Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're staying
Speaker 1: up till three am tonight to prep for an Olympic
Speaker 1: sleep schedule one could only describe as absolute mont and
Speaker 1: pluden aka deeply unwise. On today's show, we're going to
Speaker 1: give you a quick rundown of everything you need to
Speaker 1: know about soccer at the Olympics, and chat with US
Speaker 1: women's national team and Gotham FC defender Tierna Davidson about
Speaker 1: new coach Emma Hayes, Olympic jitters and more. But first,
Speaker 1: here's what you need to know today. The twenty twenty
Speaker 1: four Softball World Cup concluded on Sunday in Italy, with
Speaker 1: Japan defeating Team USA in the gold medal game six
Speaker 1: to one. The Softball World Cup is the sport's biggest
Speaker 1: competition and is held every other year.
Speaker 2: Since the event began in nineteen sixty five.
Speaker 1: The US has won twelve titles, Japan four, and Australia
Speaker 1: and New Zealand have each won one. The US Paralympic
Speaker 1: Track and Field trials were this past weekend, and the
Speaker 1: legendary Tatiana McFadden is headed to her seventh straight Paralympic Games.
Speaker 1: Five year old wheelchair sprinter and marathon are already owns
Speaker 1: twenty Paralympic medals, including eight golds and ten New York City.
Speaker 2: Marathon medals, five of them gold.
Speaker 1: She had a great showing at this weekend's trials, including
Speaker 1: first place finishes in the fifteen hundred and the four
Speaker 1: hundred meters, and she's headed to the twenty four Games.
Speaker 1: Another cool story out of the trials Noel Lambert, former
Speaker 1: Division one lacrosse player at University of Massachusetts Lowell, who
Speaker 1: lost her leg in a moped accident, has qualified for
Speaker 1: Paris in the long jump, an event she just picked
Speaker 1: up this year. You might remember seeing Lambert on season
Speaker 1: forty three of the Show's Survivor, and she's at the
Speaker 1: US record in the T sixty three one hundred meters
Speaker 1: at the Tokyo Paralympics. We're on day two of the
Speaker 1: month long WNBA Olympic break, but some of the players
Speaker 1: are hard at work all the same off the court.
Speaker 1: Sunday's breaking news about Joe Biden dropping out of the
Speaker 1: presidential race and endorsing VP Kamala Harris has players like
Speaker 1: the Chicago Skuys, Brianna Turner and the Vegas aces Sidney
Speaker 1: Coulson using their platforms to encourage folks to vote and
Speaker 1: give vocal about key issues in the election. In typical
Speaker 1: sid fashion, she made her point while still getting her
Speaker 1: jokes off. She tweeted, but for real, make sure to
Speaker 1: vote because we're on the precipice of losing every single
Speaker 1: right we've ever had.
Speaker 2: Won't even be able to look right no more.
Speaker 1: Can't turn right on red, can't say right because it's
Speaker 1: a home of phone. If your last name is right,
Speaker 1: gonna have to change it to wrong. Brianna Turner kept
Speaker 1: it a little more simple, tweeting out although w fans
Speaker 1: will have to wait a few weeks to watch WNBA
Speaker 1: games again, you could stay connected by heading to rockthvote
Speaker 1: dot org slash team w to register to vote, check
Speaker 1: registration status, pledge to vote, or request an absentee ballot.
Speaker 1: We're gonna chat with the incredible Tierna Davidson, but let's
Speaker 1: give ourselves a little Olympic soccer need to know first.
Speaker 1: So this will be the US women's national team's first
Speaker 1: major international tournament with Emma Hayes at the helm as
Speaker 1: head coach. The US hasn't won Olympic gold since the
Speaker 1: twenty twelve London Games, and they're coming off their worst
Speaker 1: finish in World Cup history lifelast year when they lost
Speaker 1: to Sweden in PKS in the round of sixteen. I
Speaker 1: was there in Australia. I still contend that Elyssaayor stopped
Speaker 1: that shot, but we can't live in the past. The
Speaker 1: US has dropped to fifth in the latest FIFA rankings,
Speaker 1: it's lowest points since FIFA began ranking women's teams in
Speaker 1: two thousand and three, and the US is going to
Speaker 1: have to find a new level in order to compete
Speaker 1: with the other eleven teams going to France top rank
Speaker 1: Spain are the favorites heading into the games, coming off
Speaker 1: their twenty twenty three World Cup win, a win that
Speaker 1: they got despite turmoil on and off the pitch. They
Speaker 1: actually might even be stronger for these games because they're
Speaker 1: getting back several players who were absent from the World
Speaker 1: Cup roster after protesting their now disgraced manager, Jorge Vilda.
