Sports fans, rejoice – the NFL season is almost back for real. That means all across the greater Phoenix area, friends and family will be gathering around televisions, setting fantasy football rosters, and enjoying America's favorite sport in earnest.

It also means the Valley's favorite sports bars and restaurants will be offering some of the best specials and happy hours you'll find all year long. So, if you're cheering for an out-of-market team or you don't want to spring for Sunday Ticket, check out these top places to watch football in metro Phoenix this season.

This northwest Valley haunt is more like an adult activity center. At Jimbo’s Bar & Grill, spotted by the sweet little retro, martini glass-adorned sign out front, you can grab a stool at the horseshoe bar, order off a full menu (including the famed wine burger), or put on your jam at the internet jukebox. However, during football season, you'll probably want post up by one of the TVs or projectors. Jimbo's also has drink specials on the daily.

With locations in Chandler, Mesa, and Queen Creek, Lucky Lou’s American Grill is one of the best spots for catching the early games in the east Valley. The restaurant opens at 9 a.m. on Sundays and offers a small but satisfying breakfast menu, complete with biscuits and gravy, a breakfast burrito, and breakfast sandwich. The weekend happy hour kicks in at noon, just in time for the afternoon games. Lucky Lou’s offers more than 20 flat-screen TVs and plenty of high-top, bar, and booth seating. Crowds don’t typically arrive until early afternoon, so you have plenty of reasons to get there bright and early.

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Arcadia Tavern has sports games specials and more.

Nathan Ahles

A tried-and-true neighborhood watering hole, Arcadia Tavern is a must-visit for east Phoenix football fans. Be sure and get there for the first kickoff of the day, since the bar and restaurant offers drink specials on Bloody Marys and mimosas along with a full brunch menu from 9 a.m. to noon. When the afternoon games roll around, and perhaps a few friends join in, domestic buckets are usually on special. Just about every square inch of Arcadia Tavern that isn’t decked out in sports memorabilia — jerseys, mounted helmets, newspaper clippings — features a flat-screen TV, so you’ll be in clear view of the action no matter where you are seated.

With three locations in the southeast, Blue 32 is a favorite among Valley football fanatics for its casual atmosphere and its hypnotizing number of flat-screen, high-definition TVs mounted just about everywhere you look. Saturday and Sunday specials at Blue 32 vary by weekend and location. Be sure to arrive early; Arizona Cardinals fans pack the house in the afternoon.

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Try the traditional wings or the honey chipotle at Half Moon Sports Grill.

Half Moon Sports Grill

For those Chicago transplants who are feeling a little homesick, check out Biltmore’s Half Moon Windy City Sports Grill. Or for those in the north Valley looking to cheer on the Cards, visit the Moon Valley location. This stylish and modern sports bar and grill opens at 11 a.m. and usually a little earlier during the NFL season. Specials on Coors Light drafts, Dos Equis drafts, and Bloody Marys are often on deck all day long. Even better, when the Chicago Bears score, you do too: $3 touchdown shots are offered each time the Da Bears get into the end zone all season long. That’s enough to make just about everyone a Bears fan. Well, everyone except Green Bay Packers fans.

Over in Ahwatukee, CK’s Tavern and Grill gives plenty of reasons to don your team’s favorite colors and pay a visit this season. CK’s kicks things off with a full breakfast menu and Bloody Mary bar available until 2 p.m. If you’re planning on catching the afternoon games, fear not: CK’s offers happy hour drink specials all day on Sunday, which include Sunday Funday Pints, Bloody Marys and mimosas, and more.

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Check out the expansive breakfast menu at San Tan Brewery in Chandler.

Melissa Fossum

Located in downtown Chandler and the Madison district, San Tan Brewing Company is great for early birds. San Tan’s brewpub offers an expansive brunch menu from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., which includes everything from the Brewer's Omelet to the Chipotle Bacon Bloody Mary and SanTan Mimosa. After you’re sufficiently stuffed, kick back and enjoy the action with the brewpub’s selection of easily visible flat-screen TVs and delicious, locally crafted Southwestern-style brews.

Boasting 12 Valley locations throughout Phoenix, Chandler, Tempe, Ahwatukee, and Scottsdale, Zipps Sports Grill has this Sunday football thing down to a science. Each Zipps location is decked out with wall-to-wall HD TVs, ensuring you won’t miss a single snap even if you try. Zipps offers weekend hangover specials, which include those 32-ounce domestic drafts, Zipparitas, pretzels, and specialty burgers. There are also nightly specials for pizza and those famous Zipps wings, and some fantastic people-watching.

The Tempe brewery debuted a 2,000-square-foot expansion earlier this year.

Four Peaks Brewery

Although Four Peaks Brewery is primarily known for its great selection of craft brews, the local brewpub also boasts one of the best game-day atmospheres in metro Phoenix. With locations in Tempe and Scottsdale, Four Peaks has plenty of flat-screen TVs and spacious seating, so catching all of the day’s big plays is a breeze. Come early and settle in – Four Peaks is a popular brunch spot, especially during football season. Oh, and it’s a favorite among Minnesota Vikings fans, so cheer accordingly.

Goldie’s Neighborhood Sports Café packs football, fun, and delicious food all into one convenient Scottsdale location. Much like its counterpart, Zipps Sports Grill (they share the same ownership), Goldie’s is full of flat-screen TVs and game-day specials. Drink specials cover Bloody Marys and screwdrivers, 32-ounce Coors Light and Miller Lite drafts, mimosas, premium pitchers, and beer buckets.

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Duke's features spacious interior seating and plenty of viewing options.

Nathan Ahles

With more than 50 flat-screen TVs, a roomy outdoor patio overlooking El Dorado Park, and excellent weekend specials, it’s no wonder Duke’s Sports Bar and Grill in Scottsdale consistently has been voted the city’s top sports bar for nearly two decades. During the NFL season, Duke’s usually opens early, offering Bloody Marys and other morning cocktails. But don’t fill up on drinks; Duke’s also offers a breakfast menu till 11 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, serving up weekend classics like omelets and breakfast burritos. After breakfast, Duke's regular drink specials, which vary by day, keep flowing long after the final whistle of Sunday Night Football.

Billed as “Your Five Star Dive Bar,” Brigett’s Last Laugh is the kind of place where you have to let your eyes adjust when entering during the day. Once they do, there’s a pool table, lots of seating, and a full menu with some well-known tacos on there. But most importantly, there are more than 50 TVs for whatever game is happening, as well as accompanying daily drink, shot, and food specials. And for after the game, there’s also karaoke, comedy, trivia, and ladies' nights. 

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Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers is ideal for sports viewing, especially at Park West in Peoria.

Lauren Cusimano

You're promised two things at this local chain based on the name alone, but another guarantee of Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers is sports viewing. Each location is equipped with more than 30 high-definition flatscreen TVs and booming sound systems. On the menu, Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers lists, well, beer and burgers, but also grilled drumettes, sandwiches, salads, and macaroni and cheese.

Kelly's at SouthBridge has become an NFL and college football viewing destination. This Old Town Scottsdale sports bar is a go-to for NFC North fans (i.e. Bears, Packers, Lions, Vikings), and University of Washington Huskies alumni. Kelly's is known for airing football games on 27 high-definition flat-screen TVs. Kelly's also serves upscale pub fare in the form of Stetson Nachos, the Bourbon Egg burger, and a whole menu of craft cocktails.

Editor's note: This story was originally published on September 9, 2016. It was updated on August 13, 2019.

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