Sport and beer

[Spinko]

I find that a lot of my fellow pub-going friends choose a place to settle based on if the football/rugby league is being shown. However, most places that serve good beer tend to avoid showing live sport under pressure from CAMRA (or CAMRA members).

I wonder what fellow punters who post on here think about sport in pubs and bars?

I know from canvassing people at work that real ale interest and sport are definitely not mutually exclusive. In Leeds I often bump into people, without prior arrangement, in the two or three places that serve good beer and show live sport.

[Quinno]

However, most places that serve good beer tend to avoid showing live sport under pressure from CAMRA (or CAMRA members).

Evidence?

[Strongers]

I love sport, especially football, and I love watching it in the pub as I usually end up missing half the match as I get drawn into an interesting sport related conversation as the beer flows down. It is true that most pubs that pride themselves on real ale will not have Sky Sports as they do not need it to draw the punters in and maybe if BSB didn’t charge pubs extortionate amounts to show the football more ale pubs would have it. I do get irritated by comments from people that say pubs shouldn’t have TVs or music as a pub is a place to go for a chat. These people obviously have far more interesting friends than I do.

I agree that the average CAMRA member, based on the ones I have met, would baulk at the thought of watching Chelsea/Tottenham/Man U(re)/Arsenal v Brentford in the Champions League final. Maybe this is why they go to pubs that don’t have sport so they can talk about their interests rather than put up with the likes of me spilling my pint of boring Pride over the carpet whilst shouting out random clichés. This is the same reason why the majority of my mates wouldn’t last 5 minutes in the Southampton in Gospel Oak as they would think it boring and move on.

Give the punters what they want as not everyone wants to gargle the hoppyness and strangely not everyone wants to watch football.

[gillhalfpint]

That is why I like multiroomed pubs as they can cater for sports lovers and those wanting a quiet pint or conversation.

[Alesonly]

That is why I like multiroomed pubs as they can cater for sports lovers and those wanting a quiet pint or conversation.

I Couldn't agree more as it would give you a much larger customer base and a bigger appeal overall.
I always find it a very stupid Idea when a Large pub is made into one large soulless bar and all internal walls removed. This gives you only one customer base instead of three.
A few years ago a Pub near me the green man had three very Large Bars One with Pool tables Dart Board Large screens ETC. One with twigs Candles & food for the foodies & family's And one snug for drinkers reading in a quiet bar that was always full ?. the Pub was always busy in all bars. Then some smart Arse turned it into a one large gastro bar with twigs & candles and it lasted six months and has been closed ever since for the last 6 years with the occasional opening as another restaurant.

[Farway]

Personally I hate sport, large screen TVs, live music, juke boxes, darts, pool etc in pubs, or more precisely the mainly chavs f'ing & blinding as they participate / view

I go for a chat, beer or food. I am of course mostly disappointed, so tend to stick to lunchtimes when the rest of us grumpy old whingers are about and the juke box volume is off, the TV is on subtitles and normal, non digital life can exist in peace & quite, and pubs are populated by those who know they are are not on the mess deck & do not pepper every sentence with F this & that,

[Oggwyn Trench]

Most of the Real Ale pubs i drink in are fairly small so having sky probally wouldnt pay , i dont mind watching a bit of sport in the pub but i still tend to end up in the no TV , no Jukebox just good banter type of pub .
Acctually the local sports bar has up to 5 real ales on , though next door has 8 and two doors up has 10 and across the road has up to 13 , i tend only to pop in for one :D

Cricket was designed to be watched supping a good pint , whether on TV or live

[Spinko]

That is why I like multiroomed pubs as they can cater for sports lovers and those wanting a quiet pint or conversation.

Good post, I like that too, which is why one of my favourite pubs, despite its "unremarkableness" in other respects, is the Steam Railway Company Inn in Swindon. It has a little alcove where the CAMRA members can be kept, while others can pop in for their real ale and then pop out for a bit of entertainment.

[trainman]

Good ale pubs with Sky are relatively rare. A couple that do it well down here, whilst maintaining a friendly atmosphere, are the Traf (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/24699/) & Blythe Hill Tavern (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/65860/). Croydon's Green Dragon (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/54143/) would fit the bill if fewer followers of the forces of darkness (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=manchester+united+in+salford&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=manchester+united&hnear=0x487bae0dfe455711:0x6df4febf58f5d816,Salfor d,+Bolton&cid=17253334978902847470) would pitch up for their half-pint-to-last-all-game, and the Cricketers (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/35528/) would be great if the beer could be better kept more consistently.

