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Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're staying

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Speaker 1: up till three am tonight to prep for an Olympic

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Speaker 1: sleep schedule one could only describe as absolute mont and

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Speaker 1: pluden aka deeply unwise. On today's show, we're going to

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Speaker 1: give you a quick rundown of everything you need to

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Speaker 1: know about soccer at the Olympics, and chat with US

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Speaker 1: women's national team and Gotham FC defender Tierna Davidson about

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Speaker 1: new coach Emma Hayes, Olympic jitters and more. But first,

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Speaker 1: here's what you need to know today. The twenty twenty

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Speaker 1: four Softball World Cup concluded on Sunday in Italy, with

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Speaker 1: Japan defeating Team USA in the gold medal game six

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Speaker 1: to one. The Softball World Cup is the sport's biggest

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Speaker 1: competition and is held every other year.

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Speaker 2: Since the event began in nineteen sixty five.

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Speaker 1: The US has won twelve titles, Japan four, and Australia

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Speaker 1: and New Zealand have each won one. The US Paralympic

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Speaker 1: Track and Field trials were this past weekend, and the

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Speaker 1: legendary Tatiana McFadden is headed to her seventh straight Paralympic Games.

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Speaker 1: Five year old wheelchair sprinter and marathon are already owns

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Speaker 1: twenty Paralympic medals, including eight golds and ten New York City.

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Speaker 2: Marathon medals, five of them gold.

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Speaker 1: She had a great showing at this weekend's trials, including

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Speaker 1: first place finishes in the fifteen hundred and the four

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Speaker 1: hundred meters, and she's headed to the twenty four Games.

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Speaker 1: Another cool story out of the trials Noel Lambert, former

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Speaker 1: Division one lacrosse player at University of Massachusetts Lowell, who

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Speaker 1: lost her leg in a moped accident, has qualified for

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Speaker 1: Paris in the long jump, an event she just picked

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Speaker 1: up this year. You might remember seeing Lambert on season

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Speaker 1: forty three of the Show's Survivor, and she's at the

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Speaker 1: US record in the T sixty three one hundred meters

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Speaker 1: at the Tokyo Paralympics. We're on day two of the

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Speaker 1: month long WNBA Olympic break, but some of the players

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Speaker 1: are hard at work all the same off the court.

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Speaker 1: Sunday's breaking news about Joe Biden dropping out of the

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Speaker 1: presidential race and endorsing VP Kamala Harris has players like

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Speaker 1: the Chicago Skuys, Brianna Turner and the Vegas aces Sidney

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Speaker 1: Coulson using their platforms to encourage folks to vote and

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Speaker 1: give vocal about key issues in the election. In typical

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Speaker 1: sid fashion, she made her point while still getting her

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Speaker 1: jokes off. She tweeted, but for real, make sure to

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Speaker 1: vote because we're on the precipice of losing every single

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Speaker 1: right we've ever had.

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Speaker 2: Won't even be able to look right no more.

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Speaker 1: Can't turn right on red, can't say right because it's

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Speaker 1: a home of phone. If your last name is right,

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Speaker 1: gonna have to change it to wrong. Brianna Turner kept

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Speaker 1: it a little more simple, tweeting out although w fans

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Speaker 1: will have to wait a few weeks to watch WNBA

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Speaker 1: games again, you could stay connected by heading to rockthvote

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Speaker 1: dot org slash team w to register to vote, check

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Speaker 1: registration status, pledge to vote, or request an absentee ballot.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna chat with the incredible Tierna Davidson, but let's

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Speaker 1: give ourselves a little Olympic soccer need to know first.

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Speaker 1: So this will be the US women's national team's first

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Speaker 1: major international tournament with Emma Hayes at the helm as

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Speaker 1: head coach. The US hasn't won Olympic gold since the

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Speaker 1: twenty twelve London Games, and they're coming off their worst

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Speaker 1: finish in World Cup history lifelast year when they lost

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Speaker 1: to Sweden in PKS in the round of sixteen. I

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Speaker 1: was there in Australia. I still contend that Elyssaayor stopped

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Speaker 1: that shot, but we can't live in the past. The

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Speaker 1: US has dropped to fifth in the latest FIFA rankings,

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Speaker 1: it's lowest points since FIFA began ranking women's teams in

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Speaker 1: two thousand and three, and the US is going to

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Speaker 1: have to find a new level in order to compete

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Speaker 1: with the other eleven teams going to France top rank

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Speaker 1: Spain are the favorites heading into the games, coming off

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Speaker 1: their twenty twenty three World Cup win, a win that

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Speaker 1: they got despite turmoil on and off the pitch. They

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Speaker 1: actually might even be stronger for these games because they're

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Speaker 1: getting back several players who were absent from the World

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Speaker 1: Cup roster after protesting their now disgraced manager, Jorge Vilda.

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Speaker 1: Good note, though, history is not on their side because

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Speaker 1: no team has ever won the World Cup and Olympic

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Speaker 1: gold in successive years. You've also got reigning champions Canada.

