Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where old balls,
Speaker 1: new balls, steel balls, cold balls is the new One fish,
Speaker 1: two fish, redfish, bluefish. Thanks Frankie de la Creta. On
Speaker 1: today's show, we'll be talking to NWSL reporter Jennet Tanelli
Speaker 1: about the continued outrage over NWSL Boston's big name reveal,
Speaker 1: Gotham's Olympic star power, and the growing gap between NWSL clubs.
Speaker 1: Plus Game three of the WNBA Finals, more fallout from
Speaker 1: Canada's drone Gate, and an update on an important shot.
Speaker 1: It's all coming up right after this Welcome back slices.
Speaker 1: Here's what you need to know today in WNBA Finals News.
Speaker 1: We're recording this Wednesday while I get ready for the
Speaker 1: big Women's Sports Foundation gala in New York City. I
Speaker 1: will no doubt be watching Game three on my phone
Speaker 1: from my seat at the gala, so we'll have plenty
Speaker 1: to say about the game, and we'll get you ready
Speaker 1: for Game four tomorrow. For now, congrats to the New
Speaker 1: York Liberty on their big win Wednesday. How about that
Speaker 1: shot and that other play and could you believe that
Speaker 1: one moment? Whoof more to come on all that tomorrow
Speaker 1: In other WNBA news. Ahead of Game three of the Finals,
Speaker 1: Liberty star Brianna Stewart said that her wife Marta, a
Speaker 1: retired former pro herself, received a threatening anti gay email
Speaker 1: following the Liberty's Game one loss against the Links. Per ESPN,
Speaker 1: Stewart reported the incident to the Liberty and the league,
Speaker 1: with her wife Marta filing a report with the police.
Speaker 1: Here's what Stuart told the ESPN's Malika Andrews.
Speaker 2: You know, sometimes people are taking things a little bit
Speaker 2: too far and too out of context, and Martin had gotten.
Speaker 1: Homophobic death threats.
Speaker 2: A few other things have happened, But just making sure
Speaker 2: that we're doing as much as possible to continue to
Speaker 2: aware or make sure that our team and the league
Speaker 2: is aware of the situation and continue to keep everybody safe.
Speaker 1: It's all just a reminder that the toxicity experienced by
Speaker 1: players this season isn't just reserved for online harassment Elsewhere
Speaker 1: in pro hoops news and if yousa call youer and brand,
Speaker 1: Stewart's Unrivaled League keeps making headlines. The league and TNT
Speaker 1: Sports have entered a multi year media rights partnership, starting
Speaker 1: with Unrivaled's inaugural season Live games will air exclusively on
Speaker 1: TNT and True TV, and all games will also stream
Speaker 1: on Max. TNT will broadcast games on Mondays and Fridays,
Speaker 1: and move to True TV on Saturdays. That means more
Speaker 1: than forty five primetime regular season matchups will be featured
Speaker 1: three nights a week across TNT sports platforms. We are
Speaker 1: so here for It. Unrivaled tips off on January seventeen,
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five to the NWSL. Fallout continues after the
Speaker 1: NWSL Boston team revealed its name Boss Nation in a
Speaker 1: marketing campaign centered on the idea of too Many Balls,
Speaker 1: including a video that shouted out the Patriots, Red Sox,
Speaker 1: Brew and Celtics, and Revolution all men's teams while conspicuously
Speaker 1: ignoring the PWHL, Boston Fleet and other women's teams. After
Speaker 1: reactions ranging from unimpressed to outraged, the too Many Balls
Speaker 1: video has just about disappeared from the Internet, and the
Speaker 1: ad agency that was hired for the campaign wiped all
Speaker 1: involvement from their Instagram page. Don't worry, we saved a
Speaker 1: copy for posterity. The campaign was also condemned for being transphobic,
Speaker 1: including by the Seattle Rains Quinn, who is non binary.
Speaker 1: The midfielder commented quote feels transphobic Yike's end quote on
Speaker 1: the brand rollout video posted on Instagram by the NWSL
Speaker 1: and NWSL Boston. It's not clear how it happened, whether
Speaker 1: a moderator hit the post or it was the Instagram algorithm,
Speaker 1: but that comment from Quinn was no longer visible. Later
Speaker 1: in the day, they followed up with quote, love how
Speaker 1: my comment was quote unquote hidden by Instagram calling out
Speaker 1: transphobia shouldn't be hidden. This doesn't represent the league and
Speaker 1: it is such poor messaging end quote. This is sure
Speaker 1: to be a case study in marketing and sports business
Speaker 1: courses for years to come. The question is whether it'll
Speaker 1: be a study of failure or of the ability to
Speaker 1: pivot and respond to feedback. It's up to Boss Nation
Speaker 1: leadership now dig in or make a change. The team
Speaker 1: did issue an apology on Wednesday, saying, in part quote,
Speaker 1: we fully acknowledged that the content of the campaign did
Speaker 1: not reflect the safe and welcoming environment we strive to
Speaker 1: create for all, and we apologize to the LGBTQ plus
Speaker 1: community and to the trans community in particular, for the
Speaker 1: hurt that we caused. Quote. The team went on to
Speaker 1: thank fans for holding them accountable and committed to do
Speaker 1: better moving forward. We'll discuss this further later in our
Speaker 1: interview with Jenna, also an NWSL news The Off Season,
Speaker 1: a reality TV docuseries, dropped a sneak peak trailer this
Speaker 1: week ahead of its official release this Friday. You guys,
Speaker 1: remember we told you about this. Partly produced by Midge Purse.
