Latest / Whatever It Takes with Carli Lloyd and Jenny Taft / Carli Lloyd and Jenny Taft Talk World Cup, Motherhood and Doing Whatever It Takes

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Carli Lloyd and Jenny Taft Talk World Cup, Motherhood and Doing Whatever It Takes · Whatever It Takes with Carli Lloyd and Jenny Taft

• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, and welcome to Whatever It Takes with Carly
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Lloyd and Jenny Taft. This has been months in the making,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: and Carly, I'm so excited to sit here with you
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: and have this podcast together.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: I know. If somebody would have told me I'd be
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: into TV and doing podcasting post-career, I would have failed
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: at knowing that. But I'm super excited. You know, we've
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: talked about this throughout World Cup and it's just been
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: a long time coming. I first off love your setup
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: in the background. Thank you. Thank you.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: This is my office closet. So it's going to evolve
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: throughout the season. It might be messier at times, organized
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: at times.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: These are new. I have a picture of you. Oh,
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: I love it.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: I mean, look at this. It looks pretty organized. Frames
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: in a closet. Yeah, just in case. I live in
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: the city, so we're making do with the space. You're
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: doing whatever it takes.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: I may put my dog in the basement, which I
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: feel like is a little worrisome, but I just can't
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: have any interruptions right now.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: Oh, I know. I'm sure we're going to have plenty
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: of interruptions. Harper's sleeping currently, so. Okay, good. Yeah, hopefully
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: she sleeps this whole podcast, and yeah, we have some
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: peace and quiet.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: We planned our podcast taping around Harper Naps. We'll see
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: how that evolves. And I think you make a good
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: point because we have talked about this for a while
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: and you mentioned, you know, the World Cup when I
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: met you first was really 2015 leading up to that.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: And that experience, that experience changed my life as a broadcaster,
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: being around you, being around your teammates, being around that
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: group of women. And I remember just being so impressed
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: by your intensity and focus and dedication and that's kind
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: of where this whole whatever it takes came from because
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: when I was thinking about you and when we were
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: talking about ideas for a podcast name I kept going
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: back to you as this player that was just going
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: to do whatever it takes to find a way to
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: get it done I feel like that kind of epitomizes
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: your career in a lot of ways I know there's
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: so much more to it but that's kind of where
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: the name came from in my opinion.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I love it. I think it just speaks
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: volumes to both of us. And obviously, you know, you
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: probably know a bit more about my career, but I
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: think that's what makes it so special and unique is
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: our relationship that we've kind of built. You know, I
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: was pretty psychotic. I mean, intense. You use the word intense.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: I may say I was psychotic, but I was on
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: a mission. And just like you've been on this mission
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: to be the best person At what you do, I
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: think whatever it takes is perfect for both of us
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: to be sitting here talking about everything.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: I'm going to write that down psychotic. That's going to
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: be an episode to get into a little bit more
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: about that. You were intense and you were driven and focused,
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: but I think that's what was so incredible about you
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: because you were just willing to do anything.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: Needed to be successful.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: And that's what's so fun about now knowing you as
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: a coworker, as a, you know, broadcaster, as a mom,
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: like you had this intense, incredibly successful playing career, yet
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: you've transitioned into this life. So that's what we're going
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: to get into. This podcast can evolve, right? We're just
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: doing this for the first time. And, you know, we're
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: setting up our mics for the first time, but we
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: can kind of go wherever we want to go. Yeah.
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: And that's what I love too. You know, we have
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: obviously come from the sports world. I've come from the
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: soccer world. But when we were talking about this, you know,
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: we wanted to, we wanted to talk about all the,
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: all things, you know, motherhood and the journey of, of
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: balancing life and family and friends and all of that.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: I mean, your schedule is way busier than mine. You're
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: still working, you know, college football and Dog show? Not so?
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: Oh, yeah.
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: Well, we'll see.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: It may have moved to another network, but I had
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: 10 long years of Westminster.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: Really proud of it. Which I still need to get
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: to that.
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: You do.
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: We'll go together as fans. Yeah, no, but it's been,
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: you know, I think that's the beauty of it is
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: that just we can be ourselves and, you know, authentic.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: That was all I was about throughout my career. And
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: it's interesting. And when we can dive more into that,
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: but it's just interesting how much I feel like I've
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: evolved post-career, you know, not as intense, not as psychotic,
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: not taking myself too seriously and just kind of learning
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: this whole role of TV that you've been immersed in
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: for ages. So it's been, yeah, it's been a lot
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: of fun. I remember throughout the World Cup, just, I guess,
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: now we're a month removed.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: That's crazy. Feels like a whole life has happened since,
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: a little more than a month. you kept saying, you know,
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: I'm just going with the flow. And I'm like, that's
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: a different Carly. Going with the flow, Carly, is not
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: Carly from her playing days.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: But you were just like, I'm just, it's a World Cup.
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: I'm here to help. I'm a teammate.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: I'm a team player. I'm just going with the flow.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: Like you said that to me so many times. And
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: I love that I've known every version of you, which
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: is kind of fun.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I spent 17 long years playing professional soccer for
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: World Cups, for Olympics. You were there for a good
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: portion of those, half of those, I guess, of mine.
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: And yeah, I mean, it's just, you know, I've had
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: obviously time to reflect on my career and what I've
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: done and all of that. And, you know, I kind
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: of evolved into this TV aspect of life in a
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: totally different mindset, which is so interesting. And, you know,
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: I'm sure we'll get some other guests on here at
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: some point in the future, but I think diving into
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: that is really interesting is who you have to be
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: when you're in the arena and, you know, you're competing
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: and you're on a mission to be the absolute best.
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: And then when you're finished, what that looks like. And
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: I feel like I'm the same person, but I'm two
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: totally different people. I'm, you know, not taking myself too seriously.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: If I mess up on air, it's like, whatever, you know,
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: but if I were to mess up on the field,
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: you know, I'd be kicking and screaming and killing myself
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: for days, you know, until I could play the next game. So, yeah, it's,
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: you know, it's been an interesting ride, you know, and
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: I don't know if you have translated, you know, playing
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: collegiately into TV. I mean, have you kind of just
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: rolled that into what you've done all these years as
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: a sports reporter on the sideline?
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: I mean, one, I appreciate you even putting me in
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: the same sentence of comparing our athletic careers, but.
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: What I will say.
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: And I've found a lot of comfort in knowing that
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: playing a D1 sport is a commitment, right? And I
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: feel like I played lacrosse at BU. I was mostly
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: on the bench, but it was a great, incredible experience.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: And I had that sliver of understanding what you guys
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: were going through. It was not the national team. But
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: what I always point back to as well, in 2015,
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: covering the women's national team was my big break. David Neal,
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: who was an executive at Fox and who is still
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: a friend, he texted me during the World Cup, which
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: was cool to think of. He gave me that opportunity
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: in 2015. He wanted a female with your team. And
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: you hadn't in the past had a female reporter embedded
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: with your group, which seems crazy. And one of the
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: only things he really asked me about was, you know,
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: tell me a little bit about your lacrosse career and
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: playing a sport. And, you know, did you play soccer?
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: I played soccer growing up, but by no means on
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: any level of you guys. But he wanted a female
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: and he wanted an athlete, someone who could be around
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: you guys and it was comfortable and build relationships and trust.
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: And 2015 changed my life in every way, covering you
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: guys at the World Cup. And of course, that incredible run.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: And then that led to being around the men's team and,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: you know, those World Cups. So I just think back
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: on having had that experience playing in college really did
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: open so many doors. And I always believed I had
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: a seat at the table. Like I deserved a spot,
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: whether that was with men's sports. I played ice hockey
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: growing up. I skated with the boys. Like I always
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: felt like I was good enough to be around. I
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: understand sport. I understand the camaraderie. My dad was an athlete.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: you know, you kind of get it. And that intense,
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: which it's so funny you say, you don't care if
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: you screw up.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: I definitely still care. You kind of can't screw up.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: That's fair. I mean, I think it's remarkable what you do.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: I don't know how. I've asked you numerous times. I'm like,
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: I don't know how you stand there on the sideline
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: and rehearse and remember and say exactly what you need
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: in the perfect amount of time. No, it's pretty incredible.
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: So I'm curious, since I don't know a whole lot,
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: what you were doing before 2015.
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: So I got hired. I graduated from BU in 2010.
