Jackie “Jax” Diener always had to prove herself. She was overlooked when it came to sports because she was short, and the fact that she was adopted as a child was always in the back of her mind. She was always told she wouldn’t be successful, but she was driven. She was athletic and she was driven. She wanted to prove people wrong, and those two words quickly became her life mantra.
look at me.
“What do you say if they suspect you?” Diener said. “Just go out there and show them.”
So when it came time to name the business he started with his partner and wife, Emme Eddy, Diener already had the perfect name in mind: Watch Me! Sports Bar opened in Long Beach on Friday with a mission to shine a spotlight on women’s sports.
Emme Eddy (right) and Jax Diener (center), co-owners of Watch Me! Sports Bar, a women’s sports bar in Long Beach, greet patrons lining up to attend the bar’s grand opening on Friday.
(Allen J. Schaven/Los Angeles Times)
That mission is clear as soon as you walk through the doors. As you walk through the lines of patrons that surround the bar’s shopping center, you’re greeted by a mural of the words “BE A CHANGEMAKER” repeated in big, bold letters. Autographs from legends of women’s sports fill the space, including WNBA player Penny Towler, the Sparks’ first ever point-scorer; World Cup winner and 1999 U.S. Women’s Soccer National Team member Saskia Weber; and 2023 Pan American Games gold medalist rower Maddie Vogt, leaving plenty of room for future athletes to make their mark.
“I think it’s also important for young girls to think about the possibility of changing the trajectory of their future,” said artist Corey Mattie, who donated the mural. “You look at Megan Rapinoe and Billie Jean King and you see they were change agents. … Title IX, speaking up about politics and the current social climate. These are all things we need in the future, and young people are going to bring that.”
That is essentially the ethos of Watch Me: paying tribute to the past and the legends that made California’s first bar possible, while also establishing a space to nurture the next generation of icons.
Watch Me! is one of only five sports bars in the U.S. dedicated to broadcasting women’s sports, and others are expected to follow Portland’s successful example, Sports Bra.
At the grand opening of Watch Me! Sports Bar in Long Beach on Friday, patrons flocked to the bar to order food and drinks and watch women’s sports.
(Allen J. Schaven/Los Angeles Times)
It’s the space Diener wished he had as a kid, a place to go after games on Sundays and watch his idols on a screen with his teammates and family.
“So it means a lot to us to create a space not only for them, but also for the older generations who may not have been given the recognition they deserve,” Diener said, “so we’re trying to celebrate all the sports and athletes and women who have come before.”
Toler realized the need for a space like “Watch Me!,” after visiting California Pizza Kitchen around the corner from Crypto.com Arena and seeing a collage of Lakers, Kings, Dodgers and Rams posters adorning the walls. The Sparks, whom Toler helped win three WNBA championships during his 20 years as general manager, were nowhere to be seen.
“how [can] “… You can’t be downtown and not have the Sparks logo,” Toler said, “but I thought this was a great thing. It’s something we’ve needed for a long time.”
For Weber, the concept for “Watch Me!” had been a lifelong dream and although the grand opening was long overdue, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.
The WNBA and NWSL are experiencing unprecedented popularity and viewership. Angel City FC, which is affiliated with Watch Me!, is valued at $500 million and is the richest women’s sports club in the world. Women are thriving in the NBA, with former G League Coach of the Year Lindsay Harding recently hired as an assistant coach with the Lakers.
Patrons toast women’s sports while watching them at the grand opening of Watch Me! Sports Bar in Long Beach on Friday.
(Allen J. Schaven/Los Angeles Times)
“It’s a positive overall,” Weber said. “It’s great to have a community space where people can come together and watch their idols on TV while enjoying some good food and cocktails. It helps the community by having role models, it grows the sport and it expands the fanbase.”
As the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics aired on nearly every screen in the house, Maddie Vogt beamed with pride as she showed off her Pan Am Games medal to bar patrons. When her mother told her about the “Watch Me!” opening, she immediately knew she had to go and cheer.
“Not only am I so happy that a place like this exists, but I’m so grateful that this has happened,” Vogt said, “so that the female community can participate and be present.”
