The sports bar in the USA is a much holier place than the football bar in Germany, because in this country sports can be seen every day and around the clock – mostly men’s events, only seven percent of all TV broadcasts show events from Women. A typical US bar smells like the locker room of a soccer club, on the countless screens you can see the men throwing corn sacks more than the women’s soccer World Cup. In Portland recently The Sports Bra opened, a pub in which only women’s sports are shown. Founder Jenny Nguyen explains why it’s not just a pun on sports bar and sports bra, but much more.
SZ: Ms. Nguyen, a sports bar where only women’s sports are shown – how did you come up with that?
Jenny Nguyen: We wanted to watch the 2018 college basketball championship finals in a pub. It was game of the year, but none of what felt like a million screens showed the game. We got a seat in the corner, a TV was switched. It was an amazing game, comeback, win in the last second.
Notre Dame then defeated Mississippi State.
We freaked out – everyone in the bar was like, what’s going on? There was no sound, and that’s when we realized: we’re used to watching women’s sport like this: in a corner, without sound. Out of this frustration I said: We need our own pub – with no intention of ever opening one ourselves.
Fast forward to 2022: You’re sitting in your pub surrounded by trophies and souvenirs.
There are flags of the clubs in our city and those of the most popular basketball teams in the USA. I put up a few trophies from my childhood and quickly noticed: there are far too few. So I have an appeal Instagram started – the reaction to it was overwhelming.
what did you get
Boxes of souvenirs, really cool stuff – for example: shoes signed by a player in the professional basketball league WNBA. The US flag of a sprinter with a certificate that this flag was at the Olympics. A surprise package came every other day – from people I didn’t know.
There are currently commercials running on US TV that are, among other things, about the game you just described. You can hear the commentator’s enthusiastic voice, but only see a black screen and the lines: “On April 1, 2018, Arike Ogunbawale hit one of the greatest last second shots in history, but you probably didn’t see it because less than ten Percentage of sports television broadcasts in the US feature women.”
It’s getting better, but it’s still a problem for us – despite live streams.
In order for you to be able to show something in the Sports Bra, it has to be broadcast first.
Live streams are designed for private individuals. Many portals didn’t know how to deal with our request to show their offer in our bar. No one ever asked her, “Can we show this women’s league at our place?” We talk a lot with the leagues themselves now. It’s growing organically and I think we’re on the verge of dramatic change. The timing is perfect.
Jenny Nguyen was a chef before opening her own sports bar in April 2022. Sport wasn’t just a part of her life on screen – she also played herself, but a cruciate ligament tear ended her basketball career in college.
(Photo: Sara Sorbo)
Does the shop hum busier on certain days – like in men’s sports during the playoffs or on weekends?
We’re packed every day. We had some softball games and college bowling going on a few days ago, but we were booked. Families tend to come during the day, and younger people in the evenings – including men, by the way, who say they’re tired of men’s sports.
it goes in The Sports Bra so it’s not just about what’s on the screens…
It should be a place where people feel understood and represented.
Is it true that you specifically promote companies that are managed by women?
There’s one of the few distilleries in Portland that’s run by women – so it is Freeland Spirits not only the exclusive supplier, but also responsible for the cocktail menu. The beef comes from a women-owned farm in Oregon; it’s actually very expensive, but we came to an agreement and helped each other. And all 21 beers that we tap have something to do with women. It often happens that someone asks: “Wow, great beer, I don’t know that. Where does that come from?” And then we say: “It was brewed by a woman.”
Has anyone dared to ask whether it would be possible to switch to men’s sports?
Yes, but we don’t. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against men’s sport, but I think there are enough places for it. We are about women’s sport and about promoting enthusiasm for it.