Where to Get Your Game On

Well, Philadelphia, it’s finally here. The moment we have all been waiting for. Forever. The only thing left to do is have the unnecessarily long conversation with your friends about where to watch the game. We hope this guide will expedite the debate.

NOTE: Be sure to call ahead to confirm specials and events as some venues are changing daily.

The Best Places to Watch the Game If …

You’re the kind of fan who’ll try to sneeze with your eyes open so you don’t miss a pitch
The Field House, 1150 Filbert Street, 215-629-1520
TVs: 60 HDs and an 8-foot projection screen
It’s nearly impossible to miss a second of the action in this mammoth sports bar, which covers more ground than Shane Victorino. Despite the large crowd, multiple screens are always in sight, and parties of six or fewer looking to munch on some American pub fare can call to reserve a table. Beg for one of the booths with a built-in TV for an element of privacy among the red sea of raucous aficionados.

Puffing on cigs helps keep you calm when the count is full
McGlinchey’s Bar and Grill, 259 South 15th Street, 215-735-1259
TVs: 2 plasmas (1 HD) downstairs and a 60-inch upstairs
If you naturally reach for a smoke when Madson puts two guys on base with a one-run lead in the eighth, this classic dive — with bars on both levels and lots and lots of legal smoking — is a good place to be. Twenty-two-ounce American Ales go for $2.65, or if your preferred drinking pace equates to a Jaime Moyer fastball, you can sip slowly on a Maredsous Belgian brew for $4.75, the most expensive beer in the house.

You want to get spirited with your spirits
McGillin’s Olde Ale House, 310 Drury Street, 215-735-5562
TVs: 10 HDs, including an 80-inch HD projector
No bar has been through as many failed Phillies campaigns as McGillin’s, but the nearly 150-year-old tavern seems a fitting place to watch Jimmy Rollins and Co. rewrite history. Celebrate Chase Utley’s next homer with a Phillies Phantini ($5.50) — a raspberry vodka-based drink served in a martini glass with a red-sugared rim. If you’re in a more autumnal mood, order a round of the new Phanatic Pheckin Bombs — Feckin Irish Whiskey and Apple Pucker dropped in apple cider.

You have dinner reservations at Parc before the game
Boathouse Row Bar, Rittenhouse Hotel, 2nd Floor, 210 West Rittenhouse Square, 215-546-9000
TVs: 3 LCDs, plus a 96-inch jumbo screen
This fancy Rittenhouse establishment is getting down and dirty with Bacon Fried Philly Phranks ($5), washed down nicely by $3 drafts. But they seriously need to redecorate for the Series, as their sports memoribilia is all about rowing. Boring!

You want to shake it every time Hamels sits the Rays down 1-2-3
Johnny Brenda’s, 201 North Frankford Avenue, 215-739-9684
TVs: 2, including a 12-foot jumbo screen and 52" plasma screen
The sounds of Phillies baseball in late October? Music to this town’s ears. That’s why this famed Fishtown performance venue, which typically sports not a single TV, set up a 12-foot jumbo screen in its concert area for Game 1, and plans to do it again for the possible Game 7. Sliders — of the burger AND Brad Lidge variety — will be available in the upstairs room, along with bratwurst and other special items on the gameday menu. All Philadelphia Brewing Company pints are $3, and PBC’s own DJ Enabler will spin during commercials.

You’re already in training for the Wing Bowl
J.R. Monaghan’s, 34 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 484-416-3547
TVs: 13 HD plasmas
Main Liners have had a new spot to watch the Fightin’s this season, and they’ll surely be putting down the 25-cent wings faster than So Taguchi records an out. With a 35-foot bar, 50-inch HD plasmas and 60-ounce domestic pitchers for $6, J.R.’s has the requisite specs for young professionals looking to enjoy the game.

You want to watch at the ballpark without blowing the kids’ college fund
McFadden’s at the Ballpark, One Citizen’s Bank Way, 215-952-0300
TVs: 50+ HD plasmas, 2 projector screens
Just because you won’t be seeing the inside of the stadium again this year shouldn’t stop you from heading down to the sports complex. While the Fireman’s Cheesesteak (a beef-chicken hybrid steak with buffalo wing sauce) may not be able to match the Schmitter, the Bud and Bud Lights here are half as much as they are on the other side of the stadium gates.

You want extra incentive for a Phillies W
Guppy’s Good Times, 2 Maple Street, Conshohocken, 610-828-0300
TVs: 6 HD plasmas
For Game 5 fans can look forward to $1 Miller High Life Bottles and half-price wings from 8-10 PM.  Guppy-goers are treated with $1 Phillies Crush Shots for the post-game (which should officially be renamed “The Matt Stairs”). Hopefully fans will be swigging this gametime concoction — a variation of the signature Conshy Crush, a tangy Red Bull Vodka — as the postgame commences. Your ass muscles will appreciate the sofa seating in the living room (get there early).