J Harris was looking forward to watching basketball on Monday night, but that feeling went into overtime when she saw an ad for a watch party at The 99ers.
She hadn’t heard of Denver’s new (and only) bar dedicated to women’s sports. She was so excited that someone was airing the game — the first-ever finals for Unrivaled, a new three-on-three women’s league — that she traveled an hour and a half from her home in Fountain to be there.
She was the first to arrive, waiting outside when owners Miranda Spencer and Annie Weaver unlocked the door.
“I’m a big basketball, WNBA fan,” she said. “If I wasn't here, I would be home watching it by myself. I wanted to be around other people that shared the same interest.”
The narrow space off Colfax and Emerson was filled with people who shared Harris’ passion. It wasn’t long before she was deep in conversation with new friends, shouting over the noise of the bar and talking ball.
The 99ers was announced in April of last year. But permitting delays pushed the bar’s opening day beyond the big ticket events, like the summer Olympics, that Spencer and Weaver hoped would kickstart the business. But they were finally ready for customers last December.
The 99ers’ new roots on Colfax were planted during a national surge of popularity in women’s sports. Spencer and Weaver see their bar as part of a broader movement, a mutually dependent growth of teams and watering holes where fans can watch them.
The scene on Monday for the Unrivaled finals is one piece of a tectonic shift happening in sports and culture.
Spencer and Weaver announced their plans for The 99ers just after the 2024 March Madness tournament, when a frenzy for college athletes like Caitlin Clark demonstrated the U.S. was entering a new era of fandom for women’s basketball.
But both women said their bar is doing more than riding that wave. While being an official host for Unrivaled games is undoubtedly good for business, they also think they’re helping sustain momentum for leagues like this.
“We all are helping each other build and grow women's sports in general,” Weaver said. “Being a part of it, creating a space like this that people can come and watch and support is really exciting.”
It was something Betsy Anderson said she felt on Monday night as she shouted and cheers with the crowd. That joy, she said, was rooted in history.
“When I was growing up, girls couldn't do anything. Two dribbles on a basketball and you’d better pass. It was the only thing I was good at, and I got in trouble for doing it,” the 78-year-old told us. “When I first moved to Denver in 1969, I couldn't get a credit card, even though I had a teaching contract, because I wasn't married. I wanted skis, but I couldn’t get them. Made me really angry.”
It’s why Anderson was elated to learn about The 99ers. Finally, she saw her love of sports — and women’s sports in particular — reflected in a place that was meant specifically for her. It represented so much more than athleticism.
“I'm just so proud that girls are able to do things, and on their own,” she said.
But Dea Vander-Fertgus, co-founder of the WNBA Club of Denver, cautioned that this moment is still just a start. Her group has been working over the last few years to get commitments from Denver bar owners to show women’s games on a regular basis.
So far, they’ve convinced five.
The city could use a lot more places like The 99ers, Vander-Fertgus said.
“We have so much room for growth and creativity and original ideas of how to make this last and sustain,” she said. “It's a culture shift that we're starting to experience.”
The bar has also been a balm for an uncertain moment in this country for women and queer people.
Modern sports and politics have always been inextricably linked, but Spencer and Weaver said they’re especially feeling that connection right now.
President Donald Trump’s first months in office have sparked a litany of protests in the metro area. His administration’s attacks on trans communities, in particular, have put sports in its crosshairs.
In February, Trump signed an executive order about “keeping men out of women’s sports,” invoking what some experts have called a moral panic over fairness and gender.
The 99ers’ patrons came out on Monday to simply watch a game, but these broader conflicts were still on their minds.
“I've been very angry about the political environment, and I've been seeking things that bring me joy,” Fran Simon, who joined Betsy Anderson at a table, told us. “A dedicated women's sports bar brings me joy ... I think it's really needed now more than ever.”
But enjoying a ballgame isn’t all about escaping that tension, Courtney Kezlarian told us.
Some men's players can avoid politics and controversy, she said, and she prefers women’s leagues because players tend to take stands on issues she cares about.
“We love these players, not just because they're entertaining, but they stand for important stuff,” Kezlarian said. “Women's basketball is Black history. Women's basketball is queer history … These women are standing up for stuff that's bigger than basketball, which makes it more fun to watch. The basketball makes you care about them as people.”
The safety and camaraderie here is intentional, Spencer stressed.
“Now more than ever, Annie and I are being more intentional about how we continue to create a space where people can come during this time,” she said. “A lot of people have been coming in solo, and I think that is exactly what it is. And when you ask people to describe our space, warm, cozy, welcoming, inviting — those are all words that are not prompted by us that get said here. And I think that that's just the community that we're building.”
All of this was in the air on Monday night, but that context and mission melted away as the game reached its climax. The bar erupted as the game ended, with Chelsea Gray leading the Miami-based Rose BC to the league’s first-ever championship.
J Harris said she’d had a blast.
“I met a lot of good people,” she said as the dust settled and she prepared for her long bus ride back home. “I'll definitely come back. It was a good experience.”
The 99ers is open 4-10 p.m. on Tuesday-Thursday, 2-11 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. on Sunday. Catch the weekly TV schedules on their website and Instagram.
