Latest / Whatever It Takes with Carli Lloyd and Jenny Taft / Stu Holden on Post-World Cup life, Broadcasting & What’s Next for US Soccer

Transcript

Stu Holden on Post-World Cup life, Broadcasting & What’s Next for US Soccer · Whatever It Takes with Carli Lloyd and Jenny Taft

• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Whatever It Takes. I'm Carly Lloyd here
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: with Jenny Taft. And today we have a special guest.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: We're talking with somebody who truly embodies what the show
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: is all about. Relentless work ethic, overcoming massive adversity, and
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: finding a way to do whatever it takes to be
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: at his very best.
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: That's right, Carly.
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: Our guest today is one of the most recognized and
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: respected voices in soccer. And before he became the lead
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: match analyst for Fox Sports, calling the World Cup Finals,
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: Euro Championships, MLS, he was a force on the pitch.
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: He has the best personality around. Please welcome our good
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: friend and broadcast teammate, Stu Holden.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: Oh, what a joy.
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  Speaker 4: I was like so excited and honored, honestly, when I
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: got the The text from you guys is an invite
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: to come on here, so.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: I've been a little nervous.
• 1:04
  Speaker 4: I'm ready for some fastballs from Carly.
• 1:07
  Speaker 5: But no, I'm excited.
• 1:08
  Speaker 4: I did a podcast the other day, but it's really
• 1:10
  Speaker 4: kind of the first time I've done anything media-wise since
• 1:13
  Speaker 4: the World Cup final, which is a weird and fun feeling, though.
• 1:18
  Speaker 5: Yeah, have you just been hanging out? What have you
• 1:19
  Speaker 5: been doing?
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I got a little vacation in.
• 1:22
  Speaker 4: But, like, look, the week after the World Cup final,
• 1:24
  Speaker 4: I was on the sidelines of a U-10 soccer match
• 1:28
  Speaker 4: at the Surf Cup and then went straight to, like,
• 1:31
  Speaker 4: some vacation time with the family. And then we just
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: got back from a trip to Mexico, which was fun. But, like,
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: you guys know me, okay? I don't do well doing nothing.
• 1:40
  Speaker 4: I'm kind of going crazy, stir crazy already. Like, I
• 1:44
  Speaker 4: want to get back to... to work, especially after what
• 1:47
  Speaker 4: was just like an amazing month and a half for
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: all of us. It was like a weird, I don't
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: know if you both felt the same thing, just this
• 1:53
  Speaker 4: weird kind of come down where it would just, it
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: just like ended. We all knew this was going to happen,
• 1:59
  Speaker 4: but still, I just had a hard time kind of
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: reconciling with like the fact that this was all over
• 2:03
  Speaker 4: and we're not going to get to do this again
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  Speaker 4: for a while.
• 2:05
  Speaker 5: When we played, Stu, I'm sure you felt the same way.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: After a major event, there's this super high, and then
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: all of a sudden, you get home and you're like,
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: this is so weird. So yeah, even in the TV space,
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: I feel the same exact way, which is pretty crazy.
• 2:23
  Speaker 6: What is harder?
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: Because you said that you had to come down, Carly,
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: as a player as well, broadcaster versus player, and harder
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: isn't fair. I know it's different in terms of physicality,
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: the come down, but The mental space, is it kind
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: of the same? Like the exhaustion from it and then
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: you kind of get back into real life? How would
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: you compare the two, both of you guys?
• 2:40
  Speaker 5: I would say I think it's harder as a player, obviously.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: And depending on the result and how well you do,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: of course, when you win a major event, you know,
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: you're coming off an uber, uber high. The whole six
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: weeks or however long that you're spending with the entirety
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: of the group, like I'm sure you felt the same way, Stu,
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: the staff... I mean, we spend more time with these
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: people than majority of our family members and friends. And yeah,
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: it's just, it was always a weird thing for me
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: as a player to just come home and then all
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: of a sudden just immerse yourself back into the reality
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: of life. I guess being a mom now, it quickly
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: resets you. But definitely as a player, I think it
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: was weird. But even in the TV space, I mean,
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: I'm still new to this. You guys have been doing
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: this for a really long time. But It's a weird
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: feeling because you spend so much time with everybody on
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: the road, in the studio. And then again, you come
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: back and it's like back to reality.
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: I thought Bob Bradley, my coach in the World Cup
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: in 2010, he had a really great way of giving
• 3:46
  Speaker 4: us some perspective before the first game started. And I
• 3:49
  Speaker 4: remember him calling this team meeting the night before the game.
• 3:52
  Speaker 4: And he said, look around the room right now, this
• 3:55
  Speaker 4: group of people, not just the players, but to your point, Carly,
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: the staff, the coaches, the PR, the communications team, just everybody.
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: He said, this group of people will never be in
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  Speaker 4: the same room ever. as part of the same team
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: ever again in your life. And it is your job
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: to make sure that you enjoy the moment, you live
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: in the moment, you're proud of what you accomplish together
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: out on the field, off the field, And I still
• 4:24
  Speaker 4: think about that because that group of people that I
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: was together with for six weeks, and we did have a,
• 4:29
  Speaker 4: what I felt was a great tournament, but it's like
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: a band of brothers in a way that anytime I
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: see anybody from that, you have these shared experiences that
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: you all went through together.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: And it was special. It was a unique period in
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  Speaker 2: our lives. I would give anything to go back to that.
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  Speaker 4: But as Bob said, the reality is I'll never get
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  Speaker 4: to go back to that moment and relive that experience
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  Speaker 4: once again. So I'm happy in a way that I
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: was able to accomplish it in that way as a team.
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: Just the other night we had in LA for the
• 4:58
  Speaker 4: LA crew that was involved in some of the World
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: Cup stuff, able to just a casual get together at
• 5:03
  Speaker 4: our usual spot, Javier's. But it was fun to see
• 5:07
  Speaker 4: some of the PAs and BAs and the graphics people
• 5:10
  Speaker 4: and the people behind the the camera that we don't
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: really have any touch points with when we're on the
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: road and we're traveling and to see their feelings about.
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  Speaker 2: What everybody went through. And the number one thing was, man, that.
• 5:21
  Speaker 4: Was hard and that was a lot, but boy, I
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: would do it all over again and I miss it.
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  Speaker 4: And I think that's the, that's the exciting and the
• 5:29
  Speaker 4: fun part of.
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  Speaker 2: All of that.
