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

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Speaker 1: up to host the Women's Sports Foundation Gala tonight by

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Speaker 1: doing our Billy Jean King affirmations in the mirror. Pressure

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Speaker 1: is a privilege. Pressure is a privilege. Suck it, Bobby Riggs.

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Speaker 1: It's Wednesday, October twenty second, and on today's show, we'll

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Speaker 1: be chatting with Northern Super League co founder and Chief

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Speaker 1: Growth Officer Diana Matheson and filmmaker and director of the

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Speaker 1: Pitch Michelle Hoser. We talk about the inaugural NSL season,

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Speaker 1: how Michelle's film documents Diana's fight to launch the league,

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Speaker 1: and the moments along the way when the duo thought

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Speaker 1: the first ever women's pro soccer league in Canada might

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Speaker 1: not happen at all.

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Speaker 2: Plus New Threads just.

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Speaker 1: Dropped, sharing a bid with friends and staying neutral all

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Speaker 1: the way. It's all coming up right after this. Welcome Backslaicys.

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Speaker 1: Here's what you need to know today. Let's start with soccer.

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Speaker 1: US Soccer has announced the co hosts for its bid

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Speaker 1: for the twenty one Women's World Cup during a press

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Speaker 1: conference on Monday. The federation said its tournament bid will

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Speaker 1: also include games hosted by Mexico, Jamaica, and Costa Rica.

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Speaker 1: No other country or countries submitted a bid for the

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Speaker 1: twenty thirty one Women's World Cup, meaning FIFA is expected

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Speaker 1: to accept and ratify the US led initiative next year.

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Speaker 1: Assuming all goes to plan, the US will become the

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Speaker 1: first country to host three Women's World Cups, following its

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Speaker 1: previous World Cups in nineteen ninety nine and two thousand

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Speaker 1: and three. In addition to the International Games, US Soccer

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Speaker 1: President Cindy Parlow Cone said on Monday that more than

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Speaker 1: thirty US cities have expressed interest in hosting games the

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Speaker 1: twenty thirty one tournament, the first Women's World Cup to

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Speaker 1: include the expanded forty eight team format, will feature a

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Speaker 1: total of one hundred and four games. Just going to

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Speaker 1: go ahead and put in my request now to cover

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Speaker 1: some games in Costa Rica and Jamaica.

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Speaker 2: More soccer.

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Speaker 1: An update on Kansas City current star tem Wushewinga, who

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Speaker 1: was injured in a game against the Houston Dash on Saturday.

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Speaker 1: On Monday, the twenty seven year old forward announced on

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Speaker 1: instat she has an adductor injury, which is.

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Speaker 2: Going to keep her from joining the Malawi national team.

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Speaker 1: During this week's international break, Cheweinga said she was heartbroken,

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Speaker 1: writing in part quote, I'm currently working with my team

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Speaker 1: doctors and coaches to get back on the field, taking

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Speaker 1: it one day at a time.

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Speaker 2: End quote.

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Speaker 1: Now, for those lucky enough never to have done my

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Speaker 1: numbing PT sessions to heal a strained adductor, let me

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Speaker 1: tell you. The adductors are a group of three muscles

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Speaker 1: that are in your inner thigh. They help control the

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Speaker 1: leg and stabilize the pelvis when you're doing things like running, sprinting, accelerating, jumping.

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Speaker 2: Pretty important.

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Speaker 1: It's not yet clear when Schowenga will be back on

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Speaker 1: the field with Kansas City. The team enters next month's

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Speaker 1: ANDWSL playoffs as the top ranked seed, with the quarterfinals.

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Speaker 2: Getting underway the weekend of November seventh.

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Speaker 1: Showeinga's injury is also a major blow to that Malawi

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Speaker 1: women's national team. They're currently ranked one hundred and fifty

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Speaker 1: fifth in the world, and the squad is aiming to

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Speaker 1: qualify for its first ever appearance in the Women's Africa

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Speaker 1: Cup of Nations.

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Speaker 2: The team's games against.

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Speaker 1: Angola this week could secure the country a place in

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Speaker 1: the tournament, so what Tim was sideline, the nation will

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Speaker 1: look to her sister, Tabitha Shwenga, who plays her club

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Speaker 1: soccer in France for ol Leon More NWSL. The San

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Speaker 1: Diego Wave announced on Monday that Jimmy Butler aka Jimmy

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Speaker 1: Buckets has joined the club's investor group as a minority owner. Butler,

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Speaker 1: a six time MNBA All Star, currently plays for the

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Speaker 1: Golden State Warriors, following stints with four other teams, including

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Speaker 1: the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat. In a statement, Butler said,

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Speaker 1: quote Soccer has been a passion of mine for a

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Speaker 1: long time, and being part of the game in a

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Speaker 1: meaningful way has always been a dream. San Diego has

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Speaker 1: become a city close to my heart, and I'm proud

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Speaker 1: to invest in a club that is pushing boundaries, building

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Speaker 1: something lasting, and setting a new standard for what women's

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Speaker 1: sports can be, both on and off the pitch end

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Speaker 1: quote side note, Butler started his own coffee brand in

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Speaker 1: the MNBA bubble called Big Face Coffee, so the next

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Speaker 1: wave current game might just see a coffee off with

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Speaker 1: Pitch Side Coffee, the brand launched by a handful of

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Speaker 1: KC players. More Soccer, the US women's national team plays

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Speaker 1: its first of three d friendlies of the international break

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Speaker 1: tomorrow night in Chester, Pennsylvania. M Hayes squad will take

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Speaker 1: on Portugal. That match kick and off at seven pm

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Speaker 1: Eastern on TNT, True TV and HBO Max. Ahead of

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Speaker 1: the game, US Soccer will hold a retirement celebration for

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Speaker 1: Alex Morgan. During her nearly fifteen year long international career,

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Speaker 1: Morgan recorded two hundred and twenty four appearances for the

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Speaker 1: national team. She retired last year with the fifth most

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Speaker 1: goals in program history. To baseball, on Tuesday, the Women's

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Speaker 1: Professional Baseball League announced the names of the four cities

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Speaker 1: that will have teams for the inaugural season in twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty six, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

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Speaker 1: But before our East and West Coast lces get too excited,

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Speaker 1: it's worth noting that the league isn't playing games in

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Speaker 1: those four cities next year. Instead, per the AP, they're

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Speaker 1: planning to play games at a neutral venue for year one.

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Speaker 1: We'll have a little more to say on this news

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Speaker 1: in just a minute. To The PWHL expansion teams Seattle

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Speaker 1: and Vancouver unveiled their year one jerseys on Tuesday, and

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Speaker 1: just like in the Ina Girl season of the league

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Speaker 1: two years ago, Seattle and Vancouver don't have official names

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Speaker 1: or logos yet. Their Year one jerseys look just like

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Speaker 1: the original six did back in twenty twenty four, with

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Speaker 1: city names written diagonally across the front. We did get colors, though,

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Speaker 1: it's a deep slate green for Seattle and Pacific blue

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Speaker 1: for Vancouver, and those will likely carry over into future

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Speaker 1: designs and branding. As part of the jersey unveiling, the

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Speaker 1: league said the team's official identity will be revealed prior

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Speaker 1: to the start of the regular season on November twenty first.

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Speaker 1: My assumption is they needed to get those jerseys printed

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Speaker 1: and ordered months and months ago, and they weren't ready

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Speaker 1: to do the full logo and name reveal. My guess

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Speaker 1: is they'll probably use those names throughout the season, but

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Speaker 1: the jerseys will remain those generic city names. And also

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Speaker 1: pretty cool because it means every single team in the

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Speaker 1: PWHL has that Year one jersey that looks the same

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Speaker 1: and if, say, twenty years from now, you want to

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Speaker 1: prove you were an OG Year one fan, you got

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Speaker 1: to get that jersey. They're available for purchase in the

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Speaker 1: League's online shop to the WNBA The New York Liberties.

