Sports bars or lack thereof...

2018 - Marburg near Frankfurt - FIFA World Cup season. There was not a bar in town that didn't have large TVs showing the matches on their patios. Two bars in particular stand out in my memory.

I was traveling alone on this part of my itinerary. I picked a really cute and well-reviewed restaurant for dinner. I walked in at a normal German dinner hour and uneasily noticed it was empty. I took a table anyway. Two other tables were occupied during my dinner. Everyone else was on the patio next door roaring at every play. I could see the game on the screen through a window from where I was sitting. I enjoyed being just a bit removed from the crowd but still a little clued in.

On my way back to the train station, I found what must have been the town's most popular sports bar. The patio was crammed with the typical long picnic tables found in German biergärten, the kind that hold maybe 24 people per side on long benches. There was a TV on EACH side of EVERY table about every 6-8 seating spots so no one had to crane his/her neck to watch the game. Also a lovely roofed pergola and patio heaters so you didn't have to miss a minute due to rain or cold. Every seat was occupied and everyone was staring only at the screen above their companions' heads.

(Marburg is a great university town btw. Highly recommended for a visit. The other very traditional but not sport-related thing I did that day was to wander into a church for a free mens' choir concert. Unfortunately I picked a seat very near the front. The choir was so howlingly bad it was all I could do to sit still and not burst out laughing, but I didn't feel I could walk out. The lowlight was the closing rendition of Hallelujah, with 4, count 'em 4, off-key countertenors butchering what is widely considered Canada's alternate national anthem. k.d. lang they weren't.)

We are huge Liverpool fans, and whenever we are traveling and there's a game, we try to find a pub to watch. We've caught games in Barcelona, Rome, Villefranche-sur-mer, Venice, Florence, Hong Kong, and Grand Cayman, just to name a few.

One of the most memorable times was in Florence. We perched at the bar early and talked to everyone coming in. The best thing about it is that the majority of people there come from somewhere else (ie also travelers), but we have Liverpool in common, so its easy to strike up conversation, even for introverts. I was sitting beside a lovely, elegant woman from Paris (we were playing PSG). We had a great conversation.

We always carry some Liverbirds to give away (symbol of Liverpool). My friend makes these little plaques on a water jet, mainly for giveaway. He always gives us four when we are going on a trip, to give to new friends. We've given them out all over the world.

We take a photo of our new friend with the Liverbird and send back to the maker. His favourite was a fellow we met at a pub in Kinsale, Ireland, who had in fact scored at the Kop end! (Liverpool's stadium).

When in Paris, I can watch live Packer games at W.O.S. in the Latin Quarter. Its the home of the Green Bay Packers in France.

I've been in Europe a few times during tournaments that seemed to include teams from throughout Europe. It was amazing. Every outdoor restaurant in the heart of Dusseldorf had TV's set up and they were packed. Somehow, the word had gotten around so that at one bar, everyone was from England and they were dressed to the extreme. At another bar, everyone was from Croatia. There must have been at least 25 outdoor bars in a 2 block area and they were all killing it.

Another time in Taormina on Sicily - - - SAME THING. SAME SCENE.

I would recommend that you check out European tournament schedules and book accordingly. You don't even need to be in a town where an event is taking place. If there are plenty of bars and sports fans - - - they will sort things out and be alert and available.

We are Buffalo BilIs fans and in 2016 we were in Florence and walked past a bar and noticed the Bills vs Patriots was on the TV. Of course we stopped in and found all the TV's were tuned to American sports games. Turned out it was a bar that catered to American college students doing study abroad. We had a similar experience in Leiden last year - found a bar that had the Bills game on for a couple of guys studying at the University there.

sports is 1 of the reasons i travel
I've gone to several soccer games : arsenal (london) , man u (manchester) , juventus twice (turin) , psg (paris) , club america (mexico city) , Barcelona fc (barcelona) and 1 euro championship semi final in munich
tried to get tickets to the paris open but scalping isn't allowed so couldn't get any
2 concerts : ac/dc in paris and rolling stones in havana
lucha libre (wrestling) in mexico city
muay thai in chaing mai
game 7 stanley cup finals carolina VS edmonton in raleigh
Baseball , NFL , MSL and NHL games throughout north america

For watching a games while travelling , it depends on the mood im in on that day . if its a lazt day where i want beers ,food and to meet locals and travelers . its a quick google to see whats around me .
beens to pubs in a lot of the countries to catch a games from superbowls , nhl and baseball finals and other games in other sports

You should expand the circle of sports fandom -- there in Nice is a rugby hangout that I often recommend for the charcuterie, but it's also a gathering spot for ruggers -- L'Ovale. Named for the ball, even. https://www.lovale.fr

I've also been to bicycling fan hangouts.
Not too hard to find places following tennis tournaments, either.

England v Germany, World Cup qualifier 2001. England beat Germany 5 -1, watched it at Heathrow airport with a group of friends en route to Ibiza, never know Heathrow to have such an atmosphere and it was the perfect start to our holiday.

JC, I believe that score should read Liverpool 5 Germany 1, since all England scorers played for Liverpool at that time (Owen, Heskey, Gerrard).

My experience is much like others. As a disclaimer, I am not a big sports fan, but I do enjoy the "fan" experience of a big game.

As someone mentioned, during World Cup or Europe Cup, everyplace is a sports bar, especially if the Country team is playing, lots of good memories watching matches.