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  Speaker 1: I would imagine it's kind of weird for you guys too, to,
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  Speaker 1: you know, be so immersed with all of them and
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: your crews. And then all of a sudden, I mean,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: I don't know if Stu, if you've talked to John
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: or You know, if he's just like gone in hibernation.
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: I think John actually has a great way of what
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: he describes as our group, which would, you know, in
• 5:49
  Speaker 4: World Cups, in Gold Cups is different. Jenny and I
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: are together with myself, Jenny, John, Eric, and Carlos, our producer,
• 5:56
  Speaker 4: and Doc, and we have our group, but John says
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: we're like a strike team where, you know, we're part
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: of the greater team, but then we get sent off
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: on our little missions. And it's like, we split off
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: into our group of four and then Jenny flies in
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: with us. And then Jenny shoots off with her crew
• 6:13
  Speaker 4: and Joe and Doc. And then we reconvene again for
• 6:16
  Speaker 4: the next mission, which is the US game. And then
• 6:18
  Speaker 4: we all shoot off again on our flights and we
• 6:20
  Speaker 4: go on our different paths. But I think That's what's
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: really cool about World Cups and also being a part
• 6:25
  Speaker 4: of a team is that you have this trust from
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  Speaker 4: the hierarchy and our bosses, where we don't really hear
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: a lot from our bosses throughout the tournaments because they
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: trust us.
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  Speaker 2: They trust us to do our jobs.
• 6:36
  Speaker 4: And I think that's the ultimate form of respect in
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: this industry when you get to that point where they say, look,
• 6:41
  Speaker 4: we know Jenny's going to deliver.
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: We know... Carly is going to come with the goods.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: And Carly, you're a gamer. I love it. Like you
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  Speaker 2: are who you were as a player.
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  Speaker 4: And then I flew off to the next city and
• 6:54
  Speaker 4: I'm watching you on air like 12 hours later doing
• 6:57
  Speaker 4: like an all day shift. I remember texting you be like,
• 7:00
  Speaker 4: are you insane? You are a pregnant woman. And you're
• 7:04
  Speaker 4: like just pushing yourself to the max. But I have
• 7:06
  Speaker 4: so much respect for you.
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  Speaker 5: Whatever it takes, right? Yeah.
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  Speaker 6: Whatever.
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  Speaker 1: Just when called upon, I just show up and be
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: the best that I can possibly be.
• 7:16
  Speaker 6: That was really impressive.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: You know, I must say, yeah, being back in the studio,
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: I think everybody was like, oh, we're going to try
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: to give you the evening off.
• 7:24
  Speaker 5: And I was like, that would be great. I'm okay
• 7:26
  Speaker 5: with that. I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that.
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  Speaker 5: I'm not going to argue that.
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: Well, it feels like, given the fact that, Stu, I
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: love that you haven't done a lot of media. So
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: thank you. We're honored you're here to chat. So then
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: I think we need to get your big picture out.
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: thoughts on the U.S. men's national team? You know, Mauricio's
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: coming back. I just love your, you know, like the
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: highlights that jump out to you right now, having processed
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: the World Cup and now the future.
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  Speaker 6: What comes to mind?
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  Speaker 5: And were you surprised he's coming back?
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  Speaker 2: I think I would have been surprised a year ago.
• 7:59
  Speaker 4: And then as we got towards the World Cup and look,
• 8:02
  Speaker 4: Jenny and I, we laughed about this. It was like
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: after a couple of games, Mauricio was out on the
• 8:07
  Speaker 4: the training field and he's got the shorts rolled up
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: and the.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: Tank top vibe and the.
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: Flow is really excellent for him throughout the World Cup.
• 8:18
  Speaker 4: I think as I started to see the way he
• 8:20
  Speaker 4: was endearing himself to the US fan base, the sports
• 8:25
  Speaker 4: fan in this country, And I think starting to get
• 8:29
  Speaker 4: what he felt was the real buy-in from the group
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: and seeing the potential of this group, that I was
• 8:34
  Speaker 4: not shocked that he was interested in staying, but also
• 8:37
  Speaker 4: that U.S. soccer was interested in keeping him. But so
• 8:40
  Speaker 4: where do we go from here is kind of the
• 8:42
  Speaker 4: big question. Because when we look back on the World Cup,
• 8:46
  Speaker 4: was it a success? What is success like? What is
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: the version of success that we're thinking about? Did this
• 8:52
  Speaker 4: team go further than we'd ever gone before? No.
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: Did they play some of the best soccer we played
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: in World Cups?
• 8:57
  Speaker 4: Yes. But did they come up short against, say, a
• 9:01
  Speaker 4: big European opposition in a game that.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: We hoped we'd be more competitive in? Yeah, they did.
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  Speaker 4: So... I think I ended up happy with how they performed,
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: but yet disappointed that they didn't go further. And it
• 9:12
  Speaker 4: just kind of left that same feeling that we've had
• 9:14
  Speaker 4: for so long. So Mauricio's job now is to win.
• 9:17
  Speaker 4: He really hasn't won much as the head coach of
• 9:19
  Speaker 4: the U.S. men's national team. So I think it went
• 9:21
  Speaker 4: from this honeymoon period where he had to bring a
• 9:24
  Speaker 4: country alive and perform at a World Cup. But now
• 9:28
  Speaker 4: it's like, okay, let's get down to business. Let's identify
• 9:31
  Speaker 4: the next group of players. Let's push the captains, the
• 9:34
  Speaker 4: core of the team right now, further than they've ever
• 9:37
  Speaker 4: gone before. Let's challenge them in a way that they
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: haven't been challenged before. But also, now we've got to
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: start beating big teams. That's really the barometer of success,
• 9:46
  Speaker 4: I think, for this next cycle.
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: So I'm bullish on Mauricio Pochettino.
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: One of the big question marks for me, and I'd
• 9:53
  Speaker 4: love to get, Carly, your opinion on this after, is
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: some of the conversation right now about the national team is, well,
• 10:00
  Speaker 4: let's just get the young guys in there. Let's get
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: the next generation and let's start giving these guys opportunities
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: and let's invest in them for four years.
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: I don't agree with that at all.
• 10:10
  Speaker 4: I think that the national team is earned, not given.
• 10:14
  Speaker 4: And if these young kids are good enough to get
• 10:17
  Speaker 4: these opportunities, they have to show it and they have
• 10:19
  Speaker 4: to earn it and they have to be better than
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: what we have already. I hate the notion that it's like, okay, well,
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: this group of players did this, so now it's these guys' turn. No,
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: you don't get a turn unless you earn that turn.
