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The Big Life: Unveiling the USL Super League · The BIG LIFE

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Hi everyone and welcome back to The Big Life.
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I know that this is an episode I'm super excited about and hoping we educate
1:10
our audience about some stuff that I know I learned for new,
1:13
but we'll get to that in a bit. Jordan, how are you?
1:17
I'm good, I'm good. You know, we're just getting ready for our first game here
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against Notre Dame Thursday.
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So excited for that and for the season to officially start. But I'm bummed I
1:27
missed this interview. It sounds like we learned some pretty amazing things.
1:29
Yeah. So in this episode, we really wanted to highlight the new USL Super League.
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So as we all know, episodes drop of The Big Life on Thursday.
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And then this weekend, as this episode drops, will be the first weekend of the USL Super League.
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And I think for us, it's a really awesome moment went just to kind of learn
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more as viewers. I feel like a brand new league in the U.S. can bring up so many questions.
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So we got the amazing opportunity to speak to two different players in two different
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markets, one in Spokane, Washington, and one in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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They actually play each other this weekend, so that'll be interesting to see.
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But I think it was just great to learn about the USL kind of overall and talk
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to them about their experiences.
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Yeah, absolutely. Especially with it being so new, like you said,
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there's a lot of questions surrounding it.
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So any sort of insight, you know, is super helpful as we move forward into unknown
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territory with this new league. Exactly.
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We got the inside scoop here. But for our listeners, before we dive deep,
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and we talk about it a bit in both interviews, but the USL Super League is a
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league that is kicking off for its first season this year.
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And I think it's kind of drummed up a lot of questions. So it's completely separate from the NWSL.
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However, it is also considered by FIFA a tier one professional league,
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meaning that it is at the same caliber,
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hold players and facilities and staff to the same standards and a lot of different
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regards in the behind the scenes of what a pro league should look like.
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There are eight different teams, most of them being on the East Coast.
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We have Spokane, Washington on the West Coast, and then we have Lexington,
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Kentucky, Dallas, Texas, D.C., and then Brooklyn, Carolina, Tampa, and Fort Lauderdale.
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So markets all over, hopefully one near you to check out some of these games,
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as well as all games will be streamed on Peacock, which I think is going to
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be a really cool opportunity to get viewership out there and kind of just expand the network.
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But once again, we'll hear more about it in these amazing interviews.
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Jordan, what do you think you're most excited for about a brand new league starting?
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Yeah, I mean, I think any sort of opportunity for women to continue their professional
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careers post-college is an amazing opportunity.
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Right now, obviously, the main leader was the NWSL for a long time,
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where you had the draft, they got the college kids, and that was kind of your
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path if you wanted to stay in the United States.
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So I'm excited for continued opportunity and to see kind of how the USL grows
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how they compete with the NWSL and what this looks like moving forward so I
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think it's super exciting I think.
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Any opportunity is good especially in women's sports and as we learn these past
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few years everyone watches women's sports so that's simple that's simple I mean
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there's so much we could even talk about with I think I actually just saw a
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tweet that the gold medal game this year
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broke viewership for women's soccer records.
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And so seeing things like that is just so inspiring. Like you said,
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everyone watches women's sports.
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And I think that's what the players in this league are really embracing is that
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word opportunity and that they get to be back in their home soil.
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They don't have to deal with the time difference that I sometimes deal with
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and the missing a family and all that stuff.
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So without further ado, I think we get into these interviews.
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We are here with Shea-Ann Allen, the incredible left back for Fort Lauderdale.
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And I am so, so thankful for you spending time with us.
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You played collegiately last year, just finished your fifth year at Brown,
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and then briefly went over to Portugal and had a stint playing in Portugal,
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and then now have made it back to the USL Super League.
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First question for you. If you're a soccer idiot that doesn't really pay attention,
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and all of a sudden Fort Lauderdale comes up with a USL Super League team,
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What is the Super League, or how would you describe it?
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Yeah, thank you for the wonderful introduction.
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Yeah, I would just say it's just like a chance. It's another professional league in America.
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I think we have way too many good players in the U.S. who are coming out of
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college, and the draft is definitely tough.
