Sports bar hosts watch party for 'The Bachelorette' as Raleigh man vies for love

A sports bar in Raleigh was filled to the brim Monday night - but not for a sporting event.

People flocked to Woody's @ City Market to watch the new season of 'The Bachelorette.'

"The vibe is always kind of like a sports bar, so it's kind of fun to see, like the girls kind of take it over and kind of make it like our sports bar," Amelia told ABC11.

There wasn't an open seat in the house as Jenn Tran started her journey for love on the reality show's new season.

It all started last year when one of their managers saw a post on social media. Justin Muscara's girlfriend showed him that a group of girls were looking for somewhere to watch The Bachelor.

"There was definitely a need in the city. So, I got with my upper management and owners and we figured out how to get it done last year," Justin told ABC11. "We started about mid-week or mid-season last year at like week five or six, and it just continued to grow."

Muscara said it's sometimes hard to tell that it's reality TV playing instead of a sporting event.

"There were times where it sounded like NFL game, college game, the state just scored the go-ahead touchdown type game, it was awesome," Muscara said.

This year, the crowd is extra excited about the season because a man from Raleigh is competing.

31-year-old Marcus Shoberg is a retired Army Ranger who graduated from Harvard and moved back to Raleigh to start his own tech company.

Jenn gave Marcus a rose Monday night and said the two have chemistry.

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Woody's @ City Market will continue to host watch parties when each episode of 'The Bachelorette' airs this season.

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