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: And that is the big, I think, question mark for me. Look,
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: we have the Olympics, which is a really important opportunity.
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: Steve Turandolo is going to be leading that team. I'd
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: love to see some of these young players get chances
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: in the Olympics. And sure, if they do well there
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: or they do well over the next couple of years,
• 10:47
  Speaker 4: I'd love to see guys like Kevin Sullivan and Gozo.
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: And Mehmeti at the Olympics. at New York Red Bulls.
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: I want to see these young guys in the picture,
• 10:55
  Speaker 4: but you've got to show me that you're good enough
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: to get that opportunity because I think if we just
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: start giving out caps, the team loses a little bit
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: of that competitive juice. You have to have guys that
• 11:05
  Speaker 4: want it and want to kill for that spot and
• 11:08
  Speaker 4: want to kick the guys out that are already in
• 11:11
  Speaker 4: those seats.
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: I would agree, Stu, and I think, you know, not
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: to compare it to the women's side, but I think
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: Emma Hayes has done particularly well with... the timing of
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: when to implement some of these players and give them
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: those opportunities. I think that that's a real skill set
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: from a manager because I've been a part of teams with,
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: you know, Jill Ellis and Vlako Andonovsky, where maybe some
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: of these younger players have gotten that opportunity, have gotten
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: that chance.
• 11:38
  Speaker 5: And maybe they just.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: Weren't really ready for the moment. Their eyes were wide open.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: The moment was too big for them. But if you
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: work them in and have them earn it and have
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: them kind of have that mindset of, yeah, you want
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: to beat out some of these veteran players, but you
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: also have to be a bit So I think Emma
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: Hayes has done a really fascinating job with the timing
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: of when these players have to have that opportunity, have
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: to have that chance. We fast forward, you know, four years,
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: a lot of these, this younger golden generation that we've
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: been calling these, these guys, they're going to be four
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: years older. So, you know, player like Gia Reyna, I mean,
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: for me, you know, I don't know where a player
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: like him goes at this point. I don't really know
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: the best position for him. And so, yeah, I think
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: some of these guys just, they didn't perform as well
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: to kind of give themselves an extra edge for this
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: next cycle.
• 12:38
  Speaker 5: So it'll be interesting. It's like there were positives, yes.
• 12:41
  Speaker 6: There were negatives, yes.
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: The country was ignited in every way. I feel like
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: two things can be true, right? Like what you said, Stu.
• 12:47
  Speaker 6: There could be positives, but ultimately, did they go any further?
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: No.
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: There's excitement, though, around the program, which I think is
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: a great sign. I was curious, because I don't think
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: I ever asked you, your favorite match to call at
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: this World Cup?
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: Oh, it's like asking me to pick between my children.
• 13:04
  Speaker 4: I've been asked this question a fair bit by just
• 13:09
  Speaker 4: friends and family that have talked to me after the games.
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: It will be hard to.
• 13:14
  Speaker 4: Beat the feeling of standing there on U.S. Paraguay, that
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: opening game for the United States. It's SoFi Stadium. look,
• 13:24
  Speaker 4: the first American-hosted World Cup match since 1994 on the
• 13:32
  Speaker 4: men's side, I just felt so much pride, I think,
• 13:35
  Speaker 4: first of all, being in that chair and getting ready
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: to broadcast that game. And then seeing the way that
• 13:42
  Speaker 4: they just scored three goals in the first half and
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: the stadium is alive and And actually, even just before
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: the game, when we were out at Carly, you and
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: I did that segment with Tom out on the set
• 13:55
  Speaker 4: out there.
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: And we didn't know what to really expect.
• 13:57
  Speaker 4: And there was like some noise and some rumbling. And
• 13:59
  Speaker 4: I walked out and just saw the sea of American fans.
• 14:03
  Speaker 4: And I have goosebumps as I'm sitting here talking about it.
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: So I think that one will forever hold a special
• 14:09
  Speaker 4: place in my broadcasting career and heart.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: But I got to say... Cape Verde.
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: Against Argentina was just one of those games that I
• 14:20
  Speaker 4: remember texting with one of our bosses, Judy Boyd, before,
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: and she was saying, I don't know if we should
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: maybe move you guys off this. There's Croatia against Portugal.
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: This is probably going to be a blowout. And John
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: and I were saying, yeah, I think it could be,
• 14:35
  Speaker 4: but on the chance that it's not, we feel we
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: have to be there. What a story Cape Verde is,
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: and it's messy, and... And then we're in that stadium
• 14:44
  Speaker 4: in Argentina score. And it's like, okay, this game's going
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: to be 5-0. And then it just turned into this
• 14:49
  Speaker 4: all-timer that I was, I just remember being so emotionally
• 14:55
  Speaker 4: caught up in. where at the end when the best
• 14:59
  Speaker 4: goal of the tournament from Cape Verde, he scores this goal,
• 15:03
  Speaker 4: and the place erupts, and everybody was in shock, and
• 15:06
  Speaker 4: John and I are going nuts. It was a game
• 15:10
  Speaker 4: and a moment I will never forget for sure. But
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: it was one of those games everybody was texting each
• 15:14
  Speaker 4: other saying, you've got to turn this on right now.
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: Cape Verde is about a 16th seed in the NCAA
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: tournament is about to knock off. uh, UNC or Duke,
• 15:24
  Speaker 4: like that was the sports American equivalent. And it was,
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: it was really cool. And it's a game that a
• 15:29
  Speaker 4: lot of people have said to me, dude, that was
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: so cool.
• 15:31
  Speaker 5: You were in the stadium for that, for that one.
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: So that I would say that what, what about both
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: of you?
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: What were, what were games that stood out to you
• 15:38
  Speaker 4: that you remember being a part of and calling and Jenny,
• 15:42
  Speaker 4: I have a feeling maybe yours is Bosnia-Herzegovina with your epic.
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: Call-out on the shoe for Malik Tillman.
• 15:49
  Speaker 6: I will say that was pretty cool. That was a
• 15:51
  Speaker 6: cool moment for me.
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: Carly and I have discussed it in a couple previous
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: podcast episodes. Like, the role of a sideline reporter, pitch-side reporter,
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: is so different in a college football space versus a
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: soccer space. At a World Cup, I'm confined to a
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: very small spot. I can't really roam around. I'm kind
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: of able to hear. I mean, college football... I can
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: get up pretty close to coaches, pretty close, you know,
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: to the players. You're still respectfully keeping a distance, but
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: it is a totally different setup. So you kind of
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: get lucky at times to be in a place where
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: you see things. And, you know, I'd seen something going
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: on with Malik and he was pointing at his foot
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: in a shoe and I was just watching it very carefully.