Speaker 1: We could not be more excited to rot on our
Speaker 1: couch watching all six episodes in one sitting. Here's the
Speaker 1: premise Heading into the twenty twenty four season, eleven NWSL
Speaker 1: players spent two weeks in one house. Take a listen.
Speaker 1: But dating is honestly so hard in the soccer world.
Speaker 3: The gays, oh my gosh, there's so much drama.
Speaker 1: The fans love it.
Speaker 4: They'll make like a chart of all like the lesbian connection.
Speaker 1: I'm wondering if there's even a team that doesn't have
Speaker 1: a dating couple in it.
Speaker 5: What if they bring it on the field, Like what
Speaker 5: if this happens?
Speaker 1: What if that happens. Honestly, everyone's been very professional that
Speaker 1: I've seen. That's a lie. I just lied because I forgot. No,
Speaker 1: I'm sorry. No, they haven't it has messed up teams,
Speaker 1: footy and gay shit. Sign me up and more NWSL
Speaker 1: news and you can hear by my tone you can
Speaker 1: tell what's happening already another retirement. Angel City defender Merrett
Speaker 1: Matthias announced via Instagram that this NWSL season will be
Speaker 1: her last as a pro soccer player. Her caption pretty
Speaker 1: much summed it up. She wrote, quote I came, I
Speaker 1: saw a shit up end quote legend, and that she
Speaker 1: did because Matthias has been as staple in the NWSL
Speaker 1: as long as it's existed. In fact, she played in
Speaker 1: the league's first game ever back in twenty thirteen. She's
Speaker 1: got three championships and three NWSL shields on her resume,
Speaker 1: and also played for FC Kansas City, Seattle Rain, and
Speaker 1: North Carolina Courage. Over the course of her career, played
Speaker 1: a big role with the Players Association as well, helping
Speaker 1: orchestrate the league's new CBA. In her Instagram post, she
Speaker 1: noted that fans can celebrate her career at the club's
Speaker 1: last match on October twentieth, when Angel City takes on
Speaker 1: the Utah Royals at Bemo Stadium. The game will miss you, Merit,
Speaker 1: but we're all looking forward to the post retirement hangs.
Speaker 1: Not very many people that are a better hang than
Speaker 1: Merritt Matthias. In other soccer news, Canada Soccer has announced
Speaker 1: that an interim coaching team will lead the squad for
Speaker 1: its upcoming October twenty fifth friendly against Spain, rather than
Speaker 1: a traditional singular head coach. This comes after the major
Speaker 1: drone spying scandal that was revealed during the Paris Olympics.
Speaker 1: Head coach Bev Priestman was suspended and sent home from
Speaker 1: the games. Now she remains suspended but on payroll during
Speaker 1: this ongoing external Canada Soccer commissioned review into the scandal,
Speaker 1: and an addition, has been banned by FIFA from taking
Speaker 1: part in any soccer related activities for the next year.
Speaker 1: It's time for another edition of No Dumb Questions. Sarah
Speaker 1: Reel wrote in to say, I have a dumb question
Speaker 1: I should know the answer to since I've been listening
Speaker 1: to Spain's teaching since the trifecta, but don't. Why is
Speaker 1: the WNBA season scheduled the way it is. It begins
Speaker 1: so soon after the close the nc DOUBLEA season, it
Speaker 1: seems logical to start a bit later. Give the draft
Speaker 1: picks time post March Madness and then have the postseason
Speaker 1: go later into the fall. If we overlap a bit
Speaker 1: with NHL NBA preseason, who cares? Was it set this
Speaker 1: way to keep momentum going from March Madness or is
Speaker 1: it just tradition and we're not willing to change. First
Speaker 1: of all, Sarah, no dumb questions. It is such a
Speaker 1: tight turnaround from the NCAA tourney to the draft to
Speaker 1: the preseason, and with expansion, there will continue to be
Speaker 1: a desire for more regular season games, making scheduling even tougher.
Speaker 1: But ultimately, I think you hit the nail on the
Speaker 1: head with the overlap bit. Not only is it tough
Speaker 1: for the WNBA to compete with the NFL, the deeper
Speaker 1: they go into October and November. Now they've got NHL
Speaker 1: NBA College football, college hoops, and it's not just battling
Speaker 1: for eyeballs, it's battling for television spots. It's a big
Speaker 1: deal for the DOUBLEBA to get prime spots with TV
Speaker 1: partners like ESPN and ABC, and that's tough to do
Speaker 1: once all those other leagues and sports get going in earnest.
Speaker 1: Even with the current schedule and the Olympic break this season.
Speaker 1: The WNBA finals games so far have gone up against
Speaker 1: Thursday night and Sunday football plus MLB Playoffs for Game three, which,
Speaker 1: by the way, I've seen some folks complain about those
Speaker 1: games happening smack dab in the middle of NFL Thursday
Speaker 1: or Sunday, but ESPN ABC don't have football rights those days,
Speaker 1: so that's when they've got airtime and want to put
Speaker 1: up a competitive product. It's also worth mentioning that the
Speaker 1: league has to schedule round those Olympic and Feeble World
Speaker 1: Cup breaks during certain years, which makes it tougher. Expansion
Speaker 1: feels inevitable. We already know regular season next year will
Speaker 1: be forty four games, but I think they're going to
Speaker 1: try to keep it to a mostly summer sport as
Speaker 1: best they can for now because of, like I said,
Speaker 1: competing eyeballs and competing TV spots. Also, while we're on
Speaker 1: the topic of scheduling and the WNBA, Alex has some
Speaker 1: actually rare positive news in rescheduling to report.