During other times, I agree, it becomes more difficult, the "Sports Bar" concept seems to be American in origin, but in many larger cities, there are either local iterations, or US or Aussie themed (Never understood the Australian connection, but have run into it several times) venues. In Amsterdam for example, several of the most popular are Satellite Sportscafe, Belushi's (US themed), and CoCo's Outback (Aussie themed). A quick Google search can turn these up.

Beyond that, a "Country" themed bar is usually a good bet, for example on mainland Europe, any British themed pub (or Irish, or American, or Aussie) will nearly always be showing and advertising the home games. A bit tough for American sports though, as American themed bars are fewer and while the number of games much larger, not all are available for International broadcast.

As a last resort, a Sports Book might be showing a game of interest.

My husband was born in Spain, and I learned early on that in order to maximize HIS enjoyment of the trip I should plan our European trips around futbol games and tournaments. Turns out soccer related days have been some of the most rewarding and exciting days of our travels! We were lucky enough to have tickets to a Champions League semi final between Real Madrid and Athletico at the Bernabeu in Madrid. Amazing electricity in the stadium, in fact the entire day (and well into the night) was one big party. We also followed the "Furia Roja" around France for their group stages games for the 2016 Euros and had many, many wonderful experiences with fans from all over Europe. But by far the most memorable sports related memory I cherish is being on the Champs du Mars, watching the opening ceremonies of the 2016 Euros on a humungous screen, with the Eiffel Tower in the background. We were wearing our Spain jerseys and were surrounded by thousands of (mostly) French people lustily singing La Marseillaise. Some young men put their arms around us and we swayed and hummed along with them before double kissing them and wishing them good luck in the tournament. It was absolute magic. As others have said above, sports are a great way to strike up a conversation as it's something you have in common. If you find yourself in a city or town that has a big sports event going on - embrace it! Buy a souvenir shirt or scarf and join the fun.

Turns out soccer related days have been some of the most rewarding and
exciting days of our travels!

As soon as I read that I thought of a fish out of water story. My wife had little interest in sports except to watch our kids when they were younger and involved in hockey, soccer and baseball. It was 1986 and we were still in our early dating stages and somehow I convinced her to go to a WWF wrestling event that included Hulk Hogan and The Macho Man. The atmosphere and theatrics were over the top and she still talks about the silliness and fun of it all.

I agree, as I mentioned in my post, I am not a big Sports fan, but being in a packed Pub in Bath, watching England play in the 1/4 finals was all about the people and the atmosphere...not so much the game (England lost). Ditto, being in the Cinque Terre during World Cup and spending the afternoon at a bar in Riomaggiore, with what seemed like half the town huddled around what seemed like an old 16" TV, then later being in Milan, in a packed Piazza del Duomo in front of a Jumbotron, watching USA/Italy as one of the few Americans there...then slinking out after the USA pulled an upset.

I can't tell you much about the games, but the memories are vivid.

My wife and I were slowly circumnavigating Ireland a number of years ago while the Gaelic football championship playoffs were on at the same time the Ryder Cup was being played in Kentucky. Every evening for dinner we'd go to a pub and watch the Ryder cup (live thanks to the time differential) while eating Pub food. Ireland had Rory McIlroy and Padraig Harrington on the Euro team and there was a lot of local interest. We're not golfers, but the camaraderie was incredible. (several people asked us if it was possible a golfer was really named 'Bubba' Watson). The last day, where the US clinched, we were at a golf club (Wexford maybe?) and watched the thrilling end as the only Americans amongst a group of golf fanatics.

We watched and listened to several Gaelic football matches that trip. Pub partisans were always glad to explain the game.

Another trip -2010- we were in Paris, Germany, and Salzburg during the Euro football championships and watched a lot of soccer during meal times. We watched Ireland play someone (maybe Croatia?) in an Irish pub in Salzburg. Great time.
3 years ago we planned a trip to Paris to watch the penultimate leg of the World Rugby 7s in Paris. After booking the trip months in advance, the schedule got changed so we ended up watching it from home on the internet after our return. We like to immerse ourselves with fans.

I've been thinking of how sports influences how I see things when I travel besides seeking out a game or event. The best example I have is the Colosseum in Rome. I was surprised how similar it was designed to modern stadiums. My favourite talking point is if you look above the entrances you'll see roman numerals declaring the gate number. Our guide told us that Roman's would have a ticket with gate, row and seat number, just like now. My wife could have cared less about this fun fact but I was fascinated.

I'll also seek out team stores in the city I'm visting just to see the stuff. In Barcelona I couldn't believe how much Lionel Messi/FC Barcelona merchandise was at every gift shop and how much was being a bought, it was like a pilgrimage for some.

Allan it is definitely like a pilgrimage. We also go on stadium tours when we are away, including three tours of Anfield (Liverpool) on three different trips.

We’ve witnessed a reaction to a typical brewpub sports bar by Germans in the US. We understood from visiting with friends in Germany that they didn’t quite understand having TVs in many food places in the US. One afternoon as we were sitting in our brewpub on State St in Santa Barbara, 2 German couples walked in, looked around at the 8-10 TVs (which were all showing different sports teams) on the walls, shuddered, muttered schrecklich and turned and walked out. We thought it was brave of them to wade in and see for themselves. Yep, they’ll have a story to tell when they return to Germany.

Another sports bar we were surprised with was at our hotel in Kinsale Ireland in June of 2017. We’d spent a couple nights enjoying the hotel and it’s location on the harbor. On our third morning we were awakened by shouting and cheering coming from below. We went downstairs to breakfast only to discover that the bar and adjacent breakfast rooms were spilling over with local fans who were watching the Lions rugby team play the All Blacks in NZ. They had to get up really early to catch this match in NZ.