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: Like I couldn't tell exactly and you can't ask anyone
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: from the medical staff, but their equipment, their kit guy, Kyle,
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: he's amazing.
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: Awesome.
• 16:38
  Speaker 6: And I was just watching him so carefully.
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: And at one point I saw him just sprint to
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: the locker room so fast, come back with two new
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: sets of cleats, boots, and obviously they make the change
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: and he scores the amazing goal. And it was, it
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: was wild that I was able to watch it from
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: start to finish, kind of just wondering how the story
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: would evolve. And then of course, scoring the free kick
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: makes it all the more exciting.
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: So yeah.
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: I'm gonna give Jenny her flowers here because those situations,
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: you're being incredibly humble. You have to be in the
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: right place at the right time, but that's where I
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: think the beauty of TV and what makes good broadcasters
• 17:12
  Speaker 4: elite like you is that that's years of years of
• 17:15
  Speaker 4: relationship building, of work, of knowing the guys in the
• 17:19
  Speaker 4: equipment room that love you and adore you and give
• 17:22
  Speaker 4: you access that you're able to then see that and
• 17:24
  Speaker 4: talk to those people and the way that the team
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: and the players and the coaches respect you to give
• 17:29
  Speaker 4: you insight and access. And that doesn't come overnight. That
• 17:32
  Speaker 4: comes from years of work. So you are in the
• 17:35
  Speaker 4: right place at the right time. But I think that's
• 17:38
  Speaker 4: a great example of preparation meets opportunity and then the
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: execution of of that moment. And I still remember us
• 17:45
  Speaker 4: getting a call from our producer and he says, Hey,
• 17:47
  Speaker 4: Jenny's got a great ad on the Malik Tillman. The goal,
• 17:51
  Speaker 4: she saw something, she saw the equipment guy grab the thing.
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: And then John kicks into the gear of we've got
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: to get down to Jenny so quickly. And like, that's
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: where television is at its best when you're so in
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: sync with each other and everybody's Trying to be a
• 18:04
  Speaker 4: good teammate. Like we always try to say when we
• 18:06
  Speaker 4: talk ahead of the games, we want to make sure
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: you get your best stuff on air as well and
• 18:11
  Speaker 4: put you in the best position. I don't think any
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: of us had the ego to say like, that's what I'm,
• 18:16
  Speaker 4: I want to say that and it's going to be me.
• 18:18
  Speaker 4: It's whoever is in the best position to deliver it
• 18:21
  Speaker 4: in the most authentic way.
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: So you nailed that moment. And love being your teammate.
• 18:26
  Speaker 5: I appreciate that.
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 18:27
  Speaker 5: Thank you so much.
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: And I had a front row seat in the Seattle
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: stadium to see, to look down and see Jenny kind of,
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: you know, in her glory, sitting down on like a
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: little chair next to the team and she's got her notepad.
• 18:42
  Speaker 5: I'm always writing.
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: I'm mostly writing to remember things, but there is so
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: much of the role is just observation, right? And you
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: don't say everything you see. So that was why this...
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: Malik situation was so unique. So I'm like, something's going on,
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: but I can't figure it out. And it wasn't a
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: report yet, right? Like until he made the change, his
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: foot was hurting. I couldn't tell that his boot had
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: like been cut, that he'd been stepped on. I couldn't
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: tell any of that in the moment until I actually
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: saw him make the change. So it's, you sometimes like
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: hold stories until they develop. And in that case, it
• 19:13
  Speaker 3: obviously worked to keep that story. But I appreciate both
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: of you guys. It's like one of those roles that.
• 19:19
  Speaker 5: It's unique.
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: There's a lot happening that you don't actually see from
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: a sideline reporter, pitch reporter. And I love it, but
• 19:25
  Speaker 3: I love that I get that seat. So I know
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: Stu and.
• 19:27
  Speaker 6: John are up high. They're calling the action.
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: And Carly watched you guys, which I think I love
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: her take on watching you.
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: I think what was fascinating for me is, you know,
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: obviously I played in four World Cups and You guys were,
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: you know, there from 2015, 2019 that I was part
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: of the team. And obviously I worked the 2023 World
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: Cup in TV. But for me to kind of witness
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: everything that goes into it and then be on site
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: for these U.S. games, I mean, all the games, a
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: lot of the World Cup games from a product standpoint
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: and style play were unbelievable on the field. But I
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: think what I took away from this World Cup was–
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: Just the U.S. fans, you know, being out outside the
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: stadium on set because of just how far the game
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: has come on the men's side and to see the crowd,
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: to see the support.
• 20:22
  Speaker 5: And then I got to witness that.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: And then, you know, coming into the stadium and getting
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: to witness that as well, getting to see Jenny. And
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: then Stu, for me, I mean, I had no idea
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: where I was going to watch the final. They were,
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: you know, nice enough to put me in kind of
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: an air-conditioned, climate-controlled booth. But I was in the booth
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: that John and Stu were calling the game. And for me,
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: I was like... You know, the World Cup final, I
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: think I was more interested in Stu and John. The
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: final wasn't probably the best game of the World Cup.
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: But to witness what you did in action, I've never
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: seen that before. And for me, that was pretty incredible
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: to see what you guys kind of do pregame, how
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: you prep. You know, John was all business. I was like,
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: I don't want to get in his way. I don't
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: want to talk to him. And then Stu, like seeing
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: you so lively and just animated and standing, you know,
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: were you always like that?
• 21:26
  Speaker 5: Did you kind of come into that role?
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: But I just found it so cool because you guys
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: worked so well off each other. You would look at
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: John and yeah, it was really cool for me. And
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: then I'm sitting next to Tom Rinaldi. I'm like, man,
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: this is, you know, and I'm getting emotional. him in
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: my ear, he's talking about, you know, Stu's in his element,
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: like he's fantastic. And it was just really, it was
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: really cool to be a part of something I didn't
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: even know I was going to experience.
• 21:52
  Speaker 5: So it, It was awesome.
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's super cool.
• 21:56
  Speaker 4: You know, Tom, he told me after that he took
• 21:59
  Speaker 4: a video of us from behind. And so when Jenny
• 22:05
  Speaker 4: and when I knew we'd be talking and I told
• 22:08
  Speaker 4: Tom right before we got on here, I texted Tom
• 22:11
  Speaker 4: and I said, hey, can you send me that video?