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: So with a broadcast journalism degree, always wanted to be
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: in this world. You know, we could go back down
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: this long story of how we got here. I'm sure
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: we'll have time throughout the podcast world. But I ended
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: up in New York City and my husband at the
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: time Then boyfriend was playing for the New York Rangers.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: So I followed him to New York. There's a happy
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: ending here. We did break up and I moved back
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: to Minnesota.
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: But happy ending. We're together. He's in one of these
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: pictures with our daughter. And it works out. It's the journey.
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: We'll get into that. I'm sure.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: But I went back to Minnesota to Fox Sports North,
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: which was the regional. And they just timing is never
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: an accident. And I'd just gotten back to Minnesota, pretty
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: embarrassed about the breakup. Didn't know where I was.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: Going to go.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: I tried to get in TV in New York City,
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: but that's naive to think you're going to start in
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: New York City as a broadcaster. And Fox Sports North
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: had had me as an intern in college and they
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: called me within the week and they said, what are
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: you doing?
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: We were hiring in the marketing department.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: We're looking for fan ambassadors who can go to games
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: and speak about our teams and who love and know sports.
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: It was a win-win.
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: And they remembered me from an internship. And I did
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: that for two years. And then when Fox Sports 1
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: was launching in 2013, I flew out to L.A., auditioned.
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: Didn't think.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: I mean, I thought I was okay. There's a fun
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: story how I basically said thank you to everyone behind
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: the scenes and that helped me stand out from the rest.
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: I just said thanks. No way. Went around the room,
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: said thanks for your time. I know you guys stayed late.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: And I guess that was one of the reasons that they...
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: They liked me. They liked that part of who I am.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: And I try to embody that, right? Like, I think
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: you and I, it's so crazy. You see us in
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: front of the camera. There's so many people behind the scenes, right?
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: It's such a team. So I've been at Fox ever since,
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: and it's been the best journey. And it's, you just
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: never know, right? Those opportunities.
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: And I love what I do.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: The travel's hard, but I love, love, love, love being
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: around sport in this way. And it gives me that rush,
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: kind of like playing, but like the red light rush
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: and The adrenaline.
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: I get a high from it. Do you get the
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: same adrenaline rush from TV? A little bit. I do.
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: Especially this past World Cup with all the crowds, you know,
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: being out in Seattle. And, you know, they're loud. They're cheering.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: It was really cool. It did. I know Alexi always
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: talks about that red light comes on. He's performing. He's
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: in the moment. And I'm like, yeah, you know, get
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: a little bit of that. But I would say this
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: past World Cup, I felt that a lot more, which
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: was really cool. You felt it. And it was here, right? Like,
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: it was different. It was just incredible.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: Okay, so what about broadcasting? This is my question for you.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: Did you not expect or something maybe that was different than,
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: you know, what you expected.
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: About being a part of this world? I guess the
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: long hours were maybe a little bit different. I think
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: people don't realize how long of a day they can be,
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: especially with hair and makeup. wardrobe and you're getting in
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: there really early, you have production meetings, you go through
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: the whole rundown and then you rehearse and then you're
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: on air. And the segments on air for us in
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: the studio, they're not incredibly long, especially with this World
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: Cup where we were throwing it back to different studios.
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: So it made for, you know, some of the U.S.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: days were very long in particular because we would do
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: a segment at halftime from previous game. And then when
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: the actual U.S. game was on, you know, then we
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: were doing our bits. But yeah, I would say, I
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: would say, you know, they're just, they're longer days. And
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: as a player, you kind of get in and you
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: get out. You know, you're not there training all day long.
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: It's not like football or baseball where they're at the
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: clubhouse and at the facility for, you know, three quarters
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: of the day. So I guess that was a little
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: bit of an adjustment, but I mean, it makes it
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: so much more fun when you're with people that you
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: like to be with. We had a great, great crew,
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: you know, throughout the World Cups and stuff that I've
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: been a part of. So I think that's been particularly good.
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: And as you said, you know, I think both you
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: and I take great pride in making sure we treat
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: people the right way. I mean, there are so many
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: people within Fox and just in the world and in
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: life and what we do that make us all look good. And,
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: you know, a quick hello to everybody, you know, the
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: producers behind the cameras. That's really important. And so I
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: felt like I was part of a really incredible family.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: And yeah, it was not something I was ever considering doing,
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: but here we are.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: Do you remember your initial reaction when Fox called you
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: to be a part of the World Cup?
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: I was like, no, I don't want to do it.
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: You said no? My agent called me. My agent and,
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: you know, Brad Zager are pretty close. And I had
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: retired in 21, in November of 21. And the Men's
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: World Cup was quickly approaching, which was in a year
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: of November, right? November, I think the Men's World Cup started.
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: It was around Thanksgiving. Yeah, because it was that weird
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: time of year.
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: And 22. So, yeah, he said, you know, do you
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: want to go work the men's world cup. And I
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: was like, no, first of all, it's the men's world cup.
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: You know, what do I know? Why do I want
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: to do this? So I kept saying, no, no, no.
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: And you know, they, they pushed me a little bit.
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: I think there was a, there was a U S
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: women's national team game. It was Beckistan that they were playing.
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: It was in studio. So I came into Fox and
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: kind of did that before. And Heather O'Reilly was there
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: doing it. I believe Alexi and Rob. Yeah, I'm like,
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: was I there? I think I was there. No, I
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: think I missed that. I don't think you were there. Yeah,
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: it was in studio in LA. Yeah, and I remember
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: telling one of the producers, Zach, I'm like, I don't
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: know what I'm doing. And he's like, it's okay. We'll
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: be in your ear. We'll let you know what's going on.
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: But I just approached it as just kind of just
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: being myself. I wasn't trying to be anybody other than that.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: And then I finally kind of gave in to try
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: to go to the men's world cup instead of doing
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: the entire thing. They said, how about you just try
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: and do two weeks of it? And, you know, they
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: worked me in, they, they started me off slowly. I
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: did some segments, just quick little hits. And then, you know,
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: eventually kind of probably by like day five, I got into,
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: you know, the shows and started doing it. Rob Stone
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: had lost his voice. You had stepped in. So that
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: was a fun, a fun day. Jenny to the rescue.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: It is not ideal to host a World Cup without
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: preparing to host a World Cup because I was focusing
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: on singular teams, not the World Cup as a whole.
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: That was a lesson learned. In case anyone loses their voices.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: How many, how many days did you do? Did you
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: do a couple?
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: I did two full days, but I think they told
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: me maybe like 1 a.m.
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: The night before. It was a whirlwind. And pronunciations, and you.
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: And I know, I mean, there's a lot of pressure
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: in that, but pronunciations keep me up at night, especially.
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: When you haven't prepared them. Going back to that, pronunciations,
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: your one question earlier, yes. Yes, it's hard, and you
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: can't really win, even at this World Cup. There were
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: French pronunciations.
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm saying it the French way, and they're like,
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: that's not the American way. I'm like, well, let's try,
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: which way? There's no right way, always. No, and everybody
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: pronounces it differently. Which makes it so incredibly hard. But
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: that was fun. I'm glad I got to sit with you.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: And I do think that that's when I first really
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: got to spend time with you in that setting.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, because you just, you know, interviewed the intense Carly
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: Lloyd that didn't let anybody in, really. I think you
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: said psychotic. A little bit psychotic, for sure. But we
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: always had a good rapport. It was never.
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: You were always up for an interview. You understood the
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: importance of doing television.
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: It was never a... You were never at all unkind.
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: You were very approachable. And there's a difference.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: You can be intense and not approachable and intense and approachable.
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: And you were just focused, which I just appreciated from you.
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: No, for sure. I, you know, I recognize how important
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: it was for Fox to literally take a gamble on everything.
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: I mean, they had never done a World Cup, let
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: alone coming in and doing a Women's World Cup, which...
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: It's kind of crazy how things come full circle, right?
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: I mean, 2015, you know, they, I remember, you know,
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: David Neal and everybody kind of coming to one of
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: our camps and explaining and doing a whole PowerPoint presentation
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: on what it was going to look like, how much
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: access time they were going to have, the car washes
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: we were going to do, interviews and you know, we
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: were all a little reluctant at first. I know our
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: coaching staff was. You guys were like looking at us like,
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: who are these people? I think we're in Salt Lake.
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: We were trying to sell.
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: You guys on the commitment we were going to have
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: to tell your story. And I remember some intense faces
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: looking back our way.
