When Jen Barnes, former NWSL Olympic Reign player American, announced his idea, they considered him crazy. A space dedicated to women’s sports? A place with giant TV screens, billiards, tapa, and beer where soccer, basketball, or American women’s football games are broadcast? But Jane He was always clear about it and with the mind of a visionary who sees a business flourishing and with the fight for gender equality as his banner, he set to work.
The result is the ‘Rough & Tumble Pub’, a ‘hub’ that has become the mecca of women’s sports around the world. It is located in Seattle, home of the OL Reign of Megan Rapinoe, where you can breathe women’s football around every corner. Sports-themed bars have been successful for decades in the United States, but no one has yet dared to emulate them in their feminine version. The result could not have been more successful.
The idea arose two years ago, when in 2021 OL Reign played in the NWSL semifinals after a dream season. Barnes planned to watch the game at a bar in Seattle, surrounded by other fans. But he found nothing.
“I woke up very excited, with the dream of watching the game with other fans. I love watching football with people, with a cold beer and a big screen. I called several pubs to ask if they offered a match and the answer was always the same: No. Then the light bulb went off,” the former player explained to Mundo Deportivo.
“I can’t believe we have an incredible team of world-class players with Megan Rapinoe, Lauren Barnes and Jess Fishlock, that we’re playing in the playoffs and no pub is going to broadcast it. I’m so mad to have to watch of the game from the couch at home without mixing with other fans. My partner said, ‘Why don’t you open your own place and solve the problem?’ That’s how Rough & Tumble came about,” he said. “I was totally committed to the idea and a year later I opened this beautiful, wonderful. only place, December 9, 2022”.
A marketing expert, the former soccer player understands that women’s sports still have a long way to go: “We have a lot of work to do in the sports industry to achieve equity, when only 3% of sports programming is dedicated to women and 97% to men. Furthermore, female athletes receive less than 1% of the 78 billion dollars spent on sponsorships,” he pointed out.
Success is being brutal. “We can accommodate 255 people here! But any USWNT or NWSL game is completely sold out and we usually have to turn people away. In the NFL, people come in who are tired of the toxic masculinity standard in the crowd of sports bars here. in the United States,” said the founder and CEO.
The ‘Rough & Tumble’ venue is a meeting point to organize other initiatives: debates, product launches, meetings between players and fans, tournaments… “We are a community above all. We organize everything from baby showers, weddings and birthday parties to large corporate gatherings of professional women and high-profile events with professional athletes. OL Reign players are regular clients, as well as the players, coaches and owners of the Seattle Storm basketball team.”
During the World Cup in Australia, it is common to see most of the players with their fans following the United States matches together. “There was a day when I saw the entire Reign team shouting a goal while watching their teammates play in Australia that I will never forget. the big screen, with sound. It was a beautiful and emotional moment. We were given of so many Olympic athletes and professional athletes that I’m starting to lose count at this point, which is truly incomprehensible to say or think about.
The idea of the popular pub landing in other European cities like Barcelona, where our soccer players are true idols, is not excluded. “It’s very important that women’s sports are accessible to everyone and continue to build spaces for women’s sports fans to grow,” she said. Barnes.
Finally, he refers to how people live in his country. ‘Case of the Rubiales’, which generated a wave of solidarity among Spanish players. “Everyone is undoubtedly supporting Jenni and the rest of the team. The World Cup celebration was ‘stolen’ from the world champions through misogyny, control and abuse. However, the same victory that gave the team the power and visibility necessary to make a deep impact. and necessary change. We are very proud of them for what they are doing and the world is on their side,” he concluded.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
