¶ Welcome to Casual FC: Meet the Hosts and Special Guest
Hi, everyone, and welcome to Casual FC, an Angel City preview pod. I'm your host, Angela Morales, with my forever concert buddy, Mario Salazar, and a very, very special guest, Jax, who is one of the co owners of the new Watch Me Sports Bar that's opening up in Long Beach, which is slated to be probably one of the coolest spaces where women's sports are celebrated, friendships are forged, and empowerment thrives, which easily is like the best tagline I've ever seen.
Yes.
well done.
¶ The Excitement of Watch Me! Sports Bar
Whoo.
The grand opening for Watch Me will be on Friday, July 26. So to kick off with the Olympics at 4 p. m. So Jax, thank you so much for joining us. I'm like, I just got goosebumps. I'm so excited to actually have this happen. And, oh man, I have big feelings. Definitely.
for having me and the opportunity to get to know you two a little bit better and have a little chat. It's awesome.
Yeah, I think even our conversation pre recording right now has been just really fun where I was just like, Oh, we should have hit record before this. It's, I think it's been super exciting to see the progress and see what's been happening with what you guys are doing. I know Angela and I have been talking about it for a long time and,
The second I saw someone talk about the possibility of this sports bar, I followed, I shared it. I was like, I need to make sure this happens
Love you.
the next generation of Angela at Long Beach State. Like,
That's
we talked about it a little before. I am an ex athlete, uh, an alum of Long Beach State. I love that school so much. I love that community so much. So this, for me, is like top tier. If this, if you had been a thing in like the early 2000s, I would have worked there, lived there, been there every waking moment I wasn't in school. So this is going to be such a special place for Long Beach is a community, but just, oh, it's just going to be special. I already have the like vibes.
Feeling of like, going to be in, you're going to be there for a while.
we're, that's the plan and we appreciate that. I'm glad you get it.
Yeah. Yeah. There's
Long Beach perspective and that's pretty awesome.
¶ Long Beach: A Sports City
such a rich sports history in Long Beach. For those who don't know, it's a baseball city. It's a volleyball city. It's a water polo city, swimming, basketball, like every sport track and field. if you go high school wise, you're looking at some of the most prolific track and field programs, basketball recruits, football recruits, Volleyball from high school up, basically. the sports community is so tight knit in Long Beach. it's so cool.
you go from that to Long Beach State, which, we may be undefeated on the football field since what, like 91, 92, because we don't have a team anymore. We have dominated in other sports. run the Big West for a while in basketball. Volleyball is just. top tier in Long Beach. my mom literally, we're recording this on a Sunday, and my mom is driving out there this afternoon to go to the Team USA send off matches.
Nice.
I'm in Long Beach, I'm definitely hitting up a sporting event.
Mm
So,
don't you think that, that part of that is attributed to the vast park system in Long Beach?
yes.
and
Yeah.
There,
It's accessible.
it's accessible and we have a lot of kids who are getting out on the field on the weekends
Yeah.
and participating and then growing from there. we agree Long Beach is the right place for what we're doing.
I've vomited my background with Long Beach and sports and all the things.
¶ Jax's Journey: From Childhood to Sports Bar Owner
what's your, do you have a sports background? Like how did you, did the idea to do something like Watch Me pop into your head and how did you get the ball rolling behind this?
So there, there's several things in that. I'm going to take you back to, being like five years old, a kindergartner. playing outside at recess and being the one girl that wanted to get into the kickball game. And I,
have been best friends.
know it, so it started way back then when I just had this kind of, I'm going to call it, that athlete mentality and that fire and that, that drive to just get out there and play. And I was already bucking the system at five, so then that led into, getting my mom to finally convince her to let me, it was okay and safe for me to play AYSO, and so, at nine, I got into soccer, which became my love, and that, all through, junior high, high school, everything.
I did not play college soccer at the time. There was no women's pro soccer and I was weighing everything going, do I, do I pick a school that's got a great. I ended up making the decision not to try to play college soccer and instead played in adult leagues then, and then went back and tried to play in a 40 plus league and oh my God, was that humbling. I knew I was good when I was younger, but I was, It's far from that older, anyway, so that's that story. So I've had soccer and softball.
Softball was also something I young. loved it, played varsity, high school, softball, and then I played in adult leagues there as well. those were my two sports, but I did some cycling too. I did California AIDS Ride too, way back in the day. I did Livestrong Ride, I did some stuff like that. And I've always been out there doing, trying to do tennis, and what I could do on the basketball court, which was really fun. Pretty minimal. I'm small.
but, whatever it was, I always wanted to be out there. so I have that kind of, that physical drive had, have always had that. And then,
Yeah.
¶ The Vision Behind Watch Me! Sports Bar
idea to open the sports bar actually came about, when I was in my early 20s and I'm with a bunch of friends and every Sunday we're trying to go watch the NFL because we love sports and we're just made to feel like we're not welcome in these spaces and, And I think it was, there's, could have very, various ideas of why that was, but it was constant. And I just said back then, and the friends that I have around me to this day are so impressed that I'm finally doing this many years later.
but I said, I want to open a sports bar. And back then it wasn't about opening a women's sports bar. That was not a concept. and we'll get to Jenny and the bra in a little bit. But, yeah.
was, it was just about having a space where women could go and feel comfortable watching whatever they wanted to watch and So that was my concept way back then and I even went to bartending school And I was going to partner with a friend who then I think got very overwhelmed And I was way too young to do this on my own. I didn't have any experience I had no experience and no money and I had no idea what I was doing.