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Speaker 1: John Quell Jones posted on Instagram that she had surgery

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Speaker 1: along with a photo, and the New York Post Medaline

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Speaker 1: Kenny reported it with surgery and her right ankle. Jones,

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Speaker 1: a five time WNBA All Star, sprained her ankle twice

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Speaker 1: during the twenty twenty five season, causing her to miss

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Speaker 1: thirteen regular season games. Not yet clear when Jones is

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Speaker 1: expected to return or whether the surgery will impact her

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Speaker 1: WNBA offseason plans to gymnastics. The World Gymnastics Championships are

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Speaker 1: underway and Jakarta, Indonesia, and there are a lot of

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Speaker 1: questions about the future of USA gymnastics after the qualification round,

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Speaker 1: so quick Gymnastics for fresher. During the qualification round, athletes

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Speaker 1: compete for spots in both individual all around and apparatus finals.

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Speaker 1: As is tradition, there's no team competition at Worlds in

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Speaker 1: the year following the Olympics. Now all four US women

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Speaker 1: qualified for at least one event final, but compared to

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Speaker 1: previous years when Team USA contended for medals in every event,

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Speaker 1: this year's.

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Speaker 2: Outlook looks pretty rocky.

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Speaker 1: If qualification is any indicator. Dulcie Kaylor led the US qualification.

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Speaker 1: She'll represent Team USA and the individual all around after

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Speaker 1: qualifying fifth overall, and she also qualified in sixth for

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Speaker 1: the balance beam final and eighth in the floor exercise final.

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Speaker 1: Leanne Wong, who served as an alternate at the last

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Speaker 1: two Olympics, also secured a spot in the all around final,

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Speaker 1: finishing ninth in qualifying.

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Speaker 2: The other two members of the.

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Speaker 1: US delegation, Sky Blakely and Jocelyn Roberson, qualified for the

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Speaker 1: uneven bars and vault finals respectively. Chelsea Memmol, one of

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Speaker 1: the three people in charge of the US women's gymnastics

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Speaker 1: program and a two thousand and eight Olympian, described the

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Speaker 1: outing as quote unquote rough. To reporter Scott Bregman of

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Speaker 1: the Olympic Channel, she said, quote, I didn't feel like

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Speaker 1: there was an attack of their events and their skills overall.

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Speaker 1: There were still good things, but I have work to

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Speaker 1: do end quote. The World Championships continue through the weekend

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Speaker 1: in Indonesia and will link to the broadcast schedule for

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Speaker 1: the finals. In the show notes, slices got to give

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Speaker 1: a huge shout out to friend of the show in

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Speaker 1: Las Vegas, Aces beat reporter Callie Finn and her hus

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Speaker 1: been Richard, who welcomed a baby boy into the world

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Speaker 1: this past weekend.

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Speaker 2: Little Caleb. We're so happy for you, Kelly. Congrats. All right,

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Speaker 2: before we.

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Speaker 1: Take a break, I want to quickly get back to

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Speaker 1: that baseball news I mentioned.

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Speaker 2: Producer Alex get on in here. We have to discuss this.

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Speaker 1: Hey, it's time for give me a minute, a segment

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Speaker 1: that famously has no time limit or rules. In fact,

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Speaker 1: we should probably rename it. But who has time for that?

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Speaker 1: We only have a minute, all right, Alex. Women's Professional

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Speaker 1: Baseball League somehow launching in four cities but not playing

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Speaker 1: in any of them.

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Speaker 2: What are your thoughts? Mostly confusion.

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Speaker 3: So my first thought was I saw the headline Women's

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Speaker 3: Pro Baseball League selects New York, Boston, LA, and San

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Speaker 3: Francisco for inaugural season, and I was like, great, those

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Speaker 3: are really hard cities to launch sports teams in the

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Speaker 3: year twenty twenty five when it comes to space, fan attention, resources, climate,

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Speaker 3: even And so I was like, that's interesting.

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Speaker 2: Where are they playing in those four cities?

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Speaker 3: The answer is they're not, or at least not all

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Speaker 3: four of them, because it seems like the league is

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Speaker 3: planning to play its inaugural season in a neutral venue

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Speaker 3: or more than one neutral venue, and I don't know why,

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Speaker 3: but it is majorly annoying me. It's like, what does

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Speaker 3: a city mean if you're not playing in it, Like,

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Speaker 3: name a team Tokyo, name a team, whatever you want, Like,

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Speaker 3: it doesn't have a meaning if you're not actually playing there.

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Speaker 3: And I'm sure that they are expressing an intention to

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Speaker 3: play there, but the fact that it seems kind of

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Speaker 3: convoluted and like how the messaging is being presented just

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Speaker 3: rubs me the wrong way. And it even makes me

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Speaker 3: think of the AUSL, which played its first season this

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Speaker 3: past year in that kind of neutral model with teams

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Speaker 3: that seem to allude to cities but without actually calling

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Speaker 3: the teams those cities, and that to me feels like

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Speaker 3: a more honest approach in terms of getting fan engagement.

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Speaker 1: Well, to be fair, the AUSL alluded to the Chicago Band,

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Speaker 1: which was a team that existed before, but the other

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Speaker 1: three were pretty generic. They bounced around to a handful

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Speaker 1: of places they weren't really affiliated with anywhere. But I

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Speaker 1: liked it that they did that because the point was

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Speaker 1: to use that barnstorming approach to figure out which cities

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Speaker 1: might be best to launch in. If they weren't yet sure,

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Speaker 1: or if it was impossible to be certain about it

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Speaker 1: without actually doing the exercise of playing there and seeing

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Speaker 1: which fans show up, which media cover, et cetera, then

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Speaker 1: that's the way to do it.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 1: I don't have a problem with trying to get enthusiasm

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Speaker 1: around these four cities for teams, But to your point,

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Speaker 1: have they fully vetted these four cities as the best

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Speaker 1: place to find stadiums, resources, media coverage, fans that are interested,

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Speaker 1: et cetera. Or would they have been better trying to

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Speaker 1: keep the teams neutral from the start. The difference here

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Speaker 1: is is it sounds like they're going to be in

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Speaker 1: a neutral spot or potentially two as opposed to moving around,

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Speaker 1: and that's not going to really serve them in terms

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Speaker 1: of figuring out which cities are the best to start in.

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Speaker 2: Right, That's just seems like a.

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Speaker 1: Holding pattern because they want to launch the league but

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Speaker 1: don't have the facilities or infrastructure in the cities in

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Speaker 1: which they want to launch.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure, for sure.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, Well, I'm sure we're going to get

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Speaker 1: more on the WPBL. In fact, we'll try to get

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Speaker 1: a guest on to talk about their big plans for

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Speaker 1: next year. But while we're on the topic, and since

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Speaker 1: we clearly haven't hit a minute yet, I do want

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Speaker 1: to quickly also mention that in terms of leagues not

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Speaker 1: doing themselves any favors by lacking clarity or being vague

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Speaker 1: in their rollouts, I just have to talk about the

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Speaker 1: NWSL website.

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Speaker 2: Good lord.

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Speaker 1: So, as we're trying to figure out these postseason teams,

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Speaker 1: who's clinched, who's out, who's still in it, I literally

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Speaker 1: had to put out a request on social media asking

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Speaker 1: people if they knew whether Jen Cooper, Keeper Notes Expert

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Speaker 1: and Queen of all Things, or the league site itself

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Speaker 1: was accurate because the league site and Jen we're saying

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Speaker 1: different things. The league site didn't seem to have been

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Speaker 1: updated since games had happened, and it's still as of

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Speaker 1: this recording on Tuesday says that Portland has not yet

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Speaker 1: clinched the playoff spot, even though they have now. I'm

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Speaker 1: not trying to dog anyone over at the site or

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Speaker 1: the league itself, but like, if you want to get

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Speaker 1: people excited and enthusiastic about your games, if you want

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Speaker 1: to give media members like me the ability to tell stories,

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Speaker 1: use statistics, give facts, keep people updated, you need to

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Speaker 1: put in the work on your website. The official site

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Speaker 1: should be the place that I know that the information

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Speaker 1: is correct, and it should be updated regularly. There should

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Speaker 1: be better game previews, there should be more game recaps.

