Todd Beegle recalls the SEC Championship game a few years ago when a woman climbed on to the bar at On Tap in celebration. Repeated efforts by management failed to end her gyrations, until her boyfriend was told both were destined for jail if she did not step down before the police arrived.
The boyfriend quickly complied. After all, he was there to watch the game.
Cheering on your favorite team at a sports bar may be the next-best thing to being in the stadium itself - and the sports bar offers table service, too.
In Birmingham the options are broad. There are large sports bars with scores of televisions that provide multiple game-day options, like On Tap and Buffalo Wild Wings. Bars like Hooters and Tilted Kilt come with their own cheerleaders. Smaller venues like PT's of Soho and Billy's may offer fewer game choices but the fans are just as festive.
Programming television on college-football Saturdays and NFL Sundays can be a delicate dance for sports-bar managers. It's a matter of prioritizing, not only which game will be on which set, but also choosing which game to broadcast on the sound system, say Beegle and Jeramy Stephens, general manager of the Buffalo Wild Wings on U.S. 280.
"Usually we'll do whichever game has the greater impact nationally, or on the SEC West," Stephens says. "We have to use common sense."
Obviously the Crimson Tide and Tigers get priority, dominating the sets in any local sports bar when they are playing. Worst-case scenario is when the teams play at the same time, but only one game can go on the sound system.
"We'll usually decide based on the matchup, which game is harder to get on TV, whether it's a nationally broadcast game versus part of a sports package," Beegle says. Some bars with televisions inside and outside also have separate sound systems, allowing fans for each team to hear their game.
Overlapping Alabama and Auburn games also can be a problem. If the Alabama game is tight or headed for overtime, forget about getting most sports to swap the sound when the Auburn game starts (and vice-versa). Most managers know that switching the sound when one game is at halftime can cause trouble when they try to go back when action resumes.
Most sports bars experience at least four waves of fans on a football Saturday - for the games that kick-off at 11 a.m., 2:30 p.m., nighttime national broadcasts and late games on the West Coast. (Three waves occur on NFL Sundays: early-afternoon, late-afternoon and Prime Time games.)
Catching your favorite team requires thinking ahead, and being observant. Beegle and Stephens say Bama and Auburn fans show up at least an hour before game time - up to two hours early to get the best seats. Snagging the right table may require patience, waiting for an earlier game to wrap up or for disgruntled fans to leave early during a rout.
Fans who pull for teams other than Alabama and Auburn need to check out which television is showing their game and angle for nearby seats. Larger sports bars also will put signs on their bigscreen TVs listing the matchup (both college and NFL games).
Or if your game is overlooked, scope out a nearby set where no one is watching and ask an employee to switch channels. They're in the customer-service business and try to accommodate all reasonable requests. In fact, Beegle says he tries to program obscure games on a few sets at On Tap so he has that flexibility.
"We have 12 satellite dishes in the back, so it's very rare we can't get a game on for somebody," BWW's Stephens says. "We're sports fans, too. Our success depends on our ability to provide an atmosphere for everybody, not just fans of one team or even one sport."
A sample of sports bars in the Birmingham area:
Buffalo Wild Wings: 4507 Riverview Parkway (Target Plaza off U.S. 280); 2505 Caulfield Drive (Gardendale); 2772 John Hawkins Parkway (Hoover); 5915 Trussville Crossing Parkway (Trussville); 840 Colonial Promenade Parkway (Alabaster).
On Tap Sports Cafe: 737 29th St. S, (Lakeview); 810 Inverness Corners (off U.S. 280); 3340 Galleria Circle (Hoover); 1600 Main St. (Fultondale).
Billy's Sports Grill: 4520 Overton Rd. (Liberty Park); 2012 Cahaba Road, Mountain Brook.
PT's of SO HO: 1830 29th Ave. S, Homewood.
Blackwell's Neighborhood Pub: 3151 Green Valley Road (Cahaba Heights).
Bob Baumhower's Wings Sports Grill: 1001 Doug Baker Blvd. (Lee Branch); 4445 Creekside Ave. (Patton Creek).
BAM: 3144 Heights Village (Cahaba Heights).
Tilted Kilt: 14 Perimeter Park S, Birmingham.
Hooters: 1278 Oak Grove Road (Homewood); 1917 Edwards Lake Road (Trussville); 400 Cahaba Valley Road (Pelham).
Good People Brewing Company: 114 14th St S, Birmingham