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: I know they're like, We're like, oh, somebody's going to
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: be embedded with our team, you know. But you were
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: the best. You were the best. And yeah, no, it
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: was the greatest thing that had happened to our team
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: and me personally. Because without those storylines that were being told,
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: the promos, the coverage, the support, I mean, all of that,
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: it wouldn't have been as big as it was. So
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: winning that was huge. And yeah, and having Fox Sports
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: be a part of that and everybody. I mean, those
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: are the moments where you're like, OK, it all worked out.
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: And then, you know, who would have thought, you know,
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: some years later I'd be employed by them as well.
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: So it's been, you know, real full circle, which has
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: been cool. Oh, so cool.
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: I already want to go back to 2015 and take
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: you through it. you know, match by match because that
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: whole tournament, and this will be another episode one day,
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: the ups and downs of that World Cup are insane
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: to remember. And there's some stories that I think were
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: never told, but just the craziness of you guys finding
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: a way to win it and your hat trick. There's
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: so much from that that I want to get into,
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: but we'll we'll do it another time. And I know
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: we have to talk a little bit about the men's
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: world cup, which we're coming off of.
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: So you and I could vamp all day, but this,
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: this will be really fun.
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: Is there anything else to just set the scene for
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: this podcast? That's been on your mind that you really
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: want to get out from this intro? Yeah.
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: Just uniquely being us authentic. You know, we're going to
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: have things that come up. I mean, I'm, delivering a
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: baby very, very soon. And, you know, probably loads of
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: stories there. I'm already a bit uncomfortable and getting a
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: bit tired. So, yeah, I just think being us, being
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: able to share more instead of a two-minute clip, you know,
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: during interviews and whatnot, and hopefully help some people along
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: the way. I love it.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: And, yeah, congrats on being pregnant and working a World
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: Cup and doing it with such grace and the long hours. Oh, please.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: It's a lot. You guys had more of a listen
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: than I did, I think. No, no, no, no, no.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: I don't care what you're doing, where you're at.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: Being pregnant and working is an impressive feat, which we'll
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: get into all the things.
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: So after the break, let's get into the men's roll call.
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Whatever It Takes with Carly Lloyd and
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: Jenny Taft. We are Just getting going with this podcast,
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: but we're, of course, coming off the World Cup here
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: on Home Soil.
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: There are incredible highlights.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: We could probably go on for hours about what this
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: World Cup meant to both of us individually, what it
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: meant to the country, but I would love just now...
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: you know, over a month removed from the World Cup,
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: what you're still thinking about. And the big news is
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: Mauricio Pochettino has resigned to be the coach for the U.S.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: men's national team for this next cycle, next four years.
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: Your reaction to the news, but also just what has
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: been on your mind about this World Cup?
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: Man, well, first of all, you recovered from it. I mean,
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: you were all over the place. You were actually in
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: a really nice resort, though, embedded with the men's team.
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: There's a funny story.
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: At one point, Fox Sports had called me and said,
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: you know, we want less scenic shots. This feels like
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: you're on vacation and you're just casually talking about the U.S.
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: men's national team while in Laguna Beach, which was true.
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: But we were busy. Yes, you were busy, which I'll
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: get into all that bits. But why don't you tell
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: all the listeners exactly why? I mean, what your days,
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: because I was like, what do you do all day?
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: You know, do you just get ready for these hits?
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: Good question. But you have multiple hits a day, different locations.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: It is, you know, I think there's so much to
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: a World Cup that's different than my job as a
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: college football reporter on Big Noon or, you know, covering
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: various sports on Fox Sports. What's so unique about a
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: World Cup, you are embedded, which we keep using that word,
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: but what does that actually mean? Well, In this case,
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: I was at the team hotel, which was even more
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: access than I had with the U.S. women's national team.
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: I mean, I'd never stayed. I think I take that back.
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: I think I'd been at the women's hotel in the past,
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: but not really so, so close to the team. I
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: think I'd earned a trust with the group, a respect
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: to be there. You know, you're around it. You're around
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: it very closely. So every morning I'd wake up at 7.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: If I was feeling motivated to work out, it was.
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: 6, which.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: Happened not as many times as it should have.
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: And we'd go to training.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: So they were training in Irvine, which was about a
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: 40-minute drive from where they were staying in Laguna Beach.
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: Training was around 10, 30, 11. It was more like 11,
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: but I would tend to get interviews with players, one-on-one
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: interviews around 9, 30, and I'd use those interviews throughout
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: the day. So like you mentioned, I had hits throughout
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: the day. So if you guys were doing a pregame,
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: a postgame for a different match, you guys would often say, hey,
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: let's check in with Jenny with the latest with the
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: national team. So every day was pretty much the same routine.
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: You know, go to training, talk to players, attend training,
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: go to the press conference, do another report. At training, maybe,
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: you know, throughout the tournament, we were following Christian Pulisic
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: and injuries. At times I was going live from training.
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: He's training.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: I'm watching his calf. There's a sleeve on the calf.
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: You know, you're doing like the every single moment report.
• 24:02
  Speaker 2: Is he really injured or not really injured?
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: I'm watching him. I'm watching the calf. And I'm watching
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: him at the hotel. I'm sitting, you know, I can't
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: reveal too much of my moves, but am I in
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: the lobby for too long sometimes just to watch body language?
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: Maybe. This is hilarious. You have to be careful about
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: how you position that, right? You can't be too around.
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: And I just, I really valued the trust that they
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: had in letting me be there. So, you know, they're
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: long days. We would sometimes have hits that would air
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: in the last match of the day, and we're doing
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: an eight o'clock hit. So I'm doing five to six
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: stories about the national team throughout the day, and they're
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: different stories. A big thing that Fox wanted was to
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: always spin it forward. I mean, we're not looking back, right?
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: And so I think at times it's challenging to make
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: sure you have stories that are different, that are evolving.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: But I always try to remind myself, what does the
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: fan want to know about this group? I have more
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: access than any other reporter. And that's something I don't
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: often say. I don't mean it in like a bragging way,
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: but I was allowed to stay at training when other
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: reporters were not because I earned a trust with that team.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: And I really really respect that trust, but also you
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: see sometimes things that you can't broadcast right away.
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: Um, and you have to be conscious of that.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: So it's, it's an, it's a great opportunity that challenged
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: me in a whole new way, being basically on television
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: for 40 days straight with different varying stories and some
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: were better than others, but, um, that's kind of the,
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: the day to day of why my role was so different.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: And then of course I'd traveled in the matches and
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: match day minus one, different interviews, different reports, but That
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: was kind of the U.S.
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: Angle. So, yeah, I felt a really good trust with
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: that team. Well, you did a fantastic job. I think
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: you were awesome. And coming up with storylines, you got
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: a massive crew and a lot of gear you travel with,
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: which I learned as well. A lot of gear.
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: I owe those guys so much credit. 17 bags were checked.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: Lighting matters, right?
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: Like, it matters for the shots to have the best
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: lighting around to make sure it looks like we've all
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: been sleeping. Yeah. But you guys were equally busy.
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: There were days where you flew the night before from
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: Seattle and you were on air.
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: The next day. I mean, it's busy for everyone. It is.
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: It is.
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: No, but it's all different, right? I think everybody has
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: a different role. And that's why for me, I'm kind
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: of like, I just want to put my time and
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: energy on wherever I'm needed and whatever is being asked
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: of me. I'm like, just going to do it and
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: do it with a smile and, you know, and go
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: from there.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: But.
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: No, you did a fantastic job. It was awesome. And
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: being a player for so long at 2015, 2019 World
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: Cups that I played in, you were sort of embedded
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: with us. I don't even remember you, you know, kind
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: of just being there. And you're more embedded now, obviously,
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: with the men's team. But, you know, it's really interesting.
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: I was like fascinated to hear because I'm like, what
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: does she do all day? She just hang out? She's
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: not just hanging at the pool. I promise.
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: I was not doing any of that. And it is like,
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: that's good. You didn't remember me. That's the whole point, right?
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: You would never want to be around in a way
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: that was too much. And I, I do put a
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: lot of pressure on myself to be someone that is trusted,
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: but also, you know, around and able to be, you know,
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: have these intimate relationships with the national team, because this
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: is a group that they have to trust me too,
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: if they're going to be honest about how the team
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: is and where they're at and, and have those hard
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: conversations after a loss. Like it's, It's really hard for
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: players to talk after a loss. When the World Cup ended,
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: they all came over and were willing to do the interview.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: And I do appreciate that because that is the relationships
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: that have been built over time.
