Women's sports bars are opening in Philly — part of a booming trend
Why it matters: With viewership and attendance for women's sports soaring, fans are building hubs that are about more than watching games.
Driving the news: Marsha's, founded by Philadelphian Chivonn Anderson, is opening this summer on South Street at what was formerly the Woolly Mammoth.
Anderson wants to make the bar into a "sleek and sexy" hub for women's and Philly sports, she told Philadelphia Gay News.
Marsha's will have multiple TVs for sports viewing, plus some will be dedicated to LGBTQ+ films and TV. She also hopes to host burlesque, drag shows and dance parties there, per Philadelphia Gay News.
Zoom in: The bar's name is a nod to the late Black trans activist Marsha P. Johnson, who became a key figure in the 1969 Stonewall Riots.
Anderson aims to open Marsha's by mid-to-late August, just in time for the Eagles' season opener against Dallas.
Meanwhile, a community of women's sports fans is working to open a women's sports bar in Philly next year.
Watch Party PHL has been fundraising to open their own space, Metro Philadelphia reports. A location and timeline are still in the works.
The big picture: At least six women's sports bars have opened across the country this year.
As many as 17 are on the way in various stages of funding and construction.
Catch up quick: It started with The Sports Bra, a Portland bar dedicated to supporting and showing women's sports, founded in April 2022.
Rough and Tumble Pub in Seattle, as well as Whiskey Girl Tavern in Chicago, followed later that year. By the end of 2024, three more had opened.
Bar owners mix the fun and camaraderie of team sports with an atmosphere that's welcoming to everyone, including nontraditional sports fans and the LGBTQ+ community.
Friction point: Some bar owners have gotten sexist and anti-LGBTQ+ hate.
The bottom line: The bars "galvanize the community," Laabs says.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
9 hours ago
- USA Today
We hit 37 in our Raiders countdown to kickoff. Who wore it best and who's wearing it now
We've reached 37 days until the Raiders season opener at Foxboro against the Patriots, With our countdown at 37 days we take a look at who currently dons the number in Silver & Black and who has brought it the most distinction. No. 37 Who's wearing it now: S Trey Taylor The former Jim Thorpe Award winner from Air Force was the Raiders selection in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He enters his second season having played sparingly last season, appearing in nine games and seeing zero snaps on defense. At this point his most notable moment was mocking Patrick Mahomes with a fan's Kermit puppet during training camp last year. If he's going to change that, he'll need to work his way up the depth chart. Who wore it best: CB Lester Hayes One of the greatest cornerbacks in Raiders franchise history. He spent his entire ten-year NFL career with the Raiders. In that time, he helped the Raiders to win two Super Bowls including 1980 when he had a league-leading 13 interceptions. In total he had 39 career interceptions and made five Pro Bowls. Some believe he should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and is only being kept out because of his generous use of Stick-em in those days. But plenty of players used it and it wasn't illegal, so it's not right for him to be discounted for it.
Fox Sports
13 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Sterling Sharpe hasn't fully embraced his selection into the Hall of Fame because of an eye issue
Associated Press CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Maybe the magnitude of the accomplishment will hit Sterling Sharpe when he walks on stage Saturday and sees his bronze bust that will be displayed permanently in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The former Green Bay Packers star wide receiver will be enshrined into football immortality along with cornerback Eric Allen, defensive end Jared Allen and tight end Antonio Gates as the Class of 2025. But Sharpe hasn't been able to celebrate the honor fully because he's been dealing with problems in his right eye. He was still recovering from eye surgery when his brother, Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe, informed him in front of television cameras that he was selected. 'I had a detached retina, so I was dealing with not being able to see,' Sterling Sharpe said Thursday. 'There's still a chance I won't be able to see out of my right eye, so for me, I never fully got involved in the process of joy and excitement and what it means and all that because if someone would've asked me when I had eye surgery in October: 'You get to choose. You can have sight and keep your right eye or you can be a Pro Football Hall of Famer.' I would've chosen sight and kept my right eye. 'So I never really in this journey got a chance because I've had four surgeries and just found out last week I have a hole in my retina, so I'm probably set up for another surgery, I never got the joy of being able to just deal with that because I've been dealing with surgeries, pressure, cataract, detached retina, torn retina, now a hole in my retina.' Health issues are nothing new for Sharpe. A neck injury cut short his NFL career after seven seasons, delaying his entry into the Hall of Fame because there always was the question of whether he played long enough. There's no disputing anymore. He's in. He'll receive his gold jacket on Friday night. Sharpe averaged 85 catches and 1,162 yards in his career, finishing with 65 touchdowns. He was named to five Pro Bowls and earned first-team All-Pro honors three times. Sharpe and his younger brother, who was inducted in 2011, will become the first brothers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 'That's hard for me (to grasp) because where we come from, two little Black boys from Glenville, Georgia, a town of about 2,500 people, this ain't a dream you have on the farm,' Sterling Sharpe said. 'This ain't a dream you have baling hay and corralling chickens and chasing hogs and picking tobacco. You don't have this dream. It is definitely truly an honor, truly a blessing from God. 