Speaker 3: So the mnba's Minnesota Timberwolves have rescheduled a preseason game
Speaker 3: that was supposed to be played tomorrow, aka the same
Speaker 3: night that the Links are hosting Game four of the
Speaker 3: WNBA Finals, but the Pimberwolves moved their game to tonight instead.
Speaker 3: While this may not seem like a big deal, there
Speaker 3: is actually a very long history of WNBA teams getting
Speaker 3: bumped from their own venues during the playoffs, either for
Speaker 3: MNBA preseason games or for other events. In twenty twenty one,
Speaker 3: the Phoenix Mercury were bumped from home court during Round
Speaker 3: one of the playoffs because of a Maluma concert. Then
Speaker 3: in the semifinals, it was Disney on Ice that bumped
Speaker 3: them for their first home game, and it initially looked
Speaker 3: like they would get bumped for their second game too,
Speaker 3: until the Phoenix Suns and La Lakers agreed to move
Speaker 3: their game up. But that was a super last minute
Speaker 3: decision that came at the eleventh hour, and honestly, twenty
Speaker 3: twenty one wasn't an outlier. There were a few years
Speaker 3: there Diana Trozi and co. Played more of their home
Speaker 3: playoff games not actually at home, and I get it,
Speaker 3: venue scheduling is tough, but you have to out the
Speaker 3: Timberwolves for being proactive here and making sure that this
Speaker 3: did not become a thing.
Speaker 1: We love it, We love good positive rescheduling news. We
Speaker 1: got to take a quick break. When we come back.
Speaker 1: It's Jenna Toanelly talking NWSL. She covers the NWSL with
Speaker 1: a focus on Gotham FC and the US women's national team,
Speaker 1: with bylines and sports illustrated to equalize her esp Nation,
Speaker 1: the New York Post and more. She's a diehard Buffalo
Speaker 1: Bills fan and she'll take her defense of Candy Corn
Speaker 1: with her to the grave. It's Jenna to Nelly, what's up, Jenna.
Speaker 5: Oh my gosh, you nailed it. That's me to a t.
Speaker 5: Thank you so much for having me and for that
Speaker 5: amazing introduction.
Speaker 1: There is so much to get to today, including the
Speaker 1: team that you focus on, Gotham FC, and we're going
Speaker 1: to get to it. But boy, did Boss Nation bump
Speaker 1: those conversations off the top news stories today. I guess
Speaker 1: you could really say they grabbed the women's soccer community
Speaker 1: by the balls, Jenna, or god, as a friend said
Speaker 1: this morning, their balls deep in feed. So let's go
Speaker 1: through this piece by piece in your opinion and also
Speaker 1: what you've seen from players and fans. Let's start with
Speaker 1: the name. It's an anagram of Bostonian. What do you
Speaker 1: think of Boss Nation.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean I kind of see where they were
Speaker 5: going with the anagram. I kind of like where their
Speaker 5: heads at. I love a name that like really reflects
Speaker 5: the space and the area and like the history of
Speaker 5: the place where a team is. But I think they
Speaker 5: missed the mark on the name here. I think Boston
Speaker 5: and just New England in general is just a place
Speaker 5: that is so rich in history and sports history, and
Speaker 5: there was probably a lot more than they could have
Speaker 5: pulled on. And I actually saw a couple of people
Speaker 5: on Twitter saying they should be like the Boston Coven
Speaker 5: or love that which is, and I love the Boston Coven.
Speaker 5: I was like, that's.
Speaker 1: Incredible, wicked Boston, Yes, so.
Speaker 5: Good, exactly exactly. So I think they did miss the
Speaker 5: mark a little bit on the name, although, as you
Speaker 5: alluded to, not the most egregious part of that no
Speaker 5: means no.
Speaker 1: I I just don't think it makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 1: It sounds more like a supporter group being Nation. It
Speaker 1: makes me think of like Hugo Boss. It made a
Speaker 1: lot of other people think of girl Boss, which is
Speaker 1: not good or Boss Bitch. Also not something people are
Speaker 1: really doing these days, and it's not really clever or
Speaker 1: creative or fun right, it's just not very interesting. There's
Speaker 1: I was exchanging texts with my friends Colley and Joshua
Speaker 1: have been on the show together before, and we came
Speaker 1: up with lots of funny ones like you know Duncan
Speaker 1: FC or how about that Apple's FC? I think josh said,
Speaker 1: Masshole United. I mean these are not real, but like,
Speaker 1: because they made it so boring, it left us searching
Speaker 1: for some fun and I think that's part of the
Speaker 1: problem with it. Now. The name alone would have been
Speaker 1: a meh if not for the brand rollout that really
Speaker 1: pushed people away from the whole launch. First of all,
Speaker 1: the website too many balls dot com and the and
Speaker 1: the brand video that seemed to have so many issues,
Speaker 1: not the least of which was a rature of existing
Speaker 1: female teams, both historically and current in the Boston area.