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It's definitely intimidating, and I think it's great that we have a lot of girls wanting to go overseas,
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but like I said we have so many great players
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who want to stay here want to stay in America and NWSL
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is super hard it's super stuff now with the USL coming in
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it's like another opportunity for you know
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players to actually play professionally you know in their
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home country so I just say it's like first and
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foremost it's an opportunity it's an awesome opportunity and
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it's gonna be I think it's gonna be super big it's gonna
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be really big and yeah hopefully gets traction
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which I think it well so yeah that's so exciting your your
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enthusiasm that's one of the main things we wanted to cover it is i feel like
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there's people that look on there like on twitter on news pages and they have
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their own opinions but when you hear from the players that their experience
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and what they're feeling and that energy that catches on so i'm so so happy
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you're sharing that yeah yeah of course as a player.
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You see on social media, what, almost a year and a half ago that the USL Super
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League is becoming a thing. What was your first reactions to it?
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Kind of like what you said. I was a little skeptical of it.
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You know, out of nowhere, I feel like it just came out of nowhere.
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Just like a league coming up. And I'm like, how good could it really be?
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You know, like, are players going to be taken care of? Like, just things like that.
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So I was speaking with my agent a lot about it. And yeah, I honestly,
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I thank God every day I made the decision, you know, to come to Fort Lauderdale,
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because I feel like it's been a great it's we haven't even started or had our first game yet.
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But I feel like everything's been so perfect already, specifically in Fort Lauderdale.
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Like we're just doing a lot to satisfy. They're doing a lot to satisfy the needs of the players.
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And I think that's so important, especially with a new and budding league.
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League you need to make sure your players are satisfied and uh
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I feel like I I'm so overwhelmed with happiness about
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this decision because like I feel like I've been
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you know I'm getting what I want and more you know especially like I'm getting
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like the great soccer aspect we just scrimmaged Tampa also which was an intense
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match and like the competition is there the players are there so I think my
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my initial thoughts beforehand were definitely you know changed of course so yeah Yeah,
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that is so amazing to hear. And let's get into that experience a little bit more.
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When about did you get to Fort Lauderdale and what have those early weeks of
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a preseason kind of been like?
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Yeah, I got to Fort Lauderdale July 1st or no, June 30th.
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And we had like a week on our own.
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Like I moved into my house and yeah, we had a week on our own.
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I got close with the girls.
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We went to the beach and stuff on 4th of July. It was really fun, really awesome.
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We had fitness testing that Saturday. And then that next coming,
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that Monday after the fitness test was our first day of preseason.
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And definitely some intense training sessions, but it's been great.
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It's really been great. I think we have a really solid group,
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a good group. The competition is great.
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And yeah, I feel like,
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I don't know. It feels like this league has already been established for so
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long, the way like everything's been organized and, you know,
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our scheduling has been awesome. The staff has been great.
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And yeah, I just feel like everything's really put together and it's moving smoothly.
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That's so awesome to hear. And speaking of Fort Lauderdale specifically,
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you've been with the team, with the group.
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What do you think is going to be special about your guys' team going into this
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inaugural season? season. Yeah, we're a young group.
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I will say we're a young group, but I think we have a lot of drive and enthusiasm
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to win and to just prove ourselves.
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You know, a lot of us, a couple of us, this is our first professional team.
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So I think we're all just super excited to get started and get going and like
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having that, you know, like this is a new team for them. Like they're coming from college teams.
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And I think just being on a new team in a new environment, it's really exciting.
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And just there's a lot going on.
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As for the experience that we do have on the team, I think, especially like
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me coming from Portugal, it's just it's really fresh.
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It's like I know I feel like it was it was awesome, like, you know,
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traveling a little bit and all that.
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But, you know, it's good to be home sometime and sometimes and like to feel
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like this environment, this high, this high intensity environment is in your back door.
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You know, it's awesome to have. So I think we're just all super excited.
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And to get the ball rolling, we really want to make a statement in the league.
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And I think we can do that, especially with the players we have and,
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you know, the passion we already have.
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And it's only like we've only been here for a month. So, yeah. Yeah.
10:09
Oh my gosh. And so speaking of that, you did play overseas a little bit and
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not that it's necessarily even able to compare the two experiences,
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but what do you think has made your experience in Fort Lauderdale almost either
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extra special or that you've noticed because of your experience playing overseas as well?
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I'm not, I think, I think I would say because it's a newer league,
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I, our staff is really trying to keep us,
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you know, happy and they're trying to like work hard with us
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and not that I wasn't happy in Portugal of
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course but because it's you know you know like
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just things like it's an older league you know and I mean it's not actually
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League of BPI isn't even that old but like just like these teams are already
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established and like they have you know certain criteria of what they do and
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like just the normal there in this league especially at Fort Lauderdale we're
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trying to create a new normal because it's a new league.
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So I think they're working really hard to satisfy our needs and to just make
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sure that we're happy and make sure everything's running smoothly.
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So yeah, I think we're just...
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Trying to hit our perfectionism, I would say.
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I think we're trying to, you know, hit that level, like see reach out,
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see how high we can reach. Yeah.
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Yeah. And so kind of going off of that, you know, one thing that the USL when
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they first announced the Super League was really advertising is that they have
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the ability to learn from the long tenure of women's soccer in the US,
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but also around the world and kind of make the league better by learning from
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past potential failures.
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Yeah. Yeah. You're super happy in that regard. guard. How has that kind of experience
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been for you as a player specifically working with the USL and Fort Lauderdale?
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Yeah, I would say I think it starts in our facilities. We have a really good
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network of facilities right now.
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We have everything in one little bubble. And it's really awesome.
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We have like our locker rooms here, our weight rooms here, our training room,
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we have a cafeteria, everything that you could possibly want is just,
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you know, in this like little bubble.
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And it's it's really awesome to have. It's really awesome to see.
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I think there's a lot of times with teams, like they're having to travel to
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different locations in order to, you know, lift or even train.
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So I think that's one, at least for my experience, especially like between Portugal
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and here, I feel like I did have to travel a little bit for training sessions.
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My training sessions were also super late at night. And I think it's just accommodating
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to, like I've been saying, like the players need. So yeah.
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No, that's so exciting. And I think because of that, you know,
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in my experience, you feel like a true professional.
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You feel valued in that environment. And when you have that, you want to compete.
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Exactly. Exactly. I feel like, like you said, I, you feel like a real professional,
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you know, like this is my job, like this is my job and yeah,
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you feel valued. So you, you put it in the perfect words.
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Okay. So speaking a bit about competition, you gave us a little teaser.
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Obviously there was a scrimmage against Tampa that went one,
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one between you two earlier.
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And your first First official game is this weekend on Saturday at Spokane.
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Can you talk a little bit about like what the feeling is going to game one of the USL?
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Yeah, we're super excited. I think there's like today in training,
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we had like a very like competition heavy game just like, you know,
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to get our gears turning and like, getting us like excited, excited for like
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the just going at someone like for real this time, like, of course,
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like scrimmages are scrimmages, they're helpful.
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They're learning basis is their trial and error, you know, but now this is the real deal.
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And like we want to like we like I said, we want to make a statement.
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And I think we're just working on that mentality throughout this week.
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I think leading up to now it's been great but
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now is where we really start you know putting the
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needle down and just like putting our heads down and focusing on
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our next opponent and we're focused we're ready to go that's awesome so kind
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of about focusing on the next opponent you've scrimmaged Tampa obviously they're
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relatively close in location but how do you go about a league where no one has
14:05
still won anyone no one really knows what other clubs are up to like what is that kind of the energy,
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I guess, going into season with a lot of unknowns on the table.
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Yeah, there are a lot of unknowns and our coaches have been,
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you know, just like driving the point that we're here to focus on ourselves right about now.
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As long as we're doing what we need to do, we should see the results.
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If we're playing on the game plan and like just working hard on ourselves,
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you know, the results should show we'll get what we need to see, you know?
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So So, yeah, I think it's almost weird because I keep going.
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Okay, are we going to see, like, when's film? Like, when are we going to see, like, how Bocan plays?
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Or how are we going to adjust to how they play? But I'm not getting that,
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obviously. Like, being used to, like, you know,
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established leagues and like having film on them or even in
14:59
college when you're able to just see our past film from
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like previous years we don't have that so i think
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it's also really exciting to just like go
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in freshly and not too much is on your mind you can just play so yeah no it's
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really cool and you've kind of hit the nail on your head the thing that stood
15:17
out to me about the fort lauderdale roster is like you said so many of you guys
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are in your first year of a pro You have standouts like you who graduated from college in December,
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Celia Gaynor, Gianna Gurley, just a couple names coming to my head right now.
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What do you think your identity as Fort Lauderdale is going to be as you go into the season?
15:36
Yeah, we've been talking about this. We've been doing a lot of workshops regarding
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our culture and who we want to be as a team on and off the field.
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First and foremost, we just want to have a super gritty mentality.
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Mentality and like we want people to be
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scared to play us you know like just want us to know like oh god
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we want them to say okay we're playing Fort Lauderdale we
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gotta like really like gear up today like you know
15:59
so I think we just want to have that goal scoring dog
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mentality you know on the attacking side of
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things and then also on the defensive side of things we
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just want to be locked down and you know if the
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ball does get through it's not going into the back of the
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net like what are we going to do anything we can to stop that ball from
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getting into the back of the net again a dog mentality I would
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I we we have been talking about this a lot and it's been great because
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we're such a we're a new team in a new league we're able to curate the culture
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that we want and we've been doing a lot of culture work so and I think it's
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going to great use where we're super close team already the chemistry is really
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and it's really great I haven't been on a team like this since college.
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And I know I say since college, but it was just last December.
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But still, it feels it feels really special. I think this is a really special
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group. And yeah, I think we're going to make some big things happen.
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So USL as a whole, you know, broaden out a little bit.
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What do you think this inaugural season for the USL can do to women's soccer in our country? Yeah.
17:05
First and foremost, I think it's going to get a lot of people watching soccer.
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This is the first Fort Lauderdale is the first professional team in South Florida.
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And we already get so many people, you know, asking us questions,
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wanting to come to games.
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Like we're just walking around in our gear and like people are coming up to us like super excited.
17:23
I think it's just it's gonna it's just gonna get
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a lot of people you know watching our games watching women's soccer in
17:28
general getting them excited and then on the other side of
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things there's people who already play soccer there's young girls all
17:35
over South Florida excited to see a professional team you know in their backyard
17:40
you know it's really it's really cool to see we've had a couple of open scrimmages
17:44
and the young girls coming out wanting to take pictures with us it's awesome
17:48
really I it kind of brings me back to when I was a kid and the one chance I
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I would get to see the U.S.
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National team playing in Philadelphia. I'm from Delaware, so it's hard to see
17:58
some games out there, but like they would definitely pop out to Philadelphia
18:01
so I can, you know, come down the street.
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And I feel like those were once in a lifetime type of ideas that I used to have.
18:08
But now I think there's more of an opportunity for younger girls to see professional
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players and they can say, OK, I can do that, too.
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I can do that. Like, I'm able to do that, especially now there's even more avenues
18:19
to do that with the NWSL and the USL coming together.
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So, yeah, it's awesome.
18:25
And so you kind of brought up my next question. I don't want to be negative
18:28
by any means, but naturally you see on social media, you're going to see the
18:31
people like, oh, like, we don't need another league like the NWSL.
18:35
Like, why are we creating a backpack league?
18:37
Like all of these things that I feel like we have maybe seen or whatever.
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Like, what do you say to the people that have negative doubts about the USL?
18:45
Yeah, I would just say, why are you upset about more opportunities?
18:48
You know, like, I think I think it's really great.
18:52
We can trade players from the NWSL to the USL and vice versa. You never know.
18:58
Like, I feel like there's lots of people who have lost opportunities because
19:02
of things like the draft and like the politics of the NWSL.
19:05
The USL is a great avenue for them to start and then make their way up, make that jump.
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I think it's like I've been saying, it's going to be a really competitive league.
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And there's some really good players here.
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So I think there's no harm in having, you know, even another like there's professional
19:22
leagues all over the world.
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And we might as well have another one, you know, there's no harm at all.
19:29
And the USL has made it very clear that their intentions are for next year to
19:33
even add potentially four more expansion teams and keep growing,
19:36
you know, based on how they see success.
19:38
What do you think the USL could look like in three to five years?
19:43
Yeah, I think it could look, I don't want to use the NWSL as a,
19:48
you know, a pinpoint, but like it could, it could look like the NWSL.
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It could look better than the NWSL.
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I think with so much coverage of the league, I think it'll just,
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it'll only grow bigger and bigger.
19:59
And there's so many girls being able to not have to resort to going overseas
20:05
because the NWSL isn't really an option for them. with the USL here.
20:10
We could keep more girls in America, keep them playing here.
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And just that's how the league gets bigger and bigger, you know? So, yeah.
20:18
Oh, that's awesome. And speaking of coverage, you can watch all games on Peacock
20:22
for the USL Super League.
20:24
What does it mean just to kind of have like that big of a big ticket buy-in
20:27
to like be able to watch games?
20:29
And I feel like easily find games where that's something that there's been issue
20:32
before is how do you even watch women's soccer in the country?
20:35
Yeah, exactly. That was a big thing in Portugal. It was super hard to send my
20:40
parents the link to games because, you know, it's like through some,
20:44
it's either on YouTube, it's not on YouTube.
20:46
It's It's like streamed on the weird site that they can't even get to, you know.
20:50
I think it's amazing. It's only going to grow the league being on Peacock.
20:55
And I think it shows the players that we're valued. Again, like you said earlier,
21:01
it shows that we're being valued.
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And I think it's great. I think it means well. It really means well because
21:08
of the fact that we have this partnership with Peacock.
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It's good signs that the USL is here to stay and we can make these statements, you know. I love it.
21:18
Well, Shai, your energy is incredible.
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It's exactly what we want people to hear about the USL.
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We have markets all over. We have one very small one on the West Coast in Spokane
21:28
and a lot on the East Coast.
21:30
Looking to balance that soon. But I'm so, so thankful for you spending your
21:34
time with us and sharing your insights. It's been absolutely amazing.
21:38
Yeah, of course, Sam. Thank you for having me. It's been great.
21:40
It's been nice talking with you. Awesome.
21:42
Thank you so much, shy for sitting down and spending so much time with me and
21:47
talking about the Super League in general.
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I think that your energy is so contagious about what you think this league can potentially bring.
21:54
And I think it really shows the opportunity that this is.
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And so as a player myself overseas, I was super excited to hear that you've
22:00
had a positive experience.
22:01
And now let's move on to Jenny Better, who's going to talk about her experience
22:06
in Spokane, Washington.
22:07
Both players Bears will actually face off this Saturday on Peacock,
22:11
like we kind of talked about.
22:13
So super excited and so thankful for your time, Shai. And now let's hear from Jenny.
22:19
So I am here with the incredible Jenny Vedder, who took her time to be with
22:23
us today. And I'm really excited to kind of talk to you about your story.
22:27
So you played college at Minnesota State in Mankato, where you're from,
22:30
and then went to play pro in Portugal, and now have found your way back in the
22:36
USL Super League at Spokane, Washington.
22:39
So how has that journey been to get where you are right now?
22:42
Yeah, I think it's like, become pretty full circle to me now being back in the in the States.
22:48
You know, coming out of a D2 university, you don't always know what's out there
22:52
in terms of your exposure level and options available to you.
22:57
So I was pretty lucky that I got the opportunity to play overseas and kind of
23:02
grow my game a little bit and then to have the opportunity to come back home
23:05
and play in front of, you know, American fans and be a part of a new league.
23:10
I think it's just really exciting.
23:11
Yeah. So as a player that, you know, has played overseas and in college in the U.S.
23:16
What was your initial reaction when you heard that the USL, this brand new league
23:20
in the U.S. was starting?
23:21
Yeah, honestly, my first reaction was like apprehension of like,
23:25
what is this? Is it going to be stable?
23:29
Is the level of competition going to be high enough to where I'm going to keep
23:33
getting better and keep growing as a player?
23:35
But then I think as it kind of developed and you start hearing about it and
23:39
talking with clubs, I know I was really impressed with Spokane's values and
23:45
kind of the way that they were going about things.
23:46
And I think they want to do the right things and treat people the right way,
23:50
which, as we know, the history of women's soccer in the United States, that's not always done.
23:55
So I think that's really what brought me to Spokane in general is just like,
24:00
knowing I'm going to be taken care of and treated like a person before just
24:04
like a business asset as a player.
24:07
Yeah, well, that makes a lot of sense. And so So when specifically did you report
24:11
to Spokane and how has the first like couple of weeks, month-ish been so far as a player?
24:16
Yeah, so we kind of got kicked off in the beginning of July.
24:21
So kind of have about a six-week preseason to our first game,
24:24
which is now in a week, which is super exciting.
24:28
Yeah, I think, you know, the first
24:29
couple of weeks with basically being an expansion side, everyone is new.
24:33
No one knows each other. Maybe there are some connections here and there,
24:37
but I think the first couple of weeks was really spent building those connections
24:40
and chemistry and like, oh, this player likes to do this on the ball or make
24:45
this movement off the ball, defends this way.
24:47
So I think building those connections was super important for us early on.
24:51
And now we're able to kind of get into the weeds with our tactics and whatnot
24:55
as we look forward to our home opener. Yeah, absolutely.
24:59
So naturally, when you start a new league, I think that there's so many amazing
25:03
benefits that the USL is providing. But you have the people on Twitter that
25:06
are saying, oh, well, this is just, you know, beating the NWSL.
25:10
Like, what is this like in your experience so far being there?
25:13
Like, what would you say to those kind of people?
25:15
I think the one thing I'll say is like, we're not trying to compete with the NWSL.
25:20
I know that that's thrown around a lot, but like, I believe like if women's
25:25
sports and women's soccer is going where we think it is, there's plenty of space
25:29
for both leagues to coexist and for fans to enjoy both leagues.
25:33
I don't think it has to be a thing where, oh, I'm an NWSL supporter,
25:37
so I can't watch Super League games.
25:39
Like, I just think that if you like soccer, this is just providing more soccer
25:44
and the the ability for more fans to go to games and, you know,
25:49
inspire the next generation of girls.
25:51
So I would just say, like, we're not looking at it as competing as players.
25:57
Like, I don't look at the NWSL and I'm like, oh, you know, like, I want them to succeed.
26:02
And I hope that, like, they want us to succeed because at the end of the day,
26:05
it's providing more opportunities for players to play in the United States.
26:08
Yeah, that's amazingly well put. And kind
26:11
of going off for that a little bit you have played overseas you
26:14
know how can you kind of compare your experience in Portugal to so
26:17
far you're you know comparing the two pro clubs that you've been at yeah I
26:21
think it's interesting when I was in Portugal obviously that league is
26:24
growing a lot you know they've got some excellent representation in Champions
26:29
League with Benfica and now Sporting I think the parity overseas is a lot higher
26:34
between top and bottom but I think again it's a league that's growing And so
26:39
my experience was really positive for the most part.
26:42
Obviously, there's growing pains everywhere, especially like in a lot of European leagues.
26:47
You know, I think when you look at the States, we very much know what's right
26:52
and what's wrong and what resources players need.
26:55
And I think a lot of that is driven by what players have access to at the collegiate
26:58
level. I think so many U.S.
27:00
Players are used to a really high standard of care and access to things in college.
27:06
So then I think when a lot of players go overseas and it's not quite the same,
27:10
it's like, well, this is a professional league, but I have less than when I was in college.
27:15
And so I think now coming back to the States, you're given that same level of
27:20
resources again. So I think that's really exciting for players that doesn't
27:24
have to be a drop off in terms of what you're getting on the other end,
27:28
if that makes sense. Yeah, absolutely.
27:30
And so, so far, you've been in Spokane for a month, month and a half now.
27:35
What do you think it is about Spokane that makes that team special?
27:39
Yeah, I think we have like a really wonderful front office and ownership group.
27:45
I think they're just such genuine people.
27:48
Like I said, they want to do the right thing. And like they're really investing
27:51
in us as players and trying to do give us the things that we need to be successful.
27:58
It's really cool walking around town. There's like Spokane Zephyr stuff everywhere,
28:03
like like billboards and posters.
28:06
And I think that's really cool because I've never really experienced something like that.
28:10
And so I think the community is really excited for us to be here,
28:14
which is really special.
28:15
The men's side has obviously been going for a while now and they've had a great
28:19
response. So I'm really excited.
28:21
I think we'll get the same response and really excited for our home opener to
28:25
kind of see and interact with the fans and the community.
28:28
And speaking of, you have your home opener this Saturday, the 17th against Fort Lauderdale.
28:34
Going into that game, what excites you about the team and the players that you
28:38
have going into the start of the season?
28:40
Yeah, I think we have such a talented group, honestly.
28:43
Probably the most talented group I've played with in a while.
28:47
So many of us love to be on the ball, want the ball, want to possess while also
28:53
being aggressive going forward, which is fun.
28:56
I think the commitment is there from all of us. And it's interesting because
29:00
no one really knows what other teams are doing. So I think the first few games
29:05
is going to be really like an interesting chess match of figuring each other out.
29:09
And, you know, we don't have film on anyone. We don't have an idea of what formations
29:13
people are running. So it's really going to be a test of like.
29:17
Who knows themselves and who can execute the things that they want to do.
29:20
And at the end of the day, work harder than the other team too. That's so great to hear.
29:24
So moving forward, obviously home opener, like you said, you kind of,
29:28
it's unknown about who your opponents are, what they're doing and everything like that.
29:32
But what are your guys' within your team's expectation for the first year in
29:36
general, not only for your team, but for the Super League in its inaugural season?
29:41
Yeah, I think it's so hard to set expectations, but
29:45
I think all of us our competitors we obviously want to win as many games as
29:49
possible a lot of it is about like setting short-term goals for ourselves of
29:53
what what what team do we want to be in the first month of the season the next
29:57
month the month after and kind of riding the wave of the way the season progresses.
30:03
Our schedule we're extremely home heavy on
30:06
the front half and then we're away probably the
30:09
last you know bit of the fall here so
30:13
I think for us it's about managing that
30:16
as well and kind of seeing you know can we
30:19
make a strong homestand and then going on the road what do we need to do
30:22
so I think everything will kind of evolve as as we get started but for the most
30:26
part you know we're competitive we want to win and we want to play our best
30:30
soccer at each time we step on the field so kind of beating that previous best
30:35
yeah that's amazing to hear and I think my final question is just like overall
30:39
you know you finally get to play back in the U.S.
30:42
Like you said back in front of that home fan base what does
30:45
the start of this new league kind of mean to you and what has it meant to you
30:48
so far yeah I keep like as we've gone through preseason and kind of have the
30:55
hardships and the tough times or whatever it's like just having the gratitude
30:59
that we're able to be here is crazy.
31:03
A year ago, this did not exist.
31:05
And I think it was funny. I saw a tweet on Twitter about the US women winning gold.
31:12
And it was like, the last time they won gold, there wasn't even an established league or something.
31:18
I would need to look it up to find it. No, that makes sense though,
31:21
because it would have been 2012 and the NWSL was hurt till 2013.
31:24
So that makes a lot of sense. And so now looking forward and there's two established
31:29
leagues and that many more opportunities for players to play like almost giving
31:33
me chills like I just think of how many talented players there are that like
31:38
there are in the States and they either go overseas and kind of,
31:43
you know, go through that.
31:45
Exercise like jumping club to club or not having the stability over there or
31:49
not being treated right or paid well.
31:51
And now I think about how many players get the opportunity to come back and like play.
31:57
And it's just awesome. Like I think the league, like the States needed this
32:01
because of how many talented players we have and how many players don't continue
32:05
their careers because there's not something that's the right fit for them.
32:08
So I think just being able to be a part of the inaugural
32:12
season is so special and like I think just being
32:14
grateful for it above all is is the approach
32:17
I'm taking so yeah that is so amazing Jenny thank you so much for spending a
32:22
little bit of your morning with us I know we greatly appreciate it as we kind
32:25
of explore and for everyone it's Peacock right that USL Super League games are
32:30
on all right perfect so streaming games on Peacock helping support this new
32:33
league and we're so so excited about it so I'm once again Again,
32:37
so thankful for both Shy and Jenny for sitting down with me and discussing their
32:42
experiences so far in the Super League.
32:45
I think, you know, with both of them playing overseas and now coming into the
32:48
USL, it kind of brings a whole new perspective on what the league can be.
32:52
And all I know is that I'm excited to see it and watch.
32:55
So as we've talked about, games kick off this weekend for all Super League teams.
33:00
All games will be streamed on Peacock. So, but all, like all your teams have social media.
33:05
The USL Super League is super active on social media, you know,
33:09
sharing all that stuff. And I don't know, I'm just, I'm excited to watch them football.
33:13
How are you, Jordan, though? You're in the heat of preseason, first game on Thursday.
33:17
What are you thinking about that? lot yeah I'm super
33:20
excited you know it's I think a little
33:23
bit nostalgic here as we go through it thinking about past three
33:27
years as we go through these meetings and scouts and watching the
33:29
freshmen grow and kind of assimilate into our program and as we get ready for
33:35
our first official game and my last first game you know I have a lot of feelings
33:40
and a lot of emotions around it but mainly I'm just excited I'm excited for
33:43
the season to start I'm excited to get into it preseason is very long, very stressful.
33:48
I think once you're into games and you have a little something to actually play
33:52
for in terms of scorelines and things of that nature, it's a lot more exciting, a lot more real.
33:59
I think we got a good group this year. I'm very optimistic into what we can
34:03
do with a whole new league, essentially, with the Big Ten now having four new
34:07
teams and just being prepared for what that's going to look like.
34:11
Speaking of, not only has national rankings dropped, but also Big Ten rankings
34:16
dropped today as we record these as a team. How are you feeling about them?
34:21
You know, I think it's something where you look at them and it's nice to have
34:25
that recognition for what you did last year.
34:28
But that's really all it is. It's recognition for the team that happened and that was last year.
34:34
Because as of today, we have done nothing yet as Michigan State women's soccer team.
34:39
We have not won a game or anything of that nature. you
34:42
so well I think it's nice to
34:45
have it it also kind of puts a target on your back in some ways where
34:48
you're used to being the underdogs in a lot of scenarios these
34:51
past three years growing the program and now
34:54
there's kind of a target on our back being backs back big 10 champs having a
34:57
national ranking you know there's there's mixed feelings about it it is nice
35:01
it's nice to see it's nice to post it's nice to look at but I think it's something
35:04
that you kind of get out of your mind really quickly because all that matters
35:07
is the ranking at the end of the year and end of the the season. Absolutely.
35:12
Yeah. And so season kicks off for all of college athletics this Thursday games start to go.
35:19
So we will start providing even more updates on teams that we think look hot
35:23
teams, you know, big matchups, all these things that we're seeing.
35:26
And we have so many exciting interviews coming up as well.
35:30
And I'm so, so excited for the future
35:32
of what this college season and professional season now have to hold.
35:36
Absolutely. Speaking of professional season, Sam, how's yours going?
35:40
Season's going well, actually. We had our first start back from our little summer
35:46
break and we played at...
35:49
In sweden and they are a top four
35:52
team we were sitting in fifth and came home
35:55
with three to one victory team looked really really sharp so
35:58
super excited to see and we're happy with our position with where we're at in
36:02
the table right now you know being a top five and almost bound skin really honestly
36:07
should be number four is super exciting especially when you look at top three
36:10
or champions league and our teams that go far in champions league and so there's
36:14
a lot to be really excited about. There's a lot to keep going.
36:17
And so the train's chugging here in Sweden and excited to be on the train,
36:21
excited to be going for a ride.
36:24
Absolutely. You know, I think it's becoming more and more cool every time I
36:29
talk about this podcast as season three comes out and you're in Sweden and you
36:33
have your home professional league going on.
36:35
And then you're talking about the Big Ten and just how much coverage there is
36:38
in women's sports, women's soccer. It's continuously reminding me how big the soccer world is.
36:42
And as we get into this interview and learn about the new leagues with the
36:45
USL you know the world just got a little bit bigger so I
36:48
think it's something super cool and I'm so happy that we got to do this today
36:52
yeah absolutely so like we said Peacock for all things USL Super League social
36:57
media Big Ten Network for all things Big Ten soccer and as always we will be
37:02
back next week and soccer on bye guys.