Speaker 1: Good note, though, history is not on their side because
Speaker 1: no team has ever won the World Cup and Olympic
Speaker 1: gold in successive years. You've also got reigning champions Canada.
Speaker 1: They want to defend their title, but they're going to
Speaker 1: have to do it without the legendary Christine Sinclair, who
Speaker 1: scored the most goals in international football history men or women,
Speaker 1: with one hundred and ninety. She announced her retirement from
Speaker 1: international play last year, but if you're a Sinclair fan,
Speaker 1: you could still watch her tear it up with the
Speaker 1: Portland Thorns. She scored the game winning goal in the
Speaker 1: Thorns five nail victory over Tijuana on Sunday as part
Speaker 1: of that NWSL lega MXL Feminial Summer Cup. We mentioned
Speaker 1: on a previous show a couple other noteworthy items from
Speaker 1: some other Olympic teams. So Australia are without star striker
Speaker 1: Sam Kerr, who tore ACL in January, and keep an
Speaker 1: eye on Brazil. Thirty eight year old Marda is playing
Speaker 1: in her last major tournament. We'll give you all the
Speaker 1: goods on the US team's first opponent, Zambia tomorrow. That
Speaker 1: matches Thursday the twenty fifth at three pm Eastern Okay.
Speaker 1: Before the interview with Tierna, since she's such a thoughtful
Speaker 1: representative for the Lgbtqia community, I wanted to get her
Speaker 1: thoughts on teammate Corbin Albert and for those of you
Speaker 1: who are unfamiliar before the interview, let me just catch
Speaker 1: you up on what's happened.
Speaker 2: So far with the US midfielder.
Speaker 1: So this spring, Corbin Albert faced criticism after she reposted, liked,
Speaker 1: and shared home of and transphobic content on social media.
Speaker 1: One of the posts that she reshared was from a
Speaker 1: Christian worship sermon that said being gay and quote feeling
Speaker 1: transgender is wrong. In another post, Corbyn and her family
Speaker 1: recorded themselves saying that their pronouns were USA. She also
Speaker 1: liked to post celebrating Megan Rapino's injury in the final
Speaker 1: game of Rapino's NWSL career. The original post said quote
Speaker 1: God taking time off performing miracles to make sure Megan
Speaker 1: Repinos sprains her ankle in her final ever game. Obviously,
Speaker 1: albert social media activity didn't please the fans, but current
Speaker 1: and former players also spoke out, including Repino. Quote I
Speaker 1: would just ask one question, Raupino said in an Instagram post.
Speaker 1: Are you making any type of space safer, more inclusive,
Speaker 1: more whole, any semblance of better bringing the best out
Speaker 1: of anyone? She continued, Because if you aren't, all you
Speaker 1: believe in is hate and kids are literally killing themselves because.
Speaker 2: Of this hate.
Speaker 1: Albert issued in a poll on Instagram, saying, in part quote,
Speaker 1: liking and sharing posts that are offensive, insensitive, and hurtful
Speaker 1: was immature and.
Speaker 2: Disrespectful, which was never my intent.
Speaker 1: US Soccer also said the team was handling the situation internally. Okay.
Speaker 1: That was all back in March and April, and it
Speaker 1: was unclear whether Albert, who was already on the bubble
Speaker 1: for the Olympics, would be included on the roster for Paris,
Speaker 1: but new US coach Emma Hayes unveiled her eighteen player
Speaker 1: roster last month and Albert was on the list. Her
Speaker 1: inclusion reignited calls from both fans and former players asking
Speaker 1: whether the twenty year old had actually done enough work
Speaker 1: to grow and change, and in the FRED lies leading
Speaker 1: up to the Games, Albert consistently received a fair amount
Speaker 1: of booze from the US crowds when she entered games. Okay,
Speaker 1: so now you're all cut up on Albert and all
Speaker 1: caught up on US Soccer as they had inca Olympic games.
Speaker 1: Now that you're full of knowledge, let's get even smarter
Speaker 1: by talking to our favorite Stanford gal.
Speaker 2: Sorry, Julie Fouder. You could take back that honor when
Speaker 2: you come on the show. Tierna Davidson after the.