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Speaker 1: There should just be information on that site that makes me,

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Speaker 1: someone who cares about the league and wants to know

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Speaker 1: about it, have an endless amount of information in order

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Speaker 1: to follow it. And it just doesn't seem like they

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Speaker 1: give a shit about that site in a way that

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Speaker 1: they should considering how much of an impact it might

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Speaker 1: have on whether people show up for the next game

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Speaker 1: and the game after that.

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Speaker 3: H Sarah, I didn't realize this was going to get

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Speaker 3: me all riled up all over again. But it is

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Speaker 3: so bad, and if anyone out there wants to know

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Speaker 3: how bad it is, search for most goals in NWSL

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Speaker 3: history and you will see that, at least as of recently,

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Speaker 3: it would direct you to an NWSL story from twenty seventeen.

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Speaker 2: Twenty seventeen. It's so bad. It's so bad.

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Speaker 3: It's so bad, and that is the most basic of

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Speaker 3: information I once had to ask the player post game

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Speaker 3: if they had just scored their first career NWSL goal

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Speaker 3: because I couldn't find it mostly and quickly enough after

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Speaker 3: and it honestly led to a great reaction from low

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Speaker 3: Lavonta celebrating her teammate's first goal. But it put me

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Speaker 3: in a really awkward position. And so NWL website needs

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Speaker 3: to be better.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and frankly, this is a conversation for another time,

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Speaker 1: and I think a whole episode. Actually, we can't be

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Speaker 1: professionalizing women's leagues when it comes to things like investment

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Speaker 1: and expectation while simultaneously not professionalizing other aspects like the

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Speaker 1: website and the statistics and information that's available, Like we

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Speaker 1: need to across the board really step into a new

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Speaker 1: era for women's sports, and the different pieces evolving at

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Speaker 1: different speeds is awkward, is the nicest way.

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Speaker 2: To put it right now.

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Speaker 1: All right, we'll get back to that in another show,

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Speaker 1: but for now, we got to take a break. When

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Speaker 1: we come back, we're going to talk soccer up in

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Speaker 1: America's Hat with Diana and Michelle joining us now for

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Speaker 1: a second time. She's the co founder and chief Growth

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Speaker 1: officer of Canada's Women's professional soccer league the Northern Super

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Speaker 1: League aka the NSL. A former player for the Canada

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Speaker 1: national team from three to twenty twenty and winner of

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Speaker 1: two Olympic bronze medals. She scored the game winning goal

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Speaker 1: in the ninety second minute of the twenty twelve bronze

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Speaker 1: medal match, securing Canada's first ever medal in women's soccer.

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Speaker 1: She played for multiple pro teams, including the Washington Spirit

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Speaker 1: and the Utah Royals, and was a star at Princeton.

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Speaker 1: She just won the women in Leadership Award at the

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Speaker 1: World Football Summit, was just inducted into the Canada Games

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Speaker 1: Hall of Honor, and she's got a damn trophy named

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Speaker 1: after her.

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Speaker 2: It's Diana Matthieson. Welcome back, Diana.

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Speaker 4: Hi, Sarah, thanks for having me. Always great to be

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Speaker 4: here with her.

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Speaker 1: She's an Emmy nominated and Canadian Screen Award winning director

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Speaker 1: and editor with over fifty films to her name, including

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Speaker 1: the upcoming doc The Pit about Diana's mission to launch

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Speaker 1: the NSL, A staple in the Canadian film industry since

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Speaker 1: nineteen eighty seven, winner of multiple Gemini and Canadian Screen Awards,

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Speaker 1: She's had two films on the Oscar shortlist. A native

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Speaker 1: of Montreal, She's fluently bilingual. She cuts films in the

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Speaker 1: winter and flowers in the summer. It's Michelle Hoser.

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Speaker 2: Hi.

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Speaker 5: Michelle, Hi, Sarah, so happy to be here.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for joining me, both of you. Congrats on the film, Diana.

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Speaker 1: Before we get to the film, I want to talk

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Speaker 1: about NSL because we had you on this show before

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Speaker 1: the start of the season and we're now nearing the

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Speaker 1: post season.

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Speaker 2: So what has surprised you most about this first year?

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Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, you know what I think I've said

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Speaker 4: a few times, like the last three years in a

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Speaker 4: lot of ways has been the most stressful and challenging

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Speaker 4: of my life. And then, you know, the thing we

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Speaker 4: were looking forward to that end in mind was very

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Speaker 4: much the games, right, it was like, what was the

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Speaker 4: plan in the field going to be? It was the

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Speaker 4: fans on the stands, it was the broadcast, and I

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Speaker 4: don't know, I mean, this is what we were hoping

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Speaker 4: it would be. Maybe the surprises, you know, it was

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Speaker 4: it was what we were hoping it would be. And meanwhile,

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Speaker 4: the rest of women's sport and the industry is just

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Speaker 4: is growing so quickly. So I think the biggest surprises

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Speaker 4: that we did it, I guess, and maybe or maybe

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Speaker 4: that's maybe that's what the documentary is about. People ask

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Speaker 4: me how we did it, and I'm still not sure.

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Speaker 4: So I guess the biggest surprises that we did it,

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Speaker 4: and yeah, and we're here.

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Speaker 1: What about a best storyline or moment from this season?

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Speaker 1: Is there a game, a player, a story that stands

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Speaker 1: out to you that really captured people's imagination in this

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Speaker 1: first year.

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Speaker 4: I'll do three quick that that's spring to mind. We've

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Speaker 4: got a few, you know, and I'll talk about Toronto.

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Speaker 4: I'm in Toronto. They just were a regular season winners,

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Speaker 4: won the Supporter Shield.

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Speaker 5: You know.

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Speaker 4: Estroan Coronco is a Nigerian player one CAF collin a

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Speaker 4: for Player of the Year there for Nigeria. Fantastic story. Uh,

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Speaker 4: there's a player named Nikola Small. Nikki Small, she was

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Speaker 4: a player, you know, came a youth player, came up

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Speaker 4: through the youth system here in Toronto. Hasn't quite broken

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Speaker 4: into the national team. But you know, when I was injured,

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Speaker 4: I'd come back to Toronto and train with some of

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Speaker 4: the younger players and I always just thought she was

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Speaker 4: such a fantastic player. And she's been absolutely killing it

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Speaker 4: in the NSL. She's been a pleasure to watch. And

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Speaker 4: Kaylee Hunter too, like teenage phenom, just been crushing it

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Speaker 4: for Toronto. Just got called into the women's national team.

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Speaker 4: So just a three from three stories our season. It's

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Speaker 4: what it's what it's about.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, that's what you said last time.

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Speaker 1: It's about creating a pipeline and allowing for these great

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Speaker 1: Canadian players and obviously players from elsewhere to have these

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Speaker 1: opportunities to continue to play regularly and grow their game

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Speaker 1: and make Canada even stronger at the national level too.

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Speaker 1: You know, Michelle, you take this journey with Diana and

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Speaker 1: you see every bit of the fight to bring the

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Speaker 1: NSL to life. And I read a great quote you

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Speaker 1: said about making the film. You said, I thought I

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Speaker 1: was making a film about building something new. What I

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Speaker 1: came to understand is that this league is a response

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Speaker 1: to everything these women were denied.

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Speaker 2: Tell me more well exactly.

