Super Bowl season is nearly upon us, with Super Bowl LIV happening on the 2nd of February 2020. As always, the Super Bowl outside of the US is a community event, with people coming together to watch one of the largest sporting events in the world, mostly free of the team ties that run deep in America.

American football is surprisingly popular in Sweden, but most Swedish fans watch the Super Bowl just for the spectacle of it. They aren’t interested in their chosen team’s odds of winning the Super Bowl, they just want to see some exciting football in a comfortable location, which leads to an amazing atmosphere of sporting comradery!

This might be because Sweden has its own clutch of American football teams to support. American football might have arrived late in Sweden (the first teams didn’t form until 1982), but it has become quite popular. It now has its own league, the Superserien, and Stockholm’s home team, Stockholm Mean Machines have been one of its stars, winning the Swedish Championship title 10 times and the Superserien 7 times.

Perhaps because of this love of American football and the success of its local team, Stockholm does a fair amount to prep for the Super Bowl and there is a range of great sports bars to go and watch the game. So, if you are in the beautiful city of Stockholm in February and want to see some of the best teams in American football fight it out for the glory of winning the biggest competition in the sport, here is our guide to some of the best places to settle in, order a beer, and watch the action.

O’Learys

Stockholm has an odd affinity for British and Irish style pubs, so it’s no surprise that a place called O’Learys is at the top of our list. O’Learys has tow locations in Stockholm, O’Learys Event Center Tolv Stockholm and O’Learys Event Center Norrtull, and both offer extensive seating and a huge number of screens to watch the game on, ranging from 50” up to projector screens that wouldn’t look out of place in a small cinema. If you are feeling peckish then you can head on over to the bar to order traditional American sports bar favorites, like overladen burgers, spicy chicken wings, pizza, hotdogs, and lashings of beer. If you find the game dragging a bit, and bear in mind that the longest game in football history lasted 82 minutes and 40 seconds, you can always take advantage of the other entertainments O’Learys has to offer, from bowling and mini-golf to sporting simulators.

The Crib

Located at Sveavägen 55, The Crib offers a fantastic and comfortable viewing space with a large range of 18 60” TVs for you to watch the game on. While your average sports bar confines itself to burgers and nachos, The Crib actually has a varied menu with some genuinely nice options on it. So, if you like traditional sports bar ambiance with food that isn’t 90% coagulated cheese, then this is the bar for you.

Retro Sportbar

If you love burgers and sports then the Retro Sportbar on Sveavägen 120 should definitely be your venue to watch Super Bowl LIV. With a design very similar to The Crib, which isn’t surprising when they have the same owner, Retro Sportbar has eight different and delicious burgers on the menu. If you like beer with you burger, then you’ll be happy to know that Happy Hour lasts until 8 pm, and there are enough screens on the wall that you can make it all that way to the bar and back without ever losing sight of the game.

Enzo’s

So far, all the locations we’ve suggested to watch the Super Bowl in Stockholm have been traditional sports bars. Enzo’s is an entirely different take on the idea, combining all the widescreen TVs you’d expect in a space geared towards watching sports, with a traditional Neapolitan pizzeria. To be fair, most of that sports watching is skewed towards Italian Football, but Enzo’s does make an exception for events as large as the Super Bowl. So, if you like traditional and delicious thin crust pizza, just like mama used to make, and you don’t want to choose between that and your love of American Football, then make your way down to Långholmsgatan 17-21 on February 2nd.

The Tudor Arms

The Tudor Arms is about as English as you can get without being in England. Dark wood furnishings, red baize seating, and mostly ale on tap. It’s not surprising that it was voted the world’s best British pub outside of the UK by both the Daily Telegraph and British Airways. The Tudor Arms has been in Stockholm since 1969 (which makes it a very new pub indeed by English standards) and, on most days, the TVs are dominated by the Premier League. However, they do cover the Super Bowl and, if you are looking to enjoy it in the most jolly spiffing way possible, The Tudor Arms at Grevgatan 31 is the place to be.

The Flying Elk

If you are looking for a place to enjoy the Super Bowl and want a little more on the drinks menu than just American beer, then why not try The Flying Elk. This popular joint combines a traditional pub atmosphere with a hugely well-stocked bar, boasting sixteen different types of draft beer and more than a hundred varieties of single malt whiskeys. There are 12 large screens to watch the game on and, if the interior gets a little hot and sweaty for you, there is outside seating for you to cool off and get some fresh air before coming back to the action.

Plenty of Options

As you can see, there is no shortage of options to watch the Super Bowl in Stockholm, from traditional sports bars to authentic pizzerias and old English pubs, you are sure to find somewhere comfortable to take in the big game. Sit back, relax and enjoy!