Speaker 1: Break, joining us now on Good Game. World Cup champion
Speaker 1: and Olympic medalist center back for the US women's national
Speaker 1: soccer team and Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League.
Speaker 1: After playing three years at Stanford, she was drafted first
Speaker 1: overall by the Chicago Red Stars. I'm un highest in
Speaker 1: the twenty nineteen draft and played for Chicago until signing
Speaker 1: with New York New Jersey this past offseason. And we're
Speaker 1: all very happy for her and not sad at all
Speaker 1: that she left us. She wanted to be an astronaut,
Speaker 1: but she settled for being out of this world at soccer.
Speaker 1: It's Tiaranna Davidson. Hi, Tyrna, I'm so happy to see you. Hi.
Speaker 3: Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, I just I'm getting so excited for
Speaker 1: the Olympics. I can't wait for my entire life to
Speaker 1: be blown up watching every single event, but most importantly
Speaker 1: the soccer. And I'm so glad you're back on the roster.
Speaker 1: You were in camp for last year's World Cup and
Speaker 1: you were still recovering from an acl tear, so you
Speaker 1: didn't end up making the final roster. You're back, you
Speaker 1: look great, You're headed to Paris. Want I know how
Speaker 1: you're feeling health wise? Do you feel like fully recovered
Speaker 1: now and back to pre injury shape and form?
Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely. I mean I think so much of what
Speaker 3: it means to be back after an injury is less
Speaker 3: so about you know, physically, can you do the things
Speaker 3: that are required of you? But even more so kind
Speaker 3: of like mentally, are you up to speed? Do you
Speaker 3: feel good about your gain? Do you feel like you're
Speaker 3: thinking fast enough and anticipating things so, Like a lot
Speaker 3: of people say, it takes the amount of time that
Speaker 3: took you to get physically back onto the field, it'll
Speaker 3: take you that amount of time to feel quote unquote
Speaker 3: like back to your normal gain. And I definitely feel
Speaker 3: like I experienced a bit of that, which required a
Speaker 3: lot of patience and a lot of grace. It's not
Speaker 3: easy to give yourself as an elite athlete, but nonetheless
Speaker 3: was required.
Speaker 1: Did you have to take a big hit or go
Speaker 1: in for a tackle. Did you have to have that
Speaker 1: physical moment of trusting your need and your body in
Speaker 1: order to be like Okay, I can be confident and
Speaker 1: aggressive again.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was. It was funny.
Speaker 3: It was actually one of my first full contact trainings
Speaker 3: when I was training with Wolfsburg in the off season
Speaker 3: and I just had to go into a big tackle
Speaker 3: because the ball was just in between me and another player,
Speaker 3: and it happened, and I didn't really think about it
Speaker 3: until after, and I was like, Okay, well, I guess
Speaker 3: I can do that.
Speaker 1: Then we're good to go. There we go, like if
Speaker 1: it works. I forgot about Wolfsburg. Did you pick up
Speaker 1: any German?
Speaker 3: I tried my best. I must say not a huge
Speaker 3: fan of dual linka. I feel like I learned how to,
Speaker 3: you know, order a coffee and a Sally.
Speaker 1: That's it. I tried that before Italy and I was like,
Speaker 1: I'd rather like start with some basics like him and
Speaker 1: her and she and he and me and they, and
Speaker 1: like how to talk to someone, not just get a America.
Speaker 3: Teacher, the grammar or like the structure of the language.
Speaker 3: At time, I kind of felt like I was memorizing stuff.
Speaker 3: But I definitely got to learn some soccer stuff, some numbers,
Speaker 3: some colors, you know, very important for trainings.
Speaker 1: Yes, there you go. So you've got a new head coach,
Speaker 1: Emma Hayes came in very heralded. I'm wondering what the
Speaker 1: biggest style differences between Black co and Danovsky, who was
Speaker 1: coaching the US national team before Emma, and now that
Speaker 1: Emma's in, what do you feel is the biggest difference
Speaker 1: or just in practice.
Speaker 3: I would say that she is really trying to instill
Speaker 3: in us a lot of tactical flexibility. I mean, I
Speaker 3: think that over the past few camps that we've had
Speaker 3: with her, but also extending into when Twila was our
Speaker 3: intim coach and Emma was kind of starting to implement
Speaker 3: from behind the scenes, you saw a lot of different
Speaker 3: shapes that we were playing a lot of people in
Speaker 3: different positions, whether it's on the field or like actually
Speaker 3: tactically just kind of shifting a little bit differently. I
Speaker 3: think that's really helpful, especially with the game and how
Speaker 3: it's evolving. You know, you have to be able to
Speaker 3: be flexible. You're going to see a lot of different
Speaker 3: pictures and you need to be able to counteract that
Speaker 3: with different tactical choices on the field. So I really
Speaker 3: feel like we're playing a chess match and it's fun
Speaker 3: and it's exciting, and I think a lot of us
Speaker 3: are learning a lot which is definitely challenging but also
Speaker 3: a welcome challenge.