So I ended up finding my way through various careers, always with wondering what might be if I, was in the sports world in some way, shape or form. And then Jenny opened the sports bra. And, as soon as I caught wind of that brilliance, I, I hit her up and we started a conversation. And I said, if you have a franchise, you've got to bring it. You've got to let me
Yeah.
rights in Long Beach. and
Mm-Hmm.
So that was back in 22. That was probably the end of 22 when we first started chatting and it was all kind of light conversation, always, nothing serious, of course, but she knew my interest and she knew things were, I was like, Hey, I think I can do this now. And my wife, Megan looked at me one day and said, maybe now's the time we open
¶ Challenges and Triumphs in Building Watch Me!
the bar. And so
Wow.
having these. And then in September of 23, I met with, this was a very interesting and pivotal part of our process. We met with someone who franchises and is also a franchisee. So he was able to give us both perspectives. And
Wow.
essentially said, why would you do this? Go out and do it on your own. and so we decided, I think like within a day I started the business. For And, we decide, okay, we're going out on our own and we're going to figure this out. neither of us have any idea of what we're doing, but we're going to do it. and that was how it came to be, but absolutely inspired by, the sports bra concept. so
special. Like you said, I, when you were talking about being in, in sports bars with your friends, just sitting there man, it'd be really cool if we felt welcome here. Immediately, I flashed back to a night in college, sitting at one of the booths in Legends on 2nd Street with five of my male friends. Cause we, I helped rebuild the student section when Dan Munson came in for men's basketball. and that front line of students, we were all really good friends to lead the student section.
There was one night, half of us were at Legends and I'm just sitting there looking around and people are like, what are you doing? I'm like, I'm watching sports. like Legends has TVs everywhere in every direction. And I'm the one woman at this table of men I'm still very close friends with. And some, there was like a new person there and they're like, what are you doing? And I was like. I'm I'm watching the Australian Open or whichever tennis open it was. And he looked at me, he was like, why?
Wow.
the rest of the guys at the table just went like, they knew Oh no, he's about to learn today. And I looked at him and I said, excuse me? He was like, why do you even like sport? Do you even understand the sport? And I lit him up, like.
you.
Yeah, it was one of those, first of all, who the hell do you think you are? Second of all, you know who I am? Like, it was one of those, like, how dare you make the assumption that I don't know tennis or that I don't know football or basketball or any, fill in the blank. But that's the first moment I can remember somewhere going, I'm not entirely welcome here as a sports fan. not from my friends, cause my friends jumped on in too. do you know who she is?
no, nothing about her if you don't know this part. And I sat there and I was livid for an hour, just so just simmering, don't stay mad at this. It's just so stupid. But also this is the dumbest conversation I've ever had in my life. And that moment for me was so pivotal. So once these, I feel like Jenny really. the doors for all of the rest of these people across the country now were like, that's all I've been wanting. How can I do this?
Because I think there's, I think, a dozen if not more now of women's sports bars that have opened are in the works of opening kinds of
Yeah. Angela. Angela has the map going of sportswear, like as soon as when she texts me. There's another one. Here it is.
and repost. So any, yeah, and I know people are gonna be like, oh, it's too many or whatever, it's not
Yeah. No
ever.
No.
over the place and
Yeah.
Everything has start, right? And I think
Yeah.
addition to Jenny at the BRA, Jen at Rough and Tumble,
Yeah.
I think six months or so after Jenny did. So the two of them were really paving the way for everybody. So yeah, and then Jillian at a bar of their own in Minnesota. We've gone out and met with her and, yeah, we're just, we're all, we're all coming from the same perspective, which is let's just create this great space
Yeah.
if you build a type of mentality. we know what we're doing. We know that there's a lot of need out there. There's a huge void and we're just going to fill it.
Yeah, I know my whole family is super pumped. Apparently my aunts have season tickets for the Sparks and they're texting me from the game the other night. What's the name of your podcast? When are you talking to the owner of the Long Beach Sports Bar because we're sitting behind people who know them? I have no idea. Yeah, I have no idea who was sitting in front of them and I was like, okay, Tia, here's the information.
So my aunt and her wife have been like hyping up this episode specifically within their friend group because They would have loved this. they played softball for 20 some years. She's gonna kill me for even talking about this, but like, it's very integral in our community to, be part of the sports world. I feel like within the LGBTQ community, there's different, there's your theater groups, your sports groups, your artsy folks.
there's all these different, are they called in corporate America, like ERGs or something like that, like employee resource groups? Like
yeah,
they're different little pods of interests and sports is so communal for the community
yeah.
I would have loved this as a kid in general, but I know they would have loved this their whole lives. And so I'm so excited. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
is the time, so
Oh, I'm dragging them there. they will, yeah, I'm making sure, I will make sure that should some future collaboration between us happen, that they'll be there and I'm gonna drag their friends there because they're basically family to me. we're gonna have a big Morales contingency at, watch me. Awesome.
on my end of the sports watching at a bar kind of spectrum, I have never felt like being at a sports bar was like a thing. I just ah, it's like too many people, I don't know, but I think it's also because of like the. The general, I don't know if, aggro mentality is, the really the right word, but pretty much, where, true to the name of the podcast, I am, like, the casual, I am the casual fan,
ha.
I will definitely watch the most random, Whatever ESPN is showing at the moment. And during the pandemic, they were showing some interesting sports, fringe sports, right? But I'm like, hey, it's on. I'm going to watch it. and having that experience in a group has always been fun, but there's a certain level of yeah, this is not fun anymore. So hoping that, environment is, there and going to be welcoming for, the casual fans and the fans that want to get into it, right?
there's always this amount of gatekeeping that we're like, no, we don't need that. We, we want to bring you in. You bring in and come in with the idea of, hey, let's learn about this. don't just come in with I, what is this? Why are we here? It's no, come in with, if you're not, you don't have to be a diehard, but, Learn about. If you're open to learning about it, then yeah, come and as long, hopefully that's really the, and it's not only just saying that's what your space is going to be like.