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Speaker 1: They want to defend their title, but they're going to

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Speaker 1: have to do it without the legendary Christine Sinclair, who

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Speaker 1: scored the most goals in international football history men or women,

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Speaker 1: with one hundred and ninety. She announced her retirement from

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Speaker 1: international play last year, but if you're a Sinclair fan,

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Speaker 1: you could still watch her tear it up with the

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Speaker 1: Portland Thorns. She scored the game winning goal in the

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Speaker 1: Thorns five nail victory over Tijuana on Sunday as part

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Speaker 1: of that NWSL lega MXL Feminial Summer Cup. We mentioned

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Speaker 1: on a previous show a couple other noteworthy items from

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Speaker 1: some other Olympic teams. So Australia are without star striker

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Speaker 1: Sam Kerr, who tore ACL in January, and keep an

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Speaker 1: eye on Brazil. Thirty eight year old Marda is playing

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Speaker 1: in her last major tournament. We'll give you all the

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Speaker 1: goods on the US team's first opponent, Zambia tomorrow. That

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Speaker 1: matches Thursday the twenty fifth at three pm Eastern Okay.

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Speaker 1: Before the interview with Tierna, since she's such a thoughtful

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Speaker 1: representative for the Lgbtqia community, I wanted to get her

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Speaker 1: thoughts on teammate Corbin Albert and for those of you

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Speaker 1: who are unfamiliar before the interview, let me just catch

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Speaker 1: you up on what's happened.

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Speaker 2: So far with the US midfielder.

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Speaker 1: So this spring, Corbin Albert faced criticism after she reposted, liked,

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Speaker 1: and shared home of and transphobic content on social media.

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Speaker 1: One of the posts that she reshared was from a

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Speaker 1: Christian worship sermon that said being gay and quote feeling

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Speaker 1: transgender is wrong. In another post, Corbyn and her family

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Speaker 1: recorded themselves saying that their pronouns were USA. She also

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Speaker 1: liked to post celebrating Megan Rapino's injury in the final

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Speaker 1: game of Rapino's NWSL career. The original post said quote

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Speaker 1: God taking time off performing miracles to make sure Megan

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Speaker 1: Repinos sprains her ankle in her final ever game. Obviously,

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Speaker 1: albert social media activity didn't please the fans, but current

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Speaker 1: and former players also spoke out, including Repino. Quote I

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Speaker 1: would just ask one question, Raupino said in an Instagram post.

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Speaker 1: Are you making any type of space safer, more inclusive,

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Speaker 1: more whole, any semblance of better bringing the best out

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Speaker 1: of anyone? She continued, Because if you aren't, all you

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Speaker 1: believe in is hate and kids are literally killing themselves because.

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Speaker 2: Of this hate.

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Speaker 1: Albert issued in a poll on Instagram, saying, in part quote,

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Speaker 1: liking and sharing posts that are offensive, insensitive, and hurtful

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Speaker 1: was immature and.

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Speaker 2: Disrespectful, which was never my intent.

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Speaker 1: US Soccer also said the team was handling the situation internally. Okay.

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Speaker 1: That was all back in March and April, and it

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Speaker 1: was unclear whether Albert, who was already on the bubble

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Speaker 1: for the Olympics, would be included on the roster for Paris,

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Speaker 1: but new US coach Emma Hayes unveiled her eighteen player

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Speaker 1: roster last month and Albert was on the list. Her

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Speaker 1: inclusion reignited calls from both fans and former players asking

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Speaker 1: whether the twenty year old had actually done enough work

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Speaker 1: to grow and change, and in the FRED lies leading

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Speaker 1: up to the Games, Albert consistently received a fair amount

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Speaker 1: of booze from the US crowds when she entered games. Okay,

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Speaker 1: so now you're all cut up on Albert and all

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Speaker 1: caught up on US Soccer as they had inca Olympic games.

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Speaker 1: Now that you're full of knowledge, let's get even smarter

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Speaker 1: by talking to our favorite Stanford gal.

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Speaker 2: Sorry, Julie Fouder. You could take back that honor when

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Speaker 2: you come on the show. Tierna Davidson after the.

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Speaker 1: Break, joining us now on Good Game. World Cup champion

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Speaker 1: and Olympic medalist center back for the US women's national

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Speaker 1: soccer team and Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League.

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Speaker 1: After playing three years at Stanford, she was drafted first

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Speaker 1: overall by the Chicago Red Stars. I'm un highest in

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Speaker 1: the twenty nineteen draft and played for Chicago until signing

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Speaker 1: with New York New Jersey this past offseason. And we're

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Speaker 1: all very happy for her and not sad at all

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Speaker 1: that she left us. She wanted to be an astronaut,

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Speaker 1: but she settled for being out of this world at soccer.

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Speaker 1: It's Tiaranna Davidson. Hi, Tyrna, I'm so happy to see you. Hi.

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Speaker 3: Thanks for having me.

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Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, I just I'm getting so excited for

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Speaker 1: the Olympics. I can't wait for my entire life to

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Speaker 1: be blown up watching every single event, but most importantly

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Speaker 1: the soccer. And I'm so glad you're back on the roster.