Speaker 1: A real emphasis on making everything about men's sports, and
Speaker 1: then here we are and you're ready for us, as
Speaker 1: if women's sports wasn't already established enough to thrive and
Speaker 1: celebrate on its own. And then the transphobic issue that
Speaker 1: people came up with, the emphasis on genitalia and the
Speaker 1: whole pun being on the things between your legs. What
Speaker 1: have you heard and what was your opinion on the
Speaker 1: too many balls rollout?
Speaker 5: Yes, well, I mean you definitely covered a lot of it.
Speaker 5: I mean I think it just missed the mark on
Speaker 5: so many levels. It was extremely exclusionary, you know, with
Speaker 5: the language around male, Genitalian. Just centering a women's sports
Speaker 5: team around men. It was just very strange, and I
Speaker 5: think again it just ignores this history that Boston does this.
Speaker 5: I mean, have we had the Boston Breakers previously in
Speaker 5: the NWSL, We have you know, professional women's Hockey League
Speaker 5: team already, Boston Fleet. I believe they're called in the area.
Speaker 5: And it's just it was very disappointing again and it's
Speaker 5: also almost similar to the name itself that it just
Speaker 5: doesn't quite dip into this rich history and excitement around
Speaker 5: women's sports that they could have really keyed into. Because
Speaker 5: people are excited for this team. And you know something
Speaker 5: I actually I was tweeting through it yesterday, some jokes
Speaker 5: and some thoughts, but you know, one of the things
Speaker 5: that I put out there was, you know, we as
Speaker 5: a you know, a women's soccer community, we hate this
Speaker 5: because we care because we want so badly for this
Speaker 5: team to do well and to grab fans, you know,
Speaker 5: both existing and new fans that are out there to
Speaker 5: support this club. You know, Boston has a great history
Speaker 5: with women's soccer and women's sports, and this just was
Speaker 5: just so disappointing on so many levels. And it's disappointing,
Speaker 5: and we're upset because we all care and we want
Speaker 5: it to do as best it could be. And I
Speaker 5: just don't understand. You know, I get it. You know,
Speaker 5: they had a media agency. They came up with something
Speaker 5: that they thought would be think in their own post
Speaker 5: that I saw, actually your producer Alex put up they
Speaker 5: called it wildly provocative, and I guess you could call
Speaker 5: it that, and I, you know, I see that they're
Speaker 5: trying to get a conversation going, but this was the
Speaker 5: wrong conversation. And I'm just surprised that nobody in the
Speaker 5: room thought, eh, hey, you know, maybe we should consider
Speaker 5: other directions.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think your point is a good one, because you know,
Speaker 1: in established men's leagues when teams that are not ours
Speaker 1: trip up, we love it. We are like whoop see,
Speaker 1: especially Boston. Boston is such a fun place to hate, right.
Speaker 5: Oh, I'm a New Yorker, so yeah.
Speaker 1: But instead, because in the women's sports world, the rising
Speaker 1: tide lifts all boats because we want growth.
Speaker 6: And.
Speaker 1: You know, for Iron just sharpened by having other teams
Speaker 1: come and push teams to spend more and invest more
Speaker 1: and be more creative and be better. We are as
Speaker 1: a whole community rooting for them. We're like Tyra Banks
Speaker 1: on America's Next we were rooting for you. We're all
Speaker 1: rooting for you. And then when this happens, I think
Speaker 1: somebody posted like this is an impressive thing. When the
Speaker 1: entire women's sports, women's soccer community can get together and
Speaker 1: hate the same thing, it's really bringing us together. But
Speaker 1: it's disappointing. Now. We've seen teams double back in the past,
Speaker 1: including Racing Louisville, which was going to be Proof Louisville FC,
Speaker 1: but pivoted after an underwhelming response. We saw in the
Speaker 1: PWHL there were copyrights that were found in trademarks that
Speaker 1: were found and unearthed, and then when they got to
Speaker 1: the public and weren't well received, they also want a
Speaker 1: different direction. So do you think there's a chance that
Speaker 1: Boston will rethink this?
Speaker 5: I sure hope. So I think I'm inclined to think yes,
Speaker 5: because I've seen them take down a lot of the
Speaker 5: videos and the posts, the website and actually the domain
Speaker 5: name too many balls dot com is back up for
Speaker 5: sale now.
Speaker 1: Available, y'all.
Speaker 7: Yeah, So, so signs point to some sort of reconsideration
Speaker 7: of at least the messaging, you know, and again with
Speaker 7: the name, it.
Speaker 5: Is just so meh. But there's there's so much time.
Speaker 5: They have, months and months that they could take to
Speaker 5: just go back to the drying board and redo this
Speaker 5: and have additional input in and you know, bring in
Speaker 5: some of these former players who you know made say
Speaker 5: Tory Houston, Sam UIs, especially sam Us, I mean, you
Speaker 5: know New Englander, the US Sisters top New Englander soccer players.
Speaker 5: So I think that there's definitely room for improvement, and
Speaker 5: I the signs look like they're going to take it
Speaker 5: under invisement, and I sure hope they do.