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: But that's where I want to ask you, you know,
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: it ends so quickly, right? Like you have this incredible.
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: Journey and it was an amazing group stage where the
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: country was just excited about this team in a way
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: that I'd never experienced, the highest of highs.
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: And then it ends. And it didn't just end.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: It was pretty embarrassing against Belgium. So where are you
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: at in terms of maybe the biggest takeaways and some
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: of the low points from the World Cup with the U.S.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: Men? You just had said about Mauricio Pochettino re-signing for
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: another four years, which, you know, I think it took
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: me a while to get on board a bit with him.
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: I think, you know... the language barrier is sometimes often
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: difficult to decipher between what is actually being said and
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: what he's implementing within the team and the culture. But
• 28:45
  Speaker 2: watching the documentary, I feel like I got a better
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: sense of who he is as a coach and a person.
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: And then some of the features that Fox Sports did
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: throughout the World Cup. You know, you really started to
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: kind of see that come to light. And come the
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: two friendlies they played prior to the world cup i'm
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: like okay i'm i'm bought in a bit more you
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: know i i see what's happening out on the field
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: the players are they're playing differently they're fighting for one
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: another they're embracing representing the crest and of course he's
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: putting his tactical spin on things and and the way
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: that they're playing and You know, they looked better in
• 29:27
  Speaker 2: the final third and all of that. But for, I think,
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: the American people, we wanted to just see a group
• 29:35
  Speaker 2: of guys go out and represent the crest well and
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: with pride. and dignity. And we hadn't really been seeing
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: that until right before the World Cup. And then that
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: first game against Paraguay, they set the bar high and
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: they set the expectation throughout that World Cup. like never
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: before and it was the way in which they were
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: playing the way in which they were moving the ball
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: I mean every player was playing well every player looked
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: like they were when I looked at them you know
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: I looked at those players as if they were just
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: playing so freely and you know not worrying about a
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: mistake and when you're in that mode and in that
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: zone the sky's the limit so I It was really
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: incredible to see. And I think that captivated the nation
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: right from the start and made the whole journey of
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: that World Cup with the U.S. so special. And you
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: could see, you know, Mauricio just embracing the culture and
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: the fans and just everything about it after the games
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: and just how united the group looked. And again, you
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: were there. You could see it. It was real. It
• 30:51
  Speaker 2: was happening. And then the last game, it was like
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: all of what they had built up until that point,
• 31:03
  Speaker 2: I wouldn't say it was a complete disaster and it
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: was not successful. But you just never want to go
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: out in a World Cup, in a major tournament like that,
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: under those circumstances. Under circumstances that you could perhaps control,
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: you know, the effort, some of those mistakes that were
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: being made. And I think just, it was, it was a,
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: just a weird situation, you know, the ballagin red card
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: and then, uh, you know, he's able to play and
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: you have all this noise and all this talk around
• 31:36
  Speaker 2: all of that. So it just was, and I said
• 31:39
  Speaker 2: my bits on air, you know, I, I said that
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: it was disappointing and, um, you know, I, I did
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: single out Christian Pulisic, not because I, don't like him
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: or don't think he's capable of playing at the level
• 31:52
  Speaker 2: that he is, but he's been the star in the
• 31:56
  Speaker 2: face of this team. And I think nothing different than
• 32:00
  Speaker 2: from what was expected of me when I played for
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: the women's team. If I didn't perform, you know, I
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: was being talked about and, and people were coming at
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: me and they were saying that I wasn't good enough
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: or I shouldn't be on the roster or this, that,
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: and you have to weather so much of that. And
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: I think that's, what's really hard is that when you
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: are singled out as a star on a team, you
• 32:25
  Speaker 2: are expected to carry the group regardless of what's going
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: on around you. And yeah, I think that that, that
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: was just, it was hard. It was hard to watch
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: that last game. I mean, just from a, defensive standpoint
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: you were there right on the field yeah everything.
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: Was a step or two off and it was off
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: from the beginning like they it never was there two
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: minutes in it fell off and you're like wait why
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: does this feel so different immediately which is shocking I
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: don't know if I've ever noticed it in that sense
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: so quickly right I was just like oh wow I'm
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: concerned right.
• 33:01
  Speaker 2: Now Because they started off well every single game. Aside from,
• 33:06
  Speaker 2: you know, Turkey, you know, the game, as the game evolved,
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: it wasn't, you know, the greatest game. And we'll probably
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: touch on that. But I think the depth of the
• 33:14
  Speaker 2: team is lacking as well. But, yeah, I mean, and
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: I said before the game on air as well that
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: we should be worried with this whole red card situation
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: because Belgium, it lit a fire under Belgium. Oh, yeah.
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: They had not been playing that great all tournament long.
• 33:32
  Speaker 2: manager makes some big-time decisions, leaving some big-time players off
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: out of the starting lineup, and they came to play. And,
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: you know, that was the unfortunate thing with the U.S.,
• 33:44
  Speaker 2: that they did not come to play. They didn't come
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: to play.
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: And, you know, I keep going back to those 24
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: hours or 48 hours, I guess, really, with the Ballot situation. And,
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: you know, I tried to get a sense of it.
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: And from the inside, they truly were saying, were not
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: affected by it, were so tight. They had been so tight.
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: We talk about culture, right? The culture was very apparent.
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: I almost, I think I mentioned all the reports I did.
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: When you say vibes are good over and over again,
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: it's a little ridiculous.
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: But like, it really was an incredible atmosphere, an incredible culture.
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: Mauricio Pochettino has a way to make you feel, well,
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: he's very approachable, yet extremely demanding. And I think the
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: players felt that in a different way. It was a
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: comfortable group, yet the standard of the way they had
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: to be performing at training every day, it was just
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: an elevated experience being around this group. So the culture
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: was great. They were saying they weren't distracted by the
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: red card. But the human side of any athlete, and
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: you have this amazing way of blocking out the noise,
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: I think at some point some of them were maybe
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: listening to what was being said on the outside. And
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: that story took on a life of its own in
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: every way that did not help the U.S.
• 35:02
  Speaker 2: Team. It backfired. Oh, it did.
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: You know, I wish, it's a weird thing, you can't say,
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: I wonder what if. But you do wonder, right, if
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: they'd had to play without Balot, and it was a
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: different energy, but who knows at this point.
• 35:16
  Speaker 2: I think that's the part with any team, though.
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: Anyone who loses at the World Cup, there's going to
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: be what ifs, and it ends so, so quickly, and
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: it had been so special, and two things can be true,
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: that they completely inspired a country, and it was an
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: amazing thing to see fans singing Country Roads and singing,
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: and and Mauricio chanting and loving the experience and the
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: players embracing it and then be absolutely devastated by the
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: way it ended. Both can be true, but I think
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: progress was still made in a.
• 35:46
  Speaker 2: Lot of ways. For sure. I totally think it was successful. And,
• 35:51
  Speaker 2: you know, you talk about the noise, you know, everybody
• 35:55
  Speaker 2: hears the noise. You hear it, right? We always said,
• 35:59
  Speaker 2: we're in this bubble and Nothing's going to break. Nothing's
• 36:03
  Speaker 2: going to penetrate the bubble. And we're in it together.
• 36:06
  Speaker 2: And yes, you are. That's what you tell your group.
• 36:10
  Speaker 2: But you hear and see everything. And especially now. I mean,
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: we have these devices that literally within an arm's reach
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: where you can see and hear and listen to just
• 36:26
  Speaker 2: about anything. And so that's what's hard when You know, players,
• 36:32
  Speaker 2: I hear players now in interviews saying, you know, I
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: don't hear the noise and, you know, I've deleted my
• 36:38
  Speaker 2: social media. And, you know, there's ways. People text. I
• 36:42
  Speaker 2: heard the noise. The noise motivated me. Sometimes, you know,
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: from a human standpoint, I started to believe some of
• 36:54
  Speaker 2: that noise. And then you got to dig yourself out
• 36:56
  Speaker 2: of it, you know, quickly. But, yeah, maybe there were just...
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: Too many players that said they don't hear the noise
• 37:04
  Speaker 2: and it's not affecting them, but maybe mentally it really did.