But I'm just talking about the like fan community in general, right? there's the people that wanna bring you along, and then there's the people that are like, we've been here since day one. What are you doing? But it's no. Eh, let's find the, let's find the happy medium.
Yeah.
there's definitely some, story around all of that with us. I had to literally turn off my notifications because of the hate that we were getting,
bet.
Yeah.
¶ Creating an Inclusive and Respectful Space
to me. we're just trying to create this It's a space for women or anyone who loves women's sports to come in and celebrate these athletes. And in all around that is inclusivity and can't, why is that such a bad thing? I, my brain cannot understand the
Yep.
of some, and if you want to call it aggro, yeah, that's probably a nicer term than I would use. And so I'll,
Yep. Mario's the diplomat here because I'm the one that's like, how many adjectives can I give you? what words can I use to describe the vitriol that so many of us as fans, business owners, athletes, like women in this space have received?
Yeah. And I'll be the, and
some words for those folks.
be the first one to admit that that, that is not my lived reality, right? Like you guys have a very different lived reality, when it comes to, to, to Honestly, when it comes to just anything, just being women, being like sports fans,
existing.
so there's going to be definitely a gap of what I've been through and whatnot, but I'm with you. I don't understand the conversations at times about, Just, women's sports, or just women enjoying sports, or the community, or it's, yeah, we've been on this soapbox before, and, it definitely is a trigger moment for both of us, but, yeah, come on, people,
this
would be so much better.
Yeah.
I think what I've come to in this is you can really see who is an evolved human and who isn't in this
Yeah.
And Mario, you are evolved. I
Yay!
a mile away. And
We need to record it. Make sure.
and, just having that respect. It's comes down to human respect.
Yeah.
yeah,
I'm going to make that a shirt, Mario, you're an evolved human, Jax.
I was going to say, we need to make sure his, like, he has that to have his wife, like. to play for his wife when she, uh, she gets mad at him.
But wait, Jax said,
Yeah, I have proof. Are you, so Jax, are you from Long Beach originally, or did you just end up there by chance? what's your connection to the city?
I grew up in LA. mom is still in the same house in Ladera Heights. I don't know if you
Oh,
with that
we're neighbors. I'm in Inglewood,
okay.
and raised. Yeah, my mom, my mom and I own our family's property. So yeah, we're, oh, yay.
Yay. Yeah. So that's where I grew up. And, I was all, I lived all in and around like Playa and Mar I was all over the place.
Yeah.
and, but I would always come down to Long Beach with friends. And then ultimately I met Megan, and she lived down here in Long Beach. And then I was like, what am I doing? I'm going to move down there. And, I bought a condo. So I think that was about 16 years ago. and we moved in together. And, Ever since then, it's just been like why would I ever leave Long Beach? I just love the culture here.
it so much.
yeah, you gotta come back. but it's just, there's so many offerings. It's beautiful. it's pockety like a lot of areas are, I just, think it's, there's like this openness mentality more so maybe down here than some other cities. And um, I just love it. I just love it. And I don't know why I would think of living anywhere else. And so when we were talking about opening the bar, I think there was like a skinny minute where we said, should it be up in LA proper?
And then immediately it was like, no, Long
No.
spot what we're doing. And that's my thing to Long Beach. I just love it down here. I
doing anything in L. A. proper, like the very first thing, it's
Yeah.
a harsh reality of you gotta have parking, you gotta have a way for people to get there, and if you don't, it's gonna suffer, I think about all the places that I've
don't
have visited in, the main kind of, downtown area, or, I'm just like, wow, it's completely dead during the weekends. But there are people visiting, right? there's people that will go out for these places, but still, also, it's like, what are you gonna do? Park in one of the, 20 expensive, parking lots all over, the downtown area.
It's just no, it's, it, there's so many detractors when you're looking at that, and all, and LA is just so big, and there's great neighborhoods everywhere that it's like, why not just do it where you're at, and also the commute's not going to be that bad for you. I drive an hour and a half to work. Yeah, live, live. Yeah.
¶ The Importance of Community and Support
business, what, there's a lot of lessons to be learned about the business itself, but personally, what have you learned about yourself through this and like with your relationships as the idea behind Watch Me has grown and become more real and now is officially real. anything like shifted life wise for you to be like, oh wow, these were the people that I knew would be there all along? Or have folks been like, this is a crazy idea? Or has everybody really been just supportive?
hell yeah, this is the time. Let's do it.
In any situation where it's like a life changing event, you see who shows up and who
Yeah.
it, that has been an interesting thing. there's some that have been more visible than others. And I've been surprised, on both sides of that. carry on and move forward and, you do you and keep making things happen and get the
Right.
running. so there's that side of it, but, I think I haven't put, I put a little bit of, weight into that and then decided it, that was just, it was time to move on. I gave that enough energy and now that energy anymore. but in all of it, I think I've noticed two, I have a freaking fire. I have an unexplained and motivation. I seriously don't know how to explain it. And, and that's really how Watch Me came about because, we, if we go back to the root, which I think it is this, I was adopted.
And so I think from early on, I've had something in me where I feel like I need to prove myself. And, and then I've seen show up in So many areas of my life and so many jobs, where I'm, I know that I'm being doubted or if I'm playing a sport, it's because, I'm not going to be able to be successful because of my stature. I'm 5'2 I'm, and I used to be a rail. and I think I was always just I could sense it. I'm also pretty intuitive. And so I pick up on stuff.