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Speaker 5: You know, when I first started, I was a bit

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Speaker 5: of the ted loss of the group. I didn't know

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Speaker 5: that much about women's soccer in Canada, and I quickly

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Speaker 5: got to understand that these women had been fighting for

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Speaker 5: a pro league for decades, and again I thought it

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Speaker 5: was we were going to follow a league starting from scratch,

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Speaker 5: and again, naively, I thought there was going to be

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Speaker 5: money around, deep pocket, maybe a federation behind it, maybe

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Speaker 5: immense league. And then I meet Diana and I go,

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Speaker 5: what this former player is going to be the one

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Speaker 5: champion this league? What is it that I don't understand?

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Speaker 5: And so that was the sort of north star of

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Speaker 5: the documentary. Why why the national team? And the more

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Speaker 5: you look into it, the more you see despite their

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Speaker 5: win metal after medal after medal, these women still have

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Speaker 5: to fight for something that should have been rightfully theirs.

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Speaker 5: And this story is universal because women in many careers

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Speaker 5: feel me exact same thing. So again it's more about

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Speaker 5: justice and starting something new.

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Speaker 1: Yeah you mentioned there when there's a little snippet in

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Speaker 1: the trailer of Megan Rauppino, our fighter, our you know,

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Speaker 1: beacon for change, and she says, you know, Canada wins

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Speaker 1: the goal, they win the whole Olympics, and still the

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Speaker 1: federation is not interested really in giving them the resources

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Speaker 1: and the investment that they deserve. And so I think

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Speaker 1: it obviously is something that caught notice from around the

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Speaker 1: global soccer world. But it can be righteous, it can

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Speaker 1: be correct, it can be obvious to so many, and

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Speaker 1: that doesn't mean it gets done. So Diana, tell us

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Speaker 1: about some of the biggest barriers you've faced, despite knowing

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Speaker 1: in your core that this was something that should have

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Speaker 1: already happened long ago.

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Speaker 4: I mean, one of the hardest parts is just someone

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Speaker 4: told me early on who'd gone the entrepreneur route. With anything,

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Speaker 4: the selling is harder than think, and the selling takes

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Speaker 4: longer than you think. So just the you know, the

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Speaker 4: selling of this thing, even though it was the best

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Speaker 4: time in history to be selling this product, even though

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Speaker 4: there's finally data with which to show the business case

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Speaker 4: and the return out investment in all this, of which

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Speaker 4: there was none before twenty nineteen, Really, despite that, it

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Speaker 4: was still you know, it's it's hard. It's been a

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Speaker 4: slog because you know, it's so many people do not

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Speaker 4: get it until they see it. So even when we had,

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Speaker 4: you know, finally there was data out of the US

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Speaker 4: to show return on franchise investment or the women's sport

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Speaker 4: business case, well you get people in Canada saying, oh,

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Speaker 4: but that's the US, it's not Canada. And then PWTL

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Speaker 4: starts and then people say, oh, but that's hockey, it's

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Speaker 4: not soci There's always something you know, so that part

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Speaker 4: was harder. And then you know these days still like

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Speaker 4: women's sport, women's pro sport, whether it's US nwsl PWHL,

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Speaker 4: WNBA coming to Canada with the tempo. None of the

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Speaker 4: pro sport industry, as you know better than anyone, was

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Speaker 4: built for us. It was built for men. And then

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Speaker 4: we're you know, we're having to build the whole industry

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Speaker 4: that surrounds it as we grow. So for us in Canada,

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Speaker 4: you know, the media that surrounds it. We have to

436
00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:14,960
Speaker 4: invest in our own game production facilities. We have a

437
00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:17,280
Speaker 4: huge gap of soccer facilities, so we're going to have

438
00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:20,120
Speaker 4: to build train facilities and stadiums as we grow. Literally

439
00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:22,480
Speaker 4: every part of it we have to build along with

440
00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:23,880
Speaker 4: just starting a leak.

441
00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:26,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it's from scratch in a way that

442
00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,120
Speaker 1: a lot of other things aren't. And I think also

443
00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:34,200
Speaker 1: it's so frustrating how you face the barriers of needing

444
00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,440
Speaker 1: proof of concept and all the other things that folks

445
00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,119
Speaker 1: are looking for when you're starting something that doesn't exist.

446
00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:41,639
Speaker 1: The proof of ROI and other spaces and things like that.

447
00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:45,360
Speaker 1: But you also have this weird issue specific to sports.

448
00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:47,920
Speaker 1: It feels like where you have all these people bought

449
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,040
Speaker 1: in on the men's side and then you show them

450
00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:53,320
Speaker 1: almost the exact same thing just involving women, and you

451
00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:55,359
Speaker 1: would expect them to come running when they hear about

452
00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:58,080
Speaker 1: all the financial opportunity in the white space there, and instead,

453
00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:02,400
Speaker 1: because of these deeply held, some even subconscious misogynist ideas

454
00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:05,439
Speaker 1: about women in sport, they are pushing back on the

455
00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:07,760
Speaker 1: reality and the data that you have for them.

456
00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:08,720
Speaker 2: And to your.

457
00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:10,560
Speaker 1: Point, like so many people don't see it until they're

458
00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,000
Speaker 1: in it, and it's so frustrating doing this show, doing

459
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,720
Speaker 1: any of this work for women's sport, because everyone in

460
00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:19,000
Speaker 1: it is like duh, and everyone on the outside is

461
00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:21,840
Speaker 1: still parroting bullshit from decades ago. And you're like, okay,

462
00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:23,800
Speaker 1: but come on in here and we'll show you why

463
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:25,480
Speaker 1: all that's not true anymore. But you have to get

464
00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:28,240
Speaker 1: them to come. And so, yeah, your point about it's

465
00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:30,840
Speaker 1: just the pitch, it's just selling people who aren't maybe

466
00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:32,520
Speaker 1: doing the work or showing up in the spaces to

467
00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:36,080
Speaker 1: see what's right in front of everyone else's faces. Michelle,

468
00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:39,200
Speaker 1: you're documenting this you signed on a couple years ago

469
00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:42,960
Speaker 1: right to start this process and follow Diana. Was there

470
00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:45,760
Speaker 1: any moment while you're making this that you're like, oh shit,

471
00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:48,880
Speaker 1: I don't think this is going to happen, And now

472
00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:51,200
Speaker 1: I put all this time and film and effort into

473
00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:53,479
Speaker 1: something that I'm pretty sure she's not going to get

474
00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:54,080
Speaker 1: off the ground.

475
00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,160
Speaker 5: There was definitely a moment like that, A few moments,

476
00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:02,080
Speaker 5: certainly when she was so when Diana and Thomas and

477
00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:04,920
Speaker 5: the team was trying to get to Team five and

478
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,879
Speaker 5: six to be able to start that league in twenty

479
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:09,960
Speaker 5: twenty five, and we knew if it wasn't going to

480
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,800
Speaker 5: be twenty twenty five, the chances of twenty twenty six

481
00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:16,359
Speaker 5: were going to be very slim. So in that dark winter,

482
00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:17,480
Speaker 5: you know.

483
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:20,560
Speaker 6: We'd say, okay, well, we've got all this footage. What

484
00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,000
Speaker 6: would happen if the league doesn't start? What would the

485
00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:25,679
Speaker 6: ending will really be? Because we always thought, you know,

486
00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:29,280
Speaker 6: the film starts the beginning of Project eight and endst

487
00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:31,119
Speaker 6: at that inaugural.

488
00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:34,800
Speaker 5: Game, but what if there's no inaugural game? And to

489
00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,240
Speaker 5: be truthful, I thought, well, if if it's not going

490
00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:40,920
Speaker 5: to happen, it's going to be even a stronger call

491
00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:45,280
Speaker 5: to gather people around and to see what an opportunity

492
00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:48,840
Speaker 5: it is and to see how wonderful these women are

493
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,320
Speaker 5: and how resourceful they were. So we had a sort

494
00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:56,120
Speaker 5: of plan of an ending, and thank god we didn't

495
00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:57,000
Speaker 5: have to didn't have.