Speaker 1: Sam Ewis tweeted out as a Massachusetts native, I really
Speaker 1: want NWSL Boston to succeed. I also want to shout
Speaker 1: out p WHL Boston, bean down RFC and go renegades
Speaker 1: as existing women's pro sports teams here to support and
Speaker 1: eight thirty eight Underscore Carlisle wrote, imagine fumbling the unveiling
Speaker 1: of a Boston women's soccer team so badly that you
Speaker 1: made Sam Ewis mad, which I think is a very
Speaker 1: good point, and I think you're right, Sam call number one. Yes,
Speaker 1: Sam should be called number one, and a handful of
Speaker 1: other players. I think it's a pretty homogeneous ownershipship group,
Speaker 1: a lot of them at backgrounds and men's sports, which
Speaker 1: might be why they went this way. I think it's
Speaker 1: time to reach out to people in the women's space
Speaker 1: who are deeply embedded in women's sports and know that
Speaker 1: people will be on your side if you listen and change.
Speaker 1: It will be embarrassing, but far less embarrassing than digging
Speaker 1: your heels and sticking with this and then having to
Speaker 1: redo it a couple of years down the line when
Speaker 1: it's already made things so much worse for you. So, okay,
Speaker 1: if they stick with this name in this branding, or
Speaker 1: even if they change and adjust based on feedback, what
Speaker 1: do you think that they can do in the immediate
Speaker 1: future to make Boston fans and women's soccer fans in
Speaker 1: general feel confident about their leadership and their decision making
Speaker 1: going forward. Because Alex and I talked about this yesterday.
Speaker 1: The fear here is that if this is the lens
Speaker 1: through which you're looking at a naming and branding, what
Speaker 1: lens are you looking through for a full team and
Speaker 1: operations and future.
Speaker 5: It's a great point. I mean, I think there was
Speaker 5: a good start today. They did release an apology, especially
Speaker 5: about the messaging of the marketing campaign, so I think
Speaker 5: that is always a great start, and they acknowledge that,
Speaker 5: you know, it was not the right direction, and especially
Speaker 5: with some of the transphobic undertones. So I'm very glad
Speaker 5: that that was posted. But I think, you know, women's
Speaker 5: sports right now, and especially in the NWSL, is at
Speaker 5: such an interesting point where it's still so you know,
Speaker 5: it's still growing, and you have the chance to make
Speaker 5: a huge impact and help grow this game at a
Speaker 5: time where it's growing in leaps and bounds like we've
Speaker 5: not seen before, but still tap into that rich history
Speaker 5: and people who have been here and can help you
Speaker 5: direct that. So it's it's unfortunate that that didn't seem
Speaker 5: to happen here, but I hope that they will now
Speaker 5: take some of the feedback that they've gotten, go back
Speaker 5: have these conversations with the sam Uises of the world
Speaker 5: and try to come up with an idea that is
Speaker 5: going to bring together, like I was saying before, existing fans,
Speaker 5: but also new fans, because I think this marketing campaign,
Speaker 5: if I try to take a step back and say, okay,
Speaker 5: like what were they thinking, does it maybe somebody who
Speaker 5: doesn't really know too much about women's sports in Boston
Speaker 5: and they see this campaign and they go, oh, yeah,
Speaker 5: you know what, there really are a lot of men's
Speaker 5: teams but not a lot of women's teams. Okay, I
Speaker 5: get that, you know, I can see where maybe the
Speaker 5: line of thinking was, but that but you but it
Speaker 5: just so missed the mark on any fan, you know,
Speaker 5: being interested in this team. I just would sincerely hope
Speaker 5: that they can take a step back and they can
Speaker 5: say we hear you were listening, and we're going to
Speaker 5: you know, change X y Z. And also I think
Speaker 5: it's really important that they you know, that they show
Speaker 5: that they do take fan feedback and because these are
Speaker 5: the people that are going to come to your games
Speaker 5: and they're going to pay for tickets and they are
Speaker 5: going to buy your merch and you know, sports is
Speaker 5: for the fans. So if you're not listening to the fans,
Speaker 5: then you you know you're not gonna have a successful franchise.
Speaker 1: Well, if there's anything Boston can do, it's reach back
Speaker 1: into their history, brag about their winning culture. And I
Speaker 1: think there's ways to do both things in a way
Speaker 1: that also centers centers women. So we look forward to
Speaker 1: the second round. You could do it Spas Nation. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: Let's get to NWSL broadly, this league is known for parody,
Speaker 1: but this season there is a big gap between first
Speaker 1: and last. What to what do you attribute that gap?
Speaker 5: Coaching? I really think that we have seen this league
Speaker 5: take a big step forward in terms of coaching. It's
Speaker 5: if you look at the coaches of the top four teams.
Speaker 5: You know Gotham, what one Carlo Samros was able to
Speaker 5: do with with Gotham. You know, he coached in Spain,
Speaker 5: he coached in England, he came over here and he
Speaker 5: really put a unique style on that team. Black Gowandanowsky,
Speaker 5: who you know obviously didn't have the best tenure as
Speaker 5: a national team manager, but if you look back on
Speaker 5: his league management, it's just leaps and bounds ahead of
Speaker 5: so many other folks. Uh seb Hines over in Orlando,
Speaker 5: I think has done a fantastic job over there as
Speaker 5: well Washington Spirit bringing over the former Barcelona coach. So
Speaker 5: I really think the difference this year has has been coaching.
Speaker 5: If you look at some of the other teams, you know,
Speaker 5: Utah Royals had had some turnover and they're coaching. You know,
Speaker 5: some other teams had some kind of newer coaches to
Speaker 5: the league or you know, I hadn't been around before.
Speaker 5: So to me, that's the number one difference between those
Speaker 5: top five juggernaut teams is you know, bringing in some
Speaker 5: really talented, you know, big resume coaches that have been
Speaker 5: able to put their mark on these teams in a
Speaker 5: unique way.