• 22:13
  Speaker 5: I haven't seen it since.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: The World Cup and so he sent it to me.
• 22:18
  Speaker 4: And I was like watching myself and I never I
• 22:21
  Speaker 4: don't see it or feel it that way I'm just
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: you know I'm I'm as he said I'm in my
• 22:26
  Speaker 4: kind of like zone during that and yeah I'm like
• 22:29
  Speaker 4: very animated and moving around a lot and I'm looking
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: at the monitor I'm looking at John and It's kind
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: of crazy to see myself like that because we don't
• 22:37
  Speaker 4: ever have a booth camp. I think one of the
• 22:39
  Speaker 4: things for me, I try to stand always because I
• 22:43
  Speaker 4: just feel like I project more and I.
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: Feel more, it feels more authentic to my energies.
• 22:50
  Speaker 4: So John is sitting at the desk like a, you know,
• 22:52
  Speaker 4: like a nine to five guy, just like right over
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: the keyboard and his notes. And he doesn't want to
• 22:57
  Speaker 4: stray from those. And he's like almost trying to talk
• 22:59
  Speaker 4: and connect with me behind him. And he's like, he's
• 23:01
  Speaker 4: kind of like half looking, but keeping his eye on
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: the field.
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: Uh, and it's just, yeah, I, I love that job.
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: I love that position.
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: Cause I think I just feel like I'm narrating a
• 23:16
  Speaker 4: game and talking through the game in real time and
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: talking through observations. I've been asked a fair few times
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: just about like, how did, how did I get into this? I,
• 23:26
  Speaker 4: I like you, Carly. I just got in because I
• 23:29
  Speaker 4: was a retired athlete. I, you know, I, I.
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: Was given some opportunities.
• 23:33
  Speaker 4: I ended up, Pretty much doing a position at NBC
• 23:36
  Speaker 4: where it was like calling games, studio, and sideline reporter
• 23:40
  Speaker 4: all in one. I quickly realized I'm never going to
• 23:42
  Speaker 4: be Jenny Taft, okay? That role is just like not
• 23:45
  Speaker 4: made for me. Studio analysis I love because I think
• 23:49
  Speaker 4: you get to show some personality in different ways and
• 23:52
  Speaker 4: you can... bounce off your colleagues and, you know, you
• 23:56
  Speaker 4: and I can get into some stuff. I can spar
• 23:58
  Speaker 4: with Alexi. But I really do have such a passion
• 24:02
  Speaker 4: for calling games. And I just, I don't know, there's
• 24:06
  Speaker 4: something about when I put that headset on and the
• 24:08
  Speaker 4: microphone is like right here and working in tandem and
• 24:12
  Speaker 4: partnership with someone like John, who I've done so many
• 24:14
  Speaker 4: games with. But I think, and I hope what you
• 24:17
  Speaker 4: saw there is like, it's much more of a team
• 24:21
  Speaker 4: thing than individualized, I think, in the booth.
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: And like to sound.
• 24:25
  Speaker 4: Good as a pair or as a trio with Jenny
• 24:28
  Speaker 4: in sideline when we have her, it's really important to
• 24:31
  Speaker 4: have this really symbiotic relationship together and work off each
• 24:34
  Speaker 4: other and highlight each other and not step on each other.
• 24:37
  Speaker 4: And I know what John wants and I know where
• 24:39
  Speaker 4: Jenny needs to get in. And then I know when
• 24:42
  Speaker 4: my spots are.
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: And you have to react.
• 24:44
  Speaker 4: And so you always have to have one eye on
• 24:46
  Speaker 4: this monitor that's down there, but still watching stuff that's
• 24:49
  Speaker 4: going on on the field.
• 24:50
  Speaker 5: What's more taxing and mentally draining? Playing a game? we're
• 24:55
  Speaker 5: calling a game.
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: Oh, playing a game for sure.
• 25:00
  Speaker 4: I haven't played a bad pass in 15 years.
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: So as far as like the stress goes there, I.
• 25:06
  Speaker 4: Will say, I think you were in the booth like
• 25:09
  Speaker 4: fairly early. You guys have known me for years. Like
• 25:12
  Speaker 4: we're all really close friends now. And I think John
• 25:15
  Speaker 4: laughs about this where he and I are very different
• 25:18
  Speaker 4: personality wise, yet we have so much in common. But
• 25:22
  Speaker 4: His way of dealing with, I think, his stress or
• 25:25
  Speaker 4: anxiety around heading into a game is just... head down,
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: burying himself into his notes and going over stuff 400
• 25:32
  Speaker 4: times to where he feels like he's not going to
• 25:35
  Speaker 4: leave anything on the table. My version is, look, I've
• 25:38
  Speaker 4: done all my prep before. I can't do anything now
• 25:42
  Speaker 4: between then and kickoff where I like almost get my,
• 25:45
  Speaker 4: maybe my anxiety or my butterflies out just by like
• 25:49
  Speaker 4: dancing or like talking to people and just kind of,
• 25:53
  Speaker 4: I don't know, that's just my way of being loose
• 25:55
  Speaker 4: to where, I don't feel stressed, and I would say
• 25:59
  Speaker 4: World Cup finals are weird where it's like John, And
• 26:02
  Speaker 4: going into that, we're not together in the same way
• 26:05
  Speaker 4: that we would be for normal games because I'm outside
• 26:08
  Speaker 4: on the desk with you, Carly, and then I go
• 26:10
  Speaker 4: downstairs and we do our pregame hit. And so John
• 26:13
  Speaker 4: and I didn't really see each other until maybe like
• 26:15
  Speaker 4: 30 minutes before the game. And I think there's always
• 26:18
  Speaker 4: a little bit of a rush and a little bit
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: of a stress heading into a game like that because
• 26:22
  Speaker 4: you're both trying to get and make sure you feel
• 26:25
  Speaker 4: good about it before that first whistle goes. And then
• 26:27
  Speaker 4: it's just this, I don't know, it's a weird, finals
• 26:30
  Speaker 4: are so different and weird, but Like anything, the experience
• 26:34
  Speaker 4: that you have helps you.
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: And I think.
• 26:37
  Speaker 4: I felt a sense of relief after the game, but
• 26:40
  Speaker 4: I wasn't taxed mentally and physically.
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: The way I would be.