496
00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:57,400
Speaker 2: To use it.

497
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,400
Speaker 1: Project eight, for those who don't remember from the last time,

498
00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:02,760
Speaker 1: was the original sort of working name and title for

499
00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:06,680
Speaker 1: the league before the NSL. And why did you think, Michelle,

500
00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:09,880
Speaker 1: that twenty twenty six it was almost like too late somehow.

501
00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:11,680
Speaker 2: Why couldn't it just be pushed back a year?

502
00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:14,320
Speaker 5: Well, for one, I think there are a lot of

503
00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:17,840
Speaker 5: the owners, you know, to put up a million dollars

504
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:22,199
Speaker 5: and to then have yet another year of uncertainty. You

505
00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:25,840
Speaker 5: saw the amount of stress Diana was under. There was

506
00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:29,000
Speaker 5: the World Cup coming up, and it was a long

507
00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:31,640
Speaker 5: year that twenty twenty five and twenty twenty four. I thought,

508
00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:36,080
Speaker 5: oh my god, another year. How would the momentum keep

509
00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:41,520
Speaker 5: right going? So yeah, it was everyone was holding their

510
00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:48,080
Speaker 5: breath on the sidelines waiting for that announcement on May

511
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,399
Speaker 5: twenty eighth, that you were there, Sarah, but to see

512
00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:54,600
Speaker 5: where would team six show up, what Ottawa would be

513
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,480
Speaker 5: that final team that would allow the lead to start.

514
00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:00,959
Speaker 1: Yeah, Diana, take us to the lower this moment, the

515
00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:02,840
Speaker 1: moment in the middle of all this where you're like, shit,

516
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,240
Speaker 1: this isn't gonna happen, or this thing just came in

517
00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:07,439
Speaker 1: it's a no, or this.

518
00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:09,080
Speaker 2: Person just dropped out and I thought they were the

519
00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:09,719
Speaker 2: crux of this.

520
00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:13,399
Speaker 1: Where was the moment where you really worried that it

521
00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:14,200
Speaker 1: wasn't gonna happen.

522
00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,560
Speaker 4: No One, And that's honestly a hard question because I

523
00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:19,679
Speaker 4: don't think there was one. I think it was like

524
00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:23,439
Speaker 4: it was cumulative, you know, a couple of years of

525
00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,800
Speaker 4: living that with that uncertainty, and then as we got

526
00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:29,440
Speaker 4: closer to you know, we got closer to twenty twenty four,

527
00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,600
Speaker 4: and then into the spring of twenty twenty four, you know,

528
00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:34,600
Speaker 4: there there wasn't a plan B. We did not have

529
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:36,480
Speaker 4: a pound to get in twenty twenty six. I don't

530
00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:38,119
Speaker 4: think we could have kept going. I think some of

531
00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:40,760
Speaker 4: the owners, I think it would have just got harder

532
00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:42,560
Speaker 4: to get owners at that point, to get on point

533
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:44,680
Speaker 4: if we had If we hadn't got going, So there

534
00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:47,760
Speaker 4: wasn't a plan B. There is a few I can

535
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:50,879
Speaker 4: remember just lying on the floor in a hotel room, like,

536
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:53,760
Speaker 4: you know, not being able to turn off my brain,

537
00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:56,400
Speaker 4: not being able to sleep, and just being like are

538
00:25:56,440 --> 00:26:01,080
Speaker 4: we gonna do this? So yeah, a few those and

539
00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:03,439
Speaker 4: my wife. My wife would be able to answer, probably

540
00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,760
Speaker 4: what was the actual lowest moment? I think. I think

541
00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:08,840
Speaker 4: part of being entrepreneurs you have to live in delusion

542
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,000
Speaker 4: half the time, you know, so to not be fully

543
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:12,960
Speaker 4: aware of the situation you're in.

544
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,119
Speaker 1: Indus Keypoler, Yeah, I feel like your wife, Anastasia is

545
00:26:16,119 --> 00:26:17,919
Speaker 1: probably going to be a little bit of comic relief

546
00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:20,160
Speaker 1: in this doc if I had to guess, just mostly

547
00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:23,840
Speaker 1: rolling her eyes or complaining about you working all the time,

548
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:27,119
Speaker 1: being stressed. And then of course the pride and the

549
00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:29,399
Speaker 1: joy and all of that will be so fun to

550
00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:32,399
Speaker 1: watch when it works. Michelle, are there any folks that

551
00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:35,200
Speaker 1: are sort of integral to the league's success going forward,

552
00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:38,080
Speaker 1: or folks that Dinah will need to work with going forward,

553
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,960
Speaker 1: whether they're rich people or politicians or otherwise that you

554
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:44,280
Speaker 1: needed to think about carefully when documenting in the film,

555
00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:47,960
Speaker 1: because either they had doubts, or they pushed back during

556
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,639
Speaker 1: the process, or they weren't super kind or friendly and

557
00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:53,480
Speaker 1: helping get this league off the ground. But you have

558
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:55,959
Speaker 1: to figure out how do we show this struggle without

559
00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:59,360
Speaker 1: alienating people that we need to be friends with.

560
00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:00,800
Speaker 2: A big concern.

561
00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:04,040
Speaker 5: As a filmmaker, you come in and you expose the situation,

562
00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:07,399
Speaker 5: and of course then you leave and the characters are

563
00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:10,000
Speaker 5: left to deal with what you've done. So you have

564
00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:13,479
Speaker 5: to be really mindful and not to throw a bomb

565
00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:18,399
Speaker 5: at the characters and them being able to pick up

566
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:21,280
Speaker 5: where you left off. But when we started, there was

567
00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:24,480
Speaker 5: a reckoning in sports in Canada and soccer was right

568
00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:28,480
Speaker 5: in the middle of it. Their federation Canada Soccer was

569
00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:32,399
Speaker 5: under the microscope. They had a bad deal. The women

570
00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:36,480
Speaker 5: tried to go on strike and the federation try to

571
00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:38,880
Speaker 5: sue them. I mean, there was so much going on

572
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:42,879
Speaker 5: and we had to and of course Diana can't or

573
00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:46,600
Speaker 5: Project AID or NSL cannot work without the federation.

574
00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:48,080
Speaker 2: So at the same.

575
00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:50,679
Speaker 5: Time, you know, we had to expose that part of

576
00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:53,400
Speaker 5: the story for one of the reasons there was no lead.

577
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:55,640
Speaker 5: But at the same time you had to be careful

578
00:27:55,960 --> 00:28:00,200
Speaker 5: the men's league as well. So the good thing about

579
00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:04,000
Speaker 5: having a film spent so many years, three years, is

580
00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:09,040
Speaker 5: that there was change. The federation got new leadership, We

581
00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:13,639
Speaker 5: brought the new leadership into the film, and not only

582
00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:18,200
Speaker 5: are they supportive of Diana and NSL, but thrilled that

583
00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:22,320
Speaker 5: there's a women's league and the new federation is about

584
00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:25,480
Speaker 5: growing the game. Let it be men or women, and

585
00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:28,359
Speaker 5: I think the women are thrilled about it. So in

586
00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:34,080
Speaker 5: a story world, since your villain has become redeemed in

587
00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:37,719
Speaker 5: the most positive way, so we were thankful for that.

588
00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:40,000
Speaker 5: And not only we had to get footage from all

589
00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:43,680
Speaker 5: these people. Oh it was. It was a bit dicey,

590
00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:50,560
Speaker 5: but again, if you're truthful and allow respect for everyone,

591
00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:53,280
Speaker 5: then you can maneuver through it.