And so I think I just, have always felt that I've had this burning thing to just go out and prove otherwise and that I guess manifested itself in athletics part and then in other ways too and other jobs and things. But, so I think I've learned a little bit, more about my fire, and I've also learned that.
I'm, I've already known this, and it's something I've been working on for a really long time, that I am not the most patient person, and in all of this, I want everyone to be on my timeline, and be
Yep.
as
Yep.
me to get this done, and that simply is not accurate, and I've been, I've had to go, okay, I've got it. Just focus on what you personally can focus on getting done and do what you can to drive these other people. And, for instance, we are pretty behind on our painting schedule. Um, so that makes me frustrated, but it's, we're still moving along in and around that. so that's one example there.
And then I think the other thing that's really become so interesting for us is the kind of, empowerment component of all this. We are part of what I'm calling a women's sports bar movement. And, know women's sports is having its own movement, but there's a women's sports bar movement also happening. And, for us to be towards the forefront of that, there's a lot of, pressure and weight, that comes with that.
And it feels like we are leading a charge in a way and we want to make sure that we're creating the safe space and we're about inclusivity. It's a really big pillar, in our business. And so we've learned that we were becoming and we're evolving. I call us an amoeba. Like we're evolving into something. that we don't even know yet. it's like the
Yeah,
shape us. we're creating this space, but the community is really going to be shaping, what we turn out to be, but we're trying to buck the norm too for restaurants and bars. We don't, we have a no yell kitchen policy. and for instance, and we want, we're investing in the people that we're bringing onto our team and we want them to stay and grow with us.
And we're hoping people aren't, And we'll see some of this, but hoping that most of the team members that we bring on will be along for the ride for a long time with us. Yeah.
in different ways, having a respectful kitchen environment is big time. Especially, I'm assuming as time goes on, this is going to stay like a very female driven operation. So I'm guessing, fingers crossed, that there's going to be a lot of women going, oh my gosh, I've worked in kitchens other places and wow, I've never felt so much respect on the job.
we're doing like a culture training. That's a big
Yeah.
doing.
That's fantastic.
And that's largely led by Chef Charlie Ray, who we brought on pretty early on. We were just talking about this the other day. I thought it was January. She said it was November, which is telling that, we started the business in September and in November, we already had found our chef and
Wow,
the things that we've done have been cart before the horse. And I think we wondered a while ago if that was one of them, but now we're learning, nope, that actually was a good thing because we've got this great relationship now that we've built together. And, one of the reasons that we loved what Charlie was all about was, her kind of, Cultural stance and her mission to make sure that, everyone is equal and it so aligns with us and how we're approaching the whole business.
And so she's been amazing.
that's wonderful.
Yeah.
My, before Mario takes over part of the questions and ideas and conversation leading, how excited are you? Just genuinely?
Oh, my God. every day there's, there are different things happening. And, all of this is unknown to me. I'm really leaning on, my years and years of experience in, in Operations and leadership and project management to figure out how to get things done and work with people and all, get to know people and work with their personalities and those things to get what you need. so all that is happening in the background.
So I think sometimes, I sit back and go, Oh my God, when I'm at home right now, but I'm going to go in, in a little bit. And. when I walk up each day, it's starting to feel more and more like our space, especially with the exterior painting finally getting completed and we've got our furniture in there now. And it's just like now that and the TVs are going up, it's just starting to get more real. And
Yeah.
live for the moment of seeing a packed house and everyone cheering together and just like meeting new people and just having fun together. I just, I am so excited for that to happen. And I know it's not going to be just, a flash in the pan. it's going to be a constant and I
Yeah.
going to be a lot of community built out of what we're doing. And For those reasons, I've become actually more excited than, just creating the space, it's changed over time, but, to answer your question, I'm extremely excited. I'm nervous, I'm scared, I'm,
Yeah,
the bigger umbrella emotion and then all the little I'm first day of school excited. I'm, oh my god, what am I doing excited? I'm nervous, like all those feelings that go into that. But I'm so excited.
Yeah.
excited for you.
Thank you so much. It's like that anticipation when you're about to go play a game and you've
Yeah.
energy. And,
Yeah.
it's just like that. It's very much the same.
if those butterflies aren't there, then something's wrong,
It's like how invested are you
yeah, and Jax, just to put you at ease, I'm in the architectural field, and you saying that you're like pain schedules, behind schedule, all that, just know that is like 100 percent every project I've ever been on, so it's not.
I'm saying, I've heard this before. How everything's always behind. And as a project manager, I know how to bake in extra time and all that stuff. And and I also know to be flexible in my schedule. So you could plan all day long and have the best plan, but you got to be prepared for it to change. And so we're pivoting all over the place and we know that art very well. And for that's fine, but I still say it doesn't have to be behind if blah, blah, blah. so we're trying, we're getting there.
Yeah, lessons learned for everyone. maybe, some. Some Federation heads and coaches can take note too, with rolling with the bunches.
yeah,
not naming names. okay.
¶ Meet Chef Charlie Ray: Culinary Excellence
you touched briefly on, your relationship with, your chef, Charlie Rey. and looking at your like website, just her background looks amazing. she's Swedish, Black American. Like she, like Just reading it makes me hungry, of like her accomplishments, but also I've been, we've been following you on social. And so we've seen the little kind of like test, kitchen photos that you guys have been doing. I'm like, this is looking great.
what's your, excitement or thing that you're looking forward to with this kind of relationship that you have with Charlie?
