We’ve made it! Football is back!
It’s been seven and a half months since the Super Bowl. Some of us have tried to feed our craving by closely following free agency, the draft, and training camp. Others – the real football addicts – may have even fallen so low as to turn to a summer league like the USFL or XFL.
Finally, the wait is over. On Thursday, September 7th, the Detroit Lions will travel to Kansas City to play the champion Chiefs. The season’s Thursday night opener will be a nationally televised game, with the rest of the teams playing the following Sunday and Monday.
Where are you going to watch the games this year?
Now, there are plenty of great sports bars with big screens showing multiple games, with fans in all colored jerseys screaming at different times. You’ve been to these places, and you know them by name. But we wanted to find something different.
We set out to build a list of area bars and restaurants that attract followers of certain teams.
With only a few exceptions, the establishments on this list want it to be known that they cater to everyone. They are not officially dedicated to one team over another. The growth of certain crowds happened organically. If you know of a bar that should be included on this list, please email us at wahl@justforbuyersrealty.com
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
The largest national fan base has to belong to either the Steelers or the Cowboys. Surprisingly, we know of no Cowboys bar in Wilmington, but there are two Steelers bars.
Pittsburgh narrowly missed the playoffs last year. They finished with a 9-8 record; it was the 16th consecutive season that Coach Mike Tomlin has posted a winning record. If you want to watch their games this year with like-minded fans, here are the places to go.
Break Time Billiards
127 S College Rd, Wilmington, NC 28403
Average number of Steelers fans: 50 to 75
Best Beverage: Beer is always popular but our purple hooters are popular as well.
Best Food: Nachos and we’re known to have the best Reuben in Wilmington.
Check out the groups Facebook page.
Joe’s Oasis
6400 Carolina Beach Rd #10 2957, Wilmington, NC 28412
Average number of Steelers fans: 75 to 80
Best Beverage: Iron City Beer
Best Food: Our version of the Primanti Brothers Sandwiches
MIAMI DOLPHINS
Coming off the team’s first playoff appearance since 2016, there’s a lot of excitement among the Fin Fans. Although the team has a very tough schedule, they play seven teams that made the playoffs last year, and their division now includes Aaron Rodgers. If you love your Dolphins, the best bet to find like-minded fans is hopping Snow’s Cut Bridge and heading to Carolina Beach.
SeaWitch Cafe & Tiki Bar
227 Carolina Beach Ave N, Carolina Beach, NC 28428
Best Food: Original Witch Burger
CLEVELAND BROWNS
One of the most active fan bases in Wilmington belongs to the Cleveland Browns. A “Browns Backers Club” was established years ago, and each Sunday dozens of fans come out in their orange and brown. This year, if you want to see the Browns, you probably need to head to a bar. The team plays only two nationally televised games, and it’s likely their other games will be featured on local broadcasts. Once again this year, the Brown Backers will be meeting at Wilmington’s Whiskey Trail.
Whiskey Trail
4039 Masonboro Loop Rd Ste 1B, Wilmington, NC 28409
Average number of Browns fans: Depending on the week anywhere from 15 to 40
Best Beverage: Really cold beer, the mugs are kept in an ice cream cooler.
Best Food: Wings and Burgers is what everyone talks about.
NEW YORK JETS
If you are a New York Jets fan and are not excited about this season, then you are really not a New York Jets fan! No other team has made so many praised offseason moves. Not only did they pick up Aaron Rodgers, but they also added running back Delvin Cook and drafted defensive stud Will McDonald. They do play in a tough division and will open with a home game against their rivals from Buffalo. For that game, and the rest of the season, Jets fans will find a home in downtown Wilmington.
The Husk
31 S Front St, Wilmington, NC 28401
Average Number of Jets Fans: 20 to 30
Best Beverage: We have a lot of specialty drinks, probably our most popular are the Husk Sweet Tea, Pirate’s Passion and the Gin-Gin
Best Food: Roudaburger
Check out the group’s Facebook Page.
BUFFALO BILLS
You get the sense that the pressure is really on the Buffalo Bills this year. Last year, many people predicted they would get to the Super Bowl. They fell short of that goal. Consequently, it feels like this season carries a bit of “now or never” to it. This year, Bills fans have two options to watch the games. Once again, a bar in Carolina Beach will have all the games on the big screen, with a new bar in downtown Wilmington getting into the fandom.
The Lazy Pirate
701 N Lake Park Blvd, Carolina Beach, NC 28428
Best Beverage: One of our signature cocktails, either the Electric Shark or the Rum Bucket
Best Food: “The rednecker sandwich which is made with Caribbean pulled pork, grilled mac n’ cheese, crispy bacon on Texas toast.”
Eagles Dare
420 N 3rd St. Wilmington, NC 28401.
Best Beverage: Apkarian’s new craft beer
CHICAGO BEARS
Da’ Bears ended last year’s regular season with the worst record in the league and the rights to the number one overall draft pick. They could have had their pick of rookie quarterbacks like Bryce Young, C.J Stroud, or Anthony Richardson. Instead, they decided to trade the pick away and continue with Justin Fields. The year will prove if that was a good move or if Bears fans will have to suffer for years to come. Chicago fans have one bar, that we know about, that is dedicated to the Bears here in Wilmington.
Goat and Compass
710 N 4th St, Wilmington, NC 28401
Average number of Bears fans: Depends on how the season is going
Best Beverage: Craft Beer, and they are the only full liquor license bar on North 4th Street
With rookie quarterback Bryce Young joining the squad, this is a new beginning for the Carolina Panthers. Typically, when a team turns things over to a rookie, the expectations aren’t very high. In this case, the NFC South may be the weakest division in the league. Brady and Brees are gone, and Atlanta seems to be rebuilding. The division seems wide open for the taking—the Panthers could win it. And there is one bar in town you have to visit to celebrate the highs and endure the lows:
Jax 5th Avenue Deli & Ale House Confirmed
5046 New Centre Dr, Wilmington, NC 28403
Average number of Panthers fans: 80 plus
Best Beverage: Panther’s Punch (a blue shot of liquor)
Best Food: The Legend cold Italian Sandwich, free pickles, Pita pizza or Garbage Pizza
DETROIT LIONS
Detroit, and much of the rest of the nation, has fallen in love with head coach Dan Campbell. Perhaps no other team starts the season with a larger bandwagon. Sports fans love a perennial loser that is trying to turn things around. They love it so much that the NFL has decided to feature the Lions in its opening prime-time game. But if your heart bleeds Honolulu Blue and Silver, you’re going to have to cross the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge to find a Lions bar. The only one we know in the area is in Leland:
LA Times Bar
2851 Maco Rd NE, Leland, NC 28451
Average Number of Lions Fans; 10 to 20
Best Beverage: Beer on Tap
Again if you know of a bar that should be included on this list please email us at wahl@justforbuyersrealty.com