Beer, Testosterone and Sports

James Griffin, the former mayor of Buffalo New York, a notoriously debaucherous tailgating city, once said in response to how one should manage a blizzard, “wait it out with a six-pack of beer and a football game.” If Buffalo isn’t known for breaking tables, their fans are at least known for excessive consumption of alcohol on game days. In the culture of football, and sports in general as the world has taught us, drinking goes with it like the butter to a slice of toast. It’s no secret people enjoy the two. And in a thankful response to America’s sinful cry, sports bars arose from the depths of our hedonistic cravings. They’re everywhere across the nation. Even in places you expect them not to be, they exist. Tampa is a city like many others that boasts two (yes you heard correctly, two) well followed professional teams, and in an expected subsequence, sports bars are scattered throughout the bay. Though just because a restaurant offers televisions and alcohol, doesn’t mean its a place worth staying at, until of course you’ve had enough of the latter. But in an effort to avoid the potential first half drag of a boring sports bar, one may be inclined to pursue the more arousing options. 

Photo from Wix.

While many sports bars are likely deservant of a place on this list, these three have struck my arousal just enough and in just the right places. Duckies, a small understaffed sports and games bar off of West Kennedy Boulevard, The Saloon, a nightly suffocating sports bar with pool tables and a photobooth, and Duffies, a large table style sports bar that functions much like an Applebees or Chillies, but deserves no such correlation. While they all have their faults (I would challenge one to find a single sports bar in the world without any), their individual strengths are what make them worth an attendance.

Duckies has plenty of TV’s and bar space to enjoy a Sunday, but the best day to visit is Monday for the late game and half price everything. Their hospitality night, while technically only offered to active employees, cuts the menus price in half and even includes drinks. One would have no business spending much money at all during the Monday night game, and the employees, while sparse, are friendly and usually don’t even ask to see a schedule. 

The Saloon is the most expensive of the bunch but also the most lively. It’s a terrific place to catch a weeknight basketball game, or perhaps start a fight during the Sunday night prime time slot with neighboring fans of the opposing team. In any case, it’s environment is what sells it. Ample TV placement, plenty of seating and more than enough places to exercise your attention.  In short, the Saloon is the kind of place you go to with plenty of your friends, and then you don’t mind not remembering how you left.

Finally, and this was in fact purposefully saved for last, comes Duffies. This sports oriented restaurant and bar screams football. The booth railings are lined with model football helmets from every D1 college and NFL team there is. The place, if not consistently full of Sunday regulars, bustles with the hum of constant cheering, beer glass slamming and bet winning celebrations. The price of food and beer is standard but the feel of the place is indescribable. In my experience in Tampa, there is no better place to catch the game.

Photo from Wix.

So save yourself the hassle of potentially boring yourself and your table mates at a less than satisfactory sports bar. Of course nothing beats the real deal like tailgating beside the stadium with real-time reactions. But if you’d like to venture close to such a thrill without putting your liver or table at risk, maybe give one of these a go.