• 37:08
  Speaker 2: And when that first whistle blew, you know, the nerves,
• 37:13
  Speaker 2: that's a real thing that can overtake the way that
• 37:16
  Speaker 2: you feel physically. And so, you know, it was just
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: a poor day for a lot of the players to
• 37:22
  Speaker 2: not have a good game. And I don't necessarily think
• 37:26
  Speaker 2: that we were better physically. or on paper better than Belgium,
• 37:32
  Speaker 2: but if there was any team in the knockout round
• 37:39
  Speaker 2: in this particular World Cup that the U.S. could have
• 37:43
  Speaker 2: potentially beaten, it was Belgium. Interesting. I really believe that.
• 37:49
  Speaker 2: And given the nature of this World Cup on home soil,
• 37:54
  Speaker 2: if this was in Europe, I don't know that I'd
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: be saying the same thing, but because of the nature
• 37:59
  Speaker 2: of this home crowd, of the crowd, amazing crowd in Seattle,
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: and the way that Belgium was playing, you know, up
• 38:07
  Speaker 2: until this point, you know, they could have went toe
• 38:09
  Speaker 2: to toe, but they didn't bring it. So that's what
• 38:12
  Speaker 2: makes it really difficult. And yeah, I mean, you prepare
• 38:15
  Speaker 2: every four years for an event like this. And when
• 38:18
  Speaker 2: you're in it, you're trying to be in the moment
• 38:23
  Speaker 2: as much as you can, but continue to, you know,
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: move forward. And then all of a sudden it's over,
• 38:31
  Speaker 2: you know, so you have this, you've been on this
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: big high forever. And then to lose like that, you know,
• 38:37
  Speaker 2: is it's a really tough thing.
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: Oh, it was tough. It was emotional to see. I mean,
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: it always is. Losses are never easy. But I think
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: in a World Cup setting, when you've been on this
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: journey together, it's just so devastating to to get into
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: the emotion of the loss and the hard work and
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: the fact that that group will never be together in
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: the same way.
• 38:56
  Speaker 2: No. What are your thoughts on Mauricio coming back? I
• 39:02
  Speaker 2: thought of it when you were mentioning this.
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: So I really did enjoy getting to know him throughout
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: this World Cup. And I had gotten to know him
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: really the year leading up or, you know, year and
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: a half leading up two years. I was around them
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: mostly at the Gold Cup last summer and then this summer.
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: And I found him to be, like I said, approachable,
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: but tough. There was a level of just he demanded
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: a lot from the players, but he also had this
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: way of being this guy you could go up to.
• 39:30
  Speaker 2: And talk to and, and really trust. I'll never forget.
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: I said to him during the world cup, at times
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: we would have a coffee at training, like a quick
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: catch up. Cause I always, I really did appreciate the
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: access that he understood Fox too. Like he understood us
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: being around and telling their story. And I said, Mauricio,
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: I really appreciate how nice you've been to me throughout
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: this in trusting me.
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: And he said, no, no, no. I'm not nice. I
• 39:54
  Speaker 2: am good. It's the language thing. I'm not nice. I'm good.
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: I am a good, you know, person who you have.
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: I trust you and you've earned that trust. But I'm
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: not nice. Do not confuse the two. And I thought
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: that was really interesting. Wow.
• 40:09
  Speaker 2: Very interesting. I like that he's like, no, no, no.
• 40:12
  Speaker 2: That's not who I am. Good. Good.
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: Trusting, yes, but not nice. And I'll always remember that.
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: And during one of our chats before training, he had
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: said to me, I now understand the importance of having
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: four years, and I didn't get that before. So he
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: said this maybe three weeks into the World Cup, the
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: journey they'd been on, the culture, and he's like, I
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: get it now.
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: You need the four years. You need the time. You
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: need to build.
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: Like they were sprinting towards the World Cup. And I
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: found that interesting that he now understood the value of
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: time and starting it 100% his way. He and his team,
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: he has an incredible culture among his staff. They all
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: very much like and respect him.
• 40:54
  Speaker 2: That's everyone.
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: That's from the equipment staff to nutrition. Of course, Jesus Perez,
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: his first assistant, they have an amazing dynamic. So this
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: is everyone top to bottom. So this having a four-year
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: run where he's doing it his way I am excited
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: to see what that looks like. I would agree.
• 41:13
  Speaker 2: And really building. So let's see it.
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: And I know people who say, does he want to
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: be here? Yes, I think he wants to be here.
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: You don't take a job you don't want. I almost
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: get annoyed when people say that. Yes, I'm sure he's
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: going to make a lot of money. But I think
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: he believes in this team and he fell in love
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: with the culture in America.
• 41:30
  Speaker 2: All of that is real. That's not fake. It's too hard.
• 41:35
  Speaker 2: You're not going to make up those storylines that he
• 41:37
  Speaker 2: fell in love with America. Yeah. No, I agree. And
• 41:41
  Speaker 2: like you said, I started to really buy in before
• 41:45
  Speaker 2: World Cup, during World Cup. And I think that there
• 41:48
  Speaker 2: is still time needed for him to implement a culture
• 41:53
  Speaker 2: within this team. I think it was good. I think
• 41:55
  Speaker 2: for the time that he had prior to the World Cup,
• 41:58
  Speaker 2: because let's face it, there were not a lot of windows.
• 42:02
  Speaker 2: He didn't have a lot of those star players, the
• 42:05
  Speaker 2: Gold Cup, the year before, the summer before. And so
• 42:10
  Speaker 2: he's probably realizing as a national team coach now that
• 42:14
  Speaker 2: there aren't a lot of windows of time where you
• 42:17
  Speaker 2: can implement and you don't have your entire group together
• 42:21
  Speaker 2: all the time. Whereas, I mean, I know Emma came
• 42:24
  Speaker 2: in in a couple of months and, you know, they
• 42:26
  Speaker 2: go on to win the Olympics and whatnot. But no,
• 42:30
  Speaker 2: I'm excited. I think that he demands that. This is
• 42:34
  Speaker 2: from me from the outside looking in, you know, seems
• 42:37
  Speaker 2: to demand a lot from each player, no matter if
• 42:40
  Speaker 2: you're a star player or if you're the last player
• 42:45
  Speaker 2: off the bench. And it's going to be interesting with
• 42:48
  Speaker 2: certain players. You know, are certain players going to be around?
• 42:52
  Speaker 2: Are they going to embrace that? Are they going to
• 42:56
  Speaker 2: recover from the World Cup performance that they had? Yeah,
• 43:00
  Speaker 2: time will tell. So I'm excited for it. Oh, I'm
• 43:03
  Speaker 2: excited for that, too.
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: And I love that you brought up, Emma, because we
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: clearly have to get into the Women's World Cup, which
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: I cannot believe it's already next summer.
• 43:13
  Speaker 2: Like, we have so much to look forward to.
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: I think so much of this podcast we were hoping
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: could build towards that. That's your expertise, although you're an
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: expert in everything now with the men's and women's team.
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: But I cannot wait to pick your brain about this
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: current U.S.
• 43:27
  Speaker 2: Team with the women, with Emma. I'd love your thoughts.
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: And I feel like you know, it's going to be
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: here before we know it in so many ways.
• 43:36
  Speaker 2: It's going to fly by. It's crazy. I mean, so
• 43:39
  Speaker 2: much coming down the pipeline. This Women's World Cup, Olympics
• 43:42
  Speaker 2: in L.A., I mean, it's just hasn't stopped. I'm like,
• 43:46
  Speaker 2: here I am every one of my summers. I'm still
• 43:49
  Speaker 2: immersed in soccer. I'm not even playing.
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: You love being pregnant during a World Cup, too. Just like,
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: let me add that to the mix. Yeah, let's do it.
• 43:58
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: We're going to get into our thoughts on the Women's
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: World Cup after a quick break. Welcome back to Whatever
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: It Takes with Carly Lloyd and Jenny Taft. We just
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: went through, you know, our big picture takeaway from the
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: Men's World Cup, which we just both worked on together.
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: And the best part about all of this is that
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: we do have the Women's World Cup to look forward to.
• 44:29
  Speaker 2: It's fast approaching now.
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: I would love your thoughts, Carly, on just where this
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: team is at, really just months away at this point.