Whatever happened to that landmark ruling, whereby a landlady was challenging Sky over her right to screen live football via a european feed?


ps. More locally to me, the Horns Tavern (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/24357/) and the Hope (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/24356/) do have Sky for lots of sport, but the former doesn't have real ale and the latter is a Youngs house, with occasional guest, and a recent annoying habit of screening everything in 3D.

[Farway]

.Whatever happened to that landmark ruling, whereby a landlady was challenging Sky over her right to screen live football via a european feed?


As pub is sort of in my "patch", Red White & Blue (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/13962/), Southsea

It is sort of in legal limbo here (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1353341/Portsmouth-pub-lady-wins-fight-televise-UK-football-games-Greece.html) and here (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12355022)

A non-binding opinion from advocate Juliane Kokott of the European Court of Justice said a block breached EU laws.

[trainman]

As pub is sort of in my "patch", Red White & Blue (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/13962/), Southsea

It is sort of in legal limbo here (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1353341/Portsmouth-pub-lady-wins-fight-televise-UK-football-games-Greece.html) and here (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12355022)



Thanks; something that may rumble on for a while. The first link is rather misleading though, as charges for licensed premises can be £1000s pm, rather than the £80 quoted, which I suppose would be a full residential package.

[Farway]

Thanks; something that may rumble on for a while. The first link is rather misleading though, as charges for licensed premises can be £1000s pm, rather than the £80 quoted, which I suppose would be a full residential package.

Well the first quote was from the Daily Wail, so perhaps no surprise there then?

[runningdog]

Cricket was designed to be watched supping a good pint , whether on TV or live

Couldn't agree more, old son. I remember a lurcher show a few years ago where the car-park was betwen the show and a local league game. If I sat at the front of the car I could whatch the cricket, move to back and there was 'mrs rd' and the dogs strutting their stuff. Great time was had all round as one of the dogs was Best-in-Show and the cricket pavilion had a bar with a decent barrel of Tanglefoot on the go.
The only time I left the pavilion/car area was to take another of me lurchers off to the gundog scurry, which he duly won much to the annoyance af all the gundog owning 'hoorays' he was up against.
A brilliant day out, and the local team won, which meant the pub was rockin till closing time. We stayed in the pub's car-park, had cider and a full English for breakfast before heading home:drinkup::drinkup::drinkup:

[aleandhearty]

Couldn't agree more, old son. I remember a lurcher show a few years ago where the car-park was betwen the show and a local league game. If I sat at the front of the car I could whatch the cricket, move to back and there was 'mrs rd' and the dogs strutting their stuff. Great time was had all round as one of the dogs was Best-in-Show and the cricket pavilion had a bar with a decent barrel of Tanglefoot on the go.
The only time I left the pavilion/car area was to take another of me lurchers off to the gundog scurry, which he duly won much to the annoyance af all the gundog owning 'hoorays' he was up against.
A brilliant day out, and the local team won, which meant the pub was rockin till closing time. We stayed in the pub's car-park, had cider and a full English for breakfast before heading home:drinkup::drinkup::drinkup:

Now that's what I call a day out! Good to see you back on the boards 'rd'.

[leighgoodstuff]

This is a big bugbear of mine - there are plenty of real ale drinkers who want good sport and good beer together without the need to kick each other's faces in.

If in Leeds, Mr Foley's Cask Ale House shows all major sporting events with an excellent range of Beers and decent food. Just don't tell too many people, yeah ? :whistle:

[Spinko]

This is a big bugbear of mine - there are plenty of real ale drinkers who want good sport and good beer together without the need to kick each other's faces in.

If in Leeds, Mr Foley's Cask Ale House shows all major sporting events with an excellent range of Beers and decent food. Just don't tell too many people, yeah ? :whistle:

I'm trying not to..

..is that why it's so quiet..? :(

[aleandhearty]

This is a big bugbear of mine - there are plenty of real ale drinkers who want good sport and good beer together without the need to kick each other's faces in.

If in Leeds, Mr Foley's Cask Ale House shows all major sporting events with an excellent range of Beers and decent food. Just don't tell too many people, yeah ? :whistle:

Hi Leigh. A pleasant surprise to see your name on the boards. Welcome. I know The Good Stuff will take up a lot of your time, but it would be great to have you chipping in here occasionally.

Agree about Mr F's, one of my favourite Leeds venues. Trouble is, if it's a tense match my drinking rate rises exponentially. Considering some of the brews on at Foley's, it could make navigating the stairs rather interesting.