On October 24, 1954, a Real Madrid-Real Racing Club match was broadcast on television. Football came to homes, but also to bars and with that landing a bond that was difficult to dissociate was forged. Since then, football has been one of the main allies of the hospitality industry and bars. And although covid-19 turned everything upside down, the reality is that with the end of the restrictions, the largest stadium in LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank reopened its doors.
Whether individually or in groups, many fans choose to follow football day after day on the small screen in the bars and cafes of their city. Specifically, more than 5 million people regularly enjoy football in public places, according to the results of the Study of football consumption in public places, carried out by MEDIAPRO and LaLiga.
Young men and women who, in addition to the excitement of competition, seek to socialize and share the atmosphere with friends. Football is, therefore, a driver of activity in these venues and thanks to LaLigaTV Bar, the only channel authorized to broadcast all competitions in public spaces, they can enjoy the spectacle as if they were on the field.
"In our case, we do consider it a profitable investment because only in a match like ElClásico can we put more than 600 people in our Poblenou venue and we have already amortized it for the entire year," says its manager, Albert, from L'Ovella Negra. Devesa, who nevertheless admits that the atmosphere can vary "depending on the game and the schedule." In any case, groups spend approximately 2 hours in bars watching football and spend an average of €13 per game, according to the aforementioned report.
L'Ovella is one of the must-see destinations for football lovers in Barcelona. A bar open to the fans of all the LaLiga clubs and where this weekend, fans of the city's two teams gathered in harmony to enjoy ElDerbi de Barcelona.
And this time, everything was in its favor, schedule included, explains Devesa. “For ElDerbi de Barcelona, it is clear that it benefits us that it is on a Saturday and at 9 p.m. It's perfect for us because a good part of our clientele comes, watches the game and then stays to have a drink. Being a neighborhood bar, I'm sure that people from the area will also get excited and come down to see it." That, going to the bar without worry, was missed.
A feeling that they share in the blue and white club of Mollet del Vallès. Little by little they recover the good habit of meeting again in front of the television in the games in which they do not travel to the RCDE Stadium. “It is one of the things from before the pandemic that we still lack, because all our friends got together. It was a nice thing, getting together at the bar. Especially in a match like ElDerbi de Barcelona. But with the pandemic, everything has been complicated,” says its treasurer, Albert Moreno. In Sant Joan Despí, on the contrary, before the match they were already expecting to gather between 40 and 50 blue and white fans at their club's clubhouse. “And even some more,” predicted partner Montse Lozano.
When choosing between watching the game from the stands or through the screen, the three agree that going to the stadium is special, “but on TV, the plays and the goals are clearer,” says Albert. That is precisely one of the advantages that LaLigaTV Bar offers, a complete technological display at the service of fans to enjoy football.
This makes it difficult even for those who never failed on the field, like Albert, who claims to have not missed a home game for his team in 42 years, “since the days when I went to Gol Nord in Sarrià, with my wife. and the children, who were small. “The cold we were there!” he remembers. For him, stepping into the RCDE Stadium again has been an unrepeatable experience: “It was very exciting, because there was a lot of desire.”
Joan Rovira, a fan of FC Barcelona, relates something similar. For him, the ritual of supporting his team goes beyond the moment of the game, "the hours before we concentrated around the stadium to start generating an atmosphere. We sang and waited for the players to arrive. Somehow when in On match days the public wears their t-shirts and scarves and waves the flags, it is as if the blaugrana-tinged stands became player number 12.”
That feeling is what leads him to not miss practically any match "I consider myself a very active member and I don't usually miss live matches", but this derby is even more important for the culés if possible "there is a unique atmosphere, We will continue the game with a lot of tension and intensity in order to lead our team to win. We will go out to win and we will win, look at Barça! "He added hours before the match, convinced.
Xavi, for his part, does not miss a game either in his stadium or in his local bar because, as he admits, he is “incapable” of watching football alone. “Watching it on TV in the bar is very good.”
Even if the schedule is good - such as the next RCD Espanyol de Barcelona match against Rayo Vallecano - “we will even organize an informal meal and thus help the bar as much as we can,” he says. Regarding the LaLigaTV Bar broadcasts, the president of the Sants-Hostafrancs fan club highlights LaLiga's firm commitment to technology to offer the best possible product and especially innovations "such as the aerial camera and the drone."
Along these lines, the goals of the brand new international Raúl de Tomás and the solidity between the sticks that the veteran Diego López is showing have become Montse's main demands to return to occupy his seat in the stadium.
A feeling that, on a personal and family level, also had an additional load of emotion, especially “because some people are missing around us. Seeing those locations, which before the pandemic were occupied, now empty, has been hard.” Even so, the good results of Vicente Moreno's team and collective performances like the one against Real Madrid have been "an injection." “We have to continue going to the stadium and cheering. We have had good results and now for ElDerbi de Barcelona we are motivated,” he concludes.
They are the two sides of a passion that, in most cases, are combined. And, although experiencing each play from the field makes your feelings bristle, LaLigaTV Bar has taken giant steps so that those same raw emotions can be experienced from the bars.
And the ideal complement to all the technological innovations and graphics in the broadcasts offered by LaLigaTV Bar is Futbar, its official application. This app has the largest map of bars with football and allows both fans and bars to benefit from exclusive promotions. With the BOTE system, bars receive commissions for each ticket from their premises that fans upload to Futbar while they get direct refunds for those tickets. In addition, every week they have games, special promotions and very football-loving prizes available.
That is one more incentive for fans. However, the show is always guaranteed and LaLigaTV Bar brings it closer to the most football fans who are eager to enjoy key matches such as the long-awaited return of ElDerbi de Barcelona. And both fans have confirmed something: from the bar you can also shout your team's goals as if you were at the Camp Nou and, furthermore, relive them over and over again with the replay. These moments of emotion are, precisely, what keep the other tier of Spanish football alive.
