Blazers Sports Bar — A Girl's Guide to Drinking Alone

308 Bedford Ave at S 1st St, Williamsburg

The Place: A women’s sports bar that’s absolutely poppin’ off for the WNBA finals!

The Time: Saturday October 24, 2:45pm. This is probably an obvious statement, but I love women’s sports bars. I featured the country’s first, The Sports Bra in Portland OR, in my book, Spirited Women, and I was thrilled when a few women’s sports bars opened in New York in the last year or so. After spending the morning volunteering with a dog rescue–just LOOK at these sweet adoptable puppies!--I wanted to check out a spot I haven’t been to yet: Blazers, in the old Videology spot in Williamsburg (IYKYK). There’s no better day to visit a women’s sports bar than during the WNBA finals.

The Vibe: It’s Game 4, Golden State Valkyries vs. Atlanta Dream, and the place is, unsurprisingly, packed. I arrive just before halftime, the ideal moment to grab a drink and scope out the place. There’s no chance of getting a seat, so I do a lap with the brisk purpose of a woman “looking for her friends.” (Nobody asks. I’ve built an entire cover story for an audience of zero.)

The bar has two distinct zones. The front has the bar itself, a few tables, and big windows facing Bedford Avenue. The back area has long beer-hall tables built for major sporting events, and it’s filled to the brim with W fans. Since it’s a beautiful day, the overflow crowd is stationed outside within the bar’s railing, peering in at the many TVs. Blazers is a love letter to women’s sports; a classic sports bar but with feminine energy. It’s colorful and fun, with illustrations of great female athletes painted on the wall, and memorabilia everywhere you look.

I’m thrilled that women-owned, queer-friendly spaces like this exist now, but I’m even more thrilled by who’s in here. Queer couples, straight couples, big groups, friends in pairs. There are dudes, like regular dudes! The only solo drinker at the bar is a guy, and he’s sitting in the seat I would’ve wanted if I’d gotten here earlier! Then there’s the woman who hands her small child to a total stranger at the bar so she can read the menu, and the stranger just takes the child, no questions asked. These women don’t know each other, they’re just both Valkyries fans! In fact, that woman holds her not-child on her lap for basically the entire third quarter.

Without the New York Liberty in the finals, there’s no clear team favorite, so the biggest cheers go to great plays. There’s a huge whoop for an and-one Golden State basket, and an enormous roar when the Dream hit a three to cut the Valkyries’ lead to six. When Atlanta picks Golden State’s pocket, the bar lets out an “OHHHHHH” of simultaneous joy and tragedy. But the loudest reaction of all comes whenever a player takes a hit to the face or looks like they might be hurt, regardless of which jersey she’s wearing. The flinches, the winces, the “oofs,” the “I hope she’s okay.” That’s women supporting women, folks!

the crowd after the Valkyries tied the series 2-2

The Bartender: Busy and getting shit done. After waiting around for a bit, I realize there’s a section of the bar designated just for ordering. It’s a genius move that streamlines everything and spares the bartenders from any confused hovering, i.e. mine. When they’re not kicking ass making drinks, they’re watching one of the many TVs, and sometimes they do both at once, shaking cocktails WHILE cheering. Bartenders are the best multitaskers.

The Drank: It’s the afternoon and I need caffeine, so I order an espresso martini, which here is called the 12 Feet, because apparently that’s how high Simone Biles can jump on her tumbling passes. (Go off, queen.) It’s a tasty classic espresso martini. There’s a small cocktail list, plus all the sports bar essentials: plenty of taps, beer-shot combos, and a food menu of wings, burgers, and fries. There’s also a popcorn machine behind the bar, and the smell is a siren song. It’s like being at the movies, if the movie were a very tense basketball game.

Was I Hit On?: It’s so not about that today. We’re here for the love of the game.

Should You Drink Here Alone?: For sure. There’s something intoxicating about cheering for great women’s sports surrounded by people who are here for the same reason. Even without a Finals game on, Blazers would be a fun, chill place to grab a beer and a bite, and watch some ladies crush it on the court. Who knows? Within three minutes you could be high-fiving a stranger, and within three quarters, you could be holding her baby!