Speaker 1: Is it fair to say that for a while, the
Speaker 1: US were able to rely on athleticism and the depth
Speaker 1: of their pool of athletes when playing other countries, and
Speaker 1: now they are You are needing to get more tactical
Speaker 1: and get more chess like in your approach in order
Speaker 1: to face off against some of these other countries that
Speaker 1: are really taking massive steps for the women's game.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I mean, I think a lot of what you're seeing
Speaker 3: is other countries, as you say, taking massive steps and
Speaker 3: investing in their women's soccer team and really gaining a
Speaker 3: better understanding of what we'll get them to the top.
Speaker 3: And you see just a lot more preparation and organization
Speaker 3: from teams. Even if it's not like the top top
Speaker 3: tier teams, the teams will still come very prepared and
Speaker 3: very organized. So we'll present a challenging problem. Even if
Speaker 3: it's not like a back and forth game, it still
Speaker 3: won't be an easy game. And I think that's where
Speaker 3: the tactical flexibility comes in, and it's not just about
Speaker 3: you know, being able to get in behind the team
Speaker 3: and score goals. But it's also like, really, how do
Speaker 3: you break down an organized team that's patient and compact,
Speaker 3: And so I think that you just see a lot
Speaker 3: more different pictures and so, yeah, we definitely do have
Speaker 3: to have more tools in our box.
Speaker 1: We certainly heard that from Emma after your final friendly
Speaker 1: against Costa Rica. She was talking about the Christmas Tree
Speaker 1: format that made it really tough to score and how
Speaker 1: the team needs to figure out how to be more tactical.
Speaker 1: Lots of touches in the box, but no no points,
Speaker 1: no scores. So for the average fan watching the Olympics,
Speaker 1: do you think they'll notice major tactical changes. Will they
Speaker 1: be able to see different shapes or players in different
Speaker 1: positions than they expected, or do you think it's a
Speaker 1: lot more internal, like the fans will just be watching
Speaker 1: and be like, oh, it's still still my favorite players.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I mean, I think it probably depends on the level
Speaker 3: of the fan. If they're maybe a casual fan, they
Speaker 3: might not notice the difference, but if they're like really
Speaker 3: tuned in, super tactical fan, like, yeah, you might notice
Speaker 3: some differences. Certainly you might notice players in different positions,
Speaker 3: But also how we're moving the ball as spaces that
Speaker 3: we want to get into or how we get there,
Speaker 3: you might definitely notice, but you know, it's obviously important
Speaker 3: for us, the small details.
Speaker 1: It's it's important.
Speaker 3: That we know those those changes and that we know
Speaker 3: how to access those keys for us. And whether that
Speaker 3: shows to the fans, I'm not sure, but certainly hopefully
Speaker 3: it shows in wins and goals, which fans love to see,
Speaker 3: so we're hoping for that result.
Speaker 1: I'm still learning because I never played organized soccer beyond
Speaker 1: junior high. So when I got in on the Red
Speaker 1: Stars ownership, I asked around for like books to read,
Speaker 1: and everyone sent me the most complicated books like about
Speaker 1: which countries invented soccer and the most complicated information that
Speaker 1: I was like, no, no, no, I need like soccer for dummies.
Speaker 1: So maybe in the off season we'll get Tierna our
Speaker 1: Stanford Smarty to sit us down and give us some
Speaker 1: like video presentations about different shapes and all the other things.
Speaker 1: I'm still learning. It's so hard when you're never like
Speaker 1: on the pitch doing it to see sports the same
Speaker 1: way as the ones that I that I did play.
Speaker 1: So maybe I'll just be watching like like one of
Speaker 1: those fans' that's just I'm watching soccer. I like soccer.
Speaker 1: You were one of the youngest players on the US
Speaker 1: women's national team for a major international tournament, your first
Speaker 1: you were the youngest. How are you helping this young team,
Speaker 1: particularly the first timers. I just get ready and prepare.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think that it's taking what I
Speaker 3: felt was really helpful from veterans when I was one
Speaker 3: of the younger players and trying to implement that. I
Speaker 3: think what's so important going into a major tournament to
Speaker 3: get from the veterans is just really putting on the table.
