Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Where to Watch the NCAA Tournament in the South Loop?

It's the eve of our favorite annual sporting event, the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, and as a result it got us thinking, where is the best place to watch the tournament in the South Loop?

After much deliberation, Krolls (18th and Michigan) gets Sloopin's nod as the best place to watch the tournament in the Sloop. The bar and dinning areas within Kroll's are packed with large projector screens and numerous HD flat screens well positioned throughout the place. The booths, large tables and comfortable seating is a perfect place to plop down and camp out for a couple days of buzzer beaters, brackets and beers.
Other Honorable Mention Bars: Weathermark Tavern, Blackies, Wabash Tap

Anyone disagree or have other places they prefer?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I live a block away from Kroll's and I think it's a great neighborhood bar. Unfortunately, I've had the misfortune to walk in there one day for a NCAA basketball game on ESPN Gameplan only to be told that they don't subscribe to ESPN Gameplan. Kroll's has a great set-up with a lot of HDTVs, great drink deals, good food. Unfortunately, I can't consider Kroll's to be a true sports bar as they don't carry all of sport offerings. I'm hoping that for March Madness, they'll have all of the regional CBS feeds but I would call before heading over there for a specific game.

colie said...

James - any suggestions on your part as good places to watch the games, esp. this weekend?

Anonymous said...

Colie - Kroll's is a great place to catch a game if they've got it on. I would suggest calling first to make sure that they're carrying whatever game you've got on. I'm still looking for a reliable sports bar on the southside. I was frequenting Junior's (great food, awesome TV setup) but then they started having odd hours (closed on Saturday afternoons) even though their posted hours said they should be open. A waitress at Morgan's told me they modified their hours because of fights breaking out. Who knows if that's true. I'm going to be trying out the runner's up on this post (Blackie's and Wabash Tap) so hopefully I find a winner close to home. The northside is full of great sports bars (Joe's, Kincaids, Gamekeepers) but so far nothing comparable on the southside.

will said...

Great bar but could be better. Needs a few bigger tv's in the back area. And when I went last night to watch the Bulls game there was only ONE tv showing the Blackhawks game at the same time. Our server shrugged her shoulders and said there was, uh, nothing she could do about it. Also, one of the two main projectors in back is really badly tinted blue - really, really badly tinted blue. Might want to fix that. Otherwise, food was great and we had a real good night there. Would be an awesome spot to catch a Bears game.