London bars/pubs which cater to American sports?

Hi all,

With the NBA Playoffs going on right now and my team (the Chicago Bulls) doing quite well, there's nothing better than having a pint at the pub and watching your favorite team on the big screen! But unfortunately the problem faced here is that I've never once seen a bar or pub broadcasting an American sporting event before. Folks from down under have their Walkabout and other pubs which stay open late/open early to cater to the Kiwi's and Aussie's wanting to watch their big sporting events from Australia and New Zealand. Are their similar pubs which do the same for American sports? If so, I'd like to know where!!

Best,
JP

Hi JP,

If you take a look through this forum there are a couple of threads about American sports being televised in pubs.  The short version is there are some, but they're few and far between, and the times that American sports are on don't help.  (i.e. If an NBA playoff game starts at 8pm Eastern, that's 1am in the UK.)

ciao,
Carl

Yeah, that's the problem isn't it? Most games are on between midnight and 3am! I'll be staying up to watch the Bulls/Heat game tonight, and it starts at 1:30am.

For those reading this who are wondering the same as me, I did a bit of searching around and came across this American style BBQ restaurant that televises American sports from four locations in London. It's called Bodean's. But of course, most if not all of the games are on re-reun (the Bulls game for tonight is playing at 3pm tomorrow at the Soho location and 8pm in Clapham). I will definitely be giving this place a look soon!

http://www.bodeansbbq.com/upcominggames/

Yeah, that's the problem isn't it? Most games are on between midnight and 3am! I'll be staying up to watch the Bulls/Heat game tonight, and it starts at 1:30am.

I feel your pain.  During football season (assuming they pull their thumbs out and get a labor deal done), the Dallas Cowboys are playing 5 night games, so I'll be up from 1am to 4am, by myself, sitting on the couch, wearing a jersey, drinking a beer, trying not to cheer or yell too loud and wake up my wife.   

I feel your pain.  During football season (assuming they pull their thumbs out and get a labor deal done), the Dallas Cowboys are playing 5 night games, so I'll be up from 1am to 4am, by myself, sitting on the couch, wearing a jersey, drinking a beer, trying not to cheer or yell too loud and wake up my wife.   

LOL, that is too funny. I'm right there in the same boat with you when it comes to watching sports in the middle of the night with the wife sleeping in the other room. A couple weeks back when the Bulls had their final game against the Heat during the regular season (where the Bulls won by 1 point causing Heat players to cry in the locker room), I was trying so hard to contain myself from jumping around the room like an idiot. It's hard work, especially after a couple beers!

Speaking of the NFL, the Bears are playing Tampa Bay at Wembley Oct 23rd. I put myself on a waiting list for tickets but haven't heard back yet. Have you had the opportunity to catch NFL games out here yet? I wonder how the atmosphere would differ from being in the States. Pretty sure Wembley police wouldn't be too keen on having folks bust out a grill and beer outside the stadium...

Speaking of the NFL, the Bears are playing Tampa Bay at Wembley Oct 23rd. I put myself on a waiting list for tickets but haven't heard back yet. Have you had the opportunity to catch NFL games out here yet? I wonder how the atmosphere would differ from being in the States. Pretty sure Wembley police wouldn't be too keen on having folks bust out a grill and beer outside the stadium...

I went to the Chargers v Saints game and the Bucs v Pats game the year after that.  Chargers/Saints was a good game between competitive teams, but the Bucs/Pats game was awful; the Pats just killed the Bucs and it was never close.

The atmosphere was cool, though.  Lots of people had a jersey on, and it looked like every team was represented.  The fans followed the game without any trouble, and really supported whichever team was the listed "home" team for the game.  The only reason I didn't go last year is I'm kind of over the novelty of seeing an NFL game in the UK, to say nothing of paying £75 to see two teams I don't really care about.  If Dallas comes over, I'll definitely go to that. 

If you've registered your interest on the NFLUK website, you'll get advance notice of the tickets going on sale, and should be able to get some without any trouble.  I don't know how they'd feel about tailgating.  There's a very corporate-looking fan event before the game, but I have no idea if it was any good or just an opportunity for the NFL to try and sell programs and other crap.

You can't do tailgating in the Wembley carparks. There is an official tailgate party that I think you need a ticket for....alternatively check out the Green Man pub near Wembley that always have a "tailgate" party on before the game.
We went to the game a couple of years ago for the Saints v Chargers (I'm a Saints fan) and it was enjoyable but not a patch on going to a game in the US, and as we usually go over at Thanksgiving I try to go to one then, and it's cheaper as we are already in town!

Hey Guys,

I'm the Marketing Manager for the Sportsman on Old Quebec street near Marble Arch.  As a proud North American, I've been looking for more places to catch games from back home.

With that, the Sportsman is starting to working hard to try to grow our American sports offering.  We've started by showing NCAA football and NFL games and have launched a gametime menu with fantastic wings and burgers.  Best of all, our late license gives you a great place to grab a beer and catch the game.

We'll be looking to grow and develop more in the next while and any feedback anyone has is really appreciated.  We'd like to make sure that we can cater to the expat community.

We'll be holding some special promos in the next little bit, so I hope y'all can find some time to check the club out and let us know how we can make it your home for American sports.

Feel free to reach out to me directly at wlau@london-clubs.co.uk.

For more information, check us out on Facebook here:
newcomer link: http://www.facebook.com/SportsmanCasino [nonactive]

Also, our televised Football schedule for the first half of September:
newcomer link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150258138818021&set=a.467744918020.244422.281465983020&type=1&theater [nonactive]

Hope to hear from you soon!

Cheers,
Wince