592
00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:55,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, and as an American, of course, I have to

593
00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:58,200
Speaker 1: point out that that redeemed villain then of course has

594
00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:00,800
Speaker 1: to deal with Drone Gates, So it gets more complicated

595
00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:03,440
Speaker 1: because no one is ever all good and all bad.

596
00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:05,560
Speaker 2: There's always complication in the characters.

597
00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:07,880
Speaker 1: So that you definitely had a lot of stories to

598
00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:11,200
Speaker 1: work with when it comes to the Federation, the fight

599
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,400
Speaker 1: with the players, all the things going on the success

600
00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:16,720
Speaker 1: of the team, which provides a great background for trying

601
00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:18,920
Speaker 1: to put together you know, this league that will be

602
00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:22,520
Speaker 1: so in concert with the Federation. Dana, what are the

603
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:25,280
Speaker 1: lessons that you might have for others about tackling a

604
00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:28,600
Speaker 1: project that maybe feels too big, too unlikely to succeed,

605
00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:30,000
Speaker 1: maybe that others are telling.

606
00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:30,600
Speaker 2: You won't work.

607
00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:34,720
Speaker 4: Yeah, and you know, probably tailored mostly to the known

608
00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:38,080
Speaker 4: white men exactly the demographic.

609
00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:40,520
Speaker 2: I would say, different set of rules for us.

610
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:42,760
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I brought in I brought in a

611
00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:44,600
Speaker 4: couple of things of this project. One was everything I

612
00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:47,280
Speaker 4: learned through being an athlete, so that was part of it.

613
00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:49,760
Speaker 4: You know, make sure you have a clear vision for

614
00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:52,560
Speaker 4: what you're doing, and that's really good thing that dictates

615
00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:56,720
Speaker 4: everything you're doing. You know, the leadership things, role model first,

616
00:29:56,840 --> 00:30:00,959
Speaker 4: make sure you're transparent, vulnerable when you need to. I

617
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:02,440
Speaker 4: was also really like, you have a lot of women

618
00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:04,920
Speaker 4: mentors in sport and business who would tell me really

619
00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:07,440
Speaker 4: smart things, you know, like make sure you do not

620
00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:10,280
Speaker 4: deviate from your values at any point. And also the

621
00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:12,160
Speaker 4: men in the room don't know what they're doing either,

622
00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:15,120
Speaker 4: so why not you stuff like that that would you know,

623
00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:16,840
Speaker 4: be in the back of my head doing this thing.

624
00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,640
Speaker 4: So if there's anything big and if anyone that sees

625
00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:23,120
Speaker 4: a gap or something that needs to be done, and

626
00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:25,560
Speaker 4: you know in your heart you're the right person to

627
00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:28,239
Speaker 4: take that on. There's no reason it can't be you,

628
00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:30,040
Speaker 4: and it probably should be.

629
00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:33,480
Speaker 1: Yeah, the clear vision part always stands out to me

630
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:38,720
Speaker 1: because I sometimes have so much respect for folks who

631
00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:42,240
Speaker 1: seem ahead of the game, you know, years in advance

632
00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:45,480
Speaker 1: of something. They already see where it's going, have an idea,

633
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:48,520
Speaker 1: and they're sticking to it, regardless of how people maybe

634
00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:50,160
Speaker 1: try to say maybe a little small, or maybe a

635
00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:52,960
Speaker 1: little less, maybe a little this, and then when they

636
00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,920
Speaker 1: finally launched the thing, it's so right for the moment

637
00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:56,600
Speaker 1: that we're in.

638
00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:58,520
Speaker 2: But they had to start at years before.

639
00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:01,440
Speaker 1: And I think I think that stands out to me

640
00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:05,560
Speaker 1: is the idea that you probably got, maybe folks who

641
00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:08,120
Speaker 1: tried to convince you to do this, but less or

642
00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:10,640
Speaker 1: to your point. I think early on they were like,

643
00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:14,000
Speaker 1: why don't you just add a Canadian team to the NWSL,

644
00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:17,400
Speaker 1: and isn't that enough? And you had a clear idea

645
00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:19,640
Speaker 1: of what you wanted. And when you keep that idea

646
00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:23,400
Speaker 1: regardless of detractors, it allows you to keep focused on

647
00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:25,200
Speaker 1: it and then it comes at the right time to

648
00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:29,120
Speaker 1: your point, because Canada and women's sports are expanding in

649
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:34,479
Speaker 1: just incredible ways. The enthusiasm, the excitement, the opportunities, the offerings. Michelle,

650
00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:38,959
Speaker 1: you're fifty plus films. How did this one differ than

651
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:41,080
Speaker 1: the others for you in terms of making it?

652
00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:41,680
Speaker 2: In content?

653
00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:42,480
Speaker 4: Oh?

654
00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:46,120
Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, every film is different. But what stands

655
00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:48,880
Speaker 5: out of this one is, first of all, it ends

656
00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:51,760
Speaker 5: in a good news story, which is really great because

657
00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:56,080
Speaker 5: sometimes you're dealing with war, you're dealing with injustice or

658
00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:00,760
Speaker 5: things that are more difficult, but this one is really

659
00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:05,040
Speaker 5: on a high note. Sports also has a way, you know,

660
00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:09,640
Speaker 5: it's a unifying force, and today where everything is so divisive,

661
00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:14,040
Speaker 5: to have this with so cathartic as a filmmaker, and

662
00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:20,000
Speaker 5: I think you can you know, Diana Is as the

663
00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:23,440
Speaker 5: director of the Calgary Film Festivals, is the hero we

664
00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:28,280
Speaker 5: didn't know we needed and through her vision, and of

665
00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:31,360
Speaker 5: course it's never about her, It's always about the mission.

666
00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:36,160
Speaker 5: And I think to see people rally and unified behind

667
00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:41,720
Speaker 5: her to champion this cause, to champion Canadian values. As

668
00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:43,680
Speaker 5: you say, she could have gone the easy route and

669
00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:46,480
Speaker 5: go to the NWSL and had a team or two,

670
00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,720
Speaker 5: but she chose the hard route and the world caught

671
00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:52,960
Speaker 5: up to her is what really happened. And I think, really,

672
00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:55,920
Speaker 5: as a filmmaker, it's great to have a good news

673
00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:58,520
Speaker 5: story and people cheering on on the sidelines.

674
00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:02,400
Speaker 1: You know, yeah, for sure, the pitch is touring Canada

675
00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:04,880
Speaker 1: right now, so there are folks getting to cheer on

676
00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:07,800
Speaker 1: the good news. At the end of the Film Film

677
00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:11,880
Speaker 1: Festival Premier six Community Impact screenings, Dana, what's been the

678
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:15,240
Speaker 1: most surprising reaction that someone has had to maybe seeing

679
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:17,440
Speaker 1: the journey that led to the NSL or maybe just

680
00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:18,120
Speaker 1: seeing the doc.

681
00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:20,200
Speaker 2: Have you heard anything from anyone that you.

682
00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:22,240
Speaker 1: Were like, oh, I never thought of that, or that's

683
00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:24,800
Speaker 1: surprising that it would be something you wouldn't know about.

684
00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:27,800
Speaker 4: I think. I think the big thing in this is Michelle.

685
00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:29,600
Speaker 4: You know, we started thinking she was going to tell

686
00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:31,880
Speaker 4: the story of building up the league, and she very

687
00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:35,200
Speaker 4: much ended up telling the story of Canadian women's soccer,

688
00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:39,040
Speaker 4: and I think that's the most impactful part. And even

689
00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,160
Speaker 4: you know, players that have maybe been in the system

690
00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:43,640
Speaker 4: in Canada maybe didn't know a lot of the story

691
00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:46,240
Speaker 4: that's told over the years, and the you know, the

692
00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:48,840
Speaker 4: Charmaine Hoopers and the other players back here in Canada

693
00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:51,880
Speaker 4: that helped build enough of a foundation for that in

694
00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:54,280
Speaker 4: the next generation. The next generation. I think Michelle does

695
00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,880
Speaker 4: a really wonderful job telling that story that I think

696
00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:02,000
Speaker 4: a lot of women's soccer players and athletes and women

697
00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:06,800
Speaker 4: will feel seen by. So just honestly incredible responses so far,

698
00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:09,840
Speaker 4: I think it's Michelle did an incredible job. It's really

699
00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:12,400
Speaker 4: it's a really powerful story, truly.

