Best Twin Cities bars for sporting events (Minneapolis, St. Paul: home, to live in)

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Right now my quest is to find the best Vikings bar in the Twin Cities, also what are the best bars for the other sports teams or just good sports bars in general. Here are my findings so far:

Champions on Lake St, South Minneapolis - Very fun bar for Vikings games. We went there for the second Vikings/Packers game and there are lots of big screens there, and there was plenty of trashtalking and excitement there. The drink specials were decent as well and probably the best wings I've ever eaten.

NBA City connected to the Target Center downtown Minneapolis - Solid place to watch NBA games. The only thing that sucks is the entire place is basically reserved for fans with tickets when home games are being played, otherwise I like this place alot.

Rosen's in downtown Minneapolis - Decent place to watch sports, a good bar overall in my opinion. We saw the Timberwolves/Cavs game there when we weren't able to get tickets and had no luck with NBA City.

Otherwise the obvious suburb choices are Majors and Champps, but I kinda like when a bar is strictly a bar for a certain team. Like Alary's in downtown St. Paul, official Chicago Bears Bar, etc.

[StilltheSame]

I walked into Bunnys in SLP for takeout the other day - and they had a bunch of games on - come to think of it so did Old Chicago one rainy afternoon.

[gweilo845]

Is Champions under new ownership or something? I used to live in the area and that place was pretty notorious for shenanigans. I've only been there a couple of times, and that was a few years ago - but since the last image I saw there before walking out was a guy stumbling out of the bar urinating on himself, I didn't really feel the need to come back. I don't mind dingy/dive bars, but that place was really rank.

I usually go to Green Mill. If you sit in the bar area, you can get really good specials all Sunday. The only bad thing is that is tends to get really busy so if you don't get there early, you're screwed out of getting a seat.

"We saw the Timberwolves/Cavs game there when we weren't able to get tickets and had no luck with NBA City."

A Timberwolves game sold out?

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by gweilo845

Is Champions under new ownership or something? I used to live in the area and that place was pretty notorious for shenanigans. I've only been there a couple of times, and that was a few years ago - but since the last image I saw there before walking out was a guy stumbling out of the bar urinating on himself, I didn't really feel the need to come back. I don't mind dingy/dive bars, but that place was really rank.

How long ago was it? Truthfully we kind of seek out the more dingy/dive type of bars because they usually have more character, stiffer and cheaper drinks, and more colorful characters and interesting people. I like Champions on Lake Street in the same way I like Palmer's Bar in Cedar-Riverside, Bullwinkles Saloon in 7 Corners on the West Bank and Sportsman's Pub on the East Bank/Como Ave area. Champions definitely has an interesting crowd and there were some borderline sloppy drunks there...for me that was actually one of the highlights. It makes the experience more memorable and less boring in my opinion.

I usually go to Green Mill. If you sit in the bar area, you can get really good specials all Sunday. The only bad thing is that is tends to get really busy so if you don't get there early, you're screwed out of getting a seat.

That was another thing I liked about Champions, the bar got decently full as the game started but since there are TVs set up in two different areas and ample seating we had no problems getting a table.

"We saw the Timberwolves/Cavs game there when we weren't able to get tickets and had no luck with NBA City."

A Timberwolves game sold out?

Yeah, believe it. It was to the point where the scalpers were jacking the prices up. There was no way I was going to pay $40 for a $30 seat halfway into the first quarter. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have been the case if Lebron and Shaq weren't in town though.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

We went as saw the Viking game on Sunday at Old Chicago in Uptown...it's a decent place for food but not a great place to watch the game.