The Roundup: The Storm Is Building

JB: Yes, there's no doubt about it, we're definitely in rebuild mode. We have a new coach. She actually comes into [Rough & Tumble's] Columbia City location a good amount. That's kind of nice. And, yes, I think there's no question that we're in rebuild mode. But I love rebuild mode, and I think that there's so many different elements that are in this rebuild that it's going to be so much fun. There is so much new energy right now. I mean, the draft class that we just had, kind of building off of Dominique Malonga, is so much fun to watch. I don't think many people have seen Natisha Hiedeman's post about Mount Rainier. And it's the sense of joy and excitement and, you know, her landing at SeaTac and having people stoked that she's here — like there's a sense of joy and wonder that I think feels really strong right now. I think that is going to shift the feeling in the arena to a sense of joy and wonder as we watch these young women athletes who are just so badass, figuring out who they are, and in the process, bringing our team and our fanbase along with them.

JB: Awa Fam is not getting enough attention. I think it's obvious why she's the No. 1 draft pick internationally, and locals don't know her quite as well, but I think she's going to be exceptionally fun to watch. I love that our team leadership is going after international players. It's really cool. I'm really excited to watch her play. And then I'm a big StudBudz fan, and, you know, we have one-half of the StudBudz here now. Natisha's energy is just so joyous. So that's really exciting. And then Flau'jae Johnson is just a fave. Across the board, there are a bunch of people that we are excited to fan over and to support. And I think, truly, that Sonia Raman, our new head coach, is being underestimated right now. She's the former assistant for the New York Liberty. She brings a ton of experience. I think she's pretty humble, so we're seeing less hype. I think she's going to be coming in and giving us a few really awesome surprises.

JB: We are a home bar for the Storm. We partner with them on a lot of events too. So keep your eye on our socials. We're always doing fun stuff in collaboration with the Storm. But Rough & Tumble is the first place in the world purposely opened and built to prioritize playing women's and men's sports equally. So that means focusing on women's sports. So the Storm games are always on, always, always, always, there's never any question. They will always be on. They'll usually be on the main screen. There is always sound, so you can hear the announcers, which is unusual in sports bars — a lot of sports bars just play music. We're big fans of sports. We love watching the game. We love hearing about the game. We love hearing the crowd cheers, so the sound is on.

JB: I think one of the things that I love and that we work very hard to foster is that you're not just coming to watch the game. There's actually community, and it's very common for us to get solo women coming in by themselves, to sit at the bar comfortably without feeling awkward about asking questions about the game. We are as invested in building the fanbase across women's sports. And in order to become a fan of the game, whatever that game is, you do kind of have to understand how it's played, otherwise it just looks like people running around, right? And so many of the women — and there's some men too, on our staff — are athletes or former athletes themselves. They really understand the games and love talking about them. So it's a great opportunity to learn the basics and to come in and get excited. You do not need to be a sports fan to come to experience basketball, and many people are not, but I guarantee that you might become one. So it's a wonderful experience.