Welcome to the first issue of Support Women’s Sports! A newsletter focused on how Chicagoans can attend, watch, and get in to the game of supporting women's sports. For a decade I ran a project that urged people to attend a women’s sporting event once a year. I firmly believe that supporting women’s sports is a feminist and political act. I put that project to bed once big money and the pros arrived in the women’s sports media world. But my passion for women’s sports has only grown, as has my critique on what fans still need. Thus this newsletter. Please reply to this and let me know what you think Chicago women’s sports fans need.

I am a lifelong sports fan and athlete. I currently indoor rock climb and am considering returning to the 16” softball field. You can read more about the history of my women’s sports evangelism.

I am building out our Instagram and Threads accounts. So follow us there. Who is us? Me & whomever is reading this. This is a community, y’all. Picking up folks along the way cause there is room on this bandwagon. Let’s gooooo!

— Veronica Arreola

Chicago showed up. While it wasn’t a sell out, it was a solid showing of 10,006 people attending the second Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) game in Chicago, er, Rosemont. This is up from December’s game where 7,238 folks showed up. I, too, missed December’s game due to an early Christmas at my dad’s, so I was psyched to take three friends to last week’s game.

Pros: The crowd was electric. It helped that the PWHL brilliantly brought out Wayne Messmer to sing the national anthem. Given the state of the world, it was great to feel something good about the national anthem. As my friend said, “This is art.” The crowd felt very pro-Seattle or perhaps, as my friend also noted, anti-NY. Either way, the crowd was locked in throughout the game. Seattle has been in a predictable inaugural year slump, so it was fab to see them score three times in the first period.

Shout out to the service dog who was shown numerous times on the jumbotron to the delight of everyone. The nachos were excellent. In the third period a, “We want a team,” chant started.

Cons: Why does women’s sports have a merch problem? It should not be this way! I worked at the merch store in the United Center during college and the second Jordan era. Given that getting women’s sports gear outside of a game is near impossible, the merch areas need to be staffed with more people or more areas created. Especially since the PWHL has some of the best looking merch around! That said, if anyone has an extra merch bag, I’d love to take it off your hands.

We need activations in the concourse. While we got ads about the (Red) Stars and Bandits, including Sami Williams, dropping the ceremonial puck, every women’s sports team should have had a table with swag, schedules, and maybe even some BOGO coupons. What about some live podcasting? Heck, a TikTok influencer with a tiny mic interviewing people. Hmmm…

We also needed more music during the game. It was awfully quiet for the first two periods. It was as if someone finally let the intern take the helm for the 3rd period when we got music and the karaoke moments.

Bottomline: Chicago is a sports town. And we have everything it takes to be a world class women’s sports team. GIVE US HOCKEY!

The plan here is to talk about

Where to attend: Let’s talk about the ins and outs of attending a game in person. How nice are the facilities, what to expect, and what to wear. The attire is just as important for our indoor sports as it is with our outdoor sports (sun screen? blanket?).

Where to watch: Chicago is a women’s sports bar town. We have pioneer Whiskey Girl Tavern (where you can watch both a Cubs game and a Stars game at the same time), Babe’s (women’s sports only!), and new gal, Level Sporting Club in Wrigleyville.

That said, the Southside could use some love. And I know that sometimes you can’t get to a women’s sports bar and need to know who in your neighborhood is women’s sports friendly. You know, that bar that won’t stare at you or ask in a demeaning tone, “Who?” when you ask for the Sky game on a TV. If this is your local bar, let me know! My goal is to scout out women’s sports friendly bars.

How to get in the game: I adhere to the mantra that if you play sports, you are an athlete. Whether that sport is kick ball or running marathons. I currently do indoor rock climbing, have added weight training to my routine, and am considering a return to the 16” softball diamond. While I never bouted in roller derby, I did take Derby Lite and love to get on my skates whenever I can. If you are inspired to get your sport on, I want to help connect you!

What’s next: Building. More commentary on women’s sports. Interviews with the play-makers in Chicago and beyond. This newsletter will be Chicago-centric, but I do hope a lot of what we do here is valuable for women’s sports fans everywhere.

This is a passion project, but one I need to be sustainable. I am asking you to support this work by joining as a member at $9 a month (or more!). At a certain point I will start to offer membership benefits, but for now, everyone who supports me at $9 a month will receive a soon-to-be-designed sticker. Everyone who joins as a dues-paying member will receive an e-thank you card.

Thanks for reading! LET’S FUCKING GO!!