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Speaker 1: You were in camp for last year's World Cup and

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Speaker 1: you were still recovering from an acl tear, so you

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Speaker 1: didn't end up making the final roster. You're back, you

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Speaker 1: look great, You're headed to Paris. Want I know how

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Speaker 1: you're feeling health wise? Do you feel like fully recovered

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Speaker 1: now and back to pre injury shape and form?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely. I mean I think so much of what

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Speaker 3: it means to be back after an injury is less

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Speaker 3: so about you know, physically, can you do the things

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Speaker 3: that are required of you? But even more so kind

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Speaker 3: of like mentally, are you up to speed? Do you

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Speaker 3: feel good about your gain? Do you feel like you're

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Speaker 3: thinking fast enough and anticipating things so, Like a lot

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Speaker 3: of people say, it takes the amount of time that

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Speaker 3: took you to get physically back onto the field, it'll

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Speaker 3: take you that amount of time to feel quote unquote

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Speaker 3: like back to your normal gain. And I definitely feel

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Speaker 3: like I experienced a bit of that, which required a

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Speaker 3: lot of patience and a lot of grace. It's not

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Speaker 3: easy to give yourself as an elite athlete, but nonetheless

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Speaker 3: was required.

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Speaker 1: Did you have to take a big hit or go

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Speaker 1: in for a tackle. Did you have to have that

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Speaker 1: physical moment of trusting your need and your body in

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Speaker 1: order to be like Okay, I can be confident and

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Speaker 1: aggressive again.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, it was. It was funny.

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Speaker 3: It was actually one of my first full contact trainings

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Speaker 3: when I was training with Wolfsburg in the off season

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Speaker 3: and I just had to go into a big tackle

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Speaker 3: because the ball was just in between me and another player,

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Speaker 3: and it happened, and I didn't really think about it

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Speaker 3: until after, and I was like, Okay, well, I guess

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Speaker 3: I can do that.

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Speaker 1: Then we're good to go. There we go, like if

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Speaker 1: it works. I forgot about Wolfsburg. Did you pick up

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Speaker 1: any German?

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Speaker 3: I tried my best. I must say not a huge

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Speaker 3: fan of dual linka. I feel like I learned how to,

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Speaker 3: you know, order a coffee and a Sally.

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Speaker 1: That's it. I tried that before Italy and I was like,

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Speaker 1: I'd rather like start with some basics like him and

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Speaker 1: her and she and he and me and they, and

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Speaker 1: like how to talk to someone, not just get a America.

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Speaker 3: Teacher, the grammar or like the structure of the language.

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Speaker 3: At time, I kind of felt like I was memorizing stuff.

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Speaker 3: But I definitely got to learn some soccer stuff, some numbers,

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Speaker 3: some colors, you know, very important for trainings.

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Speaker 1: Yes, there you go. So you've got a new head coach,

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Speaker 1: Emma Hayes came in very heralded. I'm wondering what the

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Speaker 1: biggest style differences between Black co and Danovsky, who was

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Speaker 1: coaching the US national team before Emma, and now that

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Speaker 1: Emma's in, what do you feel is the biggest difference

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Speaker 1: or just in practice.

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Speaker 3: I would say that she is really trying to instill

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Speaker 3: in us a lot of tactical flexibility. I mean, I

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Speaker 3: think that over the past few camps that we've had

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Speaker 3: with her, but also extending into when Twila was our

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Speaker 3: intim coach and Emma was kind of starting to implement

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Speaker 3: from behind the scenes, you saw a lot of different

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Speaker 3: shapes that we were playing a lot of people in

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Speaker 3: different positions, whether it's on the field or like actually

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Speaker 3: tactically just kind of shifting a little bit differently. I

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Speaker 3: think that's really helpful, especially with the game and how

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Speaker 3: it's evolving. You know, you have to be able to

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Speaker 3: be flexible. You're going to see a lot of different

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Speaker 3: pictures and you need to be able to counteract that

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Speaker 3: with different tactical choices on the field. So I really

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Speaker 3: feel like we're playing a chess match and it's fun

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Speaker 3: and it's exciting, and I think a lot of us

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Speaker 3: are learning a lot which is definitely challenging but also

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Speaker 3: a welcome challenge.

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Speaker 1: Is it fair to say that for a while, the

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Speaker 1: US were able to rely on athleticism and the depth

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Speaker 1: of their pool of athletes when playing other countries, and

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Speaker 1: now they are You are needing to get more tactical

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Speaker 1: and get more chess like in your approach in order

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Speaker 1: to face off against some of these other countries that

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Speaker 1: are really taking massive steps for the women's game.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: I mean, I think a lot of what you're seeing

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Speaker 3: is other countries, as you say, taking massive steps and

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Speaker 3: investing in their women's soccer team and really gaining a

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Speaker 3: better understanding of what we'll get them to the top.

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Speaker 3: And you see just a lot more preparation and organization

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Speaker 3: from teams. Even if it's not like the top top

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Speaker 3: tier teams, the teams will still come very prepared and

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Speaker 3: very organized. So we'll present a challenging problem. Even if

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Speaker 3: it's not like a back and forth game, it still

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Speaker 3: won't be an easy game. And I think that's where

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Speaker 3: the tactical flexibility comes in, and it's not just about

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Speaker 3: you know, being able to get in behind the team

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Speaker 3: and score goals. But it's also like, really, how do

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Speaker 3: you break down an organized team that's patient and compact,

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Speaker 3: And so I think that you just see a lot

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Speaker 3: more different pictures and so, yeah, we definitely do have

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Speaker 3: to have more tools in our box.