Oh, a lot of things. it really has blossomed and know we're calling it, I think the latest thing is upscale gastro pub. fair. So you're gonna have your typical wings and burgers and things that you would at a sports bar, but we're trying to make it a little bit more upscale.
and focus on sustainability and that's really Chef Charlie's thing, sustainability and repurposing and reusing all over the place and, things that she can, the things that she has learned in her travels are just amazing and that's what, part of what makes her so great is that she just comes with this bank of knowledge and how to do things in a really cost effective way, which I really appreciate and, and it tastes good and um.
focusing on the sustainability and local and seasonal products and then also we have a theme across the operation, which is focus and support on women owned and operated businesses when it makes sense to do And so we are looking, we're doing that in the kitchen where we can, we're doing it at the bar where we can. You'll see a lot of, women owned or operated. offerings on our bar menu as well. And we're just doing what we can to go out and support.
But chef has, like I was saying earlier, has really brought along with her this kind of, cultural stance that's really important to us and making sure that everyone feels included and.
¶ Creating an Inclusive Workplace Culture
treats everyone, approaches them by their pronouns and be respectful and, just make sure that everyone knows that they're equal to everybody else. There's no, we're trying to get rid of the hierarchy and
Yeah.
that's not just in the kitchen, it's the entire staff. we're trying to do things a little bit differently and, we already have said to everybody, we had our orientation last Monday, and we said, things will change, so be prepared,
Yeah,
we're going to go in with a certain stance, and we may learn that's not really working, to listening to what the team in general has to say, and that's not to say we're always going to, make the changes that they might, ask us to make, but we will certainly be listening, and Chef is helping us to lead that conversation. That cultural charge, as well. And so it's, she's a very pivotal part of our business.
¶ Challenging Traditional Norms
It just feels like it's very, like, you're creating this from the ground up and realizing that you don't have to do things the way they've always been
Yes.
and really leaning into that and being like, we get, really are no rules and I've been on this there's no rules for a while to help myself and there's no rules to the way we're supposed to do things. Everything is all made up. So if something isn't working or if you don't like the way something is currently established, so like just do it the way that makes sense or do it the way that you're comfortable with because there's no real rules. To anything.
There's like societal norms, but even those can be shifted and those are shifted constantly. So it's like, why not?
And I don't even have restaurant experience, so I'm bringing something completely different to the table. I guess pun intended. Um, but, but yeah, I think you're onto something there. why do we have to follow anything? And that's the fun of being a business owner, is being able to say, hey, we don't want to do it this way. This is how we want to approach it. And Megan and I are very solid in how we want to, work with our clients.
things in a way that, that people feel, safe and appreciated and, know that we, we couldn't be where we are right now without the people that have, that we brought on early on in this process and that volunteered their time with us in this process. there's no way we'd be here right now without, without any of that. And we, Tell them all the time how much we appreciate them. and that's how we operate. We just, we see it and we make sure people know.
And so we're hoping to, I know we'll continue that. Cause that's just how we are.
yeah, the idea of it takes a village, it like applies to everything and this is very much one of those like you found your community, your people that are propping you up and like cheering you on and that's half the battle, right?
¶ Favorite Drinks and Bar Talk
so with all of that, you're opening a bar, you've got to have your favorite go to. Drink, cocktail, mocktail, you know, whether you drink alcohol or not, but what's yours? Just, just end it off on the bar talk.
So it really depends on the, Day, night, time, mood, right? but shot, I saw that chef posted this video and I was like, do I share this to the watch me account or not? I'm still on the fence, but we did breakfast shots, in the bar the other day. I don't know if you guys have ever had those, but.
Yeah.
have.
breakfast shot. It's kind of my thing. Um, and so there's, there's a section on our menu called coach's choice and the breakfast shot will be on there. And so we were doing a bit of a taste test the other day because chef made her bacon a little bit different than just regular bacon. And so we were doing a taste test. And so I think, I would say, a breakfast shot is certainly one of them, but, I'm in for a really good Bloody Mary when it makes sense. I like a good beer.
depending on the mood and where I'm at and, if it's a game, it's usually a beer. yeah. I dig some good wine. definitely love me the whiskey. So you got that in the breakfast shot.
Yep.
sake, for example. I, it's just, it depends where I am, what I'm doing and
Yeah. What fits the mood.
So
Yeah.
yeah. about you guys?
I'm, I am very much a, a beer and wine, side. I like the hard spirits. I can't, there's, oh, how do I put that? it's not, that's, yeah, lots of flashbacks. it's the very astringent, the thing like for tequila or vodka, and then. like whiskey and, like bourbon, it's sometimes it gets into the weird sweetness side of it. And even that gets me like, Oh, for me, I'm very much like there was a while where I wanted to go through, I know there's a name for it, but like my friend and I,
A school
but there's a beer equivalent for it.
Oh,
and. Legit, my friend and I were like, we were researching it. We were like, we're like, all right, we're going to get started. And then I quit that job. And so we still keep in touch, but we're not together every single day. And then, but I really wanted to do that. Cause I was like, yeah, I can, this sounds like fun. Like just as like a side thing, like if I don't ever reach the top, at least I'm like doing the kind of classes in between.
but yeah, I honestly love, Beer and just how it, the idea of taking the same simple ingredients, but altering one little piece of it changes the profile so much. So like you can, it's the same basic ingredients, but you can go from like ale to lager, it's, fascinating. And so I'm really in that realm for me.
Nice.
I am gluten free. So yes, there's gluten free beer, but I miss like a good Mexican lager. I am now. gin and whiskey girl. Like gin when it's hot, whiskey when it's like I'm a lot more chill and I can just hang out.
We're going to be doing flights. Would you, so we were having this conversation because we're still finalizing our bar menu, but we
Yeah.
