Forget Carbone and the Corner Store, the hottest reservation in NYC is a sports bar

Forget scoring an 8 p.m.dinner reservation at Carbone or the Corner Store.

Getting a table at popular NYC sports bars to watch the big game on Sunday is now just as difficult a play.If you want a prime position to watch football, you have to reserve weeks and even months in advance, “know someone,” line up outside as though you’re trying to get into a hot nightclub or pay thousands of dollars for a VIP table.

“You have to book two weeks in advance, or you won’t get a table,” said Mia Firenze, a 28-year-old who lives in FiDi and works as a beer sales rep.Her favorite viewing spot is Blue Haven South in FiDi, which has developed a fervent fanbase thanks to its fun scene — dancing and singalongs to Taylor Swift and other Top 40 during commercials, servers wearing jerseys and carrying megaphones — and a coed crowd that reflects the NFL’s growing popularity with young women.

“It’s the best place to watch football in the city ever,” Firenze enthused.“The vibes, the energy, the staff, the bartenders, it feels like home.”  Female support for the NFL has been growing steadily since 2017, and it jumped by 11% at the end of last year, according to analytics company Morning Consult.

Thanks largely to Swift and Travis Kelce, 64% of Gen Z and millennial women now have a favorable view of the NFL, the most ever to do so.And, they’re helping to fill city sports bars to the brim.

“I booked this table a month and a half ago,” said Joe Wernig, a 30-something who lives in the city, while watching the Jets play the Broncos on Sunday at Blue Haven South with 25 of his closest friends.He started coming to the bar every Sunday during the pandemic and has seen the crowds grow and grow.“It’s developed a cult following,” said Wernig, proudly adding, “I’m friends with the head manager.

I text her personally to get a table.”He’s hardly the only one texting.The bar’s general manager/owner Abby Dowd said she gets as many as 50 texts a day ...