Speaker 3: This is going to be hard, this is going to
Speaker 3: be wild. It's going to be a battle both with
Speaker 3: yourself and with everything that comes with a tournament, and
Speaker 3: you're just going to have to kind of grind it out.
Speaker 3: And I feel like when a veteran told me that
Speaker 3: and kind of instilled that in me, you just realize, Okay,
Speaker 3: I gotta batten down the hatches and I just have to,
Speaker 3: you know, be able to perform well weathering the storm.
Speaker 3: And I think especially with the Olympics, because of how
Speaker 3: fast it moves, the time between me, the compression of
Speaker 3: the schedule, It really is just like getting punched in
Speaker 3: the face and getting back up again and performing, you know,
Speaker 3: every two three days, and so really just impressing upon
Speaker 3: the younger players, like it will be difficult, but that's
Speaker 3: why we're all here. We're all here to help and
Speaker 3: support each other, not just the players but also the staff,
Speaker 3: you know, So use those resources and reach out to
Speaker 3: people if you need it, but really like take care
Speaker 3: of yourself and then if you can take care of
Speaker 3: the person next to you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that. Also, maybe trying it to have
Speaker 1: like eleven teen croissants before every game, just because you're
Speaker 1: in France. It's tough that la deray. I just was
Speaker 1: in France and I think you guys flying to Nice right,
Speaker 1: there's a lot deray, like right in the airport. Be careful,
Speaker 1: you'll have like eleven d macarons and just be dragging ass.
Speaker 1: So it's tough in France. Stuff you mentioned actually the
Speaker 1: difference between the World Club and the Olympics. You've played
Speaker 1: in both. Talk a little bit about the approach and
Speaker 1: the different strategy because there's such short recovery between games
Speaker 1: and there's as much smaller roster, so it feels like
Speaker 1: especially in Emma Hay's selection about flexibility, players who can
Speaker 1: play in multiple positions, being able to depend on someone
Speaker 1: coming in if there's an injury or someone's tired, Like,
Speaker 1: how does that affect your strategy as a team.
Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, I mean, yeah, it's certainly no secret that
Speaker 3: the Olympics are a different beasts just because of how
Speaker 3: fast things move and how small the roster is. So
Speaker 3: I think, certainly it is important to be able to
Speaker 3: have players that can play multiple positions, that understand the
Speaker 3: roles in different positions, players that are ready to be
Speaker 3: called upon at a moment's notice, even if you know
Speaker 3: that wasn't the plan. But certainly being able to have
Speaker 3: rotation in the roster and trying to keep players as
Speaker 3: healthy and as fresh as possible with our recovery modalities
Speaker 3: and what we do in the two days between games,
Speaker 3: that's so important. So it's trying to tow the line between,
Speaker 3: you know, pushing it as much as possible in the
Speaker 3: game and then also trying to.
Speaker 1: Recover your body as quick as possible after that.
Speaker 3: And I think we have a lot of great people
Speaker 3: in our performance department and our medical department to help
Speaker 3: players kind of get back to neutral as quick as possible.
Speaker 1: We know Crystal Dunn is listed as a forward, but
Speaker 1: she can play anywhere, and thankfully they also have a
Speaker 1: big time score in Tierna Davidson. I mean, we saw
Speaker 1: you with the brace a couple of months ago or
Speaker 1: weeks ago. The secret sauce on the corners might just
Speaker 1: be your head, so we'll be looking out for you
Speaker 1: as a top Olympic scoer. So exciting. I want to
Speaker 1: ask about nerves before a big game. Do you have
Speaker 1: a routine? Is it a specific song you have to
Speaker 1: listen to, or meditation or talking to people or not
Speaker 1: talking to people. What's your trick.
Speaker 3: Usually in the day before going to the stadium? I
Speaker 3: try in journal takes my mind off of it a
Speaker 3: little bit and also, at the same time kind of
Speaker 3: focuses my mind. I feel like it kind of does both,
Speaker 3: which is important. You don't want to be thinking too
Speaker 3: much about it, but you also don't want to not
Speaker 3: think about it. But then I think, once I get
Speaker 3: into the locker room, I try not to have too
Speaker 3: many superstitions because then if you don't get one done,
Speaker 3: then you're like, oh my god, I'm not gonna play well,
Speaker 3: or like something's gonna happen.
