Norah Rami

2 months ago | 34st.com | Vivian Yao |Norah Rami

“Weeeeelcome to Philly, the best blue collar fighting city in the world,” the announcer’s voice echoes across Wells Fargo Center. We were just two of the 17,762 fans in attendance on Jan. 25 for Knucklemania V, Pennsylvania’s first ever state–sanctioned Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. The crowd’s attention was fixed on the square circle at the end of a catwalk—where 24 fighters would soon emerge and take their turns performing dances of violence in front of spectators thirsty for blood.

Dec 4, 2024 | 34st.com | Norah Rami

I didn’t realize how little I knew about football until I was thrown into the media box at the Bucknell vs. Penn game. It’s not that I dislike football. It’s more so that I have the tendency to get distracted by everything but the game. My high school football team was pretty much categorically atrocious, but still, my friends and I stood in the stands at nearly every loss, viewing the game as an excuse to gather and talk, naturally about everything except football.

Nov 4, 2024 | 34st.com | Norah Rami

Camo seems to be the new color of the Democratic Party. Not long after Tim Walz was recorded reacting to his vice presidential nomination in a camo hat, the Harris–Walz campaign released its own camouflage merch, which sold out within 30 minutes of its release. At Tim Walz’s first rally in Philadelphia, he proudly donned the now iconic camo Harris–Walz hat.

Oct 6, 2024 | 34st.com | Norah Rami

The garage is a quintessential symbol of home–grown innovation. An extra appendage to the house, that if you simply make the inconvenient decision to park your car on the street, becomes the perfect “no–rent” storefront for young entrepreneurs. You, of course, have the classic example of Steve Jobs and Mark Wozniak, but even Barbie was a garage baby. Then you have Philly’s very own Viraj Thomas—a 21–year–old pizza maker who just opened his first brick–and–mortar restaurant, Char, this September.