Where Do I Watch My Team At?

For those fans of college and pro football whose teams are not named the Chicago Bears and conference is not named the Big Ten, finding the game on television can be a pain. Where should you go?

Fortunately for the football-displaced in the Windy City, there are options available, but you have to search.

"Bars throughout the city of Chicago choose a tie with a college and pro team," one anonymous bartender at the Houndstooth Saloon in Wrigleyville. "There's no real tie to them (University of Alabama) but we wanted to do an SEC team."

The Crimson Tide bar has been in its current location for about a year but has been open in Chicag for five years. It is adorned with the Crimson Tide championship banner from 2010 and immediately noticeable with the crimson and white sign. The name of the bar is so unique because it is actually named after the famous houndstooth hat that legendary Bama Head Coach Bear Bryant would wear on the sidelines during games.

There are plenty other bars around Chicago just in case Alabama happens to not be the team you root for. O'Malleys West in Lincoln Park is a Michigan State bar and McGee's, also in LP and just steps from the DePaul University campus, is an Ohio State bar. McDunna's (1505 W. Fullerton) is a Nebraska Cornhuskers bar that is always packed on gamedays.

Although these bars are the places to be during the season, what happens when football is not on the big screen? Some places struggle for business in the offseason between January and late August.

The Houndstooth Saloon bartender did mention the advantage of the bar being located in Wrigleyville, saying "all during baseball season (with the Cubs), that's a big draw."

The site meetup.com is also a very useful tool in finding where to watch certain teams play at. The website promises to "help groups of people with shared interests plan meetings and form offline clubs in local communities around the world."

Although football season is still seven months away, it is not too early to stake out bars for next year so you can root on your favorite team. No more worries about not being able to find them on TV at home.