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Speaker 1: We certainly heard that from Emma after your final friendly

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Speaker 1: against Costa Rica. She was talking about the Christmas Tree

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Speaker 1: format that made it really tough to score and how

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Speaker 1: the team needs to figure out how to be more tactical.

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Speaker 1: Lots of touches in the box, but no no points,

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Speaker 1: no scores. So for the average fan watching the Olympics,

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Speaker 1: do you think they'll notice major tactical changes. Will they

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Speaker 1: be able to see different shapes or players in different

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Speaker 1: positions than they expected, or do you think it's a

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Speaker 1: lot more internal, like the fans will just be watching

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Speaker 1: and be like, oh, it's still still my favorite players.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: I mean, I think it probably depends on the level

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Speaker 3: of the fan. If they're maybe a casual fan, they

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Speaker 3: might not notice the difference, but if they're like really

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Speaker 3: tuned in, super tactical fan, like, yeah, you might notice

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Speaker 3: some differences. Certainly you might notice players in different positions,

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Speaker 3: But also how we're moving the ball as spaces that

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Speaker 3: we want to get into or how we get there,

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Speaker 3: you might definitely notice, but you know, it's obviously important

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Speaker 3: for us, the small details.

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Speaker 1: It's it's important.

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Speaker 3: That we know those those changes and that we know

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Speaker 3: how to access those keys for us. And whether that

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Speaker 3: shows to the fans, I'm not sure, but certainly hopefully

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Speaker 3: it shows in wins and goals, which fans love to see,

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Speaker 3: so we're hoping for that result.

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Speaker 1: I'm still learning because I never played organized soccer beyond

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Speaker 1: junior high. So when I got in on the Red

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Speaker 1: Stars ownership, I asked around for like books to read,

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Speaker 1: and everyone sent me the most complicated books like about

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Speaker 1: which countries invented soccer and the most complicated information that

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Speaker 1: I was like, no, no, no, I need like soccer for dummies.

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Speaker 1: So maybe in the off season we'll get Tierna our

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Speaker 1: Stanford Smarty to sit us down and give us some

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Speaker 1: like video presentations about different shapes and all the other things.

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Speaker 1: I'm still learning. It's so hard when you're never like

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Speaker 1: on the pitch doing it to see sports the same

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Speaker 1: way as the ones that I that I did play.

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Speaker 1: So maybe I'll just be watching like like one of

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Speaker 1: those fans' that's just I'm watching soccer. I like soccer.

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Speaker 1: You were one of the youngest players on the US

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Speaker 1: women's national team for a major international tournament, your first

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Speaker 1: you were the youngest. How are you helping this young team,

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Speaker 1: particularly the first timers. I just get ready and prepare.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think that it's taking what I

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Speaker 3: felt was really helpful from veterans when I was one

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Speaker 3: of the younger players and trying to implement that. I

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Speaker 3: think what's so important going into a major tournament to

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Speaker 3: get from the veterans is just really putting on the table.

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Speaker 3: This is going to be hard, this is going to

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Speaker 3: be wild. It's going to be a battle both with

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Speaker 3: yourself and with everything that comes with a tournament, and

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Speaker 3: you're just going to have to kind of grind it out.

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Speaker 3: And I feel like when a veteran told me that

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Speaker 3: and kind of instilled that in me, you just realize, Okay,

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Speaker 3: I gotta batten down the hatches and I just have to,

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Speaker 3: you know, be able to perform well weathering the storm.

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Speaker 3: And I think especially with the Olympics, because of how

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Speaker 3: fast it moves, the time between me, the compression of

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Speaker 3: the schedule, It really is just like getting punched in

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Speaker 3: the face and getting back up again and performing, you know,

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Speaker 3: every two three days, and so really just impressing upon

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Speaker 3: the younger players, like it will be difficult, but that's

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Speaker 3: why we're all here. We're all here to help and

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Speaker 3: support each other, not just the players but also the staff,

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Speaker 3: you know, So use those resources and reach out to

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Speaker 3: people if you need it, but really like take care

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Speaker 3: of yourself and then if you can take care of

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Speaker 3: the person next to you.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that. Also, maybe trying it to have

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Speaker 1: like eleven teen croissants before every game, just because you're

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Speaker 1: in France. It's tough that la deray. I just was

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Speaker 1: in France and I think you guys flying to Nice right,

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Speaker 1: there's a lot deray, like right in the airport. Be careful,

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Speaker 1: you'll have like eleven d macarons and just be dragging ass.