'I honestly am a firm believer that everything doesn't have to be articulated and explained and this is one of them that's just a tremendous honor that you look at it the way you walk. But I would be doing us, I would be doing the Hall of Fame, I would be doing this honor a tremendous disservice by trying to talk about how elated, excited, championed we are to be the first brothers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This is a lot bigger than any goal or dream that either he or I had as kids.' Eric Allen The six-time Pro Bowl cornerback played seven seasons with the Eagles, three with the Saints and four with the Raiders. He had 54 career interceptions, including eight returned for touchdowns. Allen also played baseball at Point Loma High School in San Diego. He credits that sport for helping him become one of the game's elite cornerbacks. 'Yes, baseball is a team sport, but when you're up to bat, it's you and the pitcher,' Allen said. 'That helped me play cornerback because if it's third-and-7, third-and-8 and you know where they are going with the ball and you're on that guy, it's you and him so that skillset plus the coaches I had early on, I was able to play the game from the neck up and that's an important part of playing cornerback.' Jared Allen Allen made five Pro Bowls, was a four-time All-Pro and had 136 sacks in 12 seasons with the Chiefs, Vikings, Bears and Panthers. He had 22 sacks for Minnesota in 2011, just one away from breaking the all-time single-season record of 22 1/2 sacks set by Michael Strahan in 2001 and tied by T.J. Watt in 2021. Allen actually was credited with a sack on Aaron Rodgers during a game that season, but the official scoring of the play was changed to a team sack after the game. Rodgers dropped a shotgun snap, chased the ball, fell on it and Allen jumped on top of him. He believes Allen is the record holder. 'Hey Jared, it's Aaron Rodgers,' Rodgers, wearing a Steelers uniform, said in a video posted on social media by the Vikings. 'You are the all time single-season sack leader. I don't care what the numbers say, because that phantom ... sack they took away from you would give you the record. So, in my book, and probably in most Vikings fan books, you're the all time, single-season sack leader, my friend.' Antonio Gates A college basketball star at Kent State, Gates signed with the San Diego Chargers as a free agent and became an All-Pro by his second season. He'll become the first player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame without playing the sport in college. He played all 16 of his NFL seasons with the Chargers, finishing with 955 catches for 11,841 yards and 116 TDs. 'I was very fortunate and lucky,' Gates said. 'I was doing it one year at a time. I never let my past reflect on my present. I never let my future reflect on my present. I lived in the moment every year. Every year I had to make the team, every year I had to be the best version of Antonio Gates. Every year I had to improve. Ultimately, I ended up tallying 16 years. ... It's a testament to the respect the organization had for myself and the sacrifices that I was able to make.' ___ AP NFL: recommended Item 1 of 3
Fox Sports
16 hours ago
- Fox Sports
2025 NFL Predictions, Picks: 3 DPOY Wagers To Make Now
The NFL Defensive Player of the Year is a simple handicap: He's either the best pass rusher in the league or the top cornerback. With that, most of the names that have won this award are defenders we know well. Last season, Patrick Surtain won as a younger star, but before him, it was Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, a Watt brother, Aaron Donald (three times) and Stephon Gilmore. We've seen Ray Lewis, J.J. Watt and Donald as repeat winners this century, so let's keep that in mind as we preview my favorite wagers for this award. Micah Parsons Entering his fifth NFL season, Parsons has recorded double-digit sacks in all four of his professional campaigns. He had 13 in his first year, followed by 13.5, then 14 in 2023 and down to 12 in just 13 games last season. If Parsons stays healthy for the entire season, he's going to get above 15 sacks. Game style is important to note when trying to preview a defender's success rushing the passer. The Cowboys were bad last season, leading to opponents passing the football less often at the end of games. I expect the Cowboys to be better offensively this season and provide their defense with an opportunity to close out games playing from ahead. That will give Parsons more chances to rush the passer under ideal conditions. When it's a must-pass situation, the offensive line is tired from having to pass protect over and over. Lastly, it's worth considering that this is a contract year for Parsons. For obvious reasons, players tend to over-perform in contract years. PICK: Micah Parsons (+750) to win DPOY Will Anderson Jr. It does feel a tad early in his career to win this award, but Anderson is ascending and worth a play at 13/1. The Texans pass rusher is improving right on pace. In his first season in Houston, he recorded seven sacks in 15 games. Last season, he started 14 of the Texans' 17 games and finished with 11 sacks. He also added 3.5 sacks in two playoff games, just to highlight his strong play to finish his sophomore season. If we assume a healthy Anderson plays more games this season, and we also assume a continued upward trend in sacks, then Anderson will likely push north of 15 sacks for the season. He had a 22% pass rush win rate, ranking seventh among defenders, and he forced pressure on over 20% of pass rush snaps as well. He's a fantastic player primed for a breakout season in 2025. PICK: Will Anderson Jr. (+1300) to win DPOY Quinyon Mitchell For my long shot wager, I'm going with Mitchell. He was fantastic as a rookie in Philadelphia, not allowing a single touchdown in coverage and permitting only 0.5 yards per coverage snap, which was good for second at his position. Mitchell also forced 16 incompletions, finishing third in the league. He plays for a highly visible team that will face plenty of teams trying to throw the ball at them. I like my chances here at this price. Quinyon Mitchell (+5000) to win DPOY Geoff Schwartz is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports. He played eight seasons in the NFL for five different teams. He started at right tackle for the University of Oregon for three seasons and was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection his senior year. Follow him on Twitter @GeoffSchwartz. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Item 1 of 3 Get more from the National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
