Two spots in the Super Bowl are on the line Sunday. Whether you’re cheering for the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, hoping the San Francisco 49ers won’t lose a third NFC title game in a row, rooting for the Baltimore Ravens, backing the Detroit Lions in their first NFC championship appearance since the 1991 season or just on perpetual Taylor Swift watch, there’s a D.C. bar where you can find a flock of fans alongside big screens and drink deals. Here’s where to go.
As a reminder: The Ravens and Chiefs kick off at 3 p.m., and the Lions and 49ers follow at 6:30 p.m. Whichever bar you choose, get there early.
Baltimore Ravens: Free State
Free State is D.C.’s only Maryland-themed bar, and it’s D.C.’s most prominent Ravens viewing spot. The basement-level Chinatown bar opens at 2 p.m. with drink specials including Ocean City’s signature orange and grapefruit crushes ($9 each), $6 cans of Union Craft Brewing’s Ed Reed-themed GOAT IPA, and a $10 beer-and-a-shot combo pairing Union’s Zadie’s Lager and a local whiskey. Free State doesn’t have a kitchen, so if you need something heartier than a bag of Utz crab chips or Old Bay-flavored Fisher’s popcorn, you’re welcome to bring your own food. (Of note: Wiseguy Pizza, one of our favorite New York slices in the area, is just two blocks away.)
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Kansas City Chiefs: Blackfinn Ameripub
The Blackfinn bar and restaurant near Farragut Square stays busy in January, thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs, who have advanced to the AFC championship game for six seasons and counting. The Chiefs Kingdom takes over the space all season long, with hundreds of people in red and gold packing in for big occasions. There are no table reservations available for Sunday, when doors open at 11 a.m., but Blackfinn says seating at bars is first-come, first-served, as is standing room. Drink specials are Kansas City-focused, including drafts, cans and buckets of Boulevard beers, and the J. Rieger-based Magic Mahomes cocktail for $8.
If you’re more interested in spotting you-know-who in the crowd at M&T Bank Stadium, check out Show of Hands, the cocktail bar inside the Roost food hall on Pennsylvania Avenue SE. The bar’s weekly “Swiftie Sundays” pop-up, which features a special menu of drinks inspired by Taylor Swift songs, is opening early at 3 p.m. There are no TVs at Show of Hands, but the game will be on all TVs at Shelter, the beer-focused bar a few steps away.
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Detroit Lions: Ivy and Coney and the Midlands
It’s not a coincidence that the two biggest Lions bars in D.C. are also home to University of Michigan viewing parties: Ivy and Coney, the homey Detroit-and-Chicago-inspired neighborhood spot in Shaw, and the sprawling Midlands beer garden in Park View. Lions fans have been coming out of the woodwork for the team’s playoff run: Ivy and Coney opened at noon last Sunday and was full shortly after 1 p.m. The Midlands opened at 11 a.m. and was standing-room-only inside by 2:30, with crowds in front of the TVs and projection screens, but there was plenty of room out front for Michiganders who were bundled up around patio heaters, sipping hot toddies and braving the chilly winds to watch the action on multiple TVs. Specials at Midlands include $5 beers, $7 shots and $20 buckets.
San Francisco 49ers: Town Tavern
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How many D.C. bars can boast that MC Hammer has dropped in to watch his favorite football team in the playoffs? We can think of one: Town Tavern. The Adams Morgan nightspot, best known for its $15 open bar specials on weekends and its charity happy hours, has been the home of the local Niner Empire since 2010, drawing standing-room-only crowds, including MC Hammer (and San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee) for the 2013 NFC championship game, which the Niners won. Games are shown on 15 TVs, and specials include discounted Bud and Bud Light — $5 bottles, $15 pitchers — and a $25 wings and pitcher combo.
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