Seattle fans packed Rough & Tumble to watch Team USA’s 6-0 win, highlighting the city’s deep roots and growing demand for women’s sports.
SEATTLE — Team USA’s women’s hockey team rolled past Italy 6-0 on Friday, and the noise inside Rough & Tumble in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood rose with every goal.
Fans chanted “USA! USA! USA!” as bartenders and servers squeezed through packed stools and tables at the women’s sports-centered bar — a scene owner Jen Barnes said reflects a broader shift in what sports fans want to watch.
“This is incredibly special,” Barnes said, pointing to Seattle’s new professional women’s hockey franchise, the Seattle Torrent, and its Olympic ties. Barnes said the bar has leaned into the moment, opening early and airing every U.S. game for fans.
“We are really honored and proud to be working directly with the PWHL in Seattle Torrent to make sure that all of our fans have access to every single USA game,” Barnes said.
For some in the crowd, the Torrent’s inaugural season has been a gateway into hockey.
“This is like my first year being a hockey fan,” Amariah Delmar said. “We have the Torrent line which has been incredible, and we’ve just been doing so well. It’s really cool to be able to watch them represent the U.S.”
Delmar said her fandom is tied directly to Seattle having a women’s team.
“Now I am,” she said when asked if she’s a hockey fan. “Because we got a women’s team here in Seattle.”
She said she already held season tickets for the Seattle Storm and wanted to support another women’s team in its first year.
“I’m a season ticket holder for the Storm and so I wanted to represent women’s sports here in Seattle and a new league and a new team,” Delmar said.
Barnes opened Rough & Tumble in December 2022, describing it as the first concept of its kind built to prioritize women’s sports and show women’s and men’s games equally. She said the bar began as a response to a familiar frustration for women’s sports fans having to request someone to turn on women’s games.
“I know how we certainly see a real difference in accessibility, of being able to watch more sports on more platforms,” Barnes said.
Seattle’s history in women’s sports helped build the foundation for that demand. The Storm have won four WNBA championships, the most titles of any professional franchise in the city, and Seattle’s National Women’s Soccer League club, the Reign, has been part of the league since its founding.
That depth was visible in the Torrent jerseys scattered through the crowd Friday, alongside fans who said they wanted to be part of a new franchise from day one.
“It’s the first season, so I want to be right there at the start,” season-ticket holder Corey Blackburn said of the Torrent’s first season.
Six Seattle Torrent players are headed to the Winter Games, giving local fans an even stronger connection to the action. Hilary Knight, Alex Carpenter, Hannah Bilka and Cayla Barnes were named to Team USA’s women’s hockey roster and are skating for the United States. Julia Gosling will represent Team Canada, and Aneta Tejralová is competing for Czechia in the Olympic women’s tournament.
Barnes said the energy in Ballard is only building as the U.S. moves deeper into the Olympic tournament. While the game against Italy was not a medal game, Barnes said she expects the atmosphere to peak if the Americans reach the final.
“It’s gonna be crazy,” Barnes said.