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Speaker 1: So it's tough in France. Stuff you mentioned actually the

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Speaker 1: difference between the World Club and the Olympics. You've played

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Speaker 1: in both. Talk a little bit about the approach and

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Speaker 1: the different strategy because there's such short recovery between games

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Speaker 1: and there's as much smaller roster, so it feels like

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Speaker 1: especially in Emma Hay's selection about flexibility, players who can

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Speaker 1: play in multiple positions, being able to depend on someone

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Speaker 1: coming in if there's an injury or someone's tired, Like,

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Speaker 1: how does that affect your strategy as a team.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, I mean, yeah, it's certainly no secret that

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Speaker 3: the Olympics are a different beasts just because of how

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Speaker 3: fast things move and how small the roster is. So

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Speaker 3: I think, certainly it is important to be able to

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Speaker 3: have players that can play multiple positions, that understand the

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Speaker 3: roles in different positions, players that are ready to be

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Speaker 3: called upon at a moment's notice, even if you know

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Speaker 3: that wasn't the plan. But certainly being able to have

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Speaker 3: rotation in the roster and trying to keep players as

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Speaker 3: healthy and as fresh as possible with our recovery modalities

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Speaker 3: and what we do in the two days between games,

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Speaker 3: that's so important. So it's trying to tow the line between,

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Speaker 3: you know, pushing it as much as possible in the

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Speaker 3: game and then also trying to.

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Speaker 1: Recover your body as quick as possible after that.

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Speaker 3: And I think we have a lot of great people

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Speaker 3: in our performance department and our medical department to help

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Speaker 3: players kind of get back to neutral as quick as possible.

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Speaker 1: We know Crystal Dunn is listed as a forward, but

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Speaker 1: she can play anywhere, and thankfully they also have a

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Speaker 1: big time score in Tierna Davidson. I mean, we saw

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Speaker 1: you with the brace a couple of months ago or

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Speaker 1: weeks ago. The secret sauce on the corners might just

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Speaker 1: be your head, so we'll be looking out for you

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Speaker 1: as a top Olympic scoer. So exciting. I want to

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Speaker 1: ask about nerves before a big game. Do you have

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Speaker 1: a routine? Is it a specific song you have to

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Speaker 1: listen to, or meditation or talking to people or not

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Speaker 1: talking to people. What's your trick.

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Speaker 3: Usually in the day before going to the stadium? I

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Speaker 3: try in journal takes my mind off of it a

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Speaker 3: little bit and also, at the same time kind of

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Speaker 3: focuses my mind. I feel like it kind of does both,

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Speaker 3: which is important. You don't want to be thinking too

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Speaker 3: much about it, but you also don't want to not

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Speaker 3: think about it. But then I think, once I get

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Speaker 3: into the locker room, I try not to have too

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Speaker 3: many superstitions because then if you don't get one done,

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Speaker 3: then you're like, oh my god, I'm not gonna play well,

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Speaker 3: or like something's gonna happen.

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Speaker 1: So you're just so spicious not superstitious.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, but I like to, you know, be present and

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00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,719
Speaker 3: available in the locker room. We always have someone on

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Speaker 3: DJ playing music so I can listen to that. I

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Speaker 3: don't need to listen to my own music, but you know,

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00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:33,760
Speaker 3: just getting my ankles and feet mobed by the meds

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00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:37,560
Speaker 3: and then getting you know, all my activation exercises in.

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00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:41,959
Speaker 3: You know, those are my typical game day routines. But

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Speaker 3: I don't really have anything that's like super weird or

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Speaker 3: at this out of the box.

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Speaker 1: Okay, I have several follow ups. Number one, who's the

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Speaker 1: current DJ? Because I feel like, based on all my

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Speaker 1: times hanging with Pino, she would definitely be the one

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Speaker 1: who used to dominate who got to play what? But

390
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Speaker 1: she's out of there, So who's taken over? Now? Well

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Speaker 1: it is Crystal.

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Speaker 3: There have been multiple instances where she's like, I'm not

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Speaker 3: the DJ, and all of us are like, yes you are,

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Speaker 3: but it certainly is Crystal that's always hooking up her OX.

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Speaker 1: Okay, all right, we like it. Do you agree with

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00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,880
Speaker 1: her choices or you like Crystal? Again? DJ? Crystal, come

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00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:18,119
Speaker 1: on man, no, yes.

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Speaker 3: I love with choices and also too, like I'm very

399
00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:22,760
Speaker 3: aware that it is not easy to please everybody in

400
00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:24,960
Speaker 3: the locker room when you have twenty two people in there,

401
00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:28,280
Speaker 3: someone's like a song or like not gonna like you know,

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00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:29,879
Speaker 3: whatever sequence that you put on.

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Speaker 4: So I'm very good.

404
00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:37,240
Speaker 3: Yeah, now I understand how difficult of a role that is,

405
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Speaker 3: and that's why people actually don't usually.

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Speaker 1: Stick up right. Okay, other follow up, is there a

407
00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:45,199
Speaker 1: fancy journal? Do we have like a special pen like

408
00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,880
Speaker 1: when you're writing things down? It Is that also part

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00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:48,719
Speaker 1: of the routine.

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00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:51,879
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a journal like Harry around in my backpack.

411
00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:56,640
Speaker 3: They have like there's a prompt on each page and

412
00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:00,520
Speaker 3: then you can write. So it's not necessarily writing about

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00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:03,240
Speaker 3: what's happening in my day or like about the game.

414
00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:07,800
Speaker 3: It's following that prompt and writing whatever I think about it.

415
00:21:09,119 --> 00:21:11,160
Speaker 3: I do have a pen that I prefer, but it's

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Speaker 3: not like if I lose it that I would lose

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Speaker 3: my mind. But I do prefer the very skinny, the

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00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:19,840
Speaker 3: g two pens, like the thirty eight millimeter ones.

