you think makes a good sports bar? Televisions? Knowledgable bartenders? Hot babes? Location? Also, what are some of your favorite sports bars wherever you live?
Side bet: how many minutes until Ukula posts bashing the ESPN Zone? |
| 1 | Catfish
Leader
ID: 035262811
Tue, May 24, 2005, 15:33
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Let me be the first to say it: beer is always welcome in a sports bar.
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| 2 | Motley Crue
ID: 52450513
Tue, May 24, 2005, 15:40
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I prefer bars where they only serve soft drinks.
Seriously, for those that live in Florida, Beef O'Brady's is closest to my ideal.
All booths have a 15-inch (or so) flat screen TV on the wall. There are 2 giant screens. And then various other TV's hanging from walls. And they have satellite feeds on almost all of them. During football season, we live there on Sundays. You can find your most important game and sit by it, and then you always have a choice to watch one of the other 4 or 5 games on the TV's surrounding you.
The happy hour prices are awesome. $1 beer mugs, $5 pitchers (big pitchers), $.39 wings, and they are some damn good wings! Happy hour is in effect every weekday from 3-7, and then on weekends from 12-5. Sweeet-uh.
I only know of 2 guys that regularly wait on tables there. Almost all of the servers are girls. So they're not all hot. But with the beer that cheap, they begin to look better!
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| 3 | beastiemiked
ID: 4310501610
Tue, May 24, 2005, 15:50
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Prices and service. Nothing is worse than waiting 10 minutes for a waitress to give you a 4 dollar beer.
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| 4 | Mattinglyinthehall
ID: 428299
Tue, May 24, 2005, 16:00
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I tend to not care for what most people around here call sports bars. Big impersonal expensive places with 2 or more giant screens and at least 7 or 8 total screens. They're always way too crowded and way too loud.
I never cared for watching sports in a bar and in general I'll always prefer to meet up with my budies in one of our living rooms. SO with that in mind, if I'm going to a bar with the boys, I like a place to have ample seating for the 3 or 4 or 7 or however many of us there are to be able to sit near each other and for everyoe to have an unobstructed view of the game we want to watch with the sound up loud enough to hear. Having a couple of other knowledgable sports fans in the joint to interject in conversation, especially if I'm with a small group is nice.
And the place should serve Guinness on tap.
All those things being my ideal, I'd still rather invite the boys over to my place, stock the fridge with beer and fire up the grill out on the terrace.
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| 5 | Texas Flood
ID: 326462912
Tue, May 24, 2005, 16:02
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I like sports bars that are not intended to be sports bars. Years ago in Detroit we had several neighborhood bars around Tiger/Briggs Stadium. These were bars that were busy as heck on game day but were never intended to be a destination to watch the Game on the big screen.
Back in the day It was not unusual to have some of the players stop in after the game for a beer, BS with the fans, and sign some autographs. The one bar I remember most was the Lindell Athletic Club, which was owned by a local bookmaker named Jimmy Butsakaris (sp). One of his best customers was Alex Karras the all pro DT of the Detroit Lions. One night Karras actually got in a fight with a professional wrestler named "Dick the Bruiser". IIRC Karras was suspended for a game or two for this incident and I'm pretty sure this is where he got into trouble betting on NFL games.
I'm recalling this from memory and the details are a little fuzzy but if you're from the Detroit area you may rember the Lindell AC, Hoot Robinsons and a couple of the other old joints around the ballpark.
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| 6 | KrazyKoalaBears
Leader
ID: 517553018
Tue, May 24, 2005, 16:05
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Service, Variety, and Sound.
Service: Like bmd said, it's gotta be good. I can't stand going to a sports bar and waiting forever to get food, drinks, or whatever else. Just because it's a sports bar doesn't mean I should have to wait half an hour for some wings.
Variety: I like sports bars that have variety. Some times I might want wings, other times I might want a burger, and still other times I may want something else. But variety goes beyond food and drinks. I want a sports bar that shows multiple sports. I don't want 20 TV's in sight all with the same channel and game playing. Show me a bunch of different games/sports and let me decide the TV to look at.
Sound: The sports bars that put the speaker at the table have it right. I want to be able to hear the call of a good game.
[Side bet: Since it's already been over 30 minutes, I'll assume he's away from his computer and say 271 minutes.]
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| 7 | Texas Flood
ID: 326462912
Tue, May 24, 2005, 16:07
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Oh yeah, they all should have free popcorn or salted in the shell peanuts and serve Pabst Blue Ribbon on Draft for 25 cents a mug.
That's the way it was and that's the way we liked it;).
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| 8 | biliruben
Leader
ID: 589301110
Tue, May 24, 2005, 16:18
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A good breakfast, with a freshly made spicy bloody from scratch.
All the games viewable from every location.
Good, hot chicken wings with plenty of blue cheese and crunchy celery.
Clean lines and fresh, local beer.
No sticky floors and stale beer smell.
Not too crowded.
Mainly Bill's fans in attendance.
