Columbus, OHSports Bars

Moran's Bar & Grill is an Arena District stop where Crew fans pregame on a sunny patio, with plenty of room indoors too and multiple flat screens covering the space. The kitchen runs fried sauerkraut balls with spicy mustard and a buttermilk-fried spicy chicken sandwich, plus salads served in oversized metal bowls that set the room apart from other sports bars in town. Order the fried sauerkraut balls or the chicken sandwich and take the patio before a Crew game if the weather holds.

Land-Grant Brewing Company runs a relaxed sports-bar side of its taproom, posting when Crew SC and Ohio State Buckeyes games are on so the room knows when to show up. The dog-friendly beer garden doubles as the viewing area, with food trucks like Ray Ray's Hog Pit parked outside for barbecue alongside the house beer. Order a pint of the house brew and grab a beer garden table near a screen when a Crew or Buckeyes game is on.

Gresso's carries NFL Sunday Ticket and the Big Ten package in its German Village room, built as the bar for fans of teams other than the hometown favorites, proudly pro-Steelers among them. It draws the crowd rooting for an out-of-state team or a non-football sport that the bigger Buckeye bars skip. Order a beer from the tap list and settle in for whichever out-of-conference or out-of-state game is on the Sunday Ticket lineup.