Contrary to what many Americans may think, British pubs and American bars are very different. To the average American, it seems as though pubs and bars have the same function - places people go to drink and then stumble home. However, pubs in London are much more than just a place to go for Friday night's happy hour. You may be asking yourself how pubs have anything to do with sporting events, so let me explain.
Londoners go to pubs to socialize. More importantly, Londoners go to pubs because it is one of the few places where sporting events are shown on TV.
It may sound odd. How, in a country so powerful and so athletically driven are pubs one of the few places one can go to catch the game? The reasoning behind this phenomenon lies behind the British television landscape.
There are only two basic TV stations, BBC and ITV (think of them as the British equivalents to networks such as ABC in the United States). These stations differ from American stations because they do not cover sporting events. The only way to see matches is to subscribe to Sky Sports, a paid service similar to DirecTV.
A majority of Brits are unwilling to shell out the pounds for a subscription to Sky Sports at their own homes. So when an ol' chap wants to catch his form of Monday night football, he heads down to the local pub.
On any given match day, the pubs are packed with people cheering on their favorite team while poking fun at those in opposition.
At first, I was apprehensive about going to a pub during a game. I had only seen the typical sports bars in the United States, where everyone would stand around and heckle the players until the game was over. Before my first pub experience, I had no idea what to expect.
To my surprise, the atmosphere in an English pub is much friendlier; it's more of a party. People of all ages gather around singing, dancing and having a great time while watching the game. There may be fans of both teams sitting together, but there isn't any animosity like there is in the United States.
Even British cheering is more gracious than in the U.S. Rather than heckling the opposing team with banter Englanders have gotten creative with their cheers. Grown men sing "Come on England" to the tune of the popular song "Come on Eileen" and chant "Ole, Ole, Ole."
This is in stark contrast to the United States, where sports are viewed in a very solitary manner. Except for important game days such as the Super Bowl, where groups of people will either have parties to watch the big games or go to a sports bar, most sporting events in America are viewed at home. People will ask others at work, "Hey, did you see the game last night?" rather than watching it together in the first place.
This is one aspect of British culture that should be shipped back to the United States. Instead of watching the football game on Sunday afternoons from the comfort of your living room, do like the British do and go out and enjoy it with a couple of pints, some fish and chips and a few good friends. If nothing else, it will be like Super Bowl Sunday four times a month. Sure, you won't get the great halftime show and all of the great commercials, but you will have an awesome time cheering on your team with your fellow chaps.