• 26:43
  Speaker 4: 90 minutes of a game where you're just like that night,
• 26:45
  Speaker 4: you're like, what happened right now?
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: I think there's such an adrenaline come down, too, from
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: calling a game. I didn't play at any of the
• 26:55
  Speaker 3: levels you guys played at, but like the mental... I'm
• 26:58
  Speaker 3: a little tired. Like, I don't want to chat a
• 27:00
  Speaker 3: ton right after a game. Like, your just kind of
• 27:02
  Speaker 3: brain has been working and concentrating and thinking. And I
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: feel like oftentimes, too, we'll sit in a car after
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: a match and no one's really saying much. Like, you're
• 27:10
  Speaker 3: just you're kind of processing it quickly. And I just
• 27:14
  Speaker 3: feel like we've been talking about John. I do want
• 27:15
  Speaker 3: to give him so much love, too, as a play
• 27:17
  Speaker 3: by play, because he's one of the best who every
• 27:20
  Speaker 3: report I ever give He always can add to it
• 27:23
  Speaker 3: to add that extra angle about a story because he's
• 27:26
  Speaker 3: the most well-researched. Well, one of the most, because I
• 27:29
  Speaker 3: feel like I work with Joel Clatton called football. He
• 27:32
  Speaker 3: there's not a story he doesn't know. And I feel
• 27:34
  Speaker 3: the same way about John. he's just so good at
• 27:36
  Speaker 3: making everyone else around him better too. And I give
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: him a lot of credit for like, it's never about
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: John either, which I really appreciate. He's just really good
• 27:43
  Speaker 3: at what he does. And you guys, we've all worked
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: together for so long. Well, I was around Carly in 2015.
• 27:47
  Speaker 6: That's why this is all happening. So, I mean, you
• 27:50
  Speaker 6: were there too, right?
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: I was watching from home.
• 27:52
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 27:53
  Speaker 4: That was my first experience in TV for a World Cup,
• 27:56
  Speaker 4: but I will say that that's when I was hired
• 27:57
  Speaker 4: with Steve Nash to just like go up and have
• 28:00
  Speaker 4: a vacation the week after my wedding. And we just like,
• 28:04
  Speaker 4: tend to be filming features, but really we were just
• 28:06
  Speaker 4: kind of hanging out. It was kind of an awesome
• 28:08
  Speaker 4: introduction into TV.
• 28:10
  Speaker 5: That's great.
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: Just hanging out.
• 28:11
  Speaker 3: It's so easy. Just hang out with your friends and
• 28:14
  Speaker 3: watch soccer. And on that note, we'll take a quick
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: break here and be right back.
• 28:29
  Speaker 4: Carly talking about me behind the scenes, I have been
• 28:32
  Speaker 4: around Jenny Taft in many big moments in your career.
• 28:36
  Speaker 2: And then I also.
• 28:37
  Speaker 4: Know when you're in your zone and I need to
• 28:39
  Speaker 4: like not annoy you. And I see you, you kind
• 28:44
  Speaker 4: of like wander off to the side and you have
• 28:46
  Speaker 4: your notepad there and you're just like repeating your hit
• 28:52
  Speaker 4: and in your head and you're saying it out loud
• 28:54
  Speaker 4: and you're practicing your your cadence and your words. And
• 28:57
  Speaker 4: I'm always fascinated that by that process, because to be honest,
• 29:00
  Speaker 4: for somebody now, I've been in TV for 12, 13 years,
• 29:05
  Speaker 4: I actually find what you do in like a pre
• 29:09
  Speaker 4: rehearsed segment where you really have a lot of information
• 29:13
  Speaker 4: that you want to get in and you have a
• 29:14
  Speaker 4: finite amount of time as opposed to where like Carly
• 29:16
  Speaker 4: and I are asked for opinions about certain things. And
• 29:19
  Speaker 4: of course, we want to be concise and we want
• 29:21
  Speaker 4: to be But I think in what you do, where
• 29:24
  Speaker 4: you're trying to directly cite quotations, you're trying to make
• 29:28
  Speaker 4: sure you have your bridge words and your transition words
• 29:31
  Speaker 4: to get you from one thing to another. I remember
• 29:33
  Speaker 4: when I first started TV, I tried to write stuff
• 29:37
  Speaker 4: out and then I tried to almost memorize it, but
• 29:39
  Speaker 4: then I would miss words.
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: And I would fumble my delivery.
• 29:42
  Speaker 4: I'm fascinated by your process, but I've seen you go
• 29:45
  Speaker 4: through your process.
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: And again, I leave you alone.
• 29:47
  Speaker 4: And I remember you on the day where the Balagan
• 29:50
  Speaker 4: news broke. And you were quickly asked to do live
• 29:54
  Speaker 4: hits into the pregame show. And it was multiple hits.
• 29:57
  Speaker 4: But you were the one that was delivering all the
• 29:59
  Speaker 4: really important information. And I got there to training with John,
• 30:02
  Speaker 4: maybe like, I don't know, 10, 15 minutes, but about
• 30:05
  Speaker 4: a couple minutes right before you were about to go
• 30:07
  Speaker 4: on air. And I just remember seeing and feeling your energy.
• 30:10
  Speaker 4: And it was like, do not mess with Jenny Taft
• 30:12
  Speaker 4: right now. Like, you got to get out of the way.
• 30:14
  Speaker 4: But this is like a really fun Jenny Taft. But
• 30:17
  Speaker 4: you don't want to get in the way. But this
• 30:18
  Speaker 4: is like Jenny in the zone. Yeah.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: I think what she does, Tom Rinaldi, you know, all
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: of those sideline reporters, the clear, concise message and news
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: and breaking news that you have to get out, I
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: find I couldn't do it.
• 30:32
  Speaker 5: I think it's incredibly difficult.
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: And I was walking by, you know, when we were
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: going pitch side, seeing Tom Rinaldi do the same thing.
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: I mean, legend, you know, it was, it's so cool
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: because as a player, you don't notice any of these
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: things going on. And I was looking, you know, at
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: these games when I'm pitch side, I'm like the amount
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: of photographers and people reporting on this. I mean, it's,
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: it's incredible. So yeah, huge props to you. I, it's
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: really impressive what you do. There's a level, there is
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: an intensity. I can get there. And it's so funny, Stu,
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: that you bring up that bow thing because I'm also
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: like pretty well prepared and researched, right? So a breaking
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: news situation, you're obviously it's breaking news.
