NFL Playoffs Good Business For Sports Teams Bars

Fans Of Patriots, Ravens, 49ers And Falcons Bring The Party

When the New England Patriots defeated the Houston Texans 41-28 on Sunday to advance to the AFC Championship, Sonny McLean’s and Fat Face Fenner’s were also winners.

These are two Los Angeles sports bars with Boston backgrounds that attract Patriots fans. In fact, legendary Patriots (and former USC) running back Sam “Bam” Cunningham was in Sonny McLean’s to watch the Houston game.

Los Angeles is king of the transplanted residents, and when their hometown teams play, they gather at specific bars to watch their teams. This amps up during the NFL Playoffs for the fans as much as it does for the players. And bars like Sonny McLain’s and Fenners score with every win.

It’s not just in L.A., of course, where sports bars benefit. So, too, do bars where the home teams are based. One of the big markets this year will be San Francisco, which has the 49ers playing the Atlanta Falcons for the right to go to the Super Bowl. To get seat at Bayside in the Marina District, you might want to get there now.

And it’s that way all over New England, Baltimore and around Atlanta.

This is because, even with high-def TVs, it’s more fun for fans to watch the team with other fans. Friends, event strangers.

When something good happens, you want to high-five fellow fans. And when something bad happens – a fumble, missed field goal or critical interception (just ask Broncos fans now that they have Peyton Manning) – you want to share the sympathy. A shoulder to cry on, so to speak.

It’s also a gold mine for barflies who don’t have a loyalty to a playing team, because they know they can go to a bar that’s crowded and lively. It’s smart, of course, to at least pretend to be a fan of the team which is featured in the bar they patronize.

Once this weekend is over, then it’s less important to try and squeeze in a designated bar of a particular team because for the Super Bowl, nearly all the good sports bars are busy.

And that’s just a good party regardless of the team and indeed, for many, even the outcome.