The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Postgame Show: Sports Bars

Episode Date: October 30, 2023

After Jess experienced the power of handling the remote at a sports bar over the weekend, the crew discusses if we're headed toward the extinction of the GREAT sports bar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. I discovered the most powerful feeling in the world watching college football a couple of weekends ago at a bar. I asked to put on the CW and the bartender thought I was insane. And I also think thought I was turning on supernatural reruns. I wasn't. I was watching the ACC because the game's on the CW the last three weeks, all upsets. And they've been great and I've heard good things about the CW's presentation when it comes

to the games. Wonderful. There was a ref cam shot in the Virginia North Carolina. I'm sorry for bringing this up. Or I was George. Yeah. No Virginia. I couldn't keep my North Carolina losses straight. I tailor, I'm sorry for bringing this up. Or I was George, yeah, no Virginia, I couldn't keep my North Carolina lost a straight, I tailor, I'm sorry, I actually did get confused for that.

Really thought it was gonna be different this time, Taylor. Oh, man, me too. There was a Refcam shot where they were trying to see if a pass was complete or not. And they like switched to the Refcam and you can see him doing the hand motion from like his POV, it was awesome. Anyways, the bartender thought I was insane, but he's like, you know what, just take it. You can have the remote.

And I controlled the remote for the final two hours of college football that night, switching back and forth from CW to ACC Network to watch the end of the Miami game that went into overtime to ESPN, back to ABC, like a master. Were there a lot of people there. Yes, there are.

By the end of the night, there were like probably, it was pretty full. The bar was pretty full. And all eyes on me. I was like looking at my phone, seeing who's scoring where, who's in the red zone going back and forth, flipping into the USC game,

watching them lose to Utah. It was absolutely electric. Who's the number? Who's the number one CW broadcast team? It's John Bates, or is that his first name? I can't remember the... It's Sarah Michelle Geller. But you guys are too...

Sarah Patalaki does color comp. David, wait, wait, Anis is on the sideline. But you're telling me they're not skipping on the CW? Like, it's a good broadcast, it's a good... And new people into the phrase. Really? You was actually spending a fair amount of money, well, they're not spending any money on live golf

because no one was spending money on live golf. Right. But they are trying to establish a brand. And again, let's not be scared of new things, especially if they're going to give us the ref cam. I'm allowed to be scared of watching a football game on the CW. Well, because you're not used to it.

Right. It is an empowering thing. And generally sports bars have been less good at making sure the right games are on. Right. I'm not certain though. In a packed bar, I'm not certain I would want the pressure of having the remote control. I don't think I would. I would love it because I trust me because I love sports.

I can't. Yeah, but it's the rest of the people in the bar that are screaming at me. Hey, turn the channel. If they're at a sports bar, they're not caring about sports these days. It's weird. The sports bar is an endangered species, a good sports bar. That is a place that you want to watch a game with sound. Places don't care anymore.

There's this bar in New York City that I love. And the TVs aren't great and it's small. They only serve beer. We wish bar. Oh my God, I was there last weekend. This is private. That's college football. I bleep that out. We don't need more people there. It's very small. Yeah, I was there last weekend. That's college football. Bleep that out.

We don't need more people there. It's very scary. Yeah, I'm sorry. Sorry. That's our little secret. They changed the beer list as the day is going on. They cycle through like new. It's very cool.

And they have college football and sports memorabilia everywhere. And I was watching sports there last weekend. Someone famous was in just standing watching the game. I won't say who it was, but I almost I almost want to believe it because it is a nice little secret. I'm with were in khakis was not wearing khakis was not wearing shockingly. I don't know what a blow up is spot Tom worm and James Bates. Those are the two CW play by play guys and and color. They're great and they have these branded black CW sports polos that they wear and it is just like they deserve so much credit. They read a promo for F boy Island two weeks ago.