Speaker 1: I would even argue, being as biased as I am
Speaker 1: from Chicago, that Louren Donaldson, the job that he's done
Speaker 1: in Chicago getting them to be a playoff team despite
Speaker 1: a number of factors, is impressive. Eight points separate the
Speaker 1: number one Orlando Pride and the number four k C Current.
Speaker 1: Then there's a ten point drop off to fifth place,
Speaker 1: where the North Carolina Courage are. Do you consider that
Speaker 1: top four tier the true contenders or are there any
Speaker 1: lower seated teams that you could see primed for an upset?
Speaker 5: I mean, the thing, even though the parody has not
Speaker 5: been as it has in the past, and the NWSL
Speaker 5: it's still a league where anything could happen. I mean,
Speaker 5: look at Portland's upset over Orlando, which, to be fair,
Speaker 5: Orlando had clinched the shield and you know now they're
Speaker 5: going to do a little bit of rotation and look
Speaker 5: towards the playoffs. But it is still a league where
Speaker 5: anything can happen. And I think your point about Chicago
Speaker 5: is actually really important. I was just talking to some
Speaker 5: of my colleagues at Sports Illustrated about Chicago specifically because
Speaker 5: I've been so impressed with that team. A lot of
Speaker 5: people think of that team, They're like, oh, they just
Speaker 5: have mouse wantson and a listena or and that's it,
Speaker 5: But that is so not true. I think Lauren has
Speaker 5: done a fantastic job with that team, and it's been
Speaker 5: a team where each individual player has truly stepped up
Speaker 5: at different moments when they're needed and has propelled them
Speaker 5: to a playoff position. So I wouldn't be surprised to
Speaker 5: see a Chicago restoroce or a North Carolina Courage get
Speaker 5: an upset those last two playoff spots. Portland Thorne's of
Speaker 5: as you're in there right now. I don't see those
Speaker 5: two teams upsetting any of the top four, but again
Speaker 5: it's it's possible.
Speaker 1: Yeah, last year Gotam one out of the sixth seed,
Speaker 1: the whole thing, so right, you just you just never know. Hey,
Speaker 1: speaking to Gotham, I want to talk about them because
Speaker 1: that's your main beat.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Seven Olympians, six of them gold medalists with Team USA.
Speaker 1: How has this Gotham team handled balancing egos and expectations,
Speaker 1: keeping everybody happy, getting everyone in the ball, all the
Speaker 1: usual super team issues. How have they done that this year?
Speaker 5: Gotham has been a team this year that has relied
Speaker 5: extensively on its deep bench. They are playing multiple competitions
Speaker 5: regular season. The CONCA calf Women's Championship, they blamed, the
Speaker 5: Challenge Cup. They played in the what's it called the
Speaker 5: Summer Cup with the finals in October, so I always
Speaker 5: get I'm like, oh, it's a Summer Cup, but it's
Speaker 5: in October. So I think that they had This has
Speaker 5: allowed the team to get a lot of people playing time,
Speaker 5: and you've seen a lot of different combinations, especially defensively.
Speaker 5: We've seen a lot of different combinations back there with
Speaker 5: Emily Sonnet Hearna Davidson, Matane Manny Freeman and just you know,
Speaker 5: making sure that everybody is on the same page and
Speaker 5: contributing to the team. And something I find very interesting
Speaker 5: about Gotham and their style is that they you know,
Speaker 5: you when you watch them on the field, They're rotating
Speaker 5: positions quite a lot. You'll see Neilie Martin drop back
Speaker 5: and you know, in like a defensive position, or you'll
Speaker 5: see you know, Tierna Davis and like push up high centrally,
Speaker 5: and it's it's just a team that everybody knows not
Speaker 5: only their role, but their teammates roles, so they're able
Speaker 5: to slot in when needed. And that's also been a
Speaker 5: significant boost to Gotham this season, is that they all
Speaker 5: understand what they're supposed to be doing and then they
Speaker 5: execute on it. I also credit Yayali Ever Bush West
Speaker 5: and the general manager and Juan Carlos the coach, to
Speaker 5: have created an environment where I think a lot of
Speaker 5: these players are really thriving and playing some of their
Speaker 5: best soccer. It's it's been incredible to see. I mean
Speaker 5: I talk the other day, I put out an article
Speaker 5: on my personal substack about Delaney she In. She is
Speaker 5: a midfielder who has started all but one game for
Speaker 5: Golf of this season and flies completely under the radar,
Speaker 5: but she's been integral to that team and to that
Speaker 5: midfield So I think just giving everybody opportunities and having
Speaker 5: players earn their opportunities and just letting them shine and
Speaker 5: be creative on the field. You know this is Roosevelt
Speaker 5: has been playing amazing this season, getting a lot of
Speaker 5: club minutes, which you know we don't always see for
Speaker 5: Rose Emily Sonnet I think has started every shield missed
Speaker 5: one game this season because of yellow card accumulation this weekend.
Speaker 5: But it's just been incredible to see what this team
Speaker 5: has done and it's really worked. And people were skeptical
Speaker 5: because with the super team, you never know, but it's
Speaker 5: really worked.
Speaker 1: You mentioned a couple of the unsung heroes like Delaney
Speaker 1: she and where can people read about them? You've said
Speaker 1: you've you've written a bit about them.