700
00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:13,520
Speaker 2: Michelle, what about you?

701
00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:16,320
Speaker 1: Any responses that kind of surprised you?

702
00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:21,080
Speaker 5: Oh, the you know, you always plant little jokes, little

703
00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:26,080
Speaker 5: you know, high moments, low moments, and when in an audience,

704
00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:30,480
Speaker 5: when you see people respond to every section that you've planted,

705
00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:34,160
Speaker 5: it's very rewarding. And then you have some players who said,

706
00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:37,440
Speaker 5: oh my god, who play in the league right now,

707
00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:40,680
Speaker 5: and yet when there was this the the the tension

708
00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:43,040
Speaker 5: between are we actually going to make it to team six?

709
00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:45,200
Speaker 5: They were feeling the tension even though they played in

710
00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:48,600
Speaker 5: the league. So, you know, it was it was a

711
00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:52,920
Speaker 5: wonderful response, and that's the best part of filmmaking is

712
00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:54,440
Speaker 5: sharing it with an audience.

713
00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:58,520
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would imagine that these players understand the amount

714
00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:00,640
Speaker 1: of work that went into making this, But there is

715
00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:04,920
Speaker 1: something to be said for having a documented proof of

716
00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:08,480
Speaker 1: the journey. So five years from now, ten years from

717
00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:10,600
Speaker 1: now if people are taking it for granted, they can

718
00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:13,879
Speaker 1: go back and see just what was required in order

719
00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:17,320
Speaker 1: to finally launch this. Let's get back to the NSL

720
00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:19,400
Speaker 1: then as we close here, Dinah. Over the weekend, the

721
00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:22,080
Speaker 1: first ever Shield was awarded to Toronto. You mentioned the

722
00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:24,839
Speaker 1: team at the best regular season record, the award also

723
00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:27,839
Speaker 1: celebrates the club's fans, so can you explain that.

724
00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:32,480
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, we were building a league from scratch,

725
00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:36,040
Speaker 4: which meant the supporter groups and the fan groups and

726
00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:39,080
Speaker 4: the fan culture is all being built from scratch too,

727
00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:42,000
Speaker 4: So we've tried, like many things, like our relationship with

728
00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:43,839
Speaker 4: the players, a relationship with the fans, to try and

729
00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:48,680
Speaker 4: build it as closely as possible. So yeah, here in Toronto,

730
00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:52,000
Speaker 4: the Vermilion Vanguard is their name because of the color

731
00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:54,920
Speaker 4: of Toronto. A few members of their supporter group got

732
00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:58,520
Speaker 4: to hand over the Supporter Shield to the team, so

733
00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:00,160
Speaker 4: that's how they were celebrated here.

734
00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:00,920
Speaker 2: I love that.

735
00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:03,640
Speaker 1: Yeah, and the Supporter Shield is what goes to the

736
00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:05,840
Speaker 1: team that wins. What are you most excited about with

737
00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:06,959
Speaker 1: the postseason about to get.

738
00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:11,640
Speaker 4: Underway, first NFL Final. I mean, you guys know what

739
00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:13,960
Speaker 4: it is. You've got the NWSL Final down here up

740
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:17,680
Speaker 4: in Canada, our Gray Cup is like our Super Bowl,

741
00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:21,120
Speaker 4: and that's really the only single game final event. And

742
00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:23,200
Speaker 4: for us, it's same as you guys, like fans from

743
00:36:23,239 --> 00:36:26,399
Speaker 4: all over the country travel for that game, and we

744
00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:29,720
Speaker 4: see that as being the NSL final, but the women's

745
00:36:29,719 --> 00:36:31,719
Speaker 4: sport version. That's what we want to build here. We

746
00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:33,640
Speaker 4: want to have Canadians from all over the country fly

747
00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:35,920
Speaker 4: into this event every year. So the first one is

748
00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:39,640
Speaker 4: this year November fifteenth in Toronto. For anyone that wants

749
00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:41,399
Speaker 4: to come up north of the border for that one

750
00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:44,879
Speaker 4: should be fantastic. And obviously semi finals are coming up.

751
00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:47,319
Speaker 4: We have a little bit different format than you guys

752
00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:50,080
Speaker 4: down south. We've gone with a home and away format,

753
00:36:50,239 --> 00:36:53,800
Speaker 4: so two games and total score advances to the final

754
00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:56,680
Speaker 4: for a single game elimination. So looking forward to that one.

755
00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:58,840
Speaker 1: The winner of the championship game is going to be

756
00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:02,879
Speaker 1: awarded the Diana Mathison Cup, the trophy with your name

757
00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:03,120
Speaker 1: on it.

758
00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:06,080
Speaker 2: I assume you get to hand out the Diana I think.

759
00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:08,000
Speaker 4: I think. So we're still looking for a nickname for

760
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:09,600
Speaker 4: the trophy, if you have any suggestions.

761
00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:13,399
Speaker 1: I like the dB DM doesn't work as well because

762
00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:15,880
Speaker 1: it sounds like people are sliding into your DMS.

763
00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:16,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, but.

764
00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:25,360
Speaker 1: dBm, DBC, DBMC, DMC, oh DMC, shop it, get run DMC.

765
00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:25,839
Speaker 2: Yeah.

766
00:37:26,239 --> 00:37:30,040
Speaker 1: Uh. Last question for you, I hate to ask because

767
00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:35,360
Speaker 1: you're still enjoying the great, wonderful joy of putting together

768
00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:38,000
Speaker 1: this inaugirls season and getting ready for this first final.

769
00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:40,239
Speaker 1: But what's top of your mind for next year to

770
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:42,240
Speaker 1: improve or change or grow?

771
00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:45,480
Speaker 4: You know, the point of year one was to exist,

772
00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:48,960
Speaker 4: It was proof of concepts. So yeah, we're not We're

773
00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:52,680
Speaker 4: not done obviously. I now we're we're looking ahead to

774
00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:57,160
Speaker 4: year two. We've announced expansion plans, so we're in market now.

775
00:37:57,160 --> 00:37:58,879
Speaker 4: We'll look to add one team for the twenty twenty

776
00:37:58,960 --> 00:38:02,120
Speaker 4: seven See, we've got four teams in the East too

777
00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:03,560
Speaker 4: and the West right now, so we're looking to go

778
00:38:03,640 --> 00:38:07,360
Speaker 4: central to West in Canada to add that team. Looking

779
00:38:07,360 --> 00:38:10,719
Speaker 4: forward to joining regional football as well. We should have

780
00:38:10,719 --> 00:38:13,160
Speaker 4: an NSL club in the w Champions Cup next year

781
00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:15,960
Speaker 4: and then you know, looking forward to lots of other

782
00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:19,880
Speaker 4: opportunities to work with other women's leagues internationally. Is just

783
00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:23,600
Speaker 4: such a great community. We love working with everyone at

784
00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:27,560
Speaker 4: the NWUSL, the Mexican League or European counterparts, like, it's

785
00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:30,600
Speaker 4: such an incredible community that shares knowledge and just wants

786
00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:33,239
Speaker 4: to grow the game. So looking forward to getting more

787
00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:34,799
Speaker 4: Canada out there.

788
00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:35,560
Speaker 2: Yeah.

