Want to watch the Browns, other NFL playoff games with fellow fans? Check out our list
Not to think too far ahead — if you have any Cleveland Browns fans in your life, you know that’s what they tend to do — but the Glass City Browns Backers in Lancaster have Super Bowl Sunday all planned out.
They’ve already talked to the owner of a drive-in movie theater on the eastern edge of town about renting the place out. They’re thinking about a beer trailer and food trucks and a band. If it gets too cold, which is a good possibility on Feb. 11 in central Ohio, folks can sit in their cars and listen to a radio simulcast while they watch the game on the bigger-than-big screen.
And after every Browns touchdown, fans will honk their horns.
Until then, though, members of the Glass City Browns Backers — there are 300 official members and 2,300 followers on Facebook — will gather to watch playoff games at their local Buffalo Wild Wings, the same as they’ve done for every preseason, regular season and playoff game since 2019.
Cleveland plays the Houston Texans on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast on NBC. There are at least 17 other organized groups of Browns fans across central Ohio whose members will head to their own home bars to watch.
They won’t be the only fans out there.
Die-hards for most of the 14 teams NFL teams playing this weekend and next in the first two rounds of the playoffs will gather somewhere on gameday other than in front of their own TV sets. Formal and informal fan clubs have staked claim to bars from Pataskala to Columbus’ West Side.
“It’s the energy,” said Brian Winston, a member of the Steel Aftermath Columbus Chapter, a Pittsburgh Steelers fan club. “You want to get together with like-minded people to watch your team.”
In addition to game-day camaraderie, fan clubs sometimes gather for other purposes. The Capital Area Browns Backers group sells shirts, hosts an annual golf outing and conducts 50/50 raffles to raise money for groups such as the Worthington Resource Pantry and Turning Point Domestic Violence Services.
“One of the principal missions of a Browns Backers club is to support local communities,” said Jon Neylon, the president of the group based on the Far North Side.
Another mission, he adds, is “celebrating victories and cursing losses together.”
If you’re rooting for one of the teams in the playoffs this year and looking to celebrate or curse with others wearing the same colors, here are some of their groups and gathering places.
We were unable to locate local fan clubs or dedicated central Ohio gathering spots for the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Buffalo Bills
Central Ohio Bills Backers gathers for games at Spoonz Pub and Patio, 7426 Sawmill Road on the Far Northwest Side.
Cleveland Browns
∎ Browns of Columbus: The Savoy Club, 1904 Lake Club Drive, Far East Side
∎ Buckeye Browns Backers (Columbus): U.A. Pub, 2096 Henderson Road, Northwest Side
∎ Capital Area Browns Backers (Columbus): Pastimes Pub and Grill, 121 E. Campus View Blvd., Far North Side
∎ Grandview Browns Backers (Columbus): Meister’s Bar, 1168 Chambers Road, Fifth Avenue by Northwest Boulevard
∎ Northwest Columbus Browns Backers, Fifteen32 Social, 1532 Bethel Road, Northwest Side
∎ West Siders Browns Backers (Columbus): O’Malley’s Sports Lounge, 530 Norton Road, Far West Side
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∎ Delaware Dawg Pound: Buffalo Wild Wings, 475 N. Houk Road, Delaware
∎ Dublin Browns Backers: Rusty Bucket, 6726 Perimeter Loop Road, Dublin
∎ Gahanna’s Dawg Pound: Cornerstone Pub, 1014 N. Hamilton Road, Gahanna
∎ Grove City Browns Backers: Front Row Sports Bar, 3036 Southwest Blvd., Grove City; Upper Deck, 4063 Hoover Road, Grove City
∎ Glass City Browns Backers (Lancaster): Buffalo Wild Wings, 1283 N. Memorial Drive, Lancaster
∎ Pataskala Dawg Pound: The Barn on York, 5103 York Road SW, Pataskala
∎ Pickaway County Browns Backers: Dough Boyz Pizza & Pub, 15 Front St., Commercial Point
∎ Picktown Browns Backers (Pickerington): Cardo’s Pizza and Tavern, 7897 Refugee Road, Pickerington
∎ Powell Area Browns Backers: Ill Mannered Brewing Co., 38 Grace Drive, Powell
∎ Sunbury Browns Backers: Firehouse Tavern, 38 S. Vernon St., Sunbury
∎ Westerville Browns Backers: Jimmy V's Grill and Pub, 1 S. State St., Westerville
∎ Central City Browns Backers (Whitehall): Tailgate Sports Bar, 4680 E. Main St., Whitehall
Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys Nation of Columbus Ohio, the local group for Dallas Cowboys fans, gathers on game days at the Royal Lounge, 6095 McNaughten Road on Columbus’ Far East Side.
Detroit Lions
A group that informally calls itself the Lions Den watches most games at Park Street Tavern, 501 Park St. in the Arena District of Columbus.
Green Bay Packers
The Buckeye Packer Backers group watches their team at On Tap Pub, 1514 Bethel Road on Columbus’ Northwest Side.
Kansas City Chiefs
Ohio fans of the defending Super Bowl champs watch games together at the Dub Pub, 5736 Frantz Road on the Northwest Side of Columbus.
Miami Dolphins
Aquas Going On, which also calls itself the Mid Ohio Dolfans, watches games at O’Nelly’s Sports Pub and Grill, 8939 S. Old State Road on Columbus’ Far North Side.
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Philadelphia Eagles
Fans of the defending NFC champions will watch their team play this round at Donerick’s Pub, 5225 N. High St. in Clintonville.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers Nation Unite watches games together at Gresso’s, which is described on the fan club’s website as “the best Steelers bar in Ohio.” Gresso’s is at 961 S. High St. in the Brewery District.
The Steel Aftermath Columbus Chapter meets at the Lotus Lounge, 6068 Channingway Blvd. on Columbus’ Far East Side.
San Francisco 49ers
Gold Rush Niners Nation gathers at Bradshaw’s Sports Bar, 1365 Brice Road in Reynoldsburg.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here's NFL fan club watch parties in Central Ohio
