Catch the fad-sports hangouts
We suggest a few hangouts where you can watch live sporting action on screen, have refreshments, and also stretch muscles.
If you’re new to the city, what better way to bond with the locals, than through sport? Though it’s a common sight to see hundreds of youngsters inhabiting the beaches to play cricket during the weekends, many are relatively unaware of the fact that the biggest sport events are celebrated like festivals, as fans of various teams and clubs gather for screenings at specified locations. It doesn’t matter if you are a big fan of European football, or if you want to watch Virat taking the bowlers apart in the forthcoming T20 world cup, or if you want to see Novak Djokovic clinching yet another grand slam title — you can always resort to these brick-and-mortar hangouts to witness live action!
Café Home Pitch: If you’re a follower of Premier League, then Café Home Pitch at Adyar should be your go-to destination. Though several sport like cricket, tennis and Formula-1 are screened here, nothing can match the atmosphere that football creates. “Contrary to popular misconception, football watching is immense in the city and in fact, we don’t even get such crowds during major cricket events. Though the Cafe Home Pitch screens matches of various English clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, of late, ours has become more of a Scouser land (i.e., for Liverpool fans)! The Reds fans carry placards, sing anthems and create an atmosphere which is incredible to witness,” says Sangeshwaran, the owner of Home Pitch.
US 101- Be a Sport: There are only a few bars in the city, which allow you to seamlessly engage in watching your favourite matches and also let you play while doing it — US 101 in T Nagar is on the top of the ladder in this regard. Though the turnout is equally huge for all kinds of sport, tennis, surprisingly, gets lots of attention. US 101’s proprietor, Lakshman Muthiah, sounded excited about the fact that during the Australian Open finals, the bar was jam-packed. “Novak Djokovic fans, who came in huge numbers went absolutely berserk as the World No.1 successfully clinched the grand slam title,” he exclaims. Lakshman also gave us an interesting tidbit about his new initiative — “We’re planning to set up a football arena in our sports lounge,” he sums up.
Olive and Basil: This is another hangout where football dominates. Based on the concept of screening matches on demand of respective fan associations, Olive and Basil in Adyar telecasts matches of European clubs like Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea, in rotation. Says Jenn George, an avid Chelsea fan, “Being away from home, I could no longer look forward to weekends, as it used to be a gala time for me with my friends in Kerala. But being a true Blue, when I came to know about this place, I completely fell in love with the atmosphere during match days — it is crazy!”
The Stop: A one-of-its-kind restaurant, The Stop, Gandhi Nagar, has already become the desired destination for sport addicts in the city, just months after its launch. Apart from cricket fanatics visiting the place in groups during events like IPL and ICC trophies, videogamers also relish the experience as they get to use playstations while they wait for food. Mahendran, who owns The Stop says, “We consciously made a decision to make the restaurant look sporty in every aspect. And, not everyone likes to drink while watching matches, so we’re one of the very few sport hangouts in the city that does not serve alcohol.”