Watching a sporting event  alone in a bar is a very specific experience. You are surrounded by strangers in front of a familiar activity rendered in miniature. The bar at that moment becomes an extension of your living room and an electronic annex to the stadium. With a focal point you share in the middle distance conversation becomes  easier. You have something in common before either of you speaks and even if your world view is completely incompatible,  you are in agreement that it's worth sitting in front of a TV set in the middle of a beautiful Saturday afternoon to watch men live out the childhood dreams you probably both had.