The cops targetted, and eventually drove out of business the only place close in Seattle, because it attracted the wrong (i.e. black) element.
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| 9 | smallwhirled
ID: 324361621
Tue, May 24, 2005, 16:26
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Most of the stuff already mentioned is great.
Lots of darts, pool tables, maybe Golden Tee, stuff like that is always a major plus in my book.
Another plus is going to a place that transforms from more of a sports bar into more of a regular bar. Then you can go to one place, early, watch games and stay all night.
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| 10 | J
Leader
ID: 049346417
Tue, May 24, 2005, 16:29
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They've got Beef O'Brady's in Atlanta now, haven't been yet, but I've been a few times in Tallahassee, not bad, I'll have to check it out up here.
To me, I agree with bmd - service is important to me - and I like for there to be some nice "scenery" with my service. We hang out at BW3's alot (Buffalo Wild Wings) especially during football season. The one closest to me has 4 huge TV's and 20-25 smaller but visable TV's available to watch almost anything. And every month they have some type of beer special. Usually a 23oz beer for $3 or something like that. The food isn't all that great (or cheap) but I can survive on the wings (they do have 50 cent (full sized) drumsticks on wednesdays!)
One thing I miss is, there was this bar in Tallahassee called Wings. They had speakers at each table where you can listen to whatever TV screen you wanted, instead of having to listen to what they want you to listen to.
There's another bar near where i work - free pool and shuffleboard at lunchtime, and they have leather COUCHES to chill on. So incredibly comfortable. I usually go with some buddies at work once a week.
One important part to me is a relatively smoke-free environment. As a non-smoker I just cant stand the smell!!! So I just avoid it as often as possible.
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| 11 | Mikel
ID: 52410214
Tue, May 24, 2005, 16:46
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That's funny texas flood. There is a bar near where i live, in Dearborn Heights, where they have free popcorn.
Pabst, ahhh, now that's the only beer I can afford these days. but cant find it for 25 cents.
There is a bar here in East Lansing, Maggy's, their happy hour offers 50 cent 16 oz drafts of Mil. Best not to mention the $1 burger. That's as cheap as I've found. Although 44 oz pitchers of MGD(at least that's my guess on the size) can be found for $2 at another local establishment on thursdays.
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| 12 | blue hen
ID: 34342811
Tue, May 24, 2005, 16:56
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Every place in New York and Connecticut is now smoke free. I didn't remember how great we have it until I went back to Seattle last week. Ugh.
I love the portable speakers. It really makes for a better experience. And hot waitresses don't really hurt too much. Food is key also.
There's a bar around here called Boston 212. It's essentially a Red Sox-centric bar right in the middle of New York. I'd imagine you'd get some pretty knowledgable fans there. But when the Sox game is over, do they flip it to the duel between Dan Haren and Joel Pineiro? I don't know, but that's an important factor in choosing my bar. The more games available, the better.
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| 13 | Toral
ID: 53422511
Tue, May 24, 2005, 17:05
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Lindell A.C. may have been the first famous sports bar, famous for the possibility of players dropping by to havbe a brew at any time. It was in the parking lot there that Billy Martin punched out his pitcher, Dave Boswell. I made a trip into Detroit with a freind while in Windsor just to visit it. (Though there were no games going on and the place was dead that day.)
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| 14 | barilko6
ID: 551022715
Tue, May 24, 2005, 20:48
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Hmm...Not enough people are saying cute waitresses...Are you all girls??? lol
Cold Beer served in iced glasses, a variety of games on TV...fast service and good food
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| 15 | The Treasonists
ID: 57225913
Wed, May 25, 2005, 13:27
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I would say one of the sports books in Las Vegas, although I don't get there that often. Ceasars Palace is nice. You want to see passionate sports fans, that's your place. Mostly because they bet on someone. Awesome waitresses. Free drinks if you act like you are betting on the horse races. Giant screens. Multiple screens. Cheap food. Legalized betting. What's not to like?
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| 16 | blue hen
ID: 34342811
Wed, May 25, 2005, 14:21
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Agree with Treasonists.
Also, if any of you ever visit Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut and you're in the sports bar area, the horse area is 50 feet away and serves free drinks.
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| 17 | The Treasonists
ID: 57225913
Wed, May 25, 2005, 16:53
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All you really have to do is spread a couple losing betting slips in front of you and order a Heinekin when the girl comes around. Of course tip her a dollar. What I sometimes do, is find the most expert looking guy at the horserace book and follow him to the betting window, and then say you want to bet the same thing he did for $2. Or you can sit near him and try to glance at his ticket if it's laying out. Some of those guys spend hours going over those racing forms to come up with their bets.
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| 18 | blue hen
ID: 34342811
Wed, May 25, 2005, 17:35
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Nah, I usually just bet on the favorites. The money is small, but I get the exhiliaration of winning much more often.
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| 19 | barilko6
ID: 194492311
Wed, May 25, 2005, 18:18
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re 17: Classic move...lol
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