Take me out to the ballgame! Or the hockey game, or the futbol match, or the sports bar.
Or …
Well, you get it. Huntsville isn’t just rockets and research. We know how to play and how to watch sports, be they our national pastime, the state’s “unofficial religion,” or the “beautiful game.”
And, whether it’s at a sports bar during football season or March Madness or in person to catch our local pro and college teams, you can’t swing a stick without hitting a place to see a game. Football season is about to kick off and weekends will soon be centered around college and NFL games, with watch parties and packed bars across the city.
All across Madison County, fans will bring their high energy and team colors to sports bars and homes. You can root, root, root for your favorite school or pro team, and some spots host alums from just about every college, as well as Army, Navy and Air Force.
So, for food, fun, football and, of course, adult beverages, here are just a few of the popular spots where fans will gather:
Up close and personal
If it’s live football you crave without traveling several hours or more, there is college football in the Rocket City.
With college football kicking off this month, fans can watch the University of North Alabama take on Samford University on Aug. 29.
The special “Week Zero” game will kick off at 6 p.m. at Wicks Family Field at Joe Davis Stadium — the home of Huntsville City FC.
Alabama A&M University, a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference of the Football Championship Subdivision, plays at Louis Crews Stadium, which rises above North Memorial Parkway. The Bulldogs will have their home opener Sept. 5 with the 16th annual Louis Crews Classic to launch three straight home games.
And speaking of the aforementioned Huntsville City FC, the “Boys in Blue” provide area soccer fans with high-level professional “futbol.” HCFC is a member of MLS NEXT Pro and an affiliate of the MLS Nashville SC. Huntsville City is home for four matches in August and one match - the season home finale - in September.
Meanwhile, just a couple of miles from testing engines that will launch rockets into space, baseballs are being launched from a ballpark that is home to the Rocket City Trash Pandas. The Trash Pandas, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, play in Toyota Field in Madison - right on I-565. Rocket City is home for 12 games in August before ending the season with a six-game series against Montgomery from Sept. 1-8.
As the boys of summer and fall roll through their seasons, pro hockey steps in to take its spot in Huntsville’s sports lineup.
The games of winter
The ice age is alive and well in Huntsville, aka “Hockey Capital of the South,” with the ultra-successful Huntsville Havoc. The Havoc are a power in the minor league Southern Professional Hockey League and their sellout crowds at the Von Braun Center are record-setting and legendary.
From late October to March, the VBC is a virtual thunderdome for 30 nights as the Havoc entertain their 6,000-plus crowds while having their way with their SPHL foes. Professional hockey has had a place in Huntsville sports since the Huntsville Blast took the ice in 1993. Since then, the VBC has been the home for two incarnations of the Huntsville Channel Cats, one season of the Huntsville Tornado and now the Havoc.
If it’s the hardcourt you crave, the road to March Madness runs through the Rocket City.
Propst Arena in the VBC is the site of the Conference USA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments every March. The winners get an automatic bid to the “big dance.” The annual Rocket City Classic features either Alabama or Auburn in a preseason matchup.
If it’s the on-campus atmosphere you crave, Huntsville offers NCAA Division I and Division II basketball programs at high levels.
Alabama A&M brings the Division I game with its men’s and women’s squads competing in the SWAC and have taken on the likes of Alabama, Indiana, Ole Miss, and Clemson in non-conference games.
The University of Alabama in Huntsville has men’s and women’s teams that consistently rank among the best in the country year after year. They compete in the rough-and-tumble Division II Gulf South Conference.
And, of course, the area sports bars are the places to be for NCAA hoops, especially when March Madness rolls around.
So, there you have it. No matter the season, Huntsville offers plenty of ways to be part of the action, whether you’re watching from a barstool or the stands.
We’ll see you out with the crowd.
