Where to Watch Football
Thursday, September 9, 2004
Popular with downtown office workers, the Bottom Line isn't really a weekend destination -- except during football season. Miller Lite drafts and bottles are $1.50 during games on Saturday and Sunday, and on Monday nights the bar throws half-price burgers into the mix.
Alumni watch: Purdue
If you absolutely have to watch your school's homecoming game with all your old roommates, you can call Megan Gay at Buffalo Billiards. She can reserve a space in front of a television tuned to your team -- there are five new plasma screens to go with three projection screens and 13 other TVs, as well as darts and plenty of pool tables. Gay can give you the lowdown on the bar's rotating beer specials, which are offered during all college and pro games. Just make sure you call a week in advance, as the bar is very popular with alumni groups; Redskins, Cowboys and Packers games draw crowds.
Alumni watch: Ohio State (official); Others making reservations include Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas, Texas State, Stanford and Virginia Tech
If the usual sports-bar atmosphere doesn't appeal, you can always catch NFL games in a stylish, upscale restaurant like Chef Geoff's. Seriously. There are four televisions in the bar, all outfitted with the latest satellite packages, but the real draw is the food and drink. Sundays feature an all-day happy hour with $5 burgers, $7 chipotle wings and $8 grilled pizzas; beverages include $2.95 Coronas and supersized mugs of beer for $6.95.
With more than 150 televisions -- including a 16-foot screen in the main restaurant area and small monitors in the bathroom -- no bar can top the ESPN Zone for overall screenage. Naturally, Redskins games have priority. (At Baltimore's ESPN Zone, which has more than 200 screens, the Ravens get top billing.) Throughout the season, there will be giveaways and contests on Sunday and Monday nights. Of course, no matter how their favorite team is doing, there are folks who are just as worried -- if not more -- about their fantasy football team. ESPN Zones across the country host "Fantasy Football Wednesdays," with experts offering advice via a closed-circuit video feed, beginning at 6 p.m. Arrive early to get a seat.
Open since the mid-'70s, the Exchange, located in the shadow of the Old Executive Office Building, successfully rebranded itself as a sports bar last year. Eleven televisions, including a 6-by-4-foot projection screen, broadcast games every week. This year, the bar has a new all-inclusive special for football fans: four hours of all-you-can-eat wings and all-you-can-drink Budweiser and Bud Light drafts for $25. The feasting runs from noon to 4, 4 to 8 or 8 to midnight on Saturdays and Sundays, or kickoff to final whistle on Monday night.
Alumni watch: Colgate, Indiana, Virginia (official) and Wisconsin
Located in the downtown Hyatt, the Grand Slam draws a mix of tourists and local fans. The most convenient feature is its updated-daily hotline -- 202-637-4789, Ext. 1 -- which lets callers know in advance which games are going to be featured on the three big screens, two plasmas and 26 smaller monitors. During the college football season, drink specials -- including $7 Heineken buckets -- vary based on which alumni groups are in the house. Sunday find more beer specials for fans of the Cowboys, Saints and Raiders; "Probably Miller Lite," says one manager.
Alumni watch: Colorado, Florida State, Rutgers and UCLA
On Capitol Hill, the venerable Hawk and Dove welcomes college and pro fans, although fans of the Packers, Browns and Rams are most numerous. The Hawk has 15 televisions, including a projection screen and two new flat screens, and game-day Miller Lite specials include $2 bottles and $7 pitchers.
McFadden's offers three large projection screens, a trio of 42-inch plasma screens and 18 other televisions over two floors, and its specials are worth a look: $5 pitchers of Miller Lite; $7 pitchers of Yuengling; $10 buckets of Budweiser, Bud Light, Miller Lite or Coors Light bottles; plus varying food specials. Arrive early (10 to 2) for a $15.95 all-you-can-eat brunch.
Alumni watch: All the local schools, plus Boston College
The Penn Ave. Pour House lost most of its Pittsburgh Steelers memorabilia when it lost the "Penn Ave." from its name; but the new owners have covered the walls with vintage sports photos and upped the number of televisions, including one small video wall with multiple screens on the main level, and more televisions -- including a projection screen -- upstairs and in the basement. College fans will find $8 pitchers of domestic beer and $5 wing platters on Saturdays; and while similar specials are offered during NFL games, Steelers fans can get a kielbasa sandwich and a can of delicious Iron City beer for $5.
