With the lockout now a distant memory, the NFL season kicks off the week of Sept. 11, which can only mean one thing — it’s fantasy-football selection time.
Fantasy teams from all over the city will meet with the urgency of a political summit in wartime to draft their dream teams in hopes of winning bragging rights and, in some cases, a hearty purse.
Grab your laptop, do your homework and huddle up in one of these football-friendly bars, where they’re glad to offer grand group rates and free Wi-Fi — or serve you beer and leave you alone.
Equal-opportunity end zone
Snap, 248 W. 14th St.; 646-350-0539, snapsportsbar.com
Sitting at the mouth of the Meatpacking District, this spacious sports bar was a welcome addition to its fancier neighbors to the west when it opened last year. With plush leather booths and vintage-inspired wallpaper dotted with sports-player graphics, its upscale vibe has hosted some fantasy teams of the fairer sex — most recently, the Hot Girl Fantasy Football League.
“A lot of the reason we started the league was because our boyfriends and husbands were in leagues,” says 30-year-old co-commissioner Casie Attardi, who hosted her draft at Snap last week.
Best bet: Reserve the back room for three hours (for up to 20 people) for $360. That deal includes two dozen sliders, three dozen wings, three baskets of fries and four pitchers of Coors. Big leaguers willing to drop $100 a head will score a three-hour open bar and unlimited sliders, wings and fries for up to a dozen people. If you’re not playing, pints are $7 and pitchers are $21.
Extra point: Bringing in a $100-a-person party will get your fantasy commissioner a $100 Snap gift certificate to use on a future visit. (Maybe you can get your league leader to share.)
Testosterone touchdown
Brother Jimmy’s, 181 Lexington Ave.; 212-779-7427, brotherjimmys.com
This Southern barbecue joint, with locations all over the city, is like a virtual factory for all things pigskin — both on the field and on the grill. This specific location, in the middle of frat-tastic Murray Hill, already has a whopping 98 fantasy-football parties booked in its semi-private lower-level area, but other Jimmy’s locations may have more room.
Best bet: The basic Fantasy Draft Package, for $25 per person, includes three hours of unlimited Bud or Bud Light drafts, hot wings, rib tips and hush puppies. Pony up $50 each for the Full Fantasy Draft Package, which includes a three-hour open bar, hot wings, nachos, mini-burgers, rib tips and pulled pork. If you’re not playing, pints are $5.50 to $6.50; pitchers are $18 to $22.
Extra point: Rush the boozy zone and order the $20, 64-ounce Swamp Water Cocktail. It comes in a fishbowl!
Gridiron gourmand
Pour George Sports Bar & Restaurant, 35 W. Eighth St.; 212-253-2999, pourgeorge.com
Capitalizing on the demand for a more refined sports bar, this new, handsomely appointed West Village pub is heavy on décor. The menu, by Josh Eden of Shorty’s, will satisfy the pickiest picker, while the comfy, clubby banquettes, working fireplace and mug shots of athletes cheekily hanging in the bathrooms make it feel like your rich buddy’s crash pad.
Don’t let the swanky digs fool you; with eight big-screen TVs and a 92-inch projection screen (which can be wired to fantasy-football fans’ laptops), this place is set up for some serious selections.
Best bet: For $75 a person, you get two hours of draft-day draughts such as Brooklyn Lager, Ommegang and Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, plus bottomless hot wings, sliders, cod fritters and chili dogs. If you’re not playing, pints are $6.
Extra point: Whiskey lovers will feel right at home with owner George Garrity’s extensive selection of 50 varieties of the tasty liquor.
Baller blitz
The Hill, 416 Third Ave.; 212-481-1712, thehillny.com
Parties are seated in a sleek, private, glassed-in area overlooking the bar below, so it’s easy for every fantasy-league fanatic to feel like an NFL general manager. “It’s become very fantasy-football-friendly — places take on a life of their own,” says Hill owner Matt Shendell, surrounded by 11 TVs. Estimating his bar gets as many fantasy-football watchers as it does conventional football viewers, Shendell notes, “It’s not people screaming for the Jets and the Giants anymore.”
Best bet: For $20 per person, it’s all-you-can-eat-and-drink wings, chicken fingers, well drinks, Yuenglings and Bud Lights. If you’re not playing, pints are $5 to $6, pitchers $17 to $23. Beer tubes — 100-ounce bongs — are $36 to $48. The Hill fills up quickly, so booking in advance is recommended.
Extra point: Sit outdoors, under the awning, on warm days. There’s room for a dozen or so, and the TVs inside are still visible.
Wine warehouse
The Kettle Black, 8622 Third Ave., Bay Ridge, Brooklyn; 718-680-7862, kettleblackbar.com
Nestled on the bustling strip of watering holes in Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge, this sudsy stalwart is decked out in sports memorabilia — lots of Brooklyn Dodgers items, natch, but also Giants Super Bowl pictures and more — and 17 flat-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi.
The family-owned bar has a welcoming neighborhood vibe, but wing nuts flock to The Kettle Black for its menu of 14 wing flavors, ranging from standard Buffalo to a Jameson-infused variety.
Best bet: “We do a wing-and-draft special for the parties that book here,” says manager Chris King. For $40, fantasy attendees can slurp all-you-can-drink draft offerings of Guinness, Bass, Stella, Original Sin cider and Kettle Black American Ale. Add plates of wings, and it’s a party.
Extra point: Ladies who have their eye on the ball will love the crowd of local firemen who frequent the bar.