Speaker 5: Yeah, so, I recently on my substack Jenna sources linked
Speaker 5: to it in my Twitter bio and Instagram bio, I
Speaker 5: did an in depth dive on Delaney Shehan. I also
Speaker 5: think that Yasmine Ryan has been an incredible player for
Speaker 5: Gotham a winger forward. She's got four goals for assists
Speaker 5: on the regular season and that's not even going into
Speaker 5: the Summer Cup or the CONCACAF tournament. And I did
Speaker 5: a piece on her earlier this year in Hudson River Blue,
Speaker 5: which is a local New York City website that covers
Speaker 5: primarily NYCFC but also Gotham as well. I think she's
Speaker 5: been fantastic. And also Neelie Martin midfielder who anybody who
Speaker 5: knows me knows. I'm obsessed with the fact that in
Speaker 5: the final last year she had to go into goal
Speaker 5: because many Hawk got a red card in the dying
Speaker 5: minutes and that's just my favorite bit of Gotham lore
Speaker 5: these days. But she's also just an incredible midfielder and
Speaker 5: her positioning on the field and her ability to connect
Speaker 5: passes has just been also crucial, crucial, crucial for Gotham
Speaker 5: the season.
Speaker 1: All right, Jennas sources sub stack is where you can
Speaker 1: find that, and she links to it in her Twitter bile,
Speaker 1: which we'll put in our show notes. Last question, quick
Speaker 1: about Gotham clinched the first playoff home game in history.
Speaker 1: What does that mean for this team, especially as they're
Speaker 1: trying to win back to back championships.
Speaker 5: It means so much. And you know, of course, you
Speaker 5: you know, the fans want to see another championship win.
Speaker 5: But I think for you know, for me, as somebody
Speaker 5: who was a longtime Sky Blue fan started covering the
Speaker 5: team then they became Gotham, saw this whole transition from
Speaker 5: playing at Rutgers University in New Jersey to playing at
Speaker 5: one of the best soccer stadiums in North America. It's
Speaker 5: just been incredible to see that growth. And I think
Speaker 5: for the players, you know, some of them are newer
Speaker 5: to the team, some of them have been there for
Speaker 5: a long time. I think Mandy Freeman has been there
Speaker 5: since twenty seventeen. I believe she was drafted there, so
Speaker 5: has just really you know this, it's just such a
Speaker 5: marker of how far this team has come. That in
Speaker 5: their entire history, they've never had a home playoff game
Speaker 5: and to be able to do that at Red Bull
Speaker 5: Arena and have that celebration with the fans and for
Speaker 5: the players to have contributed to the growth of this
Speaker 5: team is just so important and it just such a
Speaker 5: huge mart of how far they've come.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's been a lot of drama in the NWSL
Speaker 1: in recent years, whether it was serious stuff like toxic
Speaker 1: coaching or forced ownership overhauls or lawsuits, to just dramatic
Speaker 1: changes in revenue and investment and ownership groups and kind
Speaker 1: of established some haves or have nots. Gotham is a
Speaker 1: great example of a team that was a have not.
Speaker 1: It was mocked at times in the past in the
Speaker 1: Sky Blue FC years subpar resources and facilities, but they
Speaker 1: underwent a hugely successful rebranding ahem, Boss Nation. They got
Speaker 1: new leadership last year, they became a championship winning team
Speaker 1: on the field. What can other teams in the league
Speaker 1: learn from the sky Blue to Gotham transition.
Speaker 5: I think the thing to me that sticks out the
Speaker 5: most is that ownership and the investors and the team
Speaker 5: and the ownership put their money where their mouth was.
Speaker 5: But more than that is that they brought in a
Speaker 5: leader like Yayell to put that vision into place. And
Speaker 5: I think and I think it takes both things. It
Speaker 5: takes money because clearly, as we've seen with the Boss
Speaker 5: Nation money, money isn't always going to get to where
Speaker 5: you need to be. But I think it's it's the
Speaker 5: investment and the trust and bringing in somebody who who cares,
Speaker 5: who knows, And it's in every conversation I've ever had
Speaker 5: with Yayel, you know, we always talk about, well, these
Speaker 5: are the things I didn't have when I was a player,
Speaker 5: and so what are the things that I know that
Speaker 5: players need to succeed? What do players want? And just
Speaker 5: having that lens as a former player to manage this
Speaker 5: team I think has been everything. And you know, one
Speaker 5: of the things that she said to me was, you know,
Speaker 5: players want to be in a place where they're supported
Speaker 5: and they can play and be their best sells. Whether
Speaker 5: that means they're starting, they're on the bench, their wave, whatever,
Speaker 5: it means that they were given the opportunity and they
Speaker 5: were given the support that they needed to be at
Speaker 5: their best. And I think you really see that with Gotham,
Speaker 5: and so I really do credit what Yayelle has been
Speaker 5: able to do with this team and the fact that
Speaker 5: ownership put their trust and money.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I could not agree more. It is money, of course,
Speaker 1: it is investment, but listening to the right people who
Speaker 1: tell you where to put that money, how to spend it,
Speaker 1: and how to do the things that will matter to
Speaker 1: the athletes that make them want to stay, that make
Speaker 1: them want to play hard, that make them want to
Speaker 1: fight for Your team and your brand is massive, and
Speaker 1: it's been really cool to see that happen for the
Speaker 1: Gotham side and a lesson for a lot of other teams. Jenna,
Speaker 1: thanks so much for the time. We look forward to
Speaker 1: hearing more from you as the season wraps up and
Speaker 1: the playoffs start.