Ooh.
like, you would
I
in?
be so happy to try.
Hey. Yeah. Yeah.
room temperature gin is like not my favorite.
Yeah.
I like chill, like perfectly chilled drinks are my favorite thing in the world. But would, if you need somebody to come test a gin flight, you let me know and I will find my way down. I would love that.
Nice.
Yeah, gin flights would be amazing. I think too, gin here isn't as, understood. When it comes to, the spirit itself, you go to the UK and all you're drinking is gin, but here it's like a gin and tonic, a gin and soda. I'm like, no, there's a million different things you can do with the gin. You can just drink it on the rocks. You could, there's so many things because it has such a varying flavor profile. So yeah, I, I love gin. It's, and it's also incredibly refreshing and it's not super sweet.
So it, it's nice in the summertime because you don't get, The hangover and then the sugar hangover from it.
can see you out on our patio now having
Yep.
gin cocktail. Cold one.
I'll see you. I will be there. Don't worry. 88. Yeah.
in general, and we've talked about how your sports background is just already there. You're sports minded no matter what.
¶ Memorable Sports Moments
What has been your favorite sports memory? watching or even playing sports yourself. whether it was like in a big group or at home or in the stadium, wherever it was. what's been like the thing that you're just like, yeah, I'm glad I saw that. I'm glad I experienced that.
they both surround my parents.
So one was watching the Dodgers with my dad So we're at home, we're in the den, we're watching the game, and it was the World Series, it was the one where Gimpy Kirk Gibson comes up to bat, yeah, 88, okay, we're watching it together, and I just remember us, jumping up and down, screaming, just it's just such a great, very clear moment, and I'm so bummed my dad is not physically with us anymore for this process, because I think he would have, I've freaking loved what we're doing, but I feel him
all the time. So
Mhm. Yeah.
the other one was, when I was playing soccer and we were, I don't remember if it was something like a, playoff game or what, but it came down at PKs and I was, needed one more goal to win and it was my turn I shot and I scored and my mom came running out on the field like I had never seen her before. And when you're a teenager, you're like, Oh my God, mom, but that is a very vivid memory for me. that meant so much to me to, have her be so excited. and of course, the whole team, we were all.
We were all going crazy, because we did it, but, but yeah, those are a couple of really big memories. of course, watching so many sports over the years, there's just so many moments and so many great things and, I was at the very first, WNBA game with the Sparks and saw Penny Tuller's,
Yeah, we were there. We were there together.
Mm hmm.
Well, you'll be happy to know Penny is planning on being at the Grand Opening.
Oh, wow. A Long Beach legend.
She's been great and we met her a while back and I pinged her and I said, Hey, do you think you'd come? And she said, You're already on my calendar. And so
Oh, I love that. That makes me so happy.
so that, that was like a really cool moment to be there for that. so there's just so many,
Yeah.
had the 25th anniversary of the 99ers. that was massive. so just too many to tell, but those are a few. Yeah.
a fun game that we have here of, did Angela cry on this episode? And I was just looking at Angela and she was just like, welling up hearing your story.
I was like, don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it.
But I, honestly, that's one of the things I love about doing this too. and I know that we don't. We don't do video, but we record with video, and so I can see her reactions and most of the time I'm just like
I can't control it at this point.
But I
I love it.
yeah, it is. And then, and I know how, and I know how passionate Angela is with sports and with what she's done and the support her mom has given her. And her tias and like, you know, like her support group has given her and provided her and so like whenever we talk to people that have had the same kind of experiences or, are leading into that, I can see it in her and it just makes me happy. Like it, it
We, we've been joking lately that for next ACFC season, like in our off season to develop more stuff, we're gonna create a bingo card and one of them is or take a bet on how many times I'll cry over the season. And it's it's every, it's at least every other episode at this point. I, it's, and sometimes it's just quiet or I just get teary eyed. But My aunt played, basketball in high school and college, softball as well. My mom managed basically every team. Anne was a practice team member.
She's the youngest of all her siblings and was like, I wasn't gonna be on the same team as them. But, she's there at volleyball practice with one of my other aunts, just nailing serves for them to pepper around in practice. she's doing all of the sports things. My grandma was like, I would have loved to play sports if they'd allowed me, that kind of thing. So there's all these different generations.
And then me and my friends, in middle school got a petition signed to reinstate the girls basketball team in high school. So
Nice.
we found out, I, the crazy thing, this is the most me thing that could have happened. I did a report in like seventh grade, I want to say. On Title IX, and this is like late 90s
I love
and tennis and how it changed women's tennis and Billie Jean King and all that kind of stuff. I did this report and then we found out like a month later that our high school was out of Title IX compliance because they, the amount of teams wasn't correct and we found out there was no girls basketball team. But we had one at the middle school and we're like, what are we supposed to do? And they're like, if you can get 200, like 2, 500 signatures, then we'll think about it.
And two months later, we're like, here you go. like little seventh graders, listen.
yeah,
So for me, like the advocacy behind women's sports is also such a big part of it sports are political day in, day out. Doesn't matter what sport, which gender, what country, no matter what. But, It's such an integral part of me as well. So it's like this big swirly feeling of no, this is incredibly important. It shifts generations. It shifts families. It shifts socioeconomic status.
there's so many levels to what sport can and does do that I'm like, I can be a drop in the bucket to contribute to the good side, I will.
And you are?
yep,
thank you.
are, absolutely, she's crying again,
Yeah. Yep.
that's two, yeah,
It's part of you.
Definitely.
I can't wait to meet you.
I know. I'm so excited.
