It’s the MOST wonderful time of the year… And no, I don’t mean the Christmas season—I’m talking about college football, y’all!!! It brings people together like no other sport. Sure, folks might get together to watch the World Series or the Super Bowl, but you can bet that every Saturday from September through November there are groups gathered in bars or friend’s homes cheering on their favorite team. Now I am an NFL fan too, but the college boys have my heart.

Criteria

Where are some of my personal favorites to watch my team on Game Day? Well, being a serious game watcher, I have a few criteria that must be met for me to join you on any given Saturday during these few precious weeks:

• Good food
• Good drinks
• Decent TVs (yes, plural—you need to have multiple games on most weeks in order to catch all the excitement)
• Fellow football fans

Now, I am a die-hard Tide girl, but you don’t have to be a Bama fan, just don’t be the person giving dirty looks to those of us jumping up and down in our seats, be the person cheering for a team—any team! (Well, almost any team…you know who you are.)

The Usuals

There are the usual suspects for great game watching: Baumhower’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and Mellow Mushroom. They are all fun and meet my demands listed above. But they also tend to get a little crowded, and as you all know, I like to support local when I can.

My Favorites

There are SO many places to go in Huntsville, it would be impossible for me to name them all (so I won’t even try!). And I don’t have to! Our Valley Events has done it for me. They’ve created a directory of all the local bars/nightlife spots and put them in one easy to use directory that you can find here.

But now on to MY favorites. Here are the places I like to go and what I like about them. Don’t see your favorite? Let me know in the comments section.

For Variety

Below the Radar, the new brewery downtown has televisions all over the restaurant, wonderful food and more beers than you can shake a stick at.

Giant TV

Another favorite is the Sports Page—again, one HUGE TV and others on the walls all over the place, fab bar food and some of the best service in town.

Family-Friendly

If you are looking for a family friendly atmosphere, Bandito South Side is non-smoking, has a great variety of Mexican food and several local beers on tap.

Non-Football Watchers

Then there are those times when you still want to catch the game, but perhaps your wife, friend, etc isn’t so into it (gasp!) Mezza Luna serves delicious dishes sure to impress and has two nice-sized televisions over the bar, awesome drinks and friendly bar tenders.

Patio

The Tavern at Bridge Street has a cool indoor/outdoor bar which allows for superb people watching during commercials and a wide variety of menu choices.

I have been known to watch a game or two at just about any restaurant bar. Never trust a bar without a TV on during football season! Wherever your quest for Game Day fun takes you, I hope you give some of these local places a try and Roll Tide!!!!

Your Turn

It’s your! Let me know in the comments below, where do you go to watch the game?