FLYOVER
FC
WOMEN'S SPORTS WATCH PARTY POP-UPS IN THE 417
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WOMEN'S SPORTS WATCH PARTY POP-UPS IN THE 417 ❇
YOUR PEOPLE ARE HERE
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YOUR PEOPLE ARE HERE ❇
FLYOVER FC (FC as in fan club… not football club) is growing a women's sports community in the 417 built around two simple ideas:
Women’s sports are not an afterthought.
Watching sports is better when you watch it with others.
We're bringing fans together with women's sports watch parties around the 417, creating more opportunities to catch a game, support the athletes playing it, and connect with other people who give a sh*t about women’s sports.
You don't need years of sports knowledge to feel at home here. Perhaps you've followed women's basketball since ‘96. Maybe you're just now getting into hockey, soccer, or another sport for the first time. There's room in the fan club for you, and we'd love to see you at a game.
Come watch with us.
see you at the PWHL OPENING WEEKEND!
PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S HOCKEY LEAGUE (PWHL) OPENING WEEKEND
2:00 PM | SEATTLE TORRENT VS. VANCOUVER GOLDENEYES
6:00 PM | PWHL HAMILTON VS. MONTREAL VICTOIRE
6:00 PM | MINNESOTA FROST VS. PWHL SAN JOSE
DECEMBER 5TH
PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S HOCKEY LEAGUE (PWHL) OPENING WEEKEND
1:00 PM | TORONTO SCEPTRES VS. OTTAWA CHARGE
2:00 PM | BOSTON FLEET VS. NEW YORK SIRENS
7:00 PM | PWHL DETROIT VS. PWHL LAS VEGAS
DECEMBER 6TH
WHY WE EXIST
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WHY WE EXIST ❇
Walk into a sports bar in the 417 and look around. Chances are the TVs are full of men's games. The sound is cranked, the crowd knows where to look to watch their team, and nobody has to explain why the game matters or ask if there's room for it on a screen.
But if you wanna watch the Washington Spirit? The Minnesota Lynx? The Ottawa Charge? You’re probably gonna have to ask. You may hear that another game takes priority. But even if the answer is yes, you might have to negotiate for one TV in the corner. And if you want to watch with other fans? Huh? What other fans? Where?
Why is that still the norm?
Women make up half the population. Women's sports are played at an elite level, supported by passionate fans, and filled with athletes worth watching. Yet in the Ozarks, finding a place to watch a women's game can still feel like asking for an extreme exception.
But after talking with folks, the problem doesn’t seem to be a lack of interest. It's simply a lack of opportunity. When games are harder to find (thanks, streaming services), and coverage is harder to come by, and local spaces rarely make room for women's sports, it's a recipe for failure. It’s harder for fans to find each other. It's harder for new fans to discover a team they love. It’s harder for someone to even realize they’d actually enjoy sports if women are the ones playing them. Which means it's harder for women's sports to become part of the everyday sports culture of our community.
That cycle doesn't change on its own, which is why we’re building FLYOVER FC.
We want women's sports to have a place in Springfield that doesn't depend on whether someone is willing to cough up a screen. We want to create a place where the game is the reason everyone came out, where fans can show up together, and where supporting women's sports feels like a normal part of being a sports fan, not an afterthought.
We're starting with watch parties around the 417, in hopes of bringing people together to watch the games and helping build the kind of local community that women's sports deserve.
We know, we know… one watch party won't change everything. But every gathering makes the games a little more visible. Every new fan adds to the crowd. Every local venue that makes room for women's sports helps make it easier for the next person to find them.
We shouldn't have to keep asking for a place in sports culture. We should be part of it.
DECEMBER 5TH & 6TH: PWHL OPENING WEEKEND
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DECEMBER 5TH & 6TH: PWHL OPENING WEEKEND ❇
WHY “FLYOVER?”
We may be in flyover country, but that doesn't mean we have to sit on the sidelines!
We live in a unique place. Missouri. The Midwest. The Heartland. Or, more endearingly, to the coasts: flyover country. :-(
The term flyover suggests that this place is just a place you pass over on your way somewhere else. God forbid you stop in and enjoy some Braum’s or Andy’s or see the giant fork! Flyover country is full of places outside the spotlight, left out of the national conversation, talked about like an afterthought.
See where we’re going with this?
It can feel like women's sports get treated the same way. I mean, the biggest moments in women's sports deserve national attention, and sure, they’ll play some highlights on ESPN2, but the attention doesn't always translate into opportunities for fans everywhere to be part of the excitement.
In places like the Ozarks, finding a women's game on TV at a local bar can be harder than it should be. Coverage is inconsistent and fans are often left to seek out the community they're looking for on their own, which feels impossible, so it becomes a frustrating cycle. When women's sports aren't visible, people have fewer chances to discover them. When there are fewer opportunities to watch together, it's harder to build a crowd. And when that crowd isn't visible, it's easy for women's sports to be overlooked… again.
The good news is we don't believe a lack of visibility means a lack of interest! There are fans here, babe! There are people discovering new leagues, following their favorite athletes, and looking for somewhere to share that excitement. They deserve a place in the conversation, too!
SO WE ARE MAKING THAT SPACE!
We're building a women's sports community in Springfield, Missouri because the people who live here shouldn't have to look somewhere else to feel connected to the games they adore. We want to make it easier to watch together, meet other fans, and give women's sports a more visible place in the 417.