789
00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:38,239
Speaker 1: Well, and next year it'll be really cool to have

790
00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:41,600
Speaker 1: a soccer team and a basketball team in Toronto, a

791
00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:45,000
Speaker 1: hockey team and a soccer team in Vancouver. Like the

792
00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:48,239
Speaker 1: idea that you can build off of these relationships, connections

793
00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:50,879
Speaker 1: and bring these athletes together. That's one great thing about

794
00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:53,839
Speaker 1: women's sport is we know that there are fans who

795
00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:55,839
Speaker 1: are just fans of one sport, but more often than

796
00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:59,560
Speaker 1: not they will be energetic and enthused about sharing their

797
00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:02,279
Speaker 1: love and going and supporting all the other women's teams too.

798
00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:04,759
Speaker 1: So having those pairs of teams in cities will be

799
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:08,319
Speaker 1: really fun, opportunity to do some cool things, get those

800
00:39:08,320 --> 00:39:10,440
Speaker 1: soccer players on skates, you know, things.

801
00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:11,840
Speaker 4: Like that exactly.

802
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,360
Speaker 2: See how that goes well. Thank you both for joining us.

803
00:39:14,440 --> 00:39:16,719
Speaker 1: We're so looking forward to seeing the film and good

804
00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:17,879
Speaker 1: luck with the rest of the tour of it.

805
00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:22,720
Speaker 5: Thanks for having us, Thanks Sarah, Thanks again to Diana

806
00:39:22,719 --> 00:39:24,759
Speaker 5: and Michelle for taking the time to chat with us.

807
00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:27,160
Speaker 1: We have to take another break when we come back.

808
00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:30,439
Speaker 1: We come to this place for magic. Do what Nicole

809
00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:34,439
Speaker 1: Kidman says, go watch a movie.

810
00:39:38,160 --> 00:39:39,200
Speaker 2: Welcome back, Slices.

811
00:39:39,320 --> 00:39:40,880
Speaker 1: We love that you're listening, but we want you to

812
00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:42,759
Speaker 1: get in the game every day too, So here's our

813
00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:46,400
Speaker 1: good game play of the day. For slices near Portland, Oregon,

814
00:39:46,480 --> 00:39:49,279
Speaker 1: go watch the Pitch. The film is making its US

815
00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:52,680
Speaker 1: premiere this Saturday at the q Doc Film Festival. And

816
00:39:52,760 --> 00:39:56,400
Speaker 1: for our Maple Bacon Slices Akar Canadian listeners, there are

817
00:39:56,400 --> 00:40:02,600
Speaker 1: a bunch of screenings coming your way Vancouver, Ottawa Trail, Halifax, Calgary, Toronto.

818
00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:05,480
Speaker 1: They're all hosting screenings in the coming weeks, so we'll

819
00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:07,839
Speaker 1: link to a full list in the show notes. And

820
00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:10,480
Speaker 1: if you want an interesting read about that drone situation

821
00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:12,400
Speaker 1: that we briefly touched on at the end of the interview,

822
00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:14,560
Speaker 1: you can check out a recently published story in The

823
00:40:14,560 --> 00:40:18,360
Speaker 1: Player's Tribune, written by former Canadian assistant coach Jasmine Mander.

824
00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:23,320
Speaker 1: It's frankly pretty moving. It's complicated and sad and certainly

825
00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:25,000
Speaker 1: makes you think a little bit harder about the people

826
00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:27,399
Speaker 1: behind the headlines. We'll link to it in the show

827
00:40:27,400 --> 00:40:29,279
Speaker 1: notes if you want to read it. Finally, if you

828
00:40:29,280 --> 00:40:31,440
Speaker 1: want to watch the press conference when producer Alex said

829
00:40:31,480 --> 00:40:34,400
Speaker 1: to ask NWSL player Kate Delfava if she just scored

830
00:40:34,440 --> 00:40:37,440
Speaker 1: her first ever goal and ci Loo Labante's epic reaction.

831
00:40:37,880 --> 00:40:39,600
Speaker 2: We'll link to that in the show notes too. We

832
00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:41,160
Speaker 2: always love to hear from you, so hit us.

833
00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:44,279
Speaker 1: Up on email Good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or

834
00:40:44,360 --> 00:40:46,799
Speaker 1: leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two four

835
00:40:46,920 --> 00:40:50,840
Speaker 1: fifty seventy, and don't forget to subscribe rate and review slices.

836
00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:51,840
Speaker 2: It's easy.

837
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:57,839
Speaker 1: Watch the Power of community rating Priceless Review. I've been

838
00:40:57,840 --> 00:40:59,480
Speaker 1: thinking a lot the last few days about what we

839
00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:02,239
Speaker 1: all can do post No King's protests to keep that

840
00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:05,479
Speaker 1: protest spirit alive. And there was a great piece last

841
00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:08,000
Speaker 1: week in block Club Chicago, which is a local news

842
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:10,319
Speaker 1: site in my city, and it highlighted the work that's

843
00:41:10,360 --> 00:41:13,479
Speaker 1: being done to help residents as ICE continues to tear

844
00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:17,120
Speaker 1: apart families and communities, whether it's giving out whistles to

845
00:41:17,200 --> 00:41:20,279
Speaker 1: alert folks of ICE nearby, doing grocery runs for people

846
00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:22,760
Speaker 1: that are afraid to leave their homes, or even gathering

847
00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:25,319
Speaker 1: groups to walk kids to and from schools that they

848
00:41:25,360 --> 00:41:28,160
Speaker 1: feel safe and are protected from being grabbed off the street.

849
00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:31,160
Speaker 1: There is just so much good work happening in my city,

850
00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:33,959
Speaker 1: and we need to be around other people who care.

851
00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:36,319
Speaker 1: We need to remember that there's more good out there

852
00:41:36,320 --> 00:41:38,200
Speaker 1: than it might feel like when we're watching the news

853
00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:40,520
Speaker 1: or scrolling on our phones. So I'm going to link

854
00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:41,960
Speaker 1: to that story in the show notes if you want

855
00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:43,759
Speaker 1: to read up on how you can donate time or

856
00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:47,279
Speaker 1: money or create similar activism and assistance in your own

857
00:41:47,280 --> 00:41:50,440
Speaker 1: cities and neighborhoods. Just thinking about how the women's sports

858
00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:53,439
Speaker 1: world is full of people who understand how to fight back,

859
00:41:53,480 --> 00:41:56,480
Speaker 1: people like Diana who can build a brand new league

860
00:41:56,560 --> 00:41:59,799
Speaker 1: from scratch, like the US women's soccer team who fought

861
00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:03,160
Speaker 1: their federation for equal pay, like the WNBA players who

862
00:42:03,239 --> 00:42:04,520
Speaker 1: flipped a Senate seat.

863
00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:06,359
Speaker 2: And I think we got to channel.

864
00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:09,200
Speaker 1: That energy now when our blocks, our hoods, our cities,

865
00:42:09,239 --> 00:42:11,640
Speaker 1: and our country need it most. So if you know

866
00:42:11,680 --> 00:42:13,480
Speaker 1: of a great group that should be highlighted or helped,

867
00:42:13,680 --> 00:42:15,879
Speaker 1: send him my way. I'd love to shout him out.

868
00:42:16,360 --> 00:42:19,360
Speaker 1: Now it's your turn, y'all, rate and review, Thanks for listening,

869
00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:24,680
Speaker 1: See you tomorrow. Good game, Diana, good game. Michelle hugh Ice,

870
00:42:30,040 --> 00:42:32,520
Speaker 1: Good game. With Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports

871
00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:35,719
Speaker 1: production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You

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Speaker 1: can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts.

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Speaker 2: Or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Speaker 1: Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are alex Azzie

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Speaker 1: Grace Lynch, Taylor Williamson, and Lucy Jones. Our executive producers

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Speaker 1: are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.

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Speaker 1: Our editors are Emily Rudder, Britney Martinez and Gianna Palmer.

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Speaker 1: Production assistants from Avery Loftus and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain.

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Speaker 2: The Mist Something