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Speaker 1: I love those. Oh my gosh, we're down to millimeter size.

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00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:27,280
Speaker 3: We know are pens find that the ink is but

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00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:29,439
Speaker 3: it's It's not the end of the world if I

422
00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:30,200
Speaker 3: don't get to use it.

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Speaker 1: Okay, it sounds like it might be. I'm a paper

424
00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:36,440
Speaker 1: mate felt tip like almost like marcery type pen.

425
00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:38,840
Speaker 3: Yeah, but is that Does that leak through the pages?

426
00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:41,879
Speaker 1: No, it's usually light enough, but it depends does depend

427
00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:44,280
Speaker 1: on the pages? Okay, this is this is important stuff

428
00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:46,959
Speaker 1: that we're getting to. Okay, I do actually have an

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Speaker 1: important question I want to ask you. Because this is

430
00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:52,080
Speaker 1: such a beloved team and it's a new iteration. There

431
00:21:52,119 --> 00:21:57,000
Speaker 1: are some favorite players that aren't there, but one of

432
00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:59,600
Speaker 1: the one of the newer players, has been getting different

433
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Speaker 1: reactions from the fans than the majority of the team,

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Speaker 1: and that's Corbyn. Albert. This is a real sticky, tough situation.

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00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,440
Speaker 1: I'm just wondering how you personally are dealing with both

436
00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:09,720
Speaker 1: the public reaction to Corbyn and sort of the internal

437
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:10,560
Speaker 1: response about her.

438
00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:15,320
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think it's a difficult situation that

439
00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:20,720
Speaker 3: has obviously affected me personally given what she was speaking on.

440
00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:26,439
Speaker 3: I think that it is something that you have to

441
00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:31,800
Speaker 3: learn as a young player, especially with the platform that

442
00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:32,359
Speaker 3: you're given.

443
00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:34,080
Speaker 4: Is your.

444
00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:41,359
Speaker 3: Beliefs or you know, how you choose to express certain

445
00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:47,240
Speaker 3: things is very public and people do look and listen,

446
00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,760
Speaker 3: and you know, whether or not it's something that you

447
00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:57,560
Speaker 3: grew up with or it was instilled upon you from

448
00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:00,280
Speaker 3: a young age and you might not know better, it

449
00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:03,359
Speaker 3: is something that can hurt other people, you know.

450
00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:04,240
Speaker 1: I think that she.

451
00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:09,879
Speaker 3: Has gone through a lot of learning since then, and

452
00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:13,920
Speaker 3: she has to continue to do that as we all

453
00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:18,120
Speaker 3: do as humans. We have to learn from from what

454
00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:20,280
Speaker 3: we do in our lives and how people react to

455
00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:23,000
Speaker 3: it and understand the hurt that we can cause.

456
00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:24,680
Speaker 1: You know, I think that.

457
00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:29,280
Speaker 3: It's difficult because.

458
00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:33,840
Speaker 1: As a team, we have always.

459
00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:37,120
Speaker 3: Wanted to be very welcoming to all of our fans,

460
00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:40,800
Speaker 3: to all players that walk through the locker room, and

461
00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:45,320
Speaker 3: so to have that in our space is very difficult.

462
00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:46,720
Speaker 4: But you know, I think I.

463
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,440
Speaker 3: Have always believed in the ability for people to learn

464
00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:53,359
Speaker 3: and for people to change and to evolve, and that

465
00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:57,159
Speaker 3: sometimes requires a very difficult experience, which I think this

466
00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:02,080
Speaker 3: is that moment for her. And so, you know, it's

467
00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:05,760
Speaker 3: something that happens a lot in people's lives where they

468
00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:08,400
Speaker 3: you kind of come between a rock and a hard

469
00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:09,720
Speaker 3: place and you're like, Okay, what am I going to do?

470
00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:11,240
Speaker 3: Am I going to I'm going to pick the left

471
00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:13,920
Speaker 3: path or the right path, and you know, it's it's

472
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:15,760
Speaker 3: up to her. But you know, I think that she's

473
00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,119
Speaker 3: continuing to do that education and it's important that she

474
00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:24,439
Speaker 3: expresses that as she learns. So I think, you know,

475
00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:29,240
Speaker 3: the balls kind of in her court for that. But yeah,

476
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:31,000
Speaker 3: I mean it's been difficult. It was difficult for me

477
00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:32,360
Speaker 3: when when it first.

478
00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:34,080
Speaker 1: Happened, and it's it's.

479
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:38,359
Speaker 3: Been hard to hear how fans have been taking it

480
00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:42,159
Speaker 3: because I feel like I want to be able to

481
00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:45,800
Speaker 3: represent the queer community really well on this team, and

482
00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:51,240
Speaker 3: so I want to have fans feel really welcome and

483
00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,520
Speaker 3: feel like they can see themselves on this field in

484
00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:57,480
Speaker 3: this team, and so I don't want there to be

485
00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:02,679
Speaker 3: any sort of feeling that, you know, they they are

486
00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:06,959
Speaker 3: not welcome here. So you know, I I, again, I

487
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,760
Speaker 3: believe in people being able to evolve.