• 44:37
  Speaker 2: It will be here before we know it. Yeah, it's
• 44:41
  Speaker 2: crazy to think about. I mean, you know, I was
• 44:43
  Speaker 2: able to obviously cover the 2023 Women's World Cup that
• 44:49
  Speaker 2: Fox had. We were stationed in Sydney, Australia for the month,
• 44:55
  Speaker 2: which was really fun and I had been two years
• 44:59
  Speaker 2: out of retirement at that point and obviously, you know,
• 45:03
  Speaker 2: went kind of viral about some of my comments and
• 45:06
  Speaker 2: the performance of the way the team played. And, you know,
• 45:10
  Speaker 2: when I left the team in 21, I had a sense,
• 45:15
  Speaker 2: you know, and I played with a lot of those
• 45:17
  Speaker 2: players and I just kind of saw where the program
• 45:21
  Speaker 2: was headed. And I didn't think it was headed in
• 45:23
  Speaker 2: the right direction. And obviously, 2023 was not a great
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: result from the team and made coaching changes. And some
• 45:32
  Speaker 2: players retired and they brought in and hired Emma Hayes.
• 45:36
  Speaker 2: And I got to play for Emma in 2009 in
• 45:40
  Speaker 2: the WPS for the Chicago Red Stars. I didn't realize
• 45:44
  Speaker 2: that connection. Okay. That was kind of her first real,
• 45:49
  Speaker 2: you know, pro gig. She had coached college in the U.S.
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: Yep.
• 45:55
  Speaker 2: And it was sort of my real, I mean, I
• 45:57
  Speaker 2: had been part of the national team since 2005, but
• 45:59
  Speaker 2: 2009 was kind of the first time I was getting
• 46:03
  Speaker 2: my feet wet on the professional scene on the league side.
• 46:06
  Speaker 2: And Emma and I always kind of laugh about that
• 46:09
  Speaker 2: situation because I was immature. I had a lot to learn.
• 46:14
  Speaker 2: She was newly coaching this team. I mean, we had
• 46:19
  Speaker 2: some superstars. We had Karen Carney from England, Megan Rapinoe
• 46:24
  Speaker 2: was on the team. We had Christiana Brazil. I mean,
• 46:28
  Speaker 2: we had, wow. If you looked at our squad and thought, okay,
• 46:32
  Speaker 2: if there's any team that's going to win the championship,
• 46:34
  Speaker 2: it'd be this team. Doesn't always, doesn't always translate. You
• 46:39
  Speaker 2: could have a million stars on your team, but if
• 46:41
  Speaker 2: you all don't come together as a team and a collective, yeah.
• 46:46
  Speaker 2: So it wasn't a great situation, but it was a,
• 46:48
  Speaker 2: very good learning curve for both of us. I was
• 46:53
  Speaker 2: on the verge of losing my contract with the national
• 46:56
  Speaker 2: team of Pia Sunhaga. I had been coming off the
• 47:01
  Speaker 2: back end of winning the 2008 Olympics, scoring gold medal
• 47:06
  Speaker 2: goal in that game to win one nothing. And so
• 47:09
  Speaker 2: not that my head got inflated, but I think that
• 47:12
  Speaker 2: there was a complacency piece to myself and my game.
• 47:15
  Speaker 2: And so- Yeah, that was a big turning point for
• 47:18
  Speaker 2: me and for Emma. And obviously she's come a long way,
• 47:21
  Speaker 2: but I think the hiring of her has been the
• 47:25
  Speaker 2: perfect fit. I think this team from 2023 transitioning away
• 47:32
  Speaker 2: from a lot of those players that I played with,
• 47:36
  Speaker 2: the generation that, you know, with the Megan Rapinos, Alex
• 47:40
  Speaker 2: Morgans of the world, listen there. This team needed, because
• 47:45
  Speaker 2: they were so young, needed a really incredible leader, someone
• 47:50
  Speaker 2: that could continue the DNA of what the team is
• 47:56
  Speaker 2: made of. And that, you know, is that mentality and
• 47:58
  Speaker 2: that grit and the winning attitude, but also tactically make
• 48:04
  Speaker 2: them better and evolve them as well. And she's come
• 48:08
  Speaker 2: in and I mean, she's been absolutely just fantastic. with
• 48:12
  Speaker 2: everything that she's done. And she's so good in front
• 48:16
  Speaker 2: of the camera that she takes, you know, she's so
• 48:19
  Speaker 2: comfortable and content and secure as a human being. And
• 48:25
  Speaker 2: that comes across through the camera and through the lens
• 48:29
  Speaker 2: and throughout the team because she isn't worried about what
• 48:33
  Speaker 2: people think. You know, she's comfortable in what she's bringing
• 48:36
  Speaker 2: to the team and her philosophy. And so she takes
• 48:40
  Speaker 2: that burden off of the players of having to be
• 48:43
  Speaker 2: front and center. And then they can just focus on playing,
• 48:46
  Speaker 2: which I think has been something really fantastic. So she's
• 48:50
  Speaker 2: just been amazing. I'm, you know, a little jealous that
• 48:53
  Speaker 2: I didn't get to play for a manager like her
• 48:56
  Speaker 2: because I just think she has all of it. She
• 48:59
  Speaker 2: has every component of pushing you to be at your
• 49:03
  Speaker 2: absolute best, but also not taking the sport too seriously.
• 49:07
  Speaker 2: So Yeah, I'm really excited to see the journey that
• 49:11
  Speaker 2: they continue on with her.
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: You know, it's unique, too, because I was with you
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: at the Women's World Cup. And so I have not
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: been around Emma.
• 49:20
  Speaker 2: A ton.
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: We don't have as many friendlies as we did before
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: on Fox, which is a bummer just purely because I've enjoyed...
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: That's always how you get to know players and coaches, right?
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: Those friendlies and how they are.
• 49:30
  Speaker 2: And I just.
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: Everyone says such good things about her. So I look
• 49:33
  Speaker 1: forward to getting to know her. But I think back
• 49:35
  Speaker 1: on that World Cup and, you know, your comments... Yeah,
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: they went viral, but the more I think about them,
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: they make no sense that they went so viral. Like,
• 49:43
  Speaker 1: you guys were the favorite. You've been the favorite. You
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: should be the favorite. You remain the favorite. Like, it
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: was a very disappointing World Cup. I don't know why
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: that was so controversial at the time. And I remember
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: sitting with you and just thinking, I don't understand the
• 49:56
  Speaker 1: reaction to it. And now looking back, I mean, this
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: team has come such a long way, but that's my
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: next question for you. Are they still the favorites? Are
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: you guys still... you know, the favorites to win a
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: World Cup. You have this, I love that you say grit.
• 50:11
  Speaker 1: I always thought of your team as this swagger, like
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: this will to win whatever it takes at all times.
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: Like you were just going to find a way. Does
• 50:19
  Speaker 1: that still remain?
• 50:23
  Speaker 2: I think so. You know, I think her Olympic journey
• 50:26
  Speaker 2: of coming in a couple months prior and having to
• 50:29
  Speaker 2: scramble to get the team ready to believe, you know,
• 50:32
  Speaker 2: I remember her interviews prior to that Olympics in, saying
• 50:37
  Speaker 2: that the focus isn't on, you know, winning the Olympics.
• 50:43
  Speaker 2: The focus is on performing well. And I think what
• 50:48
  Speaker 2: people don't quite understand is that everything Emma says in
• 50:52
  Speaker 2: the media, in her press conferences, and this goes for
• 50:55
  Speaker 2: a lot of coaches, they're subtle messages to players, because
• 51:00
  Speaker 2: players read, they hear, they listen. And so she took
• 51:04
  Speaker 2: all of that weight off of the players because we
• 51:09
  Speaker 2: have been known throughout the whole history of the U.S.
• 51:13
  Speaker 2: women's national team to be the favorites, to win everything.
• 51:17
  Speaker 2: But you have this young group going into this Olympics
• 51:21
  Speaker 2: and that was a lot for them to handle. So
• 51:24
  Speaker 2: she was really smart in saying that I just want
• 51:28
  Speaker 2: them to, you know, take it one game at a time,
• 51:31
  Speaker 2: embrace the moment. And they ended up winning. an Olympics,
• 51:37
  Speaker 2: which was incredible. And, you know, that gave them now
• 51:40
  Speaker 2: more belief that they can compete at the highest stage.
• 51:45
  Speaker 2: Now going into this World Cup, I do still, yeah,
• 51:48
  Speaker 2: they're still the favorites. I think the gap on the
• 51:52
  Speaker 2: women's side has obviously closed up a bit. And, you know,
• 51:56
  Speaker 2: I think a lot of people say, you know, teams
• 51:59
  Speaker 2: are getting so much better. And yes, they are. But,
• 52:02
  Speaker 2: you know, I think people fail to realize is that
• 52:06
  Speaker 2: We did have such a head start back in the
• 52:09
  Speaker 2: inception of the U.S. Women's National Team of when it started.
• 52:13
  Speaker 2: We had the support of our federation. You know, we
• 52:16
  Speaker 2: had funding. We had residencies. There weren't many other teams
• 52:22
  Speaker 2: around the world that were doing that type of thing.
• 52:25
  Speaker 2: And then more investment starts to happen. Our equal pay fight,
• 52:29
  Speaker 2: I believe, really believe, kind of sparked the whole game
• 52:33
  Speaker 2: globally to demand more and leagues have become more professional.
• 52:39
  Speaker 2: So now you have all these teams where we kind
• 52:41
  Speaker 2: of had the edge back then from a mental and
• 52:44
  Speaker 2: physical standpoint. Yes, teams are better tactically, but now they've
• 52:49
  Speaker 2: got the mental, physical, technical, tactical advantage as well and
• 52:54
  Speaker 2: the belief that they can go in and beat the U.S.
• 52:57
  Speaker 2: Women's National Team. So now that's what this generation of
• 53:00
  Speaker 2: players is being faced with is, yes, they are, I
• 53:04
  Speaker 2: believe they are still the favorites, but you're going up
• 53:07
  Speaker 2: against a group of other countries that believe that they
• 53:12
  Speaker 2: can do that too, which I think is pretty amazing.
• 53:14
  Speaker 1: I mean, what more could you ask for on the
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: women's side, right? Well, and you guys can be so,
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: so proud of all of that, right? I mean, just
• 53:24
  Speaker 1: what you guys, what your whole generation is, what you
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: personally did for the women's game. I mean, it's amazing
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: to think about because it's amazing to even think of
• 53:32
  Speaker 1: how different it is from 2015 to now. Because we
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: just talked about 2015 and that's incredible in terms of
• 53:39
  Speaker 1: the advancements in the women's game, right?
• 53:41
  Speaker 2: Night and day. Crazy. It's great to see. And I
• 53:44
  Speaker 2: think this is going to be a big one for Emma,
• 53:46
  Speaker 2: you know, and I actually, funny thing is I was
• 53:50
  Speaker 2: leaving the final. You know how it was when we
• 53:52
  Speaker 2: were there. I mean, trying to get to Ubers, to
• 53:56
  Speaker 2: the car services, all sorts of stuff. So we had a...
• 54:00
  Speaker 2: We walked throughout the whole parking lot. And Emma was...
• 54:06
  Speaker 2: Emma just happened to be in the parking lot as well.
• 54:09
  Speaker 2: So I bumped into her, bumped into Karen Carney, who
• 54:11
  Speaker 2: I played with, which was really great to see. They're like,
• 54:14
  Speaker 2: why are you not in a golf cart? You're pregnant.
• 54:17
  Speaker 2: Because I think they saw Alexi and somebody. Why is
• 54:21
  Speaker 2: it always that way? Yeah. And Zlatan in a golf cart, right?
• 54:26
  Speaker 2: But I was kind of, you know, me, efficient me.
• 54:29
  Speaker 2: I'm like, I don't want to wait for a golf cart.
• 54:31
  Speaker 2: I just want to kind of get to my car
• 54:33
  Speaker 2: and get home on Turnpike. But yeah, I ran into
• 54:37
  Speaker 2: her and, you know, we always have gotten along and
• 54:41
  Speaker 2: she worked a little bit during this World Cup. And
• 54:45
  Speaker 2: she said, yeah, you know, I wanted to work. I
• 54:48
  Speaker 2: wanted to learn. I wanted to see the trends in
• 54:51
  Speaker 2: the game, you know. And so, you know, for me,
• 54:54
  Speaker 2: she's just soaking up as much as she can to
• 54:58
  Speaker 2: get this team ready for a World Cup and separate
• 55:01
  Speaker 2: herself from, you know, the rest, which I think is
• 55:04
  Speaker 2: awesome to see. I love that you ran into her.
• 55:07
  Speaker 2: And hey, we're going to have her on the podcast.
• 55:09
  Speaker 2: She doesn't know it yet, but she's going to be
• 55:11
  Speaker 2: definitely asked.
• 55:13
  Speaker 1: You know, we always talk about, I think we'll get
• 55:16
  Speaker 1: into it in another podcast too, with all the players
• 55:19
  Speaker 1: that are new moms and coming back into the mix
• 55:21
  Speaker 1: with this team. I find that fascinating because as you
• 55:24
  Speaker 1: and I know, life as a mom is hard. how
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: is there even a work-life balance? I don't actually think
• 55:31
  Speaker 1: that term is a real term. We will dive into
• 55:34
  Speaker 1: that another time. But like a Sophia Wilson and a
• 55:36
  Speaker 1: Mallory Swanson and these stars that are now new moms
• 55:39
  Speaker 1: and back with the team. And that dynamic I find
• 55:43
  Speaker 1: fascinating because you and I have spoken about starting families
• 55:47
  Speaker 1: and we waited a little later because we were focusing
• 55:50
  Speaker 1: on our careers. And so it's just really cool to
• 55:53
  Speaker 1: see how they're back.
• 55:53
  Speaker 2: In the mix.
• 55:54
  Speaker 1: And I saw a quote from Emma. She was, Just
• 55:58
  Speaker 1: the way she's been able to support them, too. She
• 56:00
  Speaker 1: said something along the lines of, like, you're going to
• 56:02
  Speaker 1: miss your kids, but, like, we're here for you. And
• 56:04
  Speaker 1: they're going to be so proud. And, like, we've got you.
• 56:06
  Speaker 1: And I think, like, having that support would have meant
• 56:09
  Speaker 1: so much to me as a player, which I'm such
• 56:12
  Speaker 1: a fan of hers from afar.
• 56:13
  Speaker 2: So plenty more with them. Yeah, it's totally different. And,
• 56:18
  Speaker 2: I mean, I played with Christy Rampone at her, you know,
• 56:22
  Speaker 2: at 1.2 level. two girls on the road, Kate Markgraf,
• 56:29
  Speaker 2: Tina Ellertson, Sydney LaRue at one point. I mean, it
• 56:35
  Speaker 2: wasn't a norm because players weren't really thinking about doing that.
• 56:40
  Speaker 2: I mean, if you were out of sight, out of
• 56:43
  Speaker 2: mind with the national team, coaches just went to the
• 56:46
  Speaker 2: next person. And even I remember, you know, Kate Marcraft
• 56:51
  Speaker 2: coming back after her pregnancy and Christy Rampone and, you know,
• 56:56
  Speaker 2: the stress that I could see that they were under
• 56:59
  Speaker 2: because they're basically had one camp to prove themselves after
• 57:04
  Speaker 2: they just returned from having kids. And now I know,
• 57:09
  Speaker 2: you know, the experience. I can't even believe that that's
• 57:15
  Speaker 2: how it was, right? And So now all these players
• 57:19
  Speaker 2: have the support. They have the research that's being done,
• 57:22
  Speaker 2: you know, tons and tons of research on postpartum and,
• 57:26
  Speaker 2: you know, kind of what to do throughout the pregnancy, training,
• 57:29
  Speaker 2: not training. I wasn't thinking about it at all just
• 57:33
  Speaker 2: because I was on a mission of wanting to be
• 57:35
  Speaker 2: my absolute best. And I don't know that I could
• 57:37
  Speaker 2: have balanced that. But now being a mom and seeing
• 57:41
  Speaker 2: what they're doing, it's truly incredible.
• 57:44
  Speaker 1: And.
• 57:46
  Speaker 2: as you know, you've left Gigi how many times? I
• 57:51
  Speaker 2: got more of a taste of it this summer having
• 57:54
  Speaker 2: to leave Harper, you know, and it's so hard. I mean,
• 57:58
  Speaker 2: it is so incredibly hard. And I couldn't imagine. I
• 58:01
  Speaker 2: remember Alex Morgan during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, just
• 58:07
  Speaker 2: fighting and trying to at least have her daughter there
• 58:10
  Speaker 2: and be there with her. And You know, those are
• 58:15
  Speaker 2: things that just I never had to be concerned about
• 58:18
  Speaker 2: as a player. But now I understand, you know, that.
• 58:21
  Speaker 2: And to have Emma's support, you know, is huge for
• 58:24
  Speaker 2: these players. So, yeah, they're young. They're spring chickens. So
• 58:28
  Speaker 2: they'll probably bounce back. They've already bounced back pretty well.
