Crowds flock to new Long Beach bar showcasing women’s sports

Jackie “Jax” Diener has always had to prove herself. Her shorter stature caused her to be overlooked when it came to sports, and internally, the fact that she was adopted as a child was always in the back of her head. She was constantly told she wouldn’t succeed, but she was too driven. Too athletic. Too motivated. She wanted to prove people wrong, and two words quickly became her mantra in life:

Watch Me.

“When you’re doubted, what do you say?” said Diener. “You just go out and show them.”

So when the time came for Diener to name the business she and her partner and wife, Emme Eddy, had started, they already had the perfect name for it. Watch Me! Sports Bar opened its doors in Long Beach on Friday with the mission of shining a spotlight on women’s sports.

That mission is apparent as soon as you walk in the door — and get past the line of patrons wrapped around the shopping center where the bar is located — and are greeted by a mural with the words “BE A CHANGEMAKER” repeated in big, bold letters. Signatures by women’s sports legends such as Penny Toler, the first WNBA player to record a basket for the Sparks; Saskia Webber, a World Cup winner and member of the 1999 U.S. women’s national soccer team; and 2023 Pan American Games gold medalist rower Maddie Focht fill in spaces, with plenty of room for future athletes to leave their mark.

“I think it’s important for young girls to also think about the possibility of changing the trajectory of the future,” said Corie Mattie, the artist who donated the mural. “When you look at a Megan Rapinoe, or even a Billie Jean King, they were the change-makers. … Title IX, speaking up for politics and the current social climate. That’s all about what we need in the future, and the youth is going to bring that.”

That essentially is the spirit of Watch Me! A nod to the past and the legends that made this bar — the first of its kind in California — possible, while establishing a space to cultivate the next generation of icons.

Watch Me! is one of just five sports bars in the U.S. devoted to broadcasting women’s sports. The number is expected to grow as others follow the lead of Portland’s successful Sports Bra.

Patrons fill the bar, ordering food and drinks and watching women’s sports during the grand opening of Watch Me! Sports Bar in Long Beach on Friday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

It’s a space that Diener wishes she could’ve had growing up. A spot she could go to after a game on a Sunday and watch her idols on the screen with her teammates and family.

“So that means so much for us to be creating a space not just for them, but also for the older generation who didn’t get their due,” Diener said. “… So we’re trying to celebrate all of the sports, the athletes and women who’ve been out there.”

Toler noticed the need for a space like Watch Me! when she would go to the California Pizza Kitchen down the street from Crypto.com Arena and saw a collage of Lakers, Kings, Dodgers and Rams posters adorn the walls. The Sparks, whom Toler helped win three WNBA championships in her 20 years as general manager, were nowhere to be found.

“How [can] … you be downtown and not have a Sparks logo?” Toler said. “But I thought this was great. It’s long overdue.”

For Webber, the concept of Watch Me! was a longtime dream and while the grand opening was long overdue, the timing couldn’t be more perfect.

The WNBA and NWSL are enjoying unprecedented popularity and viewership. Angel City FC, which has a partnership with Watch Me!, is the wealthiest women’s sports club in the world with a $500-million valuation. Women are making their mark in the NBA, where reigning G League coach of the year Lindsey Harding was recently hired as an assistant coach for the Lakers.

Patrons toast while watching women’s sports during the grand opening of Watch Me! Sports Bar in Long Beach on Friday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“It’s just a positive across the board,” Webber said. “And so when you have a community place that people can come, have a good meal, have some cocktails, but also watch your idols on TV … that’s amazing. You can have those role models and it just helps your community. It just grows sports and it grows a fan base.”

With the 2024 Paris Olympic opening ceremony on almost every screen in the house, Maddie Focht beamed with pride as she displayed her Pan American games medals for the bar patrons. Her mother told her about Watch Me! opening, and she knew immediately that they had to go support it.

“Having a place like this, not only am I super happy for it, but also just very blessed that something like this has happened,” Focht said. “Because it allows the women community to show up and be present.”