Speaker 5: Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 1: We got to pay the bills when we come back.
Speaker 1: Let's take a trip down memory lane and spin a
Speaker 1: tale about mister Purple Rain. Hey that run. That's next.
Speaker 1: Welcome back Slices. With Games three and four of the
Speaker 1: WNBA Finals in Minneapolis, it felt like a great time
Speaker 1: to add a legendary links story to the hallowed halls
Speaker 1: of the Good Game Hall of Fame. Yes, the Good
Speaker 1: Game Hall of Fame, where we celebrate women's sports lore,
Speaker 1: the kind of legendary stories that we should all know
Speaker 1: by heart. The way we can you know immediately picture
Speaker 1: Tom Brady Hammered throwing the Lombardi Trophy on a boat
Speaker 1: in the Buck Super Bowl Parade, or the way we
Speaker 1: can recite Kevin Durant' you the REALVP speech to his mom.
Speaker 1: We got some catching up to do in women's sports.
Speaker 1: So grab another plaque and find a good place on
Speaker 1: the wall because we've got another inductee. Go with me.
Speaker 1: Back to twenty eighteen. The Super Bowl was in Minneapolis
Speaker 1: and Link's legend and four time WNBA champ Lindsay Whalen,
Speaker 1: was showing me around town for an espnW feature. We
Speaker 1: went to some of her favorite coffee shops, bars, and hotels,
Speaker 1: and at one stop she told me an epic tale
Speaker 1: of the entire Links team celebrating their twenty fifteen championship
Speaker 1: win with none other than Minnesota Links superfan Prince. Here's
Speaker 1: that story I.
Speaker 4: Want to talk about. Twenty fifteen. You win the WNBA championship.
Speaker 4: Prince is a huge of the team, comes to your
Speaker 4: game and invites you all over to his house.
Speaker 1: It was unbelievable.
Speaker 6: We so we win the championship and it was in
Speaker 6: Game five against Indiana. You know, tough series, tough season.
Speaker 1: We win.
Speaker 6: So the confetti's coming down and we're in the locker
Speaker 6: room and we got the champagne going and our GM
Speaker 6: comes in and he screams out. And after this we're
Speaker 6: going to Paisley Park. You know, Prince is doing a
Speaker 6: concert for us, so he was on the keyboard right
Speaker 6: as I walked in. It's just like one of those
Speaker 6: kind of surreal things that I'll never forget. And then
Speaker 6: he played well into the night. I think he played
Speaker 6: till four or five in the morning. At the end
Speaker 6: of the night, he was riding his bike around in
Speaker 6: the parking lot. We get our logo on his big
Speaker 6: screen behind the stage. Congratuations links twenty fifteen champs.
Speaker 1: I'd like to think that when you.
Speaker 4: Guys won the title, he was sitting on the sidelines
Speaker 4: and he said loudly, game louses.
Speaker 5: I'd like to.
Speaker 6: Think that We'll never no I was I was waiting
Speaker 6: on the pancakes. Yeah, you know, I was waiting on pancakescakes.
Speaker 1: Rip p. That is a hell of a way to
Speaker 1: celebrate a win. Welcome to the Good Game Hall of Fame, Minnesota,
Speaker 1: Links and prints. We love that you're listening, but we
Speaker 1: want you to get in the game every day too.
Speaker 1: So here's our good game play of the day, followed
Speaker 1: the off Season's Twitter account. So you're ready to watch
Speaker 1: as soon as that six part docuseriies drops tomorrow it's
Speaker 1: airing on Twitter, which okay, but we're still going to watch.
Speaker 1: We'll link to the account in our show notes, and
Speaker 1: we'd always love to hear from you. Hit us up
Speaker 1: on email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com, or leave
Speaker 1: us a voicemail at eight seven to two two oh
Speaker 1: four fifty seventy, and don't forget to subscribe. Rate and
Speaker 1: review It's easy slices, watch Friends of the Show, and
Speaker 1: certified slices asking the questions we need answered. Rating five
Speaker 1: out of five Fresh Delicious Orange Slices. Review. Shout out
Speaker 1: to Erica Laiala of Black Rosie Media forgetting Benijelinie Hamilton
Speaker 1: to end our debate jump shot or medical shot? In
Speaker 1: case you missed it. On Monday show, Mish and I
Speaker 1: realized that we both interpreted Benije Lannie Hamilton's interview with
Speaker 1: Holly Row differently. Benija said that shot finally kicked in,
Speaker 1: and Mesh thought she meant medical shot, while I thought
Speaker 1: she meant her jump shot. Erica got to the bottom
Speaker 1: of it for us. Here she is asking Benija about
Speaker 1: it ahead of Game three.
Speaker 5: I was curious, did you mean your jump shot or
Speaker 5: were you referring to a different type of shot both.
Speaker 1: Thanks b You're a real one Erica certified slice. Now
Speaker 1: it's your turn slices, rate and review. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: See you tomorrow. Good Game, Jenna, Good Game prints, Hugh
Speaker 1: flu like symptoms. Y'all can't hear it, but me sounds
Speaker 1: like shit today. Good Game with Sarah Spain is an
Speaker 1: iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports
Speaker 1: and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by
Speaker 1: Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones.
Speaker 1: Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan,
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Speaker 1: and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain