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

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Speaker 1: to announce a new hypeman has dropped. Jason Kelsey handshake emoji.

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Speaker 1: Olympic Women's Rugby a match made in Heaven. Swifties that means,

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Speaker 1: set your DVRs, learn the names of the players. Let's

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Speaker 1: give this Olympic women's rugby team the love they deserve.

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Speaker 1: On today's show, we'll be talking with four time Olympic

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Speaker 1: gold medalists and four time WNBA champion, The Woman, the Myth,

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Speaker 1: the Legend, Cheryl Swoops, plus our big Easter Egg reveal.

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Speaker 1: It's more proof that I should not be left to

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Speaker 1: my own devices. But first, here's what you need to

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Speaker 1: know today. Tmusa waterpolo is currently one in one in

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Speaker 1: Olympic competition after a thirteen eleven lost to Spain on Monday.

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Speaker 1: This was a rematch of the Olympic final three years

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Speaker 1: ago in Tokyo.

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Speaker 2: Get this.

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Speaker 1: It's only the US team's second loss at the Olympics

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Speaker 1: since two thousand and eight. The US women's water polo

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Speaker 1: team is one of the most dominant teams in the

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Speaker 1: world in any sport, so it's always big news when

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Speaker 1: they lose. But it also doesn't mean much in the

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Speaker 1: context of the Olympic tournament. Hopefully just leads to a

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Speaker 1: rematch in the gold medal game. Next up for Team

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Speaker 1: USA Italy on Wednesday at twelve thirty pm Eastern in

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Speaker 1: rugby in a chippy quarter final match with Great Britain,

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Speaker 1: Team USA held on in one seventeen to seven to advance.

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Speaker 1: Next up is a semi final match against New Zealand

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Speaker 1: today at nine thirty am Eastern, live on Peacock. The

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Speaker 1: US is seeking its first ever Olympic gold medal in rugby.

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Speaker 1: Both bronze and gold medal games are later on this afternoon. Also,

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Speaker 1: if you're still not following our rugby Queen Alana Mayor,

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Speaker 1: you're like a million or so people behind, so get

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Speaker 1: on that right now. You can watch her convert Jason

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Speaker 1: Kelsey to hype man, stiff armed people a la Marshaun Lynch,

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Speaker 1: and turn pretty much every moment of the Olympics into

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Speaker 1: a comedy routine. The gymnastics team final is today, beginning

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Speaker 1: at twelve to fifteen pm Eastern.

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Speaker 3: Here's how it works.

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Speaker 1: During the final, each country has three athletes compete on

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Speaker 1: each apparatus, and all three scores count despite tweaking your

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Speaker 1: calf while warming up during Sunday's qualification, is expected to

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Speaker 1: compete on all four apparatuses Apparati apparatus, same with Jordan Chiles,

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Speaker 1: while Jade Carey will appear on vault and Sudney Lee

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Speaker 1: will compete on bars, beam and floor. The Americans will

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Speaker 1: enter the team final as the favorites for gold, and

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Speaker 1: they posted the best score in qualifying by a long shot.

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Speaker 1: But of course, gymnastics is an unforgiving sport and anything

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Speaker 1: can happen. Remember in the team final three years ago,

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Speaker 1: Simone Biles, dealing with the twisties, had to withdraw and

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Speaker 1: the US went on to win silver again. That event

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Speaker 1: is twelve to fifteen pm Eastern, So take a long

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Speaker 1: lunch break.

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Speaker 3: You know I'm gonna be.

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Speaker 1: Watching Team USA takes the court for the first time

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Speaker 1: in three x three basketball today at eleven thirty am

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Speaker 1: Eastern against Germany. That US team is going to be

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Speaker 1: super fun to watch. Sierra Burdick, Derek Hamby, Ryan Howard

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Speaker 1: and Hayley Vanlyth. And a quick refresher on three x

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Speaker 1: three just in case you haven't watched it since Tokyo, Okay.

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Speaker 1: The Games are super fast, like if you go get

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Speaker 1: a snack and you come right back, you might miss

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Speaker 1: it fast.

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Speaker 3: Each game is only ten minutes, but it can end

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Speaker 3: sooner than that.

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Speaker 1: If one team reaches twenty one points, watch that on

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Speaker 1: NBC or stream it on peacock.

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Speaker 3: Maybe had a couple screen setups. They don't miss any

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Speaker 3: of the action.

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Speaker 1: Speaking of basketball, team, USA is five on five. Squad

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Speaker 1: kept it tighter than expected early against Japan, but then

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Speaker 1: pulled away for a one oh two seventy six win.

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Speaker 1: Asia Wilson led the team with twenty four points and

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Speaker 1: thirteen rebounds. We can't shout out USA women soops without

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Speaker 1: a quick good game, good game.

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Speaker 3: Fact you times two fact number one.

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Speaker 1: With their win against Japan, it's been eleven thousand, six

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Speaker 1: hundred and eighty two days since the basketball team lost

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Speaker 1: an Olympic game. Fact number two. Only three of the

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Speaker 1: twelve players on the current US roster were alive for

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Speaker 1: that loss. Diana Tarassi, Alisa Thomas, Britney Griner shout out

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Speaker 1: the olds. Speaking of USA hoops, we got to take

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Speaker 1: a break, but when we come back. I had the

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Speaker 1: one of interviewing Cheryl Swoops for the keynote conversation at

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Speaker 1: Monday's Athletes Unlimited Innovation Summit, you can hear why she

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Speaker 1: was brought to tears talking about Athletes Unlimited basketball, her

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Speaker 1: take on the evolution of the WNBA, and her response

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Speaker 1: to the accusations leveled against her at.

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Speaker 2: The beginning of this season.

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Speaker 3: Come on back, welcome back.

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Speaker 1: Settle in for a great conversation I had yesterday with

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Speaker 1: the legendary Cheryl Swoops. Cheryl Swoops was the first player

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Speaker 1: to be signed in the WNBA, A three time WNBA MVP,

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Speaker 1: four time WNBA Champion. As an eleven year member of

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Speaker 1: the Houston Comets, she accumulated over two thousand career points,

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Speaker 1: five hundred career rebounds, three hundred career assists, and two

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Speaker 1: hundred career steals. She has won three Olympic gold medals.

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Speaker 1: She's one of eleven women's basketball players to have won

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Speaker 1: an Olympic gold medal and NCAA Championship, a FOEBA World

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Speaker 1: Cup gold, and a WNBA title. She was elected to

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Speaker 1: the Naismith Hall of Fame in twenty sixteen and the

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Speaker 1: Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in twenty six seventeen. She's

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Speaker 1: a coach and analyst a mom and a legend. She

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Speaker 1: took on Michael Jordan and went on one at his camp,

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Speaker 1: and even though she lost, she got lipstick and makeup

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Speaker 1: all over his T shirt and got to take it

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Speaker 1: home as a souvenir.

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Speaker 2: So she's a winner.

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Speaker 1: In my book, it's Cheryl Swoops the goat.

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Speaker 4: What's up, girl, Shay Sarah?

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Speaker 2: Hi, so great to see you again.

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Speaker 1: We just hung at the WNBA All Star Week and

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Speaker 1: we're gonna get to some stuff from that. But I

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Speaker 1: want to actually start back when you were playing Michael

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Speaker 1: at his camp.

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Speaker 2: And here's why.

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Speaker 1: It was this moment in time, this peak maybe of

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Speaker 1: your stardom. You're getting invites to MJ's camp, You're the

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Speaker 1: first player ever in the WNBA, You've got your own shoe,

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Speaker 1: the air swoops like in those first couple of years.

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Speaker 1: What stands out to you from that time and that

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Speaker 1: attention you were getting.

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Speaker 4: Gosh, I guess if I compare that time to today,

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Speaker 4: I'm like, that was nothing right, because it's just crazy

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Speaker 4: attention that the league's getting today. But I think for me,

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Speaker 4: like back then, what really stood out, honestly was the

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Speaker 4: fact that Michael Jordan knew who I was. You know,

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Speaker 4: like Michael Jordan to me like, there will never be

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Speaker 4: another one? Me too, girl, You'd like right, like he

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Speaker 4: just he just was Michael. And I remember when I

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Speaker 4: didn't get the call. My college coach at the time,

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Speaker 4: Marcia Sharp, she got the call and was like, Hey,

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Speaker 4: Michael Jordan wants you to come work as a basketball camp.

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Speaker 4: And so I was like, wow much, Seriously, how much

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Speaker 4: do I have to pay to go work his basketball camp?

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Speaker 4: She's like, Cheryl, that's not how that works. But I

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Speaker 4: remember just having a very brief conversation with him about

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Speaker 4: he watched the Final four and he just had so

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Speaker 4: much to say about my game and had so much

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Speaker 4: to say about women's basketball that I was just like, Wow,

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Speaker 4: We've made it. That was the That was my mindset

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Speaker 4: and my thought back then. But when I compare it

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Speaker 4: to where we are today, I'm like, wow, well.

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Speaker 1: I want to talk about that because the Wnball Star

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Speaker 1: Game just had this insane ratings three point four to

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Speaker 1: four million people, and that shattered the last record of

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Speaker 1: one point four million that was back in two thousand

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Speaker 1: and three when you were playing. But one point four

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Speaker 1: million is a lot. A lot of times we say

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Speaker 1: those statistics, and we don't ask ourselves, well, what was

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Speaker 1: going on in two thousand and three, why was that

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Speaker 1: a record? Yere right, So you were in that game.

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Speaker 1: Those early years of the W had incredible attention. They

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Speaker 1: were it was quite popular. People were excited about it.

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Speaker 1: But then it dipped, and I'm wondering to what do

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Speaker 1: you attribute some of that really high excitement when it

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Speaker 1: started and then the lull before the recent major growth.

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Speaker 4: I don't know, you know, I really was having this

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Speaker 4: conversation with someone the other day when we were talking about, like,

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Speaker 4: when the W started in ninety seven, it was the

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Speaker 4: excitement behind it and everyone was ready for it, and

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Speaker 4: it was coming right off the ninety six Olympics. So

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Speaker 4: like the enthusiasm and the excitement, people were like, give

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Speaker 4: us more, give us more. And so I think the

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Speaker 4: first like ten years of the W was really really fun.

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Speaker 4: It was exciting, and you were winning every time. Well

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Speaker 4: that made it even better. But I know people look

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Speaker 4: at the game today and they're like, wow, like these

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Speaker 4: women are really good. And I said to someone the

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Speaker 4: other day, I said, but we've always been good, Like

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Speaker 4: the game has always been exciting. I think the biggest

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Speaker 4: difference today is social media to me plays a huge

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Speaker 4: part of where the game is today. Right, there are

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Speaker 4: more eyes and fans feel very connected to the players

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Speaker 4: right or wrong, like them, love them, hate them. It

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Speaker 4: gives them a space to feel like they're connected to

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Speaker 4: that athlete. And at some point when the WNBA first started,

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Speaker 4: right the first ten years, we're excited, I think fans

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Speaker 4: got bored. I guess right, it was like, well, the

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Speaker 4: comments won the first flour and someone else won this one.

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Speaker 4: Like give us something different, give us something more exciting

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Speaker 4: to cheer about. So at one point there it was

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Speaker 4: like people forgot about the WNBA and then you lost

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Speaker 4: teams right Houston, Sacramento, teams who won championships, and a

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Speaker 4: lot of people forgot about the WNBA. And I think

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Speaker 4: at one point the league finally figured out, like we

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Speaker 4: need to continue to market this league year round. We

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Speaker 4: can't just market it in the summer because in the

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Speaker 4: off season people tend to forget about the WNBA.

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Speaker 1: And I feel like that's investment too. It bursts onto

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Speaker 1: the scene and is really popular. Despite some poisoning of

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Speaker 1: the well, there were very prominent male sports writers who

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Speaker 1: were making fun of the w There were even some

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Speaker 1: questions still do yes, but yes they usually get shouted

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Speaker 1: down now though, and before it was like, hey, it's

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Speaker 1: okay that there's this butt.

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Speaker 2: Of the joke that we're going to make women.

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Speaker 1: But I think also the marketing was an interesting choice,

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Speaker 1: like some of the Sue burd in a halter top

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Speaker 1: and swing cash on the hood of a car. It

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Speaker 1: was like that that's not really what we're going for here,

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Speaker 1: but it thrived anyway, and then it was like, well,

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Speaker 1: we put some money in and now it exists and

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Speaker 1: we're done, and instead there needed to be a continued investment.

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Speaker 2: That seems to be a problem with a lot of

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Speaker 2: women's sports.

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Speaker 1: Is this idea of like putting a little bit in

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Speaker 1: and then demanding ROI instead of realizing, like any startup

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Speaker 1: or new business, you need to put in a lot

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Speaker 1: of money with the intention that over the long haul

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Speaker 1: you're going to get back what you're putting in. And

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Speaker 1: that felt like some of that drought was because of

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Speaker 1: not really feeling like investing in it. The early years

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Speaker 1: were also a fascinating time for people to remind themselves

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Speaker 1: that women are athletes and women, and you actually changed

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Speaker 1: minds on that in a really meaningful way. Because you're drafted,

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Speaker 1: you're getting ready to play your first WNBA season, and

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Speaker 1: you get pregnant and the league decides to actually film

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Speaker 1: you being pregnant, film you coming back just six weeks

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Speaker 1: after you gave birth to play, and they tried to

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Speaker 1: make you sort of the everyday mom that was relatable,

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Speaker 1: like Cheryl Swoops has ever been every day at literally anything?

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Speaker 4: I am Sarah, Well, you do have a back problem

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Speaker 4: as an.

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Speaker 2: So that's relatable.

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Speaker 1: And the whole personal summer menopause thing that's relatable. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: this travels, it's right, But you help destigmatize female athletes

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Speaker 1: giving birth.

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Speaker 2: What was that like for you?

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Speaker 1: Because you're just starting your WNBA career, You're a twenty

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Speaker 1: six year old, there's all the pressure of helping me

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Speaker 1: the face of this new league and you're a new mom.

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Speaker 4: I mean it was a lot. But before I even

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Speaker 4: answer that, I want to go back to what you

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Speaker 4: ask earlier. I think one of the things with the

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Speaker 4: league in the beginning was really trying to figure out,

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Speaker 4: like how do we market these women? And I'm not

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Speaker 4: sure the league really knew like who is our audience?

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Speaker 4: Who are we trying to market to? Who do we

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Speaker 4: want to get to come out to the game. And

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Speaker 4: back then, right like all of us were we were

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Speaker 4: trying to wear this hat only one right that the

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Speaker 4: league said this is this is the image we've got

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Speaker 4: to put out and this is what we need people

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Speaker 4: to think we are. And today one the league has changed.

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Speaker 4: But more than that, the players have basically said, I'll

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Speaker 4: keep it clean. But the players honestly are like, wells, yeah,

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Speaker 4: Like we're going to be who we are and you're

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Speaker 4: either going to like us, you're gonna love us, or

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Speaker 4: you're gonna hate us, but it's not going to change

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Speaker 4: who we are as individuals. And I think that in

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Speaker 4: itself has really changed where the league is. It's changed

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Speaker 4: more brands wanting to get on board and say I

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Speaker 4: really want you to be a part of my brand

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Speaker 4: and represent my company.

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Speaker 1: It's a response to society too, though for originally the

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Speaker 1: league is very concerned about racism, homophobia, judgments about female

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Speaker 1: athletes and whether they fill the roles of women that

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Speaker 1: we expect. It was like, let's pretty them up and

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Speaker 1: make sure everyone thinks they're hot while they're playing sports, right,

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Speaker 1: And instead now it's just be authentically yourself feminine, masculine, gay, straight, villain,

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Speaker 1: funny whatever, and just in life in society at large.

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Speaker 1: Were allowing people to be themselves more and that allows

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Speaker 1: the athletes to step into what you're talking about, which

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Speaker 1: is massive for women's sports. I think it's one of

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Speaker 1: the biggest things that has turned the tide for every

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Speaker 1: single women's sports.

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Speaker 4: Well, and it's and it's huge today, right because back then,

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Speaker 4: you know, we there were things that we didn't like,

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Speaker 4: but we didn't feel like we had that voice to

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Speaker 4: necessarily stand up and say this is not right or

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Speaker 4: this is we don't agree with this. And I always

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Speaker 4: say someone had to be the first. So when the

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Speaker 4: league started at ninety seven, we were just happy to

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Speaker 4: have a league, right, didn't really matter charter flights, we had, roommates,

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Speaker 4: didn't have our own room. I'm a mom. I have

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Speaker 4: a roommate with a child, right, and so if I

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Speaker 4: wanted my own room, I had to pay the difference.

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Speaker 4: So there were so many things that looking back on it,

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Speaker 4: I'm like, how in the world as a professional athlete,

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Speaker 4: as an adult professional athlete, we're having to share rooms

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Speaker 4: with someone else? Like I Yeah, anyway.

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Speaker 1: And who drew the short straw of rooming with Cheryl

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Speaker 1: and her kids.

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Speaker 4: Uh. But I couldn't even imagine though, having to have

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Speaker 4: a roommate, right, even if I didn't have a kid.

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Speaker 4: I just I need my own space. So to that point,

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Speaker 4: when I found out in ninety seven that I was pregnant,

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Speaker 4: it took me a while to tell the league because

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Speaker 4: I had no idea how they were going to respond

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Speaker 4: at first, and there was a part of me that

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Speaker 4: was like, I cannot believe I'm letting the league down right,

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Speaker 4: being the first player to sign and they're doing all

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Speaker 4: of this marketing behind me, and then I find out

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Speaker 4: I'm pregnant. So finally I was like, all right, they're

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Speaker 4: gonna find out, so I need to tell them. But

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Speaker 4: I have to tell you the support that I received

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Speaker 4: back then from Nike and even from the league, there

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Speaker 4: was never any pressure at all to come back and

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Speaker 4: be a part of the league. That was important to

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Speaker 4: me because I wanted to do that. But it's so

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Speaker 4: crazy when I think about what I personally went through

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Speaker 4: as a woman, as a mom, as an athlete, oh gosh,

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Speaker 4: but just the struggles that I had to go through,

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Speaker 4: and so I today I hear or I listened to

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Speaker 4: like Skyler Diggins. I listened to her tell her story,

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Speaker 4: and I went through those things, but I had nobody

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Speaker 4: that I could talk to. So it was one of

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Speaker 4: those things where I went, I practiced, I played, I

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Speaker 4: did my job like no one had a clue what

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Speaker 4: I was really going through, Like just on a personal

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Speaker 4: level of how do I balance being the best mom

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Speaker 4: I can be but also being the best athlete I

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Speaker 4: can be because there was so much pressure, right, so

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Speaker 4: many eyes on me. I remember reading this one story. Sorry,

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Speaker 4: I didn't know I was gonna cry, but I remember

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Speaker 4: reading this one article from this reporter who I won't

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Speaker 4: name but he's still free. But he just basically said,

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Speaker 4: like there's no way she will ever be able to

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Speaker 4: be a mom and be a successful athlete, which I'm

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Speaker 4: sure there are so many women who deal with that, right,

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Speaker 4: like motherhood and being a career, having a career, being

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Speaker 4: a wife, whatever that is. And I remember reading that

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Speaker 4: and the first thing I thought was, like, you have

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Speaker 4: no idea who I am, and you have no idea

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Speaker 4: what I'm capable of. So like that type of stuff

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Speaker 4: just only fuel my fire, right, But I also knew

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Speaker 4: that there would be more women who would come after me,

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Speaker 4: who would be in that same situation. So for me,

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Speaker 4: it was so important that I was able to not

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Speaker 4: just show the w and show men, but I wanted

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Speaker 4: to show women like, like, we can do this, We

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Speaker 4: can be great moms, we can have great careers, and

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Speaker 4: we don't have to make sacrifices on any of it.

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Speaker 4: And I won't say it was easy, but I had

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Speaker 4: a great circle of people around me was I did okay.

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Speaker 4: I did okay.

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Speaker 1: You know what, though, it reminds me when we talk

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Speaker 1: about the growth of women's sports and some of the setbacks,

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Speaker 1: if we don't acknowledge the things that happened with intention,

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Speaker 1: we are ignoring the context that's required to really understand

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Speaker 1: the path toward today. The pseudoscience that was used to

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Speaker 1: argue that women shouldn't play while pregnant or after pregnant,

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Speaker 1: The pseudoscience that said women would come back from pregnancy

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Speaker 1: less than or less capable, which was not founded at

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Speaker 1: all in actual medicine. All of that was used with

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Speaker 1: intention to tell women that their space was at the

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Speaker 1: home with their children. I mean, it was like two

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Speaker 1: thousand and three, the head of the International Ski Federation

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Speaker 1: said women still shouldn't do ski jumping because.

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Speaker 2: Their uteruses would fall out.

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Speaker 1: Two thousand and three, we're still doing that, and so

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Speaker 1: when we don't acknowledge the stuff that happens with intention

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Speaker 1: to hold us back. The seventy year soccer band in

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Speaker 1: England and now women's soccer is doing great and people

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Speaker 1: are like.

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Speaker 2: Well, they finally figured it out.

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Speaker 1: No, there was a seventy year band of women playing

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Speaker 1: professional soccer there. You think that held them back a little?

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Speaker 1: Like we got to talk about it, yeah, because otherwise

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Speaker 1: we blame the product, and it's never been the product.

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Speaker 2: Anyway.

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Speaker 1: Let's talk about the All Star works ever. Ever, ever, ever,

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Speaker 1: let's talk about the All Star weekend. I went to

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Speaker 1: a very lovely dinner in your honor, which was beautiful.

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Speaker 1: We love to see people get their flowers, even if

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Speaker 1: it's a few years late. You got your flowers at

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Speaker 1: the time, but we're still giving them to you. And

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Speaker 1: you mentioned that you want to have a brunch to

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Speaker 1: connect current WNBA players with the players of the past,

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Speaker 1: and not just the big names like you, but everybody

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Speaker 1: who helped bank the league what it was.

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Speaker 2: Why is that so important to you?

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Speaker 4: I mean, you know a lot of people look at

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Speaker 4: the W when it started, and of course they remember

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Speaker 4: myself and Lisa and Rebecca and Don and Coop and Tina,

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Speaker 4: which rightfully so. But for me, this brunch, which by

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Speaker 4: the way, I know that's time why we're talking about it,

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Speaker 4: but thanks to AU a huge sponsor, was an incredible brunt.

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Speaker 4: Love it, but it was so important to me last

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Speaker 4: year was the first one in this year, but I

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Speaker 4: want to be able to bring back former players and

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Speaker 4: celebrate them and like you said, and give them their flowers,

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Speaker 4: because every single player that was a part of the

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Speaker 4: W when it started, they play a huge role in

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Speaker 4: where we are today. And I think because of all

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Speaker 4: the attention that the league is getting to day the

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Speaker 4: rookie class, rightfully so. But there's a part of me

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Speaker 4: that feels disrespected for those other players because you don't

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Speaker 4: hear about them very much, you don't talk about them

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Speaker 4: very much. The league doesn't really do anything for them.

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Speaker 4: And so I want to put all of us in

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Speaker 4: a room together where we can celebrate each other, where

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Speaker 4: we can reminisce the good, the bad, everything in between.

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Speaker 4: We can talk about the crazy hairstyles we had and

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Speaker 4: you know, the outfits that we were, But I want

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Speaker 4: to put us in a room where we're just being

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Speaker 4: celebrated and we're talking about where we were, where the

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Speaker 4: league was, where it is today, where we're going. I

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Speaker 4: think it's a great time for celebration, but also trying

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Speaker 4: to bridge that gap between former players and current players,

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Speaker 4: because unfortunate thing is. As well as I think the

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Speaker 4: league is doing right now, I think it could be

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Speaker 4: in such a better place if former players were more

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Speaker 4: involved with the w And there are a lot of

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Speaker 4: current WNBA players who don't know the former players. If

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Speaker 4: if it's not like you know the top ten and

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Speaker 4: there were so many former players who were some bad asses,

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Speaker 4: I can say, ass, I'll keep it there that. I

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Speaker 4: feel like the players today need to get to know

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Speaker 4: who these players were, the players who pave the way,

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Speaker 4: who have given you the opportunity to be where you

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Speaker 4: are today. And so that's that's what I want my

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Speaker 4: brunch to be, and just celebrating women in general for

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Speaker 4: being in this space.

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Speaker 1: I think there's such mythologizing around men's sports. We hear

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Speaker 1: about and know about the greats and even the not

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Speaker 1: so greats that just have good stories.

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Speaker 2: We don't do that in women's sports.

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Speaker 1: It's something I'm trying to do on my show Good

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Speaker 1: Game with Sarah Spain daily on iHeart.

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Speaker 4: Podcasts And if you haven't subscribed, subscribe.

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Speaker 1: Subscribe, follow, like write a review, rate five stars please.

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Speaker 1: But I am trying to do that because part of

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Speaker 1: what we love about sports is water cooler talk, having takes,

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Speaker 1: having debates, and we can't do that if we're saying

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Speaker 1: top five all time WNBA point guards and you don't

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Speaker 1: know the ones that played twenty years ago. We can't

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Speaker 1: have those fun mount rushmore of what. You can't do

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Speaker 1: that if we don't have that context. And so the

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Speaker 1: myth building is extremely important, and so is internalizing female

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Speaker 1: greatness in young people, so that those athletes who maybe

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Speaker 1: grew up and are now in the WNBA but instead

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Speaker 1: idolized Lebron and Dirk. And you know what I always here,

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Speaker 1: Elena Deeladon is the Dirknowitzkin's like, no, how about find

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Speaker 1: a woman from the WNBA that was a big who

435
00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:29,040
Speaker 1: could run the ball in two threes and big inside

436
00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:31,880
Speaker 1: and you know that kind of stuff is so important

437
00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:34,880
Speaker 1: and it's really under discussed how much that affects our

438
00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:37,000
Speaker 1: view of what we're watching and how we can textualize it.

439
00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:39,600
Speaker 1: So I love that you're doing that. You mentioned AU

440
00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:42,840
Speaker 1: helping out with the brunch. AU actually also gave you

441
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,239
Speaker 1: a shot at commentating when you had been rejected. Can

442
00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:47,080
Speaker 1: you talk about why that was so important?

443
00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:54,040
Speaker 4: Yeah, so, y'ah, if I cry, I'm gonna blame it

444
00:22:54,080 --> 00:23:03,920
Speaker 4: on my back. Okay, No, you know, first of all,

445
00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:06,840
Speaker 4: I just think what AU is doing. Megan, I don't

446
00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:07,480
Speaker 4: like you either.

447
00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:09,520
Speaker 2: I feel like Barbara Walters.

448
00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:15,399
Speaker 5: No, God, jeez, I don't even know the people in

449
00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:17,119
Speaker 5: the room like this for y'all to see me crying,

450
00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:23,320
Speaker 5: But I just think what AU has done and what

451
00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:24,359
Speaker 5: they continue to do.

452
00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:28,719
Speaker 4: I'll get to myself in a second. Given women an

453
00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:36,159
Speaker 4: opportunity to play in another women's professional basketball league is huge,

454
00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,080
Speaker 4: And I know a lot of people look at AU

455
00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:41,480
Speaker 4: and they're like, oh, is it the G League to

456
00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:45,800
Speaker 4: the W And I'm like, absolutely not. It is another

457
00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:50,560
Speaker 4: women's professional league. It's still the only other five on

458
00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:54,560
Speaker 4: five women's professional basketball league here in the States. And

459
00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:57,040
Speaker 4: for me to have an opportunity to be a part,

460
00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:03,280
Speaker 4: the little bit that I do commentating alongside Cindy Brunson,

461
00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:09,040
Speaker 4: U Basketball has always just given me a place where

462
00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:13,720
Speaker 4: I don't know, in a way where I feel wanted

463
00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:18,720
Speaker 4: and need it. And so when I tried this in

464
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:23,920
Speaker 4: other avenues without bringing them up, you know, on ESPN,

465
00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:29,800
Speaker 4: it was kind of like, eh, no, You're not ready,

466
00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:33,200
Speaker 4: and I'm like, well, damn, I've been retired for ten years.

467
00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:36,439
Speaker 4: I don't know when I will be ready, and so

468
00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:39,040
Speaker 4: I just I've always been taught that when one door closes,

469
00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:41,640
Speaker 4: another one will open. And if God closes that door,

470
00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:43,600
Speaker 4: it means that's not where you're supposed to be. So

471
00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:48,280
Speaker 4: just be patient. And I remember the very first year

472
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:50,639
Speaker 4: of AU, when it was in Las Vegas, getting a

473
00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:56,080
Speaker 4: call from Sherry Kemp whose she was in the back

474
00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:58,760
Speaker 4: of the room. Don't know where Sherry just went Sherry,

475
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:02,320
Speaker 4: did you leave? Because she knew I was going to

476
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:06,919
Speaker 4: bring up her name. Well, Sherry called me because Eileen

477
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,600
Speaker 4: Hawser had reached out to Sherry and said, I really

478
00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:12,560
Speaker 4: think Cheryl would be good doing the games. Had a

479
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:16,520
Speaker 4: conversation with her and I was just like, I absolutely

480
00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:19,800
Speaker 4: would love to be a part of AU. And I

481
00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:24,280
Speaker 4: think the reason why I get emotional without getting emotional

482
00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:29,080
Speaker 4: right now is because sometimes you put in so much

483
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:35,320
Speaker 4: work at your craft and all the awards, all the accolades,

484
00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:39,080
Speaker 4: they're great, right, that recognition is incredible, But I think

485
00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:41,320
Speaker 4: there's still for me. There was still a part of

486
00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:45,320
Speaker 4: me that was like, damn, like I worked my butt

487
00:25:45,359 --> 00:25:49,760
Speaker 4: off and there's nowhere for me in this this space,

488
00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:54,879
Speaker 4: this commentating space. And AU opened the door and said

489
00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:56,679
Speaker 4: we want you, we want you to be a part

490
00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:00,000
Speaker 4: of the family. And to me, that meant so much

491
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:03,480
Speaker 4: much more to me than any award I've ever won,

492
00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:06,480
Speaker 4: because they saw something in me that a lot of

493
00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:09,800
Speaker 4: other people didn't and gave me an opportunity to do

494
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:13,520
Speaker 4: something and be a part of something that was brand new.

495
00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:18,320
Speaker 4: And I've never really been in that space. But I

496
00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,400
Speaker 4: have to tell you the excitement I get from not

497
00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:25,000
Speaker 4: only doing the games, but being around the players, being

498
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:30,359
Speaker 4: around the AU family's it's such a great group that

499
00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:35,159
Speaker 4: I don't know why players who aren't going overseas, I

500
00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:37,080
Speaker 4: don't know why they wouldn't be a part, wouldn't want

501
00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:40,080
Speaker 4: to be a part of it. Because the competition is

502
00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:45,480
Speaker 4: top notch, the players are amazing. I love the family environment,

503
00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:48,440
Speaker 4: I love the community, and it's just it's a four

504
00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:50,320
Speaker 4: week season for those who may not know a lot

505
00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:52,560
Speaker 4: about AU. If you don't, you need to. You're in

506
00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:54,639
Speaker 4: this room, you need to. And it's just such a

507
00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,760
Speaker 4: great environment. And I've said this before and I'll say

508
00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:01,159
Speaker 4: it again today. I'm so great, grateful and thankful and

509
00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:04,840
Speaker 4: indebted to John and Jonathan and the AU family for

510
00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:07,840
Speaker 4: giving me this opportunity, and it's one that I'm very

511
00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:08,439
Speaker 4: grateful for.

512
00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:11,040
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, for those who aren't familiar.

513
00:27:11,119 --> 00:27:12,840
Speaker 1: One of the things that I think should be covered

514
00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,080
Speaker 1: more about AU is that it's a model for what

515
00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:17,600
Speaker 1: we demand of other leagues that haven't gotten there yet.

516
00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:19,880
Speaker 1: But they're doing it the way we always ask others

517
00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:25,800
Speaker 1: to when it comes to maternity rights and values of

518
00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:31,000
Speaker 1: the players being their own coaches, and you know, the

519
00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:33,199
Speaker 1: vested interest that they have in the league. Like the

520
00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,360
Speaker 1: way that they're doing it is what we wish other

521
00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:37,760
Speaker 1: leagues would do. So being able to promote it better

522
00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:40,640
Speaker 1: so that other leagues will take the nod and kind

523
00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:42,480
Speaker 1: of start it themselves. I also think you mentioned like

524
00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,000
Speaker 1: being able to be in one place with your family.

525
00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:47,320
Speaker 1: You don't have to go overseas. Everyone can go to

526
00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:49,960
Speaker 1: one place for that four weeks. It's just a great,

527
00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,720
Speaker 1: great opportunity. It's a player led lea. Yeah, right, so

528
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:58,200
Speaker 1: the players pretty much have control over I don't want

529
00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:00,680
Speaker 1: to say everything, not everything, but you know what I mean,

530
00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:05,199
Speaker 1: and it's it's the players' voices that they listen to

531
00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:09,679
Speaker 1: and the players themselves they're they're they're helping to grow

532
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:10,440
Speaker 1: the league.

533
00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:13,480
Speaker 4: They're helping to grow the game. And you know, for

534
00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:15,960
Speaker 4: for players when they play in the WNBA and when

535
00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:19,560
Speaker 4: the season's over, a lot of players don't don't want

536
00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,399
Speaker 4: to have to go overseas, right, and a lot of

537
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:24,800
Speaker 4: them have to go. There are players who still choose

538
00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:29,160
Speaker 4: to do it, but to be able to stay stateside.

539
00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:33,480
Speaker 4: It's a four week season, Bring your family, It's great competition,

540
00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:37,439
Speaker 4: they're making good money for four weeks, and it's just

541
00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:41,640
Speaker 4: it's a really really great competitive league that I think

542
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:43,840
Speaker 4: more and more WNBA players are going to want to

543
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:44,320
Speaker 4: be a part of.

544
00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:45,240
Speaker 2: Love it.

545
00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:49,360
Speaker 1: Olympic basketball happening now. Team USA women looking for an

546
00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:51,480
Speaker 1: unbelievable eighth straight gold.

547
00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:52,120
Speaker 4: Let's go.

548
00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:56,240
Speaker 1: It has been thirty two years, eleven six and eighty

549
00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,520
Speaker 1: days to be exact, since they last lost an Olympic game.

550
00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:00,720
Speaker 4: Wow.

551
00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:05,240
Speaker 1: Pretty decent not com what, yeah, I mean? I don't

552
00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:07,440
Speaker 1: even think you can jinx them, that's how incredible they are.

553
00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:09,280
Speaker 1: But let's just do it just in case. What are

554
00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:11,240
Speaker 1: you watching for when you're watching those games, when you

555
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,240
Speaker 1: have a dominant team like that, what are you watching

556
00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:15,120
Speaker 1: for to see like this could be the thing that

557
00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:17,040
Speaker 1: would make them more vulnerable or this is the thing

558
00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:17,800
Speaker 1: they need to be doing.

559
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:22,000
Speaker 4: Right well, I think there we are our biggest competition,

560
00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:25,800
Speaker 4: right and until we get to the medal rounds, we

561
00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:30,600
Speaker 4: really shouldn't be tested very much. So when I watch,

562
00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:33,720
Speaker 4: it's more about what we're doing, not what the other

563
00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:37,200
Speaker 4: teams are doing, and are they playing together or are

564
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:41,920
Speaker 4: they playing selfishly which has never happened. It's all about

565
00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:45,480
Speaker 4: team USA. It's all about just bringing home the gold

566
00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:49,560
Speaker 4: medal this year. For me, though maybe a little different

567
00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:53,040
Speaker 4: because and I'm only saying this because she said it,

568
00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:59,640
Speaker 4: this will be Diana's last Olympics, So I'm I just

569
00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:02,200
Speaker 4: want to I want to watch her, right like, I

570
00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:06,960
Speaker 4: want to see what she's getting out of these games

571
00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:10,120
Speaker 4: and how well she's going to play, Because forty two

572
00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:13,280
Speaker 4: years old, Diana Tarassi is still getting buckets. I don't

573
00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:15,960
Speaker 4: care what everybody has to say on social media, they

574
00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,680
Speaker 4: don't know anything, but she's still getting it. I love

575
00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:22,880
Speaker 4: this team. I love the vets we have with the

576
00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:26,719
Speaker 4: younger players, and it's just so exciting for me this

577
00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,960
Speaker 4: time of year to be able to watch because it

578
00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:32,440
Speaker 4: just kind of takes me back to when I played

579
00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:34,800
Speaker 4: in my very first one in nineteen ninety six, and

580
00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:38,680
Speaker 4: to think that we're going for our eighth straight gold medal, unbelievable.

581
00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:39,520
Speaker 4: It's pretty special.

582
00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:41,920
Speaker 1: I love too that Diana called it out and she said,

583
00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:44,560
Speaker 1: only in women's sports would twenty years of experience be

584
00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:46,800
Speaker 1: considered a negative right instead of.

585
00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:49,320
Speaker 2: Something that we talk about how incredible it is.

586
00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,400
Speaker 1: Yeah, because darned if we don't talk about men like

587
00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:55,320
Speaker 1: Lebron who is incredible doing what he's doing at his age,

588
00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:57,480
Speaker 1: And instead of doing that with Diana, we're like push

589
00:30:57,480 --> 00:30:58,720
Speaker 1: her out and bring in someone else.

590
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:00,640
Speaker 2: It's yeah, it's absurd.

591
00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:03,000
Speaker 4: That's a whole nother conversation. Agreed.

592
00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:06,880
Speaker 1: You're gonna be joining the Women's sports audio network on

593
00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:10,000
Speaker 1: iHeart alongside my show Good Game with Sarah Spain subscribers

594
00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:14,440
Speaker 1: every day, give us a little teaser. I know you

595
00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:16,560
Speaker 1: don't know yet have a launch date, and you're still

596
00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:18,480
Speaker 1: working out some details, but like, what do you want

597
00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:20,560
Speaker 1: to talk about? What's missing from the space, what are

598
00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:21,440
Speaker 1: you excited to bring?

599
00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:24,760
Speaker 4: So I think I just got my co host, but

600
00:31:24,840 --> 00:31:27,400
Speaker 4: I can't announce for you. You don't want to bring

601
00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:30,800
Speaker 4: any news, and I have I have three names for it.

602
00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:34,520
Speaker 4: Every other name I wanted it was taken. The first

603
00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:39,280
Speaker 4: one that I wanted was can I say a bad word?

604
00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:44,400
Speaker 4: I close your ears? No. But the name I wanted

605
00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:50,400
Speaker 4: was real shit, yeah right yes? And the yeah, it's taken.

606
00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:52,680
Speaker 4: So I don't know what it is. But the idea

607
00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:56,440
Speaker 4: behind my podcast is not just it's not just a

608
00:31:56,480 --> 00:32:02,440
Speaker 4: sports podcast. It's about real shit and life right, things

609
00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:05,600
Speaker 4: that we as women go through every day. Things that

610
00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:10,520
Speaker 4: we as female athletes, everything from pregnancy to menopause to

611
00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:13,640
Speaker 4: stuff that we just don't talk about. But I think women,

612
00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:15,640
Speaker 4: if they had a space to talk about it, would

613
00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:19,080
Speaker 4: come and talk about it. But also listening for me,

614
00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:23,360
Speaker 4: listening to all these other sports podcasts this year, namely

615
00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:30,640
Speaker 4: for men who think they know whatever what women want right,

616
00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:33,440
Speaker 4: or think they know what women are capable of doing,

617
00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:37,959
Speaker 4: I'm like, let me tell y'all what we really are

618
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:41,280
Speaker 4: capable of doing. So I'm excited about it. I have

619
00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:45,440
Speaker 4: no idea when the launch date is, but yeah, y'all

620
00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:48,200
Speaker 4: tune in, no, stay tuned so you can, like subscriber

621
00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:50,600
Speaker 4: perfect to.

622
00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:51,880
Speaker 2: Your point you just said, though about it.

623
00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:54,320
Speaker 1: One of the most astounding things I heard early in

624
00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:57,479
Speaker 1: the w NBA season, when the unhinged rhetoric around Caitlin

625
00:32:57,520 --> 00:33:00,479
Speaker 1: and Angel and the league was happening, was a former

626
00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:04,760
Speaker 1: NBA player professional athlete who said that the women of

627
00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:07,960
Speaker 1: the WNBA should ease off and let Caitlin score because

628
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,440
Speaker 1: it'd be better for the league if she was doing well.

629
00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:13,160
Speaker 1: And I thought, never has it been more clear how

630
00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:18,320
Speaker 1: much men, but a professional athlete man did not understand

631
00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:21,680
Speaker 1: women's sports in what universe? Would you ever think, in

632
00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:24,120
Speaker 1: any sport, all the way down to kids, that you

633
00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:25,840
Speaker 1: would let the opponent play better?

634
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:27,400
Speaker 2: In what universe?

635
00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:30,080
Speaker 1: That was so infuriating to me, and it just reminded

636
00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:32,000
Speaker 1: me how much work we have to do, because that

637
00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:34,560
Speaker 1: went beyond all the other dumb shit that was said.

638
00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:37,560
Speaker 1: It really went to a space of like, you don't

639
00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:39,040
Speaker 1: even think what we're doing.

640
00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:41,000
Speaker 2: Is sports anymore? Yeah, because that's not sports.

641
00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:45,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, Yeah, I don't know if you want to get

642
00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:45,560
Speaker 1: into it.

643
00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:46,960
Speaker 2: We can get to Q and A. I was trying

644
00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:48,680
Speaker 2: to avoid this topic, but you brought it up, and

645
00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:49,000
Speaker 2: I'm like.

646
00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:52,120
Speaker 4: I'll keep it short and sweet because I have so

647
00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:55,280
Speaker 4: many things to say about that. But the first thing, though,

648
00:33:55,440 --> 00:34:03,560
Speaker 4: is Caitman doesn't even want that. No, Like, how disrespectful

649
00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:08,680
Speaker 4: is that to her to even say, y'all don't guard her? What?

650
00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:14,520
Speaker 4: So I asked the question and said, to all of

651
00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,759
Speaker 4: the NBA guys and just all the male athletes, so

652
00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:21,480
Speaker 4: when when a rookie comes into your sport do you

653
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:24,520
Speaker 4: do that? Do you say, oh, well, just give him

654
00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:27,040
Speaker 4: the ball and let him go score and shoot and

655
00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:29,760
Speaker 4: do all the great things that he does. No, you don't.

656
00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:35,000
Speaker 4: And so then it became well, gosh, they're picking her

657
00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:38,120
Speaker 4: up full court. Well yeah, yeah, duh, she shoots from

658
00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:43,399
Speaker 4: my I mean, it's still it's it's a game. It's competitive.

659
00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:46,480
Speaker 4: We're trying to win. I need to win. So if

660
00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:50,279
Speaker 4: me having to guard Caitlyn Clark full court means we're

661
00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:53,239
Speaker 4: going to get a win, then that's what I gotta do.

662
00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:56,239
Speaker 4: Coaches come up with a game, you know. But Sarah,

663
00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:59,000
Speaker 4: there were so many dumb things that were said to me.

664
00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:03,279
Speaker 4: It was that I want to talk about everybody else,

665
00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:07,640
Speaker 4: I'll talk about myself. They said that I was a racist,

666
00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:12,399
Speaker 4: I was jealous, I was envious, I was a lot.

667
00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:19,880
Speaker 4: I'll run out of fingers, and I said, like, not

668
00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:23,920
Speaker 4: only Caitlyn, like all of these rookies. They're trying to

669
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:28,279
Speaker 4: get to where I've been, So why why? Why? Like

670
00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:33,040
Speaker 4: make that make sense? My My biggest thing was, I think,

671
00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:37,440
Speaker 4: what Angel Caitlyn, Kate Martin, who I am a huge

672
00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:39,319
Speaker 4: fan of. I love Kate Martin. Who is? I love

673
00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:45,680
Speaker 4: Kate Martin, Cambrink, Rikia Jackson, Camilla Cardoso? Who else? I'm

674
00:35:45,719 --> 00:35:47,640
Speaker 4: trying to get all the romans because I'll miss one

675
00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:49,600
Speaker 4: name and they'll say, well, Cheryl didn't mention this one.

676
00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:53,719
Speaker 4: I think what they've done, what they continue to do

677
00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:57,560
Speaker 4: for this league is incredible, without a doubt. We are

678
00:35:57,640 --> 00:36:00,680
Speaker 4: at a place in a space that we've never been before.

679
00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:04,760
Speaker 4: And is that because of this rookie class, particularly Angel

680
00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:09,560
Speaker 4: Caitlin one hundred percent. But I also don't want us

681
00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:14,920
Speaker 4: to forget about the Asia Wilson's, the Diana Tarassi's, the

682
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:19,520
Speaker 4: players that have been here that continue to do everything

683
00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:23,399
Speaker 4: they can do to uplift this sport. It's been competitive,

684
00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:26,720
Speaker 4: it continues to be competitive, like just let these women

685
00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:27,200
Speaker 4: be great.

686
00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:31,160
Speaker 3: Such amazing stuff from Cheryl.

687
00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:33,920
Speaker 1: And by the way, if you noticed twice I think

688
00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:36,520
Speaker 1: she apologized for crying. And I want to tell all

689
00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:39,600
Speaker 1: of you how much more meaningful conversations like that are

690
00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:42,200
Speaker 1: when we see the real person in there. I've been

691
00:36:42,239 --> 00:36:46,040
Speaker 1: to so many conferences, I've moderated so many panels, and

692
00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,600
Speaker 1: I don't want people to be full of talking points.

693
00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:51,360
Speaker 1: I want honesty and real emotion. And Cheryl brought that.

694
00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:54,920
Speaker 1: So what a legend. Okay, time to pay the bills

695
00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:58,239
Speaker 1: again when we return. It's a very Olympic edition of

696
00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:08,240
Speaker 1: What the Fact? All right, folks, it's time for another

697
00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:10,000
Speaker 1: edition of What the Fact?

698
00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:11,440
Speaker 2: Now.

699
00:37:11,520 --> 00:37:13,759
Speaker 1: Unless you slept through the opening ceremony and the first

700
00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:16,719
Speaker 1: few days of competition, you've probably heard it mentioned that

701
00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:20,960
Speaker 1: the Paris Olympics are the first ever gender balanced Olympics.

702
00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:22,520
Speaker 3: But are they really?

703
00:37:23,239 --> 00:37:26,160
Speaker 1: The International Olympic Committee has been using the hashtag gender

704
00:37:26,239 --> 00:37:29,239
Speaker 1: Equal Olympics for these games because, for the first time ever,

705
00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:32,360
Speaker 1: there are an equal number of athlete spots allocated to

706
00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:35,120
Speaker 1: both men and women. We've been climbing closer to this

707
00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:38,560
Speaker 1: so called moment of equilibrium for more than a century now. Ever,

708
00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:42,080
Speaker 1: since twenty two women competed at the nineteen hundred Paris Olympics,

709
00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:44,600
Speaker 1: making up just two point two percent of the field.

710
00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:48,000
Speaker 1: But while the numbers have most certainly improved, and really

711
00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:50,520
Speaker 1: really they have, that doesn't quite mean the games have

712
00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:54,319
Speaker 1: achieved gender equality. Take, for example, the soccer tournaments that

713
00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:57,799
Speaker 1: feature sixteen men's teams and just twelve women's. The same

714
00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:00,160
Speaker 1: imbalance exists in water polo, where there are twelve of

715
00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:03,279
Speaker 1: men's teams and just ten women's. And get this, sky

716
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:06,520
Speaker 1: News reported this week that the IOC has no plans

717
00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:09,000
Speaker 1: to change that, at least not in soccer. In a

718
00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:12,080
Speaker 1: statement to sky News, the IOC said quote raising the

719
00:38:12,160 --> 00:38:15,560
Speaker 1: number of women's teams would potentially trigger requests from other

720
00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:18,880
Speaker 1: teams sports, which would then have an even greater impact

721
00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:22,920
Speaker 1: on the cost, complexity, size, and sustainability of the games.

722
00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:25,160
Speaker 3: What the actual So.

723
00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:28,040
Speaker 1: You're saying women's soccer can't have gender equality because I

724
00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:29,920
Speaker 1: don't know, maybe more women.

725
00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:31,239
Speaker 3: Would call for gender equality.

726
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,720
Speaker 1: Of course, all this also ignores the fact that some athletes,

727
00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:36,040
Speaker 1: like Canadian soccer player.

728
00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,200
Speaker 3: Quinn and US runner Niki Hilts, are.

729
00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:40,759
Speaker 1: Non binary and ahead of the Olympics, Quinn actually called

730
00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,600
Speaker 1: out the IOC because their profile and the official parasite

731
00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:44,800
Speaker 1: lists the wrong gender.

732
00:38:45,239 --> 00:38:48,200
Speaker 3: As of this recording, it still hasn't been fixed.

733
00:38:49,280 --> 00:38:52,960
Speaker 1: Off the courts and fields, women remain vastly underrepresented in

734
00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:55,960
Speaker 1: coaching as well and other sports adjacent jobs. While the

735
00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:58,680
Speaker 1: official numbers are still in process, it's estimated that just

736
00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:01,960
Speaker 1: one in ten coaches in Paris are women. You could

737
00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:04,120
Speaker 1: check out an op ed by the Women's Sports Foundations

738
00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:06,560
Speaker 1: ton Net Layton and Scout Basset at USA today dot

739
00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:08,680
Speaker 1: com and read a little bit more about the steps

740
00:39:08,719 --> 00:39:12,239
Speaker 1: we still need to take toward real equality, especially in

741
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:15,880
Speaker 1: the Paralympics where we don't even have gender balance. So

742
00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:18,319
Speaker 1: while we're most certainly pumped for the games and the

743
00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:21,000
Speaker 1: increase in representation, let's make sure to call it what

744
00:39:21,040 --> 00:39:22,839
Speaker 1: it is, one more step.

745
00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:24,200
Speaker 2: And not the end of the journey.

746
00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:28,239
Speaker 1: We always love that you're listening, but we want you

747
00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:30,239
Speaker 1: to get in the game every day too. So here's

748
00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:33,720
Speaker 1: our good game play the day. Watch a new Olympic sport.

749
00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:37,040
Speaker 1: We get it tracked. Gymnastics, soccer, swimming. They're all so

750
00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:39,640
Speaker 1: fun to cheer for, but there's so much more out there.

751
00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:42,560
Speaker 1: Did you know that the final for team archery came

752
00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:46,520
Speaker 1: down to a three arrow shootout and a magnifying glass

753
00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:49,080
Speaker 1: to determine the winner and give South Korea their tenth

754
00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:53,239
Speaker 1: straight gold in the event. Seriously, a magnifying glass. Here

755
00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:56,200
Speaker 1: a few sports deep in competition that might have just

756
00:39:56,280 --> 00:39:59,440
Speaker 1: as thrilling of finals in the next few days. Handball, maybe,

757
00:39:59,680 --> 00:40:03,920
Speaker 1: table tennis, canoe slalom. I'm not saying I know the

758
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:06,360
Speaker 1: rules of any of those, but I will be watching

759
00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:08,800
Speaker 1: and so should you. Let us know what you decide

760
00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:10,719
Speaker 1: to watch. And as a reminder, if you have any

761
00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:13,200
Speaker 1: questions while watching, make sure to send him to producer

762
00:40:13,239 --> 00:40:13,960
Speaker 1: alex Azi.

763
00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:15,760
Speaker 2: She's really hoping one.

764
00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:16,320
Speaker 3: Of you can stumper.

765
00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:19,560
Speaker 1: So far, she's really only struggled to answer her dad's question,

766
00:40:20,120 --> 00:40:23,080
Speaker 1: which was who is Snoop Dogg and why is he there?

767
00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:27,440
Speaker 1: Send her a tweet at by alex Azi al ex

768
00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:30,319
Speaker 1: Aszi and remember we'd always love to hear from you.

769
00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:32,760
Speaker 1: Hit us up on email good game at Wondermedia network

770
00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:34,799
Speaker 1: dot com or leave us a voicemail at eight seven

771
00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:37,080
Speaker 1: two two oh four fifty seventy.

772
00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:41,120
Speaker 3: Okay, you've waited long enough. It's time for the big reveal.

773
00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:43,720
Speaker 1: Did you guys catch the easter eggs in our first

774
00:40:43,719 --> 00:40:46,480
Speaker 1: eight episodes? And did you catch that? I said we

775
00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:48,960
Speaker 1: had ten episodes instead of eight because math is hard.

776
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:53,719
Speaker 1: If you didn't get the answer, this should help. You

777
00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:55,680
Speaker 1: would not last an hour in the asylum where they

778
00:40:55,760 --> 00:40:58,240
Speaker 1: raised me. Girl is a nightmare dressed like a daydream.

779
00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:01,120
Speaker 1: You deserve prison, but you won't get time. Hi, I'm

780
00:41:01,160 --> 00:41:01,600
Speaker 1: the problem.

781
00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:03,600
Speaker 3: It's me baby. Let the games begin.

782
00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:06,440
Speaker 1: Old habits die screaming because you know I love the

783
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:09,200
Speaker 1: players and you love the game. You play stupid games,

784
00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:16,320
Speaker 1: you win stupid prizes. That's right, Taylor swift Lyrics. Several

785
00:41:16,400 --> 00:41:18,640
Speaker 1: of you got it right and emailed in and Marga

786
00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:21,000
Speaker 1: Sisson I hope. I said your name right is our

787
00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:23,879
Speaker 1: winner picked via random number generator, and she also sent

788
00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:25,719
Speaker 1: the nicest email to the three of us two so

789
00:41:25,760 --> 00:41:28,120
Speaker 1: I wanted to read a little bit of it. I

790
00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:30,520
Speaker 1: want to say congrats on the pod. It's amazing so far.

791
00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:33,040
Speaker 1: Love the different segments and guests have been unreal. Thank

792
00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:34,560
Speaker 1: you for bringing this to life and for bringing a

793
00:41:34,640 --> 00:41:37,080
Speaker 1: much needed light and space to women's sports. Thank you

794
00:41:37,120 --> 00:41:38,840
Speaker 1: for all that you do. I'm having the time of

795
00:41:38,840 --> 00:41:40,960
Speaker 1: my life. With you in this pod Yours and Women's

796
00:41:40,960 --> 00:41:44,360
Speaker 1: Sports and Taylor Swift. Marga ps for more listener name ideas.

797
00:41:44,400 --> 00:41:47,319
Speaker 1: Here are some Swifty inspired ones, the anti heroes, the

798
00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:50,279
Speaker 1: mirror Balls, the mad women, the lucky ones. Thank you,

799
00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:52,600
Speaker 1: Marga and Margo works at the Gist and we love

800
00:41:52,680 --> 00:41:55,360
Speaker 1: the Gist. That email made our day. Also thank you

801
00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:58,319
Speaker 1: to Andy Wannacott for your email. Here's a little bit

802
00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:01,160
Speaker 1: of Andy's clever message. It was full of te Swift references.

803
00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:03,680
Speaker 1: I was recommending this show to one of my friends

804
00:42:03,719 --> 00:42:05,600
Speaker 1: and I made the comment I like that Sarah Spain

805
00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:08,600
Speaker 1: is a basic white millennial Chicago girlie like me, and

806
00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:10,799
Speaker 1: I get all of her references, like there's been more

807
00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:13,680
Speaker 1: than one Taylor Swift quote in the episodes. I look

808
00:42:13,719 --> 00:42:16,200
Speaker 1: the age up later and Sarah is actually cuspy and

809
00:42:16,239 --> 00:42:19,680
Speaker 1: probably considers herself gen X. But the point stands. She

810
00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:21,880
Speaker 1: went on to give the Taylor Swift references from the

811
00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:24,120
Speaker 1: show and said, but what if I told you none

812
00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:26,560
Speaker 1: of it was accidental. I'm positive there have been more

813
00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:28,439
Speaker 1: than the ones I listed, but they slipped away into

814
00:42:28,480 --> 00:42:32,320
Speaker 1: a moment of time because they were never mine. Well played, Andy,

815
00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:33,920
Speaker 1: so many Te Swift references.

816
00:42:33,960 --> 00:42:35,560
Speaker 3: Also, thank you for assuming.

817
00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:38,000
Speaker 1: That I was young when it is convenient, I am

818
00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:40,439
Speaker 1: indeed an elder millennial, and when it.

819
00:42:40,360 --> 00:42:43,120
Speaker 3: Is not convenient, I am indeed gen x. So thank you.

820
00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:46,160
Speaker 1: Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review to Good Game

821
00:42:46,239 --> 00:42:46,879
Speaker 1: with Sarah Spain.

822
00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:50,839
Speaker 3: It's super easy. Watch so that Google commercial. It features a.

823
00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:54,240
Speaker 1: Father encouraging his daughter to use AI to write American

824
00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:58,680
Speaker 1: hurdler Sidney McLaughlin lavroni a fan letter rating one out

825
00:42:58,680 --> 00:43:01,239
Speaker 1: of five stars, and that once just for featuring a

826
00:43:01,239 --> 00:43:03,960
Speaker 1: super badass female athlete in the ad review.

827
00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:06,640
Speaker 3: Who the wants a fan letter from a computer?

828
00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:09,960
Speaker 1: And who wants their kid learning that replacing genuine emotion

829
00:43:10,120 --> 00:43:12,920
Speaker 1: and personal care with a form letter created by a

830
00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:16,080
Speaker 1: machine is the answer to literally anything in life. The

831
00:43:16,160 --> 00:43:19,400
Speaker 1: kid doesn't learn to write, doesn't learn to express herself,

832
00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:21,880
Speaker 1: doesn't learn to be brave in sharing her feelings and

833
00:43:21,920 --> 00:43:24,680
Speaker 1: reaching out to a role model. She just learns how

834
00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:28,360
Speaker 1: to tele computer to do her work for her. And honestly,

835
00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:31,680
Speaker 1: even a stickler like me would rather get a handwritten

836
00:43:31,719 --> 00:43:32,399
Speaker 1: fan note that.

837
00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:34,920
Speaker 3: Says You're great? Why O you are?

838
00:43:35,600 --> 00:43:39,719
Speaker 1: Than a perfectly spelled, grammatically correct letter from Gemini or

839
00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:43,440
Speaker 1: Watson or Johnny five from Short Circuit or even the

840
00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:47,920
Speaker 1: T one thousand from Terminator two. Thanks for listening, everybody,

841
00:43:48,080 --> 00:43:50,640
Speaker 1: see you tomorrow when we talk to the incredibly badass

842
00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:54,960
Speaker 1: US fifteen hundred meter champion Nikki Hilt's aka, our official

843
00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:57,799
Speaker 1: non binary flag bearer for Team USA. Can't wait for

844
00:43:57,840 --> 00:44:01,360
Speaker 1: you to listen. Good game, Cheryl, Good Game listener, Swifties,

845
00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:03,960
Speaker 1: you not actual gender equal?

846
00:44:04,040 --> 00:44:04,920
Speaker 3: Gender equality.

847
00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:08,400
Speaker 1: Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports

848
00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:11,520
Speaker 1: production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You

849
00:44:11,560 --> 00:44:14,440
Speaker 1: can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

850
00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:18,120
Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,

851
00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:21,719
Speaker 1: our producers are Alex Azzi and Misha Jones. Our executive

852
00:44:21,719 --> 00:44:25,720
Speaker 1: producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder.

853
00:44:26,040 --> 00:44:29,520
Speaker 1: Our editors are Jenny Kaplan, Emily Rudder, Britney Martinez and

854
00:44:29,560 --> 00:44:33,120
Speaker 1: Grace Lynch. Production assistants from Lucy Jones and I'm Your

855
00:44:33,120 --> 00:44:34,160
Speaker 1: Host Sarah Spain