Meanwhile, in New York – a city that seemingly has everything but a place to watch women's sports – Althea's and Athena Keke's plan to open women's sports bars in the near future.
Jenny Garcia, 37, has been a New York Liberty fan since the team's inception in 1997 and spent most of her 20s looking for bars to watch the games. She often refused her requests to change one of several television screens to a WNBA game (which overlaps with the baseball season). She eventually found a few open spots, but they closed during the pandemic. “There’s nothing better than being around other sports fans,” Garcia said. “There is so much excitement. It makes me so emotional to see how much women's sports have grown.” But when the Liberty is out of town, the season ticket holder has no place to watch the games and retreats to her couch , where she – a proud member of the cord-cutting generation – pays expensive streaming services to watch away games.
The community attracted Garcia's girlfriend Felicia Fitzpatrick, 32, as a new but avid WNBA fan. More of an actor than an athlete, Fitzpatrick loves the drama, colorful costumes (also known as uniforms) and electric energy of the games. The fact that the players and fans are mostly women, and queer women at that, helps. “I'm not a competitive person, I hate it when someone has to lose,” says Fitzpatrick. “But I love the atmosphere.” She can already imagine commuting from New Jersey to the city to relax at Althea's, with friends or with strangers who quickly become a community like she did in her early days fan community has experienced.
“These bars will inspire and empower women and women’s sports,” said Breanna Stewart, 2023 WNBA MVP and New York Liberty Forward. “When we have more viewers, it gains more attention. The excuse of not being able to watch will no longer be an excuse. There’s a lot of momentum to leave behind.”
However, there is much progress to be made when men's sports are still only considered “sports” and women's sports must have a special name. Women do not participate in professional baseball or football leagues, nor are professional athletes paid a fraction of the salaries that their male counterparts receive. (Stewart's current contract is for $205,000, while the 30th overall NBA rookie draft pick is set for at least $2 million.)
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