PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philly women’s basketball got a special shoutout last week from actress and Delaware native Aubrey Plaza, who went viral at Barclays Center for wearing a T-shirt saying, “Philly is a women’s sports town.”
The makers behind the shirt: Watch Party PHL, a hub for women’s sports in Philly.
“It blew up instantly,” said Watch Party PHL organizer Jen Leary. “Aubrey Plaza went to a [New York] Liberty game wearing our T-shirt, and it’s just been amazing.”
The T-shirts were made to raise money for the group’s goal of opening a women’s sports gathering space — a cafe by day and a bar by night, with women’s sports playing nonstop.
After Plaza — known for her roles in “Parks and Recreation,” “White Lotus,” and “Agatha All Along” — rocked the tee, sales skyrocketed overnight. In fact, the shirts, printed by Philly-based women-run company Go Hamm, sold out.
How did the shirt get in Plaza’s hands in the first place? Her sister, Natalie — both Wilmington, Delaware, natives and basketball fans — had met with Leary about a potential investment.
“While we were meeting up, I had the ‘Philly is a women’s sports town’ T-shirt on. She commented that she loved [it],” said Leary. Opportunity rang, and Natalie suggested, “Wouldn’t it be so cool if Aubrey, who’s going to a Liberty game, wore that T-shirt?”
Natalie asked Aubrey if she’d wear it to the game, and she said yes.
“I immediately took off my shirt in the middle of 24th and Lombard and gave it to Natalie, and the rest is history!” said Leary.
In the last week, Watch Party PHL has raised $4,000 from those T-shirt sales. Leary said all proceeds go toward the proposed bar, which she hopes to open by spring of 2026.
“The more T-shirts we sell, the more money we can raise and the quicker we can open our doors,” she added.
The city plans to welcome a WNBA team in 2030.