¶ Engaging with Women's Sports
okay, With us being Casual FC, being a, a footy, a soccer podcast here, how active, and, totally fine if you haven't been, but how active have you been with the NWSL? Have you, have you been active with the league prior to ACFC? And have you been to ACFC matches so far?
We have watched games, absolutely, and then when ACFC came around, we were like, hey, should we get season tickets, and didn't, and then we did this season, and now we've barely been able to go.
you're a little busy, that's why.
Yeah. Just a smidge.
so that was a bummer, because we actually just went, was that last weekend? I
Oh no,
What was
Yeah.
the rave game.
Yeah.
Yeah.
yeah, we were at that one. and I was like exhausted. and and it was great because it was a night game and I was so excited to see, I just love playing it. I used to love playing at night and, I was playing. And so excited for that. And then I was just wiped out. and we're trying to figure out, we're pretty sure we're not going to be able to go to any other games, the rest of the season.
But, any opportunity we get, to go see, or watch if it's not physically, going to the games, we're trying to catch them on TV because we just feel like those matches are just so competitive and so
Yeah.
and, we love our Claire's and our Syd's and I can't wait for Kristen to come back and, but at the same time, the other night, it was fun to see Rose out there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Rose, I think, is just, is so great, too, and so it was really fun to get to see them for a little bit, but any chance we get, we'll watch, and now I'm going to be immersed in it, because it's going to be, we have 26 screens in our place, and so there's going to be some matches going
so nice of you to purposely build a place to watch ACFC matches just for yourself.
That's right. Just for me.
Yeah.
I can't seem to get to watch them otherwise, but yeah, exactly.
Yeah, we love when we see the. that's the thing that we've discussed about the NWSL is that because there wasn't a team in LA for so long, and there are, of course, there's fans in the league that have been part of the league, and part of previous leagues, you tend to follow players. And so not everybody has a full allegiance to their like, hometown team, because they don't always have one.
Right.
So like, when That's been somewhat of a criticism about, BMO Stadium for Angel City matches is that, it's a great crowd, it's a great environment, but it's not a very, in, in the sport, in the sports mindset, it's not intimidating for the other team, because when the other team comes in, they'll have players that the entire stadium is cheering for. So it's no, don't, no, you're not supposed to, yes, Rose is on there, don't cheer when Rose scores, that's not the right time.
Yeah. I can appreciate Rose, but I'm not cheering when she's scoring a goal against ACFC.
Right?
I'm just going to make that clarification.
in the preview episode for that match. I was like, Rose is really good at being in the right place. At the wrong time for the other team. Like she just, It's perfectly placed when the, when, regardless if it's Angel City or another team, like there's a missed pass, there's, a pass that goes a little too long. She's just there. And it's same on the international level. Rose knows where to place herself to just magically be troublesome. Absolutely,
And that's, that, that goes a long way.
Yeah. and honestly, that's, we're doing our Olympic, previews, right now. and so we have three episodes coming out right before the Olympics covering all the teams, as much as we can, and just highlighting players and stuff. And we're definitely going to spend a while on the show. On the US team and sing their praises. But then, once the NWS L season comes back and you go back to your teams,
I don't know
I don't know you
Fair enough. That makes complete sense to me.
Yeah, we joke that I think it's a lot of people now, it's like the second the Olympic rosters are announced or World Cup, it's what team? I don't know this team. I am all for my country. just waving whatever flag as high as possible, screaming at the top of your lungs. it's a completely different
yeah. Yeah.
of the reasons why we wanted to open for the Olympics was because it's like, How often are most of you cheering for one, the same team,
Yeah.
not to say everyone's going to be rooting Team USA for everything, but, but probably mostly. So it'll be fun.
¶ Excitement for the Olympics
Are you looking forward to any specific Olympic events? Now that we're talking about it, I
Yeah.
ask.
I love the Olympics so much that, I feel like, what am I not going to, we're going to have it all on. we're working on our schedules right now. And. I really love the diving and the swimming and stuff like that because I, that was something I never was good at. And, so I really am just fascinated by, by those athletes. and of course, got our soccer and our basketball and everything else. And and then our original, digital marketer just learned that she is going to Paris.
she is the guide on a tandem, Paralympic team. so
Oh, wow.
Skylar Espinoza is the guide for Hanna who is visually impaired and they ride tandem. tandem cycling, and they just found out that they are going to the Paralympics in Paris, and I don't know what time that's going to be aired, but we're going to, if it's in the middle of the night, I think we're going to open for it, because,
Yeah, no, that's awesome.
I
That's amazing.
know Skyler, and we've met Hannah, they've actually been to our house for dinner, and they've, they train out here at the Velodrome, and so met them a couple times, and so it'd be really cool to catch them.
That has always fascinated me about Olympic sports is the, we're so used to seeing, the professional sports and the, people playing in the, stadiums and things like that.
And then we get to the Olympics where it's it's a bunch of people that are doing it for the sport and for the love of it and for the athleticism and some of them are sponsored some of them are not some of them are working at home depot and like like you get the stories of the i remember oh a the guy i went to high school with i will say an acquaintance because i knew him a bit he was our high school quarterback he ended up being an olympic boxer and he went to, maybe not the last Olympics, but
the one before that. But he, we just, randomly, came up, through friends and social feeds. I was just like, wait, Dominic's a boxer? he's going to the Olympics? That's insane! he did pretty well for himself and everything. But, it's just one of those things where it's okay, yeah, no, but you're you. And you're there. That's awesome. That's just blew my mind. the stories of how these people can overcome what they're doing.
And this is the way that, that they are and getting ahead and, getting to travel the world, because of what they love doing. And, it's always an amazing, like I see how the, I see how NBC gets like all their. Fun, emotional stories in pieces.
stories.
