Sports bars and fans have game plans

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.-Sports bars are stocking up to meet the needs of football fans on Super Bowl Sunday.

Bartender Haley Mariah said O'Malley's on State Street in Santa Barbara just got new glasses for everything from shots to beer on tap.

She said Orange Crush shots are likely to be popular among Bengals fans. They have football helmets lining the walls, plus more than a dozen big screen TV screens inside and out.

Rob O'Hanrahan and his wife and newborn visited Baja Sharkeez next door and said it looked like a great place to watch a game althought he doesn't know much about American football.

The Londoner said it seems like people are gearing up for soccer match. He may watch from the Los Angeles Airport on Sunday afternoon before they fly home.

Joe Fleming was thinking about his game plan while playing Cornhole with his kids outside of Institution Ale on Wednesday.

He plans to stock up at Costco and watch the game at home with his Rams-fan wife and their young children.

He is a 49ers fan, but plans to root for the Rams while using his smoker to make his favorite Super Bowl BBQ recipes.

Some locals will be at the game. David Bolton is one of them. As the Santa Barbara-based owner of Cultural Global Media he will provide Spanish Language broadcasting for Fox Sports fans from Mexico to Argentina.

Bolton has worked more than half a dozen Super Bowls and is excited about being so close to home for this one.

But it he wasn't going Bolton said he would be visiting the sports bar parklets on the 500 block of State Street enjoying the game.

Parklets with outdoor TVs, created during the pandemic, are likely to be popular places to watch.