• 58:32
  Speaker 2: Sophia Wilson's been doing awesome. And, you know, it's great
• 58:35
  Speaker 2: to see Mal Swanson as well. I remember hearing, I
• 58:37
  Speaker 2: think I was hearing Julie Ertz recently because she came back.
• 58:42
  Speaker 2: after her first pregnancy played in 2023. And she said, yeah,
• 58:47
  Speaker 2: if I had the twins first time around, like I
• 58:49
  Speaker 2: wouldn't ever be back. I'm like one, let alone two. Two.
• 58:54
  Speaker 1: The respect I have for anyone who's like coming back
• 59:00
  Speaker 1: to playing professionally after a child, it's just immense.
• 59:03
  Speaker 2: I mean, I like to tell people, I feel like
• 59:05
  Speaker 2: it took me three years to feel like myself. And
• 59:07
  Speaker 2: that's a long time. And I mean, that's crazy. Yeah,
• 59:11
  Speaker 2: I know. And was your timing, so when did you
• 59:13
  Speaker 2: have Gigi? Were you pregnant during a whole college football season?
• 59:17
  Speaker 2: I was, yes.
• 59:19
  Speaker 1: So I had Gigi in March. So I was pregnant
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: during a football season. And you know, timing is crazy, right?
• 59:26
  Speaker 1: It's what I'm so proud of now is looking at
• 59:29
  Speaker 1: all the women broadcasters who are doing it. And of course,
• 59:33
  Speaker 1: Fox was so supportive. But at the time, I didn't
• 59:36
  Speaker 1: really know how it would go. I didn't know how
• 59:39
  Speaker 1: it would be. I was hosting Undisputed. Am I telling
• 59:44
  Speaker 1: them I'm pregnant? I'm going to need maternity time away.
• 59:46
  Speaker 1: The timing all ended up really working out. I left
• 59:49
  Speaker 1: the show when I went on maternity leave, which looking back,
• 59:53
  Speaker 1: the timing was just ideal. But I had thought so
• 59:56
  Speaker 1: much about the timing and the advice I give to
• 59:59
  Speaker 1: others who ask me, how do you find a time?
• 1:00:01
  Speaker 1: There's no perfect time, right? Like you and I talk.
• 1:00:04
  Speaker 1: I'd like to have another kid. Like there's no perfect time.
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 1: I hope to remain busy. Like I hope this doesn't end.
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 1: It's not going to get less busy. There's no perfect
• 1:00:13
  Speaker 1: time and you just figure it out. Like I am
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 1: making up for a World Cup away, which for the record,
• 1:00:20
  Speaker 1: I love this. I was just at the Fox Sports
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: football seminar yesterday.
• 1:00:23
  Speaker 2: And it was so fun.
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 1: People were so excited about the World Cup, so high on,
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 1: you know, everything that we did in the broadcast.
• 1:00:29
  Speaker 2: And they're like, how were the four weeks away? I'm like, no, no, no.
• 1:00:31
  Speaker 2: If you ask my husband, it was definitely six. It
• 1:00:34
  Speaker 2: was not four. Do not confuse. Yes. Do not confuse
• 1:00:38
  Speaker 2: the time. And yesterday I took Gigi to like a
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 2: slime museum, which is horrible. And it was all over everything.
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: And I'm just in this forever making up for missing
• 1:00:47
  Speaker 1: the summer.
• 1:00:47
  Speaker 2: But....
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 1: You know, my neighbor yesterday said, like, Gigi, how fun
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 1: was it to see your mom at the World Cup?
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 2: And she was like, yeah, I was watching her. She
• 1:00:56
  Speaker 2: was doing the soccer. So, like, there's this cool moment
• 1:01:00
  Speaker 2: where you know this. It's hard to leave Harper. It
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 2: doesn't get easier.
• 1:01:04
  Speaker 1: But how fun that Gigi, as she gets older, is
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 1: able to see me working, see us do something we love.
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: I'm happy to go to work. I'm very, I always
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 1: tell her I love work, Gigi, and I'm going to
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 1: be back. And now we have to talk about like
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 1: nights away. The World Cup was a little murky. I
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 1: didn't give the full breakdown, but you just make it work.
• 1:01:26
  Speaker 1: And yeah, you find a way.
• 1:01:28
  Speaker 2: To get it done. You do whatever it takes. You
• 1:01:30
  Speaker 2: find a way. It's not perfect. No, it's not. And yeah,
• 1:01:35
  Speaker 2: you throw nursing in there if you're doing that. And it's, yeah,
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 2: I was so impressed. You did that for a long time. Oh,
• 1:01:44
  Speaker 2: my God.
• 1:01:44
  Speaker 1: If I have to take that thing out again. Did
• 1:01:47
  Speaker 1: I throw that?
• 1:01:48
  Speaker 2: The noise of that thing. I'm like, oof. No, yeah,
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 2: it's interesting because two summers ago, I worked Copa America
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 2: pregnant on air. And then last summer, worked the Euros.
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 2: Harper was, I guess, seven months.
• 1:02:03
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 2: So you were breastfeeding. And I was nursing. And that was... Look, I'm,
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 2: I'm getting all the feels that moms do, you know,
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 2: having to go back to work, you know, you're, you
• 1:02:16
  Speaker 2: start to, you know, stress and affects your milk supply
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 2: and like all these different things. And, and I don't
• 1:02:22
  Speaker 2: know what some of the, you know, the U S
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 2: women's national team players are doing and how they're doing that,
• 1:02:27
  Speaker 2: but it is hard, you know, and, and it was,
• 1:02:31
  Speaker 2: I mean, I was losing my train of thought on
• 1:02:34
  Speaker 2: air because of the lack of sleep and, you know, your,
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 2: Just I'm pumping, I'm doing the show, then I'm coming
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 2: into the green room and I'm pumping during the first half.
• 1:02:43
  Speaker 2: And it's just a whole thing. Yeah, moms are super power.
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, there was a brain fog. Yeah, it is.
• 1:02:52
  Speaker 2: But you just find a way. It's good to see
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 2: how far this industry has come with the support for women,
• 1:03:01
  Speaker 2: especially in the NWSL. A lot of women are getting,
• 1:03:04
  Speaker 2: players are getting pregnant. They get that support. pay, security,
• 1:03:08
  Speaker 2: all of that. So I'm really happy to see all
• 1:03:10
  Speaker 2: that and happy to see some of these players return
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 2: after giving birth, which is absolutely amazing. It really is.
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, mom superpowers. Well, one, I love this, our little chat,
• 1:03:23
  Speaker 1: our first podcast.
• 1:03:25
  Speaker 2: How did it feel, Carly? I know. I feel like
• 1:03:26
  Speaker 2: I could just, yeah, we could just chat for days,
• 1:03:28
  Speaker 2: although I'm feeling... A bit more out of breath. Are you?
• 1:03:34
  Speaker 2: As I'm, you know, approaching the final stage of this pregnancy,
• 1:03:38
  Speaker 2: just sitting here, I'm like... You're getting close. You're getting
• 1:03:41
  Speaker 2: really close. Very close. I'm excited for you.
• 1:03:43
  Speaker 1: Well, when you need that time off from the podcast,
• 1:03:46
  Speaker 1: you let me know. I'm going to find some guests
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 1: for us. Thankfully, we have a lot of co-workers that
• 1:03:50
  Speaker 1: we've already told will be joining the pod.
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 2: There's no option. They just have to join us at
• 1:03:55
  Speaker 2: some point. Yeah, they'll be on for sure. They'll be ready.
• 1:03:58
  Speaker 1: I think that we should just end this by saying
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 1: you know we're excited for for these listeners to join
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 1: us and we'd love to have you tell us what
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 1: the phrase whatever it takes means to you and you
• 1:04:11
  Speaker 1: know questions from the audience I think fan questions could
• 1:04:14
  Speaker 1: be really fun Carly I know so many people are
• 1:04:16
  Speaker 1: so inspired by by your journey and I know a
• 1:04:20
  Speaker 1: lot of times I get women who are intrigued by
• 1:04:22
  Speaker 1: the broadcasting side of how I got into this so
• 1:04:24
  Speaker 1: questions you have for us you can subscribe and review
• 1:04:27
  Speaker 1: and follow us on social media.
• 1:04:29
  Speaker 2: And Yes, all the listeners, you know, would love to
• 1:04:33
  Speaker 2: know the phrase, whatever it takes, what that means to you.
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 2: So I think it's great and perfect and fitting for us.
• 1:04:40
  Speaker 2: We did it. One down.