488
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:14,800
Speaker 1: And being able to learn. And I'm not someone that's going.

489
00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:18,960
Speaker 3: To meet any sort of hate with with hate. So

490
00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,240
Speaker 3: you know, she she is one of my teammates and

491
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:27,320
Speaker 3: I respect that and I you know, respect her as

492
00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,960
Speaker 3: a as a player. But you know, it's it is

493
00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:32,000
Speaker 3: something that you have to go through with life is

494
00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,439
Speaker 3: like you. You encounter and work with people that you

495
00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:38,040
Speaker 3: don't always agree with. But yeah, that's you know, something

496
00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:41,160
Speaker 3: that you want to try and help people to change.

497
00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:45,679
Speaker 3: You want to try and help them love, and you

498
00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:46,679
Speaker 3: know that's what we're trying to do.

499
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:49,960
Speaker 1: Thank you for that. That was an impeccable answer, very thoughtful,

500
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,640
Speaker 1: exactly what I would expect from you, So thank you.

501
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,920
Speaker 1: Last question for you you're headed to Paris. We're so excited.

502
00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:02,600
Speaker 1: What's the most impressive French word? You know that's not

503
00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:03,520
Speaker 1: a French.

504
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,680
Speaker 3: Oh my god, I don't want to venture to say

505
00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:10,600
Speaker 3: a French word because I know that the French are

506
00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:14,879
Speaker 3: very particular about how you pronounced their likely and I

507
00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:18,000
Speaker 3: grew up speaking no French. I only have to learned Spanish.

508
00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:20,639
Speaker 3: So I'm gonna leave it with a little.

509
00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:26,880
Speaker 1: Nailed it perfect. Have the best time, play free. Thank

510
00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:28,399
Speaker 1: you so much for joining us. We love you.

511
00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:30,840
Speaker 3: Thank you, Sarah.

512
00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:34,119
Speaker 1: When we come back, when intentions don't match outcomes, what

513
00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:42,520
Speaker 1: the Fact style? Hi, we're back and we've got a

514
00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:45,120
Speaker 1: new segment for you where we give you some facts

515
00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:47,720
Speaker 1: that make you want to say what the fact?

516
00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:50,680
Speaker 2: Olympic Softball Edition.

517
00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:53,680
Speaker 1: Okay, earlier we discussed the results of the Softball World Cup,

518
00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,280
Speaker 1: a competition that, as of now is the sport's most

519
00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:59,199
Speaker 1: important tournament. But that hasn't always been the case, and

520
00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:01,520
Speaker 1: to understand why, we have to go back in time

521
00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:04,760
Speaker 1: a little bit. Softball made its Olympic debut in nineteen

522
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:07,919
Speaker 1: ninety six. Now, if you weren't alive yet looking at

523
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:13,280
Speaker 1: u Misha, those Olympics marked a bunch of historic first

524
00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:16,080
Speaker 1: for women. The US women's softball team won the inaugural

525
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:19,160
Speaker 1: gold medal at those Atlanta Olympics, and then won again

526
00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:21,720
Speaker 1: in two thousand and then one again in two thousand

527
00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:24,360
Speaker 1: and four. But in two thousand and five, at an

528
00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:28,080
Speaker 1: IOC meeting, softball and baseball were both narrowly voted off

529
00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:31,520
Speaker 1: the Olympic program following the two thousand and eight Olympics. Now,

530
00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:34,520
Speaker 1: the IOC cited the fact that the sports weren't global enough,

531
00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:36,600
Speaker 1: and at least in the case of baseball, that the

532
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:39,080
Speaker 1: best players in the world didn't even compete at the games.

533
00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:42,040
Speaker 1: Here's where it gets a little complicated, so stick with us.

534
00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:45,040
Speaker 1: Back in nineteen ninety one, before softball even made its

535
00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:48,960
Speaker 1: Olympic debut, the IOC made it mandatory that any new

536
00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:52,240
Speaker 1: sport applying for inclusion into the Games needed to include

537
00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:55,679
Speaker 1: both a men's and women's event. This meant sports already

538
00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:57,840
Speaker 1: in the Games did not need to fall in line.

539
00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:00,639
Speaker 1: That's why you see rhythmic gymnastics only open to women

540
00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:04,280
Speaker 1: and Nordic combined still only open to men. But it

541
00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:06,680
Speaker 1: did apply to all sports not already on the program.

542
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:08,800
Speaker 2: This rule had really good intentions.

543
00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:11,000
Speaker 1: We can all get behind the idea to include more

544
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,320
Speaker 1: women at the Olympics, but it also has impacted softball's

545
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:18,800
Speaker 1: Olympic chances, So we say what the fact, it meant

546
00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:21,800
Speaker 1: that female softball players had to team up with men's

547
00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:23,800
Speaker 1: baseball players in order to have a chance of making

548
00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:26,440
Speaker 1: it back to the Olympics, and the sports federations did

549
00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,560
Speaker 1: just that. They officially merged in twenty thirteen. So softball

550
00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:32,080
Speaker 1: and baseball succeeded in returning to the Olympics in twenty

551
00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:34,960
Speaker 1: twenty one, thanks to another new rule from the IOC

552
00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:37,600
Speaker 1: that allowed host cities to propose sports that are popular

553
00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:38,400
Speaker 1: in their country.

