Football is in the air. You can smell it. It smells like pork rinds and nacho cheese, perspiration and face paint. It smells like a great way to spend your weekends throughout the coming fall - from the first orange leaves to the bitter chill of January.

Yes, it's a glorious time of year. But for many football fans living outside the city or area where their favorite team resides - be it a college squad or an NFL franchise - football season can come with mixed emotions ... happiness mixed with despair ... excitement mixed with frustration.

Sure, the games are happening - but you can't always see them at home. Locally Seahawks', Husky and Cougar games will dominate the airwaves - but we don't all follow these hometown teams. What to do?

Sports bars long ago came to the rescue, bastions for the displaced fan and beautiful places where beer flows freely and every game is on the tube. While technology and entertainment options are making sports bars less and less of a downright necessity for the displaced fan (certainly a good thing for football fans with children), there are still plenty of reasons to head out come kickoff time. Namely: your house doesn't have beer on tap or chicken wings delivered by a waitstaff.

Basically, sports bars are awesome. And our area has a number of great ones. Here's a go-to list of area sports bars for use this football season:

The Ram Restaurant and Brewery

South Hill: 10403 156th St E., Puyallup, 253.445.1005

Lakewood: 10019 59th Ave., Lakewood, 253.584.3191

Tacoma/Ruston Way: 3001 Ruston Way, Tacoma, 253.756.7886

Lacey: 8100 Freedom Lane NE, Suite C, Lacey, 360.923.5900

O'Blarney's Irish Pub

 4411 Martin Way East, Olympia, 360.459.8084

O'Henry's

715 River Road, Puyallup, 253.445.1724

Loose Wheel Bar & Grill

6108 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.301.1647, www.theloosewheel.com

Frankie's Sports Bar and Grill

3663 Pacific Ave. S.E., Lacey, 360.455.0352

Pints & Quarts

1230 College St., Lacey, 360.438.9183

Black Angus Bull's Eye Bar

9905 Bridgeport Way SW, Tacoma, 253.582.6900

West End Pub & Grill

3840 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.2896

Hooters

6812 Tacoma Mall Blvd., Tacoma, 253.476.9464

Varity Grill

 1114 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.627.1229