March Madness starts 3/20, and I was thinking PCB would be a sick place to watch it with all those different schools there. Do a lot of people watch and follow the tournament while they're down there on spring break? And where's a good place that people go to watch the games and rep their schools?

We've got some pretty good basketball schools there during 3/15-3/22: Tennessee, Kansas, Wisconsin, Kent State, etc.

i think i remember reading something about Harpoon Harrys being a good spot for MM, but i could be mistaken. Either way, ill definitely be watching some games if the Terps can end the season on a good note.

Good question.......If I remember right Pineapple willy's is a pretty good place to watch the games..I think someone said they have a buffalo wild wings that opened down there, thats always a popular place back here in iowa city to watch games

Similar question; this is a bit sad, but some of my friends want to try and watch the Australian Grand Prix F1 race the night we get into PCB. Its Saturday 15th March, and looking on tvguide.com Speed are showing the race from 11pm.

Question being, is there a sports bar somewhere that would either be showing it, or we would be able to get a screen to show it or something? Preferably down the boardwalk/la vela end of town & with some action so the rest of us have something to do!

I've been in this position in different cities... where I want to watch a "home town" game or other sports program.

While this does not specifically apply to Panama City Beach, this is how I do it:

Many bars have the complete sports cable package. I mean regular bars, not spring break hot spots. Places that may be open late but probably won't be too crowded.

I'd plan ahead with Google maps or similar and get the phone numbers of all the "local bars" around where you are going to be staying (or within a reasonable taxi ride).

The minute you get settled into your hotel, start calling around and say "I have a group of guys, we just got into town, we want to watch (name of race) on Speed Channel and it starts at 11 PM tonight. We are planning to buy plenty of drinks, take care of the bartenders, but we are wondering if there is at least one TV you can tune to SPEED so we can watch our event."

Obviously, you can write your own script, but you get the idea.

What you have going for you is that U.S. sports events are over by 11 PM at that time, so most bartenders will be happy to turn half the TV's in your place to your event (provided they have SPEED channel... which is the first thing you should ask).

Like I noted, you get the picture. Most bars on the Emerald Coast will have SPEED because SPEED does extra NASCAR stuff, and NASCAR is huge in the area. (My driver is #2 Miller Lite Kurt Busch).

Make a few calls, hit a "locals" type bar, make sure to tip the bartender on your first round, then ask them to tune your race in. The bartender does control the remote control.

If you do the above, you should be fine and be able to booze it up while you enjoy your race.

Pineapple Willys and Calypso Cafe are both great for watching sports. Call either one of them when you're here and ask about the Grand Prix. They'll be able to show it for you.

And everyone will have March Madness on.

That is awesome awesome awesome, thanks so much!

I just realised that Pineapple Willy's is right next to our hotel, so that's a good place to start I guess! If we call in advance, go there to eat, spend a long time there & basically treat it as our local for the week hopefully we'll be okay.

I don't follow basketball, but I am aware of March Madness & assumed it took up the whole of March, and that a west coast game might take priority at that time, but if it doesn't start till later in the week, good for us!

Thanks again!

If all else fails, most of the condos we've stayed in have had SPEED as a part of their cable package, so if you can't bribe a bartender, at least your pals can probably watch it in the condo. SPEED usually replays the F-1 race the next day at some point, also. Fortunately, it only lasts 2 hours so you won't lose too much beach time, unlike NASCAR, which grinds on forever!

Ah, now that is good news - its repeated at just after midday on the Sunday. So we can have a proper night, and the rest of us can head down to Spinnakers or the beach or wherever on Sunday.

That is so sweet, thanks