Where to Watch NFL and College Football in Downtown San Antonio: Howdy, Sore Loser's Game Day Plan

Sep 5

6 min read

Games on the screens above the long bar at Howdy, Sore Loser, the place to watch NFL and college football in downtown San Antonio.

TL;DR

Where to watch NFL and college football in downtown San Antonio: Howdy, Sore Loser, a western sports bar at 302 E. Commerce St., a short walk from the River Walk hotels and about a mile from the Alamodome.
Doors open at 11 AM on Saturday and Sunday, so noon kickoffs are covered. Monday through Friday we open at 3 PM, and every night runs to 2 AM. The kitchen closes at 10 PM.
HOWDY HOUR is daily from 3 to 8 PM: $2 Miller Hi Life 7oz, $3.50 select drafts, $5 three-piece wings, $6 bottomless fries, $8 pizza.
The NFL opens Wednesday, September 9. The first full Sunday is September 13, with the Bills at the Texans at noon and the Cowboys at the Giants at 7:20 PM.
UTSA plays six home games at the Alamodome this fall, starting September 5, plus a trip to Austin on September 19 to play Texas that you will want a screen for.
Once the game ends the room keeps going: karaoke Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at 9:30 PM, Cowboy Karaoke Thursday at 9:30 PM, DJ sets Friday and Saturday at 9 PM. We are 21 and up. See the calendar.

Where to watch NFL and college football in downtown San Antonio is a harder question than it ought to be. Screens are not the problem. The problem is everything around them: hotel bar prices, a happy hour that quits on Friday right when the weekend starts, or a place that does not open until the first quarter is gone. Howdy, Sore Loser sits at 302 E. Commerce Street, and we open at 11 AM on Saturday and Sunday because a noon kickoff is not a suggestion.

Here is how a football weekend runs here.

Why Watching Football in Downtown San Antonio Takes a Plan

Downtown is built for weekday drinking. Most River Walk happy hours run Monday through Friday and go quiet on the weekend, which is exactly when the games are on. So a UTSA crowd walking out of the Alamodome on Saturday and an NFL crowd hunting the 3:25 window on Sunday both end up somewhere with forty screens, no specials, and a long wait for wings. That is the gap we fill. HOWDY HOUR runs seven days a week, 3 to 8 PM, and the weekend is when it does the most work.

We Open Before the First Kickoff

Saturday and Sunday, doors are open at 11 AM. Monday through Friday we open at 3 PM. Every night runs until 2 AM. The kitchen closes at 10 PM, so for a night game, order before halftime.

Screens Where You Need Them, Space Where You Want It

There are screens down the length of the bar, more in the dining room, and more upstairs in the game room. Post up at the rail for the game you actually care about, or take a booth with your people and still see it. Pool tables and electronic darts are upstairs for the stretch when your team is up three scores and nobody is nervous anymore. Our post on downtown San Antonio's sports bar and dance hall walks through both floors.

NFL Sundays in Downtown San Antonio

The season opens Wednesday, September 9, and the first full Sunday is September 13. It is a loaded one for Texas: the Bills are at the Texans at noon, and the Cowboys open at the Giants on Sunday Night Football at 7:20 PM. Doors at 11 means you have a seat before the early coin toss, and HOWDY HOUR pricing covers the whole 3:25 window and the first half of the Cowboys game.

Thursday and Monday nights count too. Monday Night Football kicks off around 7:15 PM, so walk in at 5, eat on HOWDY HOUR prices, and be settled with a $2 Miller Hi Life by the anthem. Thursday is already Cowboy Karaoke night here, so the postgame is handled, win or lose.

A shareable platter of wings, sliders, pizza and fries for a football watch party at Howdy, Sore Loser in downtown San Antonio.

Texas Food, and What HOWDY HOUR Actually Costs

HOWDY HOUR runs every day from 3 to 8 PM. Three-piece wings are $5, bottomless fries are $6, queso dip with tortilla chips is $7, a pepperoni or cheese pizza is $8, and the "Loser" smash burger is $11. On the drink side it is $2 Miller Hi Life 7oz, $2 Coronita 7oz, $3.50 select draft beers 10oz, $4 house shots and house spirits, $7 for the banana daq, guava gimlet, lavender gold rush or spicy marg, and $21 for the cactus tray of shots.

Off the regular menu, wings run $13 for six in lemon pepper, buffalo or spicy honey. The smash burger is $13. Nachos and brisket tacos are $12 each. The 12-inch pies start at $13, and the Meaty Cowboy at $15 is exactly what it sounds like. Fridays we do $8 nachos. The Recession Special is $7 for a Busch Light 10oz, half a brisket grilled cheese and a bag of chips. The full lineup is on our food and drink menu. Prices reflect our cash discount.

The kitchen closes at 10 PM every night, so order the wings before the fourth quarter. If the game runs late, Night Cap runs 1 to 2 AM: $3 house shots and $3 select tall boys.

College Football: The Bar Near the Alamodome on UTSA Game Days

The Alamodome is about a mile from our front door down Commerce Street. That is a walk if the weather is behaving and a short ride if it is not, and either beats fighting the lot both directions.

UTSA's 2026 home dates at the Alamodome:

Saturday, September 5: UTRGV, 2:30 PM kickoff
Saturday, September 26: Colorado State
Thursday, October 8: South Florida, 6:30 PM kickoff
Saturday, October 17: Navy
Saturday, November 14: North Texas
Thanksgiving weekend, November 27 or 28: Tulsa, date to be set by the conference

Saturday kickoff times get announced closer to each week, so check the UTSA schedule before you build the day. Come in before the game, eat, and walk down. Or skip the traffic entirely and watch from here.

The road games matter too. UTSA is at Texas State on September 12 and at Texas in Austin on September 19, and that second one is the kind of Saturday where you want a big screen and a room that is going to react. We did the same for the summer tournament crowd in our guide to watching World Cup 2026 in San Antonio, and for Fiesta as the bar near the Alamodome carnival. The Spurs open at home against the Thunder on October 20, so the fall does not slow down after football either.

Two fans in football jerseys watching an NFL Sunday game from the bar at Howdy, Sore Loser near the Alamodome in downtown San Antonio.

When the Game Ends, the Room Changes

This is the part most sports bars downtown do not have. Around 9 PM the TVs stop being the main event. Karaoke with DJ Ed Perez runs Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at 9:30 PM, which lines up with the end of Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football about as well as anything could. Cowboy Karaoke is Thursday at 9:30 PM, and it is exactly as good as it sounds after a win and roughly twice as necessary after a loss. Friday and Saturday we bring in DJs at 9 PM, and the names rotate, so check the calendar before you plan around a set.

If your group wants a microphone without an audience, the private karaoke room rents by the hour, with its own screens and a pass-through window to the bar. Details are on the karaoke rental page.

Watching With a Crowd

Fantasy league draft day, a fan club that needs one room every Sunday, a work group landing after a conference at the convention center: tell us the headcount and the date and we will sort out the space, the screens and a food package. Start on our private events page. One thing to know before you round up the group: we are 21 and up, every day, no exceptions.

Howdy, Sore Loser, 302 E. Commerce St, San Antonio, TX 78205. Call 210-823-7748.

Come Watch the Game

Football season downtown does not have to mean a hotel lobby bar or a twenty-minute drive out to the loop. Doors at 11 AM on Saturday and Sunday, screens through the whole building, HOWDY HOUR from 3 to 8 PM, a kitchen until 10, and a room that turns into something else once the game is over. Walk over from your hotel, walk down to the dome, or stay put and let us handle the afternoon.