• 31:12
  Speaker 3: And I think what's so unique about a situation like that,
• 31:14
  Speaker 3: I feel so much, not pressure because it's not the
• 31:17
  Speaker 3: right word, but I'm the one relaying the news.
• 31:20
  Speaker 6: So it better be right.
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: And U.S.
• 31:21
  Speaker 3: Soccer is listening to me and our studio's listening to me.
• 31:24
  Speaker 3: And I have to make sure the news is accurate
• 31:26
  Speaker 3: and appropriate and delivered the right way.
• 31:28
  Speaker 6: And we're breaking.
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: And at one point, my producer, Doc, because he and
• 31:32
  Speaker 3: I worked together, he would give all the scoop on
• 31:34
  Speaker 3: how annoying I can be sometimes. But I was like,
• 31:35
  Speaker 3: I need to go to the bathroom. He's like, you
• 31:37
  Speaker 3: don't have time to go to the bathroom right now.
• 31:39
  Speaker 3: We have breaking news about Balo.
• 31:41
  Speaker 5: And I was like, fine.
• 31:42
  Speaker 3: Like just this weird dynamic of, I like the hype
• 31:47
  Speaker 3: of that, but it's, I remember Stu seeing you and
• 31:49
  Speaker 3: you walk in and you're smiling. You're like, ah, training,
• 31:51
  Speaker 3: what about the news? And then I'm just like, don't
• 31:54
  Speaker 3: talk to me right now.
• 31:55
  Speaker 4: I have the video of you and Doc that I took.
• 31:58
  Speaker 4: You two like wandering off after your first hit to
• 32:01
  Speaker 4: go before your second. And you guys go like an
• 32:03
  Speaker 4: old married couple kind of over to the corner and
• 32:05
  Speaker 4: And you go to discuss like how you're going to
• 32:07
  Speaker 4: approach the next hit. And you were like, you're in
• 32:09
  Speaker 4: the zone. And I remember saying to John, I was like,
• 32:11
  Speaker 4: I'm going to get this video for her to remember this.
• 32:13
  Speaker 4: But I don't want her to see me taking this
• 32:15
  Speaker 4: video because she's going to be like.
• 32:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I would have not liked that.
• 32:20
  Speaker 4: We're going to have our second ever fight in our
• 32:22
  Speaker 4: 12 year friendship.
• 32:24
  Speaker 5: It was cool to see you in the zone, Jenny.
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: Do you ever feel that stress, like that pressure?
• 32:29
  Speaker 4: Because you do have an incredible ability, even on college football,
• 32:32
  Speaker 4: your delivery is always just you know, so smooth in
• 32:35
  Speaker 4: your cadence. And even if you maybe feel like you
• 32:37
  Speaker 4: fumbled something, I think the best, like you, have an
• 32:41
  Speaker 4: ability to then just make it feel natural and good
• 32:44
  Speaker 4: and seamless.
• 32:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I of course notice, but I very much love
• 32:49
  Speaker 3: the red light. I love having a producer that knows
• 32:51
  Speaker 3: me so well because he knows I don't memorize things.
• 32:53
  Speaker 3: I really think of them in bullet points. So like
• 32:55
  Speaker 3: when we walk away into the corner, I'm just kind
• 32:56
  Speaker 3: of thinking out my bullet points and how I want
• 32:58
  Speaker 3: to deliver the information. And sometimes, yeah, it's smoother than others,
• 33:02
  Speaker 3: but I like being live because I feel like if
• 33:05
  Speaker 3: you're live, you're just, it's live TV and you got
• 33:08
  Speaker 3: to keep moving.
• 33:09
  Speaker 6: So I prefer that.
• 33:10
  Speaker 3: I think at times when reporters are trying to get
• 33:12
  Speaker 3: into this space and it's, I want to think it's
• 33:15
  Speaker 3: always live to tape because you should always think you're live.
• 33:18
  Speaker 3: Your first take is probably better than your fifth, honestly.
• 33:21
  Speaker 3: Maybe your second's better because you have a, it's like
• 33:23
  Speaker 3: almost a practice round, but it's rare for me to
• 33:26
  Speaker 3: do things more than once if it's not live, live.
• 33:28
  Speaker 3: And I don't like wasting people's time. So there's a
• 33:30
  Speaker 3: little of that. But I have an intensity. I don't
• 33:32
  Speaker 3: want people to see that flip of a switch. But
• 33:36
  Speaker 3: it's in there if needed. I just prefer to be
• 33:39
  Speaker 3: this way. But if I have to be dialed in,
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: and I was like that when I played sports, like
• 33:44
  Speaker 3: there's a version of me that's intense. I'm competitive. I
• 33:46
  Speaker 3: don't want to screw up. But I think that's why
• 33:49
  Speaker 3: all of us like what we do in TV. There's
• 33:50
  Speaker 3: a pressure to it.
• 33:52
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: And I would say I feel like we're all kind
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: of Not that we're the same without the red light,
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: but when the red light goes on, you know, I
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: don't think there's much change.
• 34:00
  Speaker 5: I mean, Alexi, he's called himself a performer. That red
• 34:04
  Speaker 5: light goes on. I'm like, whoa, man, where have you been?
• 34:08
  Speaker 3: One of the first times I was with Lex and
• 34:09
  Speaker 3: the red light came on, I was like, oh, my gosh,
• 34:11
  Speaker 3: I don't know this guy.
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: Who's this guy?
• 34:14
  Speaker 4: The best was Zlatan. I remember watching him during a
• 34:18
  Speaker 4: rehearsal where Alexei had been.
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: Very calm leading in, and then the red light went on.
• 34:24
  Speaker 4: They went Thierry, Zlatan, and then down to Alexei, and
• 34:27
  Speaker 4: he just went to full Lex, like 110 miles an hour.
• 34:31
  Speaker 2: And he was banging the desk and high energy.
• 34:34
  Speaker 4: And Zlatan's face of just slowly turning, looking at him
• 34:37
  Speaker 4: with these eyes.
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: And then they finished that segment, and he said... this
• 34:42
  Speaker 2: is not what I need to be like, right? And
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: they're like, no, dude, just be you.
• 34:48
  Speaker 5: That's Alexei.
• 34:49
  Speaker 2: And he's like, wow, I've never seen this guy before.
• 34:51
  Speaker 2: It's crazy. He's like shot out of a cannon. I know.
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: That was the most fascinating thing because obviously he's, you know,
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: been highly critical of me throughout my career or whatever
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: and love him to death.