Speaker 1: So you're just so spicious not superstitious.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but I like to, you know, be present and
Speaker 3: available in the locker room. We always have someone on
Speaker 3: DJ playing music so I can listen to that. I
Speaker 3: don't need to listen to my own music, but you know,
Speaker 3: just getting my ankles and feet mobed by the meds
Speaker 3: and then getting you know, all my activation exercises in.
Speaker 3: You know, those are my typical game day routines. But
Speaker 3: I don't really have anything that's like super weird or
Speaker 3: at this out of the box.
Speaker 1: Okay, I have several follow ups. Number one, who's the
Speaker 1: current DJ? Because I feel like, based on all my
Speaker 1: times hanging with Pino, she would definitely be the one
Speaker 1: who used to dominate who got to play what? But
Speaker 1: she's out of there, So who's taken over? Now? Well
Speaker 1: it is Crystal.
Speaker 3: There have been multiple instances where she's like, I'm not
Speaker 3: the DJ, and all of us are like, yes you are,
Speaker 3: but it certainly is Crystal that's always hooking up her OX.
Speaker 1: Okay, all right, we like it. Do you agree with
Speaker 1: her choices or you like Crystal? Again? DJ? Crystal, come
Speaker 1: on man, no, yes.
Speaker 3: I love with choices and also too, like I'm very
Speaker 3: aware that it is not easy to please everybody in
Speaker 3: the locker room when you have twenty two people in there,
Speaker 3: someone's like a song or like not gonna like you know,
Speaker 3: whatever sequence that you put on.
Speaker 4: So I'm very good.
Speaker 3: Yeah, now I understand how difficult of a role that is,
Speaker 3: and that's why people actually don't usually.
Speaker 1: Stick up right. Okay, other follow up, is there a
Speaker 1: fancy journal? Do we have like a special pen like
Speaker 1: when you're writing things down? It Is that also part
Speaker 1: of the routine.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a journal like Harry around in my backpack.
Speaker 3: They have like there's a prompt on each page and
Speaker 3: then you can write. So it's not necessarily writing about
Speaker 3: what's happening in my day or like about the game.
Speaker 3: It's following that prompt and writing whatever I think about it.
Speaker 3: I do have a pen that I prefer, but it's
Speaker 3: not like if I lose it that I would lose
Speaker 3: my mind. But I do prefer the very skinny, the
Speaker 3: g two pens, like the thirty eight millimeter ones.
Speaker 1: I love those. Oh my gosh, we're down to millimeter size.
Speaker 3: We know are pens find that the ink is but
Speaker 3: it's It's not the end of the world if I
Speaker 3: don't get to use it.
Speaker 1: Okay, it sounds like it might be. I'm a paper
Speaker 1: mate felt tip like almost like marcery type pen.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but is that Does that leak through the pages?
Speaker 1: No, it's usually light enough, but it depends does depend
Speaker 1: on the pages? Okay, this is this is important stuff
Speaker 1: that we're getting to. Okay, I do actually have an
Speaker 1: important question I want to ask you. Because this is
Speaker 1: such a beloved team and it's a new iteration. There
Speaker 1: are some favorite players that aren't there, but one of
Speaker 1: the one of the newer players, has been getting different
Speaker 1: reactions from the fans than the majority of the team,
Speaker 1: and that's Corbyn. Albert. This is a real sticky, tough situation.
Speaker 1: I'm just wondering how you personally are dealing with both
Speaker 1: the public reaction to Corbyn and sort of the internal
Speaker 1: response about her.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think it's a difficult situation that
Speaker 3: has obviously affected me personally given what she was speaking on.
Speaker 3: I think that it is something that you have to
Speaker 3: learn as a young player, especially with the platform that
Speaker 3: you're given.
Speaker 4: Is your.
Speaker 3: Beliefs or you know, how you choose to express certain
Speaker 3: things is very public and people do look and listen,
Speaker 3: and you know, whether or not it's something that you
Speaker 3: grew up with or it was instilled upon you from
Speaker 3: a young age and you might not know better, it
Speaker 3: is something that can hurt other people, you know.
Speaker 1: I think that she.
Speaker 3: Has gone through a lot of learning since then, and
Speaker 3: she has to continue to do that as we all
Speaker 3: do as humans. We have to learn from from what
Speaker 3: we do in our lives and how people react to
Speaker 3: it and understand the hurt that we can cause.