Electric. Chris, what do you mean? Oh yeah. What? I like a good like when a tandem of broadcasting. Like matching polos. You like that? I like when a sports bar looks at the games that they're putting up as a labor of love. If you go to this bar, that I'm not going to say the name again because I don't want the secret ruined on notebook paper, they have an entire attack plan for the day planned out because the games matter. It matters to the owner. And sports bars need to meet that level once again because they're not there.

How many times are you walking into a sports bar and there's paid programming on right and you have to flag somebody down to change. But what do you mean plan to tack like they're saying hey we're going to put this game on at this time, this game at this time, this game on this many TVs. No, I went to I went to this bar. How about just let me you know, let me get there and whatever game is on is on. No, you don't want to change the channel. You suck. You're part of the problem. Be the change that you seek because I went there. This isn't a huge bar.

Very small. They don't have the newest television or anything like that. They have one TV that has sound. And I went there on a day that there were two Monday and I football games on. Main one that had everybody's interest, that had primary sound.

But during commercial breaks, you know what they did? Flip to the saints. Oh wow. That's great. That's big. They care. There's a middle ground on this though.

You don't want, sometimes you go into a bar and they have like, for football games, they have like, the stickers on the TVs and they stick to it too much where it's like, nobody is here watching this game and I'm sitting right here, can I have it on? Like, I like a little flexibility. This bar knows that.

They recognize that and they flip the script. Like, I'm cool with preset channels. This game's gonna be here. I'm cool with that, but don't be unwilling to, if there's no one watching, saying it's right. Sports bars. Sports bars, I'm curious,

I would love to know someone in the industry because you see the metrics younger people, not exactly huge fans of sports or bars. Or TV. They don't like any of these things. And if you go to a sports bar, the clientele is now older. It's not being replaced with a younger folk. So if you're got a cater to a die hard sportsman, then once a shared experience, take it seriously, man, or woman.

Take it seriously. We got it. Knowing when to flip from, okay, we had like the marquee skill. It's an underrated skill. You have to know when the bell on a game. Yes, the marquee games a blow out. The audio is on that game. Let's flip. We're gonna go to maybe the second or third of that game in that time slot, put on something else. Flip the audio. The whole bar is like, thank you.

No one had even say anything. And also don't look at me like I'm inconveniencing you if I ask you to change the channel. I came here with a purpose. Yeah, that's the worst. I wanted to watch this game at I ask you to change the channel. I came here with a purpose. Yeah, that's the worst. I wanted to watch this game at this bar. When they act annoyed.

The bar tennis that gives you attitude when you ask to change the track. I literally made plans to be here around this game. Please help me out. Ask for the remote. That's the way to do it. I don't want that pressure. I don't want that pressure though. Dude, I was like a NASA, like, I was like in the control room.

I was like, and we're switching 507, 507, take 507. You know what? Five 11, five 11, take 507. You know a bar has a tack together when they have, like, let's say, a dolphin's game, the sound's on, in commercial breaks, they go to music. And they go back to the DJ, and then right when the game comes back, it's back to, I'm all for that.

Houston, we have a touchdown versus Texas. Somebody is focused on this. I need somebody in this restaurant. You're all in on that, huh? To be focused on this. I need somebody in this restaurant. You're all in on that. To be focused on that. I think that there's a business opportunity for I'm in charge. It just sucks because they're all individualized. I'd like to be able to control the TVs for 100 bars

and just be like, you're gonna have all these games on. You're the master controller. Right. I feel like there is a business opportunity there, but it'd be difficult because there's just so much. Each bar is, it's hard to, you can't just have a blanket schedule for every bar. If you approach, if you care, which is not a very high bar declared, but in 2023, when it comes to sports bars,

all of a sudden, unexpectedly, it's become one. If you care, I don't care how mid your food might be, I don't care how your selection of, how great or bad your selection of drinks might be on hand. The most important thing for me when I'm going to a sports bar and this is a dude that's been two weeks in LA and I had a fight like how to watch games. A fight like any games.

So any games and telling them to turn the channels was a mission in itself if you find one of those places, if you have one of those places in your life. Cherish it! Cherish that.