554
00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:39,760
Speaker 2: But here's the thing.

555
00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:42,800
Speaker 1: Men's baseball players don't really care about the Olympics. They

556
00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,200
Speaker 1: have Major League Baseball. So when baseball returned to the

557
00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:48,320
Speaker 1: Olympics in twenty twenty one. MLB players weren't even there,

558
00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:51,680
Speaker 1: but the world's best softball players, hell yeah, they were there.

559
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:56,200
Speaker 1: Some players delayed major life decisions, others unretired. They did

560
00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:59,160
Speaker 1: anything to compete in Tokyo. But Tokyo is a one

561
00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:02,560
Speaker 1: time thing, and the French don't particularly care for softball

562
00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:05,640
Speaker 1: or baseball, so neither sport will be awarded medals this

563
00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:08,120
Speaker 1: summer in Paris. But when the Olympics returned to the

564
00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,960
Speaker 1: US in twenty twenty eight, boom, softball and baseball will return.

565
00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,280
Speaker 1: So you could see how that Olympic inclusion, then exclusion,

566
00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:18,160
Speaker 1: then inclusion again might be tough for softball players in

567
00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:20,959
Speaker 1: a way that's far less meaningful for their baseball peers.

568
00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:24,120
Speaker 1: There are a few options in twenty twenty four, including

569
00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:27,880
Speaker 1: athletes unlimited softball to play professionally, but for most players

570
00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:30,240
Speaker 1: the opportunities kind of dry up after graduation.

571
00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:31,480
Speaker 2: And it makes us.

572
00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:34,200
Speaker 1: Wonder what would softball look like if the sport had

573
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:36,640
Speaker 1: been in the Olympics all these years, either with or

574
00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:40,280
Speaker 1: without baseball. Just think about where softball is compared to say,

575
00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:43,960
Speaker 1: women's soccer, which, if you can believe this also made

576
00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:46,040
Speaker 1: its Olympic debut in nineteen ninety six.

577
00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:48,240
Speaker 2: We love that you're.

578
00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:49,840
Speaker 1: Listening, but we want you to get in the game

579
00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:52,080
Speaker 1: every day too. So here's our good game play of

580
00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:55,400
Speaker 1: the day. Check out that link Briana Turner shared rockthvote

581
00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:58,400
Speaker 1: dot Org, slash teamw You can register to vote, check

582
00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:02,240
Speaker 1: your registration status, quest an absentee ballot, find a polling place,

583
00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:05,040
Speaker 1: and more. Also, we want you to let us know

584
00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:07,800
Speaker 1: who you're following to keep up with all things Olympics.

585
00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:12,240
Speaker 1: An athlete, an influencer or creator, a celebrity reporter. Who

586
00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:14,959
Speaker 1: are you following for the best behind the scenes in Paris.

587
00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:17,600
Speaker 1: We're just one day away from the first events being

588
00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:19,760
Speaker 1: competed and I'm pumped.

589
00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:23,360
Speaker 2: Baby, Let the games begin. Give me all the content.

590
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:26,720
Speaker 1: Also, don't forget to subscribe and follow good Game with

591
00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:29,160
Speaker 1: Sarah Spain. Click that button wherever you're listening. That way,

592
00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:31,000
Speaker 1: you won't miss a show. And we'd love it if

593
00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:33,520
Speaker 1: you'd help us out by rating and reviewing too. Rating

594
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Speaker 1: and reviewing is super super easy. Watch Icy Pops rating

595
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Speaker 1: two out of five stars, review and it does the

596
00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:43,120
Speaker 1: trick on a hot day if you're out of other options.

597
00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:44,440
Speaker 2: But it's really just flavored water.

598
00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,040
Speaker 1: Can't hold a candle to other delicious treats, so it's

599
00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:49,400
Speaker 1: a push up pop or a fat frog for me

600
00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:52,120
Speaker 1: every time. We'd love to hear from you, so hit

601
00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:55,000
Speaker 1: us up on our email Good Game at wondermedianetwork dot com,

602
00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:57,960
Speaker 1: or on social at Sarah Spain on Twitter. You can

603
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Speaker 1: even leave us a voicemail message to two oh four

604
00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:06,320
Speaker 1: fifty seventy. Thanks as always for listening. Good Game, Tatiana McFadden,

605
00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:09,880
Speaker 1: Good Game, Team Japan Softball A few time changes. I

606
00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:11,040
Speaker 1: don't know how I'm gonna do it, y'all.

607
00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:11,959
Speaker 2: I'm not going to sleep at all.

608
00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:13,040
Speaker 1: I don't even know what I'm gonna just go to

609
00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:15,120
Speaker 1: watch the Olympics every single day twenty four to seven,

610
00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:20,120
Speaker 1: three sixty five, never sleeping again. Good Game with Sarah

611
00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:23,160
Speaker 1: Spain is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with

612
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Speaker 1: Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on

613
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614
00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:33,240
Speaker 1: Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzi

615
00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:37,360
Speaker 1: and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,

616
00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:41,040
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617
00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:43,600
Speaker 1: Emily Rudder, Breddy Martinez, and Grace Lynch.

618
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619
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