Speaker 1: You know, I think that.
Speaker 3: It's difficult because.
Speaker 1: As a team, we have always.
Speaker 3: Wanted to be very welcoming to all of our fans,
Speaker 3: to all players that walk through the locker room, and
Speaker 3: so to have that in our space is very difficult.
Speaker 4: But you know, I think I.
Speaker 3: Have always believed in the ability for people to learn
Speaker 3: and for people to change and to evolve, and that
Speaker 3: sometimes requires a very difficult experience, which I think this
Speaker 3: is that moment for her. And so, you know, it's
Speaker 3: something that happens a lot in people's lives where they
Speaker 3: you kind of come between a rock and a hard
Speaker 3: place and you're like, Okay, what am I going to do?
Speaker 3: Am I going to I'm going to pick the left
Speaker 3: path or the right path, and you know, it's it's
Speaker 3: up to her. But you know, I think that she's
Speaker 3: continuing to do that education and it's important that she
Speaker 3: expresses that as she learns. So I think, you know,
Speaker 3: the balls kind of in her court for that. But yeah,
Speaker 3: I mean it's been difficult. It was difficult for me
Speaker 3: when when it first.
Speaker 1: Happened, and it's it's.
Speaker 3: Been hard to hear how fans have been taking it
Speaker 3: because I feel like I want to be able to
Speaker 3: represent the queer community really well on this team, and
Speaker 3: so I want to have fans feel really welcome and
Speaker 3: feel like they can see themselves on this field in
Speaker 3: this team, and so I don't want there to be
Speaker 3: any sort of feeling that, you know, they they are
Speaker 3: not welcome here. So you know, I I, again, I
Speaker 3: believe in people being able to evolve.
Speaker 1: And being able to learn. And I'm not someone that's going.
Speaker 3: To meet any sort of hate with with hate. So
Speaker 3: you know, she she is one of my teammates and
Speaker 3: I respect that and I you know, respect her as
Speaker 3: a as a player. But you know, it's it is
Speaker 3: something that you have to go through with life is
Speaker 3: like you. You encounter and work with people that you
Speaker 3: don't always agree with. But yeah, that's you know, something
Speaker 3: that you want to try and help people to change.
Speaker 3: You want to try and help them love, and you
Speaker 3: know that's what we're trying to do.
Speaker 1: Thank you for that. That was an impeccable answer, very thoughtful,
Speaker 1: exactly what I would expect from you, So thank you.
Speaker 1: Last question for you you're headed to Paris. We're so excited.
Speaker 1: What's the most impressive French word? You know that's not
Speaker 1: a French.
Speaker 3: Oh my god, I don't want to venture to say
Speaker 3: a French word because I know that the French are
Speaker 3: very particular about how you pronounced their likely and I
Speaker 3: grew up speaking no French. I only have to learned Spanish.
Speaker 3: So I'm gonna leave it with a little.
Speaker 1: Nailed it perfect. Have the best time, play free. Thank
Speaker 1: you so much for joining us. We love you.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Sarah.
Speaker 1: When we come back, when intentions don't match outcomes, what
Speaker 1: the Fact style? Hi, we're back and we've got a
Speaker 1: new segment for you where we give you some facts
Speaker 1: that make you want to say what the fact?
Speaker 2: Olympic Softball Edition.
Speaker 1: Okay, earlier we discussed the results of the Softball World Cup,
Speaker 1: a competition that, as of now is the sport's most
Speaker 1: important tournament. But that hasn't always been the case, and
Speaker 1: to understand why, we have to go back in time
Speaker 1: a little bit. Softball made its Olympic debut in nineteen
Speaker 1: ninety six. Now, if you weren't alive yet looking at
Speaker 1: u Misha, those Olympics marked a bunch of historic first
Speaker 1: for women. The US women's softball team won the inaugural
Speaker 1: gold medal at those Atlanta Olympics, and then won again
Speaker 1: in two thousand and then one again in two thousand
Speaker 1: and four. But in two thousand and five, at an
Speaker 1: IOC meeting, softball and baseball were both narrowly voted off
Speaker 1: the Olympic program following the two thousand and eight Olympics. Now,
Speaker 1: the IOC cited the fact that the sports weren't global enough,
Speaker 1: and at least in the case of baseball, that the
Speaker 1: best players in the world didn't even compete at the games.
Speaker 1: Here's where it gets a little complicated, so stick with us.