Yeah.
it used to be called Up Close and Personal.
Yes,
that? Yeah.
I do. Yeah.
it's brilliant. and it's true. It gives you the backstory behind, there's more to the person who you're seeing maybe even just for a few seconds. it's great to, to get that backstory on everybody.
¶ Wrapping Up and Final Thoughts
Okay.
we are getting to that point of wrapping up this episode. So Jax, thank you so much for hanging out with us on a
thank you. Thank you.
spent. So carving out this little bit of an hour has been so much fun and so fulfilling. Thank you. Thank you again for opening the Sports Bar. Thank you for, existing. I'm just gonna start crying if I keep talking about it. So Watch Me's grand opening is slated for Friday, July 26th at 4 p. m. They'll be located at 6527 East PCH in Long Beach and the zip code is 90803. where the United Artists Movie Theater was. It's where the Golden Spoon and the Trader Joe's were.
it's at the in the complex just south the street, just across 2nd from the Inn now at PCH in 2nd, like it's right there. There's tons of parking, which anybody, even like folks in Long Beach, rejoice when it comes to parking because different parts of the city have none. Others have a ton, so it's crazy. But definitely make yourself comfortable and like comfortable. Know the city enough to get down there. Maybe not for opening days. It's going to be bonkers. I
Hehehe.
But every day after that, get down to watch me. You can follow them on social media, especially on Instagram at @watchme_sportsbar, they're posting updates regarding opening and details on reservations and all the upcoming things you'll
As we can all imagine, this has been long coming, so it's, there's, demand is high. Demand is high, and there's only one place. keep an eye on it, cause you, even if you don't make the grand opening, we, all of us will eventually find our way down there, so just keep an eye on their socials and know how to get there, and when to get there.
Definitely. And if you are having trouble figuring it out, DM us, I will make sure you know exactly where it is.
yes.
I am very well versed in the area, but overall it does take a village. So if you want to get to know more about the sports bar, check out their website at watchmesportsbar. com. several different ways they can help engagement on social media is one to get their word, the word out there about the, the bar. If you want to help monetarily, there's different ways to do that. It's all on their website. You can help them via their crowd. Oh my gosh. Crowd Fundraising Campaign.
That's a lot of similar sounds. can go to givebutter.com/watchme. And there's a whole bunch of details there. Anything we can do to help, we will try. We will keep, we are going to be part of your biggest, cheerleaders
Yes.
because I'm so freaking excited.
I can't thank you two enough. truly, Mario and Angela, it's great to meet you today. And, next time we'll see each other in person and hopefully,
Yes.
hey to me. but I just really appreciate the opportunity to get to tell a Little bit of background about us and what we're doing and what we're trying to achieve. And, we look forward to people coming out and checking us out and making us the place to watch ACFC games and everything else. Women's sports and, all ages are welcome and anyone who loves women's sports are welcome. So come on.
Yeah.
It is gonna be the best. I already know. I al like I, I just have a really good feeling
I love
you and Megan are just gonna have the best time.
Yeah.
like, it's a lot like, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying it's like the easiest position job wise to be in because there's a lot of moving parts in the background. If anybody's worked in the restaurant industry, there's a gazillion things happening at any given moment, even when you're closed.
watched the bear.
Yeah, but you two are just setting yourself up for so much success and it's going to be amazing.
Oh, thank
Yeah. I'm so excited for you.
this is number three. This is teary eyed number three.
All right. So as we hit number three, as we hit number three, if you like what you hear, hit the subscribe button, wherever you're listening to. If you got this sent to you, check out casualfc. com. All the pod links are there for any. Place you want to listen. Apple, Spotify. Whatever the Google version is now. I think it's just YouTube, but whatever. You'll find them all there. And some more that we don't even know about because we just click the checkbox and it's available.
Best ways to support our pod are to, again, engagement. Just like, uh, for WatchMe, you know, the better you, the better. The more posts you like, the more you comment on stuff, the better the algorithm likes it, and the better it shares it with other people automagically. So go ahead and comment, like, share our posts or our episodes, wherever you listen to them. Grab some merch from us, shop. casualfc. com. We, as we have silly ideas all year round.
our pride mug and glasses are, still up there and they will continue to be up there. They're not just a seasonal thing. So Go check it out. And, I started thinking about this recently because, we do this for fun and we only sell a few pieces every now and then. They're exclusive. Like you only have one, one of three or like one of five. Like
Yeah, I
at that.
is exclusive.
Yeah. And if you feel so inclined, help support the pod, by buying us a coffee, you can check out our link on our socials. Buy me a coffee.com/casual fc pod. anything you sent over has been a. an amazing gift, and like we said, if you could also help, WatchMe has their own crowdfunding platform. Source. donate both ways if you can.
or if you're listening to this one and you do want to donate, why don't you just donate straight to them, on our behalf, and that would be amazing, follow our socials at casual FC pod on Instagram, Twitter threads and TikTok and tell a friend about the pod. Cause it brings us good luck. We will bank that because we need that come the new season, the restart of the season.
Yeah. the restart of the season for Angel City. Thank you.
Yeah.
need all of the help and the luck we can get. some saging of the front office. I don't know.
Yeah.
to happen. So
Sounds
just got to bank it.
casual FC watch me party.
Yeah.
watch parties, watch me parties.
Yeah.
that.
yeah, we'll talk.
We'll talk. It'll be in the works. We'll talk.
I can't wait. Bye.
so everyone, thank you for hanging out with us. Jax, thank you so much for giving us your time and we will definitely be at Watch Me very soon. Thank you everyone. Bye.
Thank you
Bye.
Bye.