• 35:04
  Speaker 5: He's got a heart of gold.
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: But I'm like, yeah, when this red light goes on,
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: he just goes into a different space.
• 35:11
  Speaker 5: But, Yeah, it's pretty funny. We have a good time
• 35:14
  Speaker 5: on the desk.
• 35:15
  Speaker 3: Is there, Stu, is there a moment where you realized,
• 35:18
  Speaker 3: and Carly too, where you're like, I can do TV. Like,
• 35:21
  Speaker 3: was there a moment where it kind of really clicked
• 35:24
  Speaker 3: and you're like, you know what, one, I really like this. Two,
• 35:26
  Speaker 3: I think I could be good at this. And you
• 35:28
  Speaker 3: were like, yep, this is it. Was there an experience
• 35:30
  Speaker 3: that stands out? I wanted nothing to do with TV. Had,
• 35:36
  Speaker 3: you know, no mind space of it post-retirement. not that
• 35:42
  Speaker 3: I hated the media, but there was always a sense
• 35:47
  Speaker 3: of having to prove myself to a lot of people
• 35:49
  Speaker 3: throughout my career. And the media certainly played a role
• 35:54
  Speaker 3: in helping propel me with some extra motivation here and
• 35:57
  Speaker 3: there and hearing the slights and the criticism and all
• 36:01
  Speaker 3: of that. But I retired at a really good time, 2021.
• 36:04
  Speaker 3: And then next thing you know, I'm being asked to
• 36:08
  Speaker 3: work the men's World Cup. And I think the biggest
• 36:10
  Speaker 3: thing for me was, you know, obviously the game of
• 36:14
  Speaker 3: soccer is the same on the men and women's side.
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: But I think there was a level of maybe not
• 36:21
  Speaker 3: as high confidence in just the history of the men's game.
• 36:24
  Speaker 3: And why would I be able to do this? And
• 36:28
  Speaker 3: how would I know, you know, what to talk about,
• 36:30
  Speaker 3: what to say? But I had my agent, you know,
• 36:33
  Speaker 3: push me along. And Brad Zager, you know, helped.
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: In that and yeah I think it was something I
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: went back to my career of kind of putting myself
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: in uncomfortable positions and trying things and if I don't
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: like them I don't like them I actually called two
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: games you know and in the NWSL and kind of
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: tried that route with JP and I'm like you know
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: what this is just not for me after the first
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: game I was like absolutely not and JP's like hey you.
• 37:06
  Speaker 5: Know here's some Here's some tips. The second game was
• 37:08
  Speaker 5: a little bit better, but I'm like, this is just
• 37:11
  Speaker 5: a lot of work and I'm all for work.
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: But yeah, so, you know, I dipped my feet in
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: and I think the best thing about it was all
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: of you guys really, you know, work in the 2022
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: World Cup in Qatar, Men's World Cup.
• 37:24
  Speaker 5: We were all centralized, all hanging out.
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: And I was just being myself, you know, just got
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: up on the desk and prepared and took, you know,
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: all the little bits of information that I could from everybody.
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: you know, observed everybody else on the desk of how
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: they were doing things, you know, what felt real to me.
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: And after that moment, I'm like, you know, this is
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: really great to be part of a team again. And
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: that's where I'm like, you know what, I can, I
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: think I can do this. And I think the beauty
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: of it is working these amazing tournaments that are month long.
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: So I'm not working and flying all over creation throughout
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: the year. I think the balance of life of having
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: family and being home with friends and all that was
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: really important to me.
• 38:07
  Speaker 5: So Yeah, look, I tried it. Still learning, still growing.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: But I think the biggest thing for me is I
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: just took what I did as a player and tried
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: to just kind of take that into TV of just
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: being myself. And when push comes to shove and I
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: need to be a little critical, I'm okay doing that
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: as well. So, yeah, that's... We'll see where it takes
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: me from here on out.
• 38:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think for.
• 38:34
  Speaker 4: myself, I was going through a period in my life
• 38:37
  Speaker 4: and my career where I really didn't know what was next.
• 38:40
  Speaker 4: I had been through so much adversity. I put so
• 38:44
  Speaker 4: much into my recoveries and my rehabs, and I was
• 38:47
  Speaker 4: on my second ACL in just such a downer of
• 38:52
  Speaker 4: a moment after my first big injury where I was
• 38:54
  Speaker 4: at the absolute top of my career.
• 38:56
  Speaker 2: I was playing in the Premier League.
• 38:57
  Speaker 4: I was 26 years old, I was on the verge
• 39:00
  Speaker 4: of a move to some big clubs and it all
• 39:02
  Speaker 4: kind of came crashing down. And then from that point,
• 39:05
  Speaker 4: I was really scrapping and fighting and learning a lot
• 39:09
  Speaker 4: about myself in those moments as well, where in hindsight,
• 39:12
  Speaker 4: I was so down, but I wasn't going to quit.
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: And I gave absolutely everything to try to get back.
• 39:19
  Speaker 4: But when I finally got that call, it was after
• 39:22
  Speaker 4: I tore my ACL in the 2013 Gold Cup final
• 39:25
  Speaker 4: for the second time after I'd fought so hard to
• 39:28
  Speaker 4: get back on the national team. And it was right
• 39:30
  Speaker 4: before what I was hoping was going to be my
• 39:32
  Speaker 4: second World Cup. I got a call from Shaw Brown,
• 39:35
  Speaker 4: who's a friend of all of ours. And he was
• 39:37
  Speaker 4: at NBC at the time. And he said, look, I think,
• 39:40
  Speaker 4: have you thought about TV?
• 39:41
  Speaker 2: And I said, hey, man, come on.
• 39:43
  Speaker 4: I just tore my ACL 30 minutes ago. Give me
• 39:46
  Speaker 4: a couple of days at least. But sure, I'm interested.
• 39:50
  Speaker 4: And so I just said to myself, look, you got
• 39:53
  Speaker 4: to be real at this point. What's kind of next
• 39:56
  Speaker 4: for you? I was always interested in a lot. I
• 39:58
  Speaker 4: was always doing stuff off the field, business-wise, investment-wise. But
• 40:04
  Speaker 4: I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't
• 40:06
  Speaker 4: ever say, I'm going to go into TV until I
• 40:09
  Speaker 4: did that first ever broadcast, which full circle-wise was with
• 40:13
  Speaker 4: John Strong. It was San Jose versus Chicago on a
• 40:16
  Speaker 4: Thursday night in MLS. And again, it was that role
• 40