Speaker 1: Back in nineteen ninety one, before softball even made its
Speaker 1: Olympic debut, the IOC made it mandatory that any new
Speaker 1: sport applying for inclusion into the Games needed to include
Speaker 1: both a men's and women's event. This meant sports already
Speaker 1: in the Games did not need to fall in line.
Speaker 1: That's why you see rhythmic gymnastics only open to women
Speaker 1: and Nordic combined still only open to men. But it
Speaker 1: did apply to all sports not already on the program.
Speaker 2: This rule had really good intentions.
Speaker 1: We can all get behind the idea to include more
Speaker 1: women at the Olympics, but it also has impacted softball's
Speaker 1: Olympic chances, So we say what the fact, it meant
Speaker 1: that female softball players had to team up with men's
Speaker 1: baseball players in order to have a chance of making
Speaker 1: it back to the Olympics, and the sports federations did
Speaker 1: just that. They officially merged in twenty thirteen. So softball
Speaker 1: and baseball succeeded in returning to the Olympics in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one, thanks to another new rule from the IOC
Speaker 1: that allowed host cities to propose sports that are popular
Speaker 1: in their country.
Speaker 2: But here's the thing.
Speaker 1: Men's baseball players don't really care about the Olympics. They
Speaker 1: have Major League Baseball. So when baseball returned to the
Speaker 1: Olympics in twenty twenty one. MLB players weren't even there,
Speaker 1: but the world's best softball players, hell yeah, they were there.
Speaker 1: Some players delayed major life decisions, others unretired. They did
Speaker 1: anything to compete in Tokyo. But Tokyo is a one
Speaker 1: time thing, and the French don't particularly care for softball
Speaker 1: or baseball, so neither sport will be awarded medals this
Speaker 1: summer in Paris. But when the Olympics returned to the
Speaker 1: US in twenty twenty eight, boom, softball and baseball will return.
Speaker 1: So you could see how that Olympic inclusion, then exclusion,
Speaker 1: then inclusion again might be tough for softball players in
Speaker 1: a way that's far less meaningful for their baseball peers.
Speaker 1: There are a few options in twenty twenty four, including
Speaker 1: athletes unlimited softball to play professionally, but for most players
Speaker 1: the opportunities kind of dry up after graduation.
Speaker 2: And it makes us.
Speaker 1: Wonder what would softball look like if the sport had
Speaker 1: been in the Olympics all these years, either with or
Speaker 1: without baseball. Just think about where softball is compared to say,
Speaker 1: women's soccer, which, if you can believe this also made
Speaker 1: its Olympic debut in nineteen ninety six.
Speaker 2: We love that you're.
Speaker 1: Listening, but we want you to get in the game
Speaker 1: every day too. So here's our good game play of
Speaker 1: the day. Check out that link Briana Turner shared rockthvote
Speaker 1: dot Org, slash teamw You can register to vote, check
Speaker 1: your registration status, quest an absentee ballot, find a polling place,
Speaker 1: and more. Also, we want you to let us know
Speaker 1: who you're following to keep up with all things Olympics.
Speaker 1: An athlete, an influencer or creator, a celebrity reporter. Who
Speaker 1: are you following for the best behind the scenes in Paris.
Speaker 1: We're just one day away from the first events being
Speaker 1: competed and I'm pumped.
Speaker 2: Baby, Let the games begin. Give me all the content.
Speaker 1: Also, don't forget to subscribe and follow good Game with
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Speaker 1: and reviewing is super super easy. Watch Icy Pops rating
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Speaker 1: trick on a hot day if you're out of other options.
Speaker 2: But it's really just flavored water.
Speaker 1: Can't hold a candle to other delicious treats, so it's
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Speaker 1: us up on our email Good Game at wondermedianetwork dot com,
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Speaker 1: even leave us a voicemail message to two oh four
Speaker 1: fifty seventy. Thanks as always for listening. Good Game, Tatiana McFadden,
Speaker 1: Good Game, Team Japan Softball A few time changes. I
Speaker 1: don't know how I'm gonna do it, y'all.
Speaker 2: I'm not going to sleep at all.
Speaker 1: I don't even know what I'm gonna just go to
Speaker 1: watch the Olympics every single day twenty four to seven,
Speaker 1: three sixty five, never sleeping again. Good Game with Sarah
Speaker 1: Spain is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with
Speaker 1: Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1: Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzi
Speaker 1: and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Speaker 1: Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Jenny Kaplan,
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Speaker 2: Production assistants from Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah.
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