Game Day in the Heights: Where to Watch Football This Fall

When football season rolls around, the Heights becomes one of the best neighborhoods in Houston to catch the games. Between dedicated sports bars, brewery taprooms that naturally gather a crowd, and plenty of family-friendly ways to watch, there is a seat for every kind of fan. Here is your local's guide to game day in the Heights this fall.

The Dedicated Sports Bars

For the full game-day experience, stake out a spot at one of the neighborhood's sports bars. Good Game Sports Club on North Shepherd Drive is a Heights staple, with plenty of screens, and a casual, neighborly room that handles both college Saturdays and NFL Sundays. Further north, 411 Sports Bar & Grill on Yale Street is a no-frills corner bar, the kind of place where regulars have their seats. Christian's Tailgate Bar & Grill on White Oak Drive brings tailgate energy to game day, and T-Bones Sports Pub on T.C. Jester serves the Oak Forest side of town. If you are near Washington Avenue, 80 Sports Bar & Lounge keeps the games on a loop.

The Taproom Play

For a more laid-back game day, make a brewery your home field. Eureka Heights on West 18th, New Magnolia Brewing on Bevis, and Tejas Brewery closer to Washington Avenue all pour locally made beer in relaxed taprooms, and several of them brew up game-day specials through the fall, so ask what is on tap when you arrive. Holler Brewing, over on Edwards Street, is another local favorite, with a patio suited to warm Saturday afternoons. And out in Garden Oaks territory, Karbach Brewing draws a crowd when the game is on.

Family-Friendly Game Day

A packed bar is not everybody's idea of fun, and the Heights still has you covered. Grab takeout from one of the neighborhood's barbecue joints or taco spots, a six-pack of local beer, and a blanket, set up the living room, and make your own noise. Want a halftime reset? The neighborhood's parks, and the White Oak Bayou trail, are perfect for a quick kickabout between quarters, no matter who is winning.

Cheer on the Home Teams

When you root for Houston sports, you have options at every level. The University of Houston Cougars play college football at TDECU Stadium, and Rice Owls host games at Rice Stadium, while Texas Southern University fields a competitive program, too. The Houston Texans give NFL Sundays a home crowd at NRG Stadium. Closer to home, few spectacles match Friday night high school football: Heights High School's red-brick campus on 13th Street anchors one of the liveliest game-night scenes in the district, and the whole neighborhood's feeder pattern gets in on the fun.

However you choose to watch, the Heights knows how to do game day. The bars are friendly, the snacks are good, and the wins taste a little better when you have a neighborhood behind you. See you there.