NFL: 7 Best Beverages to Drink While Watching Football

Many NFL players have their own unique pregame ritual: Velcro up the gloves three times, lace up a pair of lucky cleats or do not shave the beard until their team makes the playoffs.

We fans have our own pregame rituals. Throw on that lucky jersey of your favorite player, make sure that the fridge is packed full of food and that the remote control is accounted for.

The NFL season is short: 16 weeks out of the year is not much time to enjoy the glory of football, and when you're sitting on that couch screaming at the referees blown call or bad decision, it's always good to have a drink on hand to keep those vocal chords from going out on you.

Here are some of the top beverages to have on hand when watching your favorite football games on Sunday.

Water

Water may be a shocker on this list, but hey, we're all on a budget.

Look, it's free and there's no way you can run out of it. When your team is going for it on 4th and long and you find yourself parched, there's nothing more classic to quench your nerves then a tall glass of ice water.

Brand names mean nothing for this ancient drink—you can always count on consistent taste, whether it's from the freshest springs or straight from your tap.

Coca-Cola

You want to talk about a classic drink? Coca-Cola has it in its name!

I'm sure the comments below will be full of Pepsi and will be upset with my loyalty towards Team Red, but it's the original soda.

Football is the most watched sport in the country, and Coke has become a slice of Americana over it's history.

If you're looking for a thirst-clenching soda during a potentially crucial third-down stop for your team's defense, it should be the American classic.

Mountain Dew

With all that being said, and with all the flavors that Mountain Dew has these days, you don't need a bunch of different soda brands to make your guests happy, just plenty of variations of the Dew!

Perhaps this is a biased pick, but this Pepsi product has a unique flavor to its original blend that can't be duplicated by other products on the market.

The Dew is a hit among the teenage fans, so there's no reason a middle or high school football party shouldn't have a recycle bin looking similar to the one above by the end of a Sunday night.

Red Bull

Some fans may have grown out of the soda-pop phase, and that's alright, because nowadays there's something that can get you twice as twitchy in half the time!

Red Bull Energy Drink has burst onto the pop culture scene in recent years, and it does what it's made to do—keep you wired.

If you're like me, then chances you are you do everything you can to watch all the NFL you can once Sunday hits, and sometimes it's tough to say awake for all those hours.

Especially if Fox's Joe Buck is calling the late-afternoon game, it's good to have a case of Red Bull on hand for that quick pick-me-up to power you on into NBC's Sunday Night Football game.

Beer

If you're of legal age, then maybe you're looking to kick back and relax during the games, or perhaps get even rowdier than the aforementioned drinks can do for you; either way, beer is for you.

For the male population, beer has become synonymous with football and Sundays. 

Whether you're at a tailgate party outside the stadium, watching at home on your HD 3D television screen or listening to the radio in your favorite reclining chair, beer can help you get as rowdy or relaxed as you want for the hours of football ahead of you.

Rum and Coke

For those of you out there that are over 21 but still enjoy the taste of Coke during a football game, why not just mix it with some Bacardi?

Rum and coke may not be the most traditional of football drinks to have on hand, but it seems to me like the perfect blend of two fan favorites.

Alcohol and soda are as part of watching sports as screaming uncontrollably at the television, and rum and coke is the perfect marriage of the two.

Sports Drinks

Hey, all you're favorite players are drinking the sports drinks on the sidelines, why can't you while watching them?

They say that these kind of drinks aren't that good for your health when you're not working out, but we fans are active when we're watching the game unfold.

We're working up a sweat on those last-second field goals, Hail Mary passes and game-clinching interceptions, and there's nothing better to have on hand—win or loss—than a thirst quencher.

If your team pulls off one of those last-second victories, then you can give yourself your own personal Gatorade bath in celebration of your part in the victory.

If your team finds themselves on the opposite end of one of these kind of contests, then hey, it's always good to have something right on hand to drown the sorrows. Why not replenish your electrolytes while you're at it?