Alumni watch: Alabama, Michigan, Penn State and Texas Tech
This is Cornhusker central and has been for years. Deals on Saturday, Sunday and during "Monday Night Football" games include $6 pitchers of Miller Lite and $5 plates of wings and nachos. Arrive early to get a good seat with television sightlines.
Alumni watch: Nebraska
It made its name as a hole-in-the-wall catering to Georgetown students, but the Rhino Bar is also a good place to catch a game. The bar has 18 televisions, including three big screens, and offers good specials during games -- 25-cent wings on Saturdays and Sundays, and 10-cent wings and $2.50 Budweiser and Bud Light bottles on Monday nights. It's also one of the few places that welcomes Eagles fans with open arms.
Alumni watch: Penn State, Syracuse and Texas A&M
You'll find a patio, second-story deck and 16 televisions, including a 10-foot screen, at Bethesda's golf-themed sports bar. During games, specials include half-price appetizers and $3 Miller Lite and Yuengling drafts.
Alumni watch: Penn State
It's more of a young professionals singles spot than a sports bar, but Tommy Joe's brings the specials during games, including $3 premium drafts and Grand Marnier shots; half-price wings and quesadillas; and a different bottled beer special every Sunday.
Alumni watch: Florida and Michigan
The memorabilia-laden Bethesda sports bar offers 22 televisions -- there's even one in the men's room -- and the deals on Monday night include half-price burgers and $1.75 Bud Light drafts.
An official viewing spot for the D.C. Metro Raiders fan club, Uncle Jed's added two televisions to its new basement-level patio; the Bethesda roadhouse now has 24, including three big screens. (Outdoor televisions, of course, mean smokers won't miss any action.) Sunday's all-day happy hour means $1 off all beers and rail drinks. During "Monday Night Football," fans get 22-ounce Budweiser drafts for $2.50, half-price burgers during the first half and half-price wings in the second half.
Willy K's draws fans of the Redskins, Vikings and Steelers, but the room is often packed, regardless of who's playing. Game-day specials at this Holiday Inn bar include 20-ounce domestic drafts for $2.50 and buckets of five Coors Light bottles for $10. Thirteen televisions -- including one big screen -- keep up with every game.
The huge Ballston Common bar has 55 televisions -- including three projection screens and 18 large flat-screens -- throughout three rooms, and pool tables and shuffleboard, among other distractions. There are no specials during games, but regulars should pick up a frequent customer card and get it stamped each time they watch a game. Spend enough time at the bar and you could win team jerseys, mountain bikes or a Weber grill.
Alumni watch: Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Northwestern, Texas and USC
Sterling's newest wings joint has 28 varieties of Buffalo wings and eight televisions. On Sundays, try 20 wings and a pitcher of domestic beer for $20.99, or stop by Monday for 39-cent wings.
It's known for pool and darts -- and Rocklands Barbecue next door -- but Carpool also offers space for football fans. There are 16 televisions, including two big screens, and beer specials (most in the $2.25 to $2.75 range) from noon to 9 p.m. on weekends.
There's not much going on here over the weekend, but for "Monday Night Football," Carpool offers half-price appetizers and the game on a big screen and seven smaller televisions.
Reston's favorite sports bar dazzles with its video walls, which allow several games to be shown on adjacent screens, or several adjacent monitors to combine Voltron-style to create one large picture. If the pictures don't dazzle you, maybe the half-price appetizers will -- sample them on Sundays or from 10 p.m. to close on Monday.
Alumni watch: Virginia and Virginia Tech, as well as other local schools.
This is alumni central, where numerous tables in matching jerseys and ballcaps gather to (hopefully) cheer their teams to victory while watching the action on 60-plus televisions. On Saturday, the only special is half-price wings, order pitchers of beer and save a few bucks.
Alumni watch: Groups include Arizona State, Clemson, Georgia, Illinois, Illinois State, Iowa, North Carolina, NC State, Oklahoma and Tennessee, among others
Long known as a hangout for college sports fans, Grevey's has 70 televisions and numerous satellite and DirecTV receivers. This is Hokie country -- Virginia Tech fans get Budweiser, Bud Light and Miller Lite draft specials during games while other fans look on enviously. Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills fans are welcomed on Sundays, and the Bills faithful can enjoy a special "Buffalo platter" of wings and a Beef on Weck sandwich, as well as Canadian beers.
Alumni watch: Florida State, Kentucky, Louisville, Marshall, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia Tech
Owner Jimmy Cerrito misses Buffalo so much that he turns his Herndon watering hole into a little piece of Upstate New York every time the Bills take the field. This is where you want to be if you want authentic Anchor Bar-style Buffalo wings, made with Frank and Teressa's Original Wing Sauce, which Cerrito ships fresh from Buffalo. A pound is $6.25 and worth every cent.
Alumni watch: Virginia Tech
The Springfield sports bar, decorated with posters and jerseys, boasts a few new large-screen plasma televisions this season, bringing its total to 45 televisions. Virginia Tech alumni get beverage specials while their team's games are on.
Alumni watch: Virginia Tech
Members of the Redskins' cheerleading squad will be at Mister Days every Monday night, but this longtime favorite also offers discounted steak dinners (on Mondays only) and buckets of seven-ounce Budweiser, Bud Light and Corona pony bottles. Mister Days continues to add screens at a good clip, with a new 100-inch projection screen (the second in two years) and new plasma and high-definition screens joining almost 70 others. There's hardly a bad seat in the house. If you prefer to watch Redskins games in person, the bar offers packages that include seats, lunch or brunch at the restaurant and a luxury bus to FedEx Field (call for prices and availability). If you already have tickets, you can get food and a ride for $15.
Since 1994, Murphy's has welcomed New England Patriots fans to its second-floor bar area, where they sing songs and yell at the televisions. (Note: Leave kids and Jets fans with sensitive ears at home.) When a Patriots game is on, that's what you're watching, and food and drink specials are frequently available.
On weekends, Herndon's Irish and Australian pub celebrates the American version of football (none of that Aussie Rules, okay?). Food and drink specials change weekly, but college and pro games are always featured on the 10-foot projection television and eight smaller monitors.
There aren't any big screens at this small Court House bar, but owners insist some are coming soon. In the meantime, fans get Miller Lite and Yuengling specials on Saturdays and Samuel Adams and Samuel Adams Oktoberfest deals on Sundays -- $9 pitchers and $2.50 drafts.
Alumni watch: West Virginia
With two levels, the Rhodeside can show multiple games with sound -- very important to alumni groups. There are 16 televisions, including one big screen. You'll pay $8 for a pitcher of Miller Lite, or $10 for any other draft beer, which is a pretty good bargain, or $2 for a Miller Lite can. When Notre Dame games are on, specials also include half-price appetizers and $1 Pabst Blue Ribbon cans.
Alumni watch: Michigan State and Notre Dame
Here's one for the foodies: The "Hail to the Skins" platters, offered on Sunday and Monday nights, include gourmet potato skins like the Burgundy and Gold (double-smoked Applewood bacon, Wisconsin cheddar cheese and sour cream) or the Touchdown (roasted garlic and blue cheese). Platters are $12 for a half-dozen skins. There's only one television -- a 50-inch screen -- but at least you won't go home hungry.
Irish eyes will smile at the Pentagon Row pub, which offers fans a huge projection screen and nine televisions in the 32- to 36-inch range. Drink specials include $2 Miller Lites and $3 Samuel Adams and Sam Oktoberfest. Hungry? Five bucks gets you your choice of a dozen wings, a plate of ribs, a pile of cheese fries or a kielbasa sandwich.
Alumni watch: University of Miami
Tuesday through Saturday, it's "hooray for the red, white and blue" at this Crystal City restaurant. On Sundays and Mondays, though, purple predominates, thanks to the Northern Virginia Vikings Fan Club. After spending last season at Fast Eddie's in Fairfax, the Vikings have a new home, complete with discounted beer during games and food specials like "Colepoppers" -- a plate of jalepeno poppers named in honor of quarterback Dante Culpepper. The Stars and Stripes has eight televisions, including one big screen, and the volume is turned up for all Vikings games.
Before it became one of Northern Virginia's best music venues, the State Theatre was a popular movie theater. During the NFL season, the bar shows "Monday Night Football" games on its 24-foot screen, serving up discounted food and drinks (including free wings at halftime) with no cover charge. Doors open at 7.
Yes, American football fans share space with European and South American football (read: soccer) fans on weekends; but with 54 screens and enough dishes to show 50 events at once, Summers should have room for everybody. For NFL and college fans, there are monthly food and beer specials -- in September, find $5.29 pounds of wings and discounted Killian's Irish Red beer ($2.95 a pint, or $9.95 for a 60-ounce pitcher). "Monday Night Football" fans get half-pound burger platters for $3.95 or a 10-inch pepperoni pizza for $6.95. Of note: The new nonsmoking bar room sports a number of large flat-screen monitors.
Alumni watch: East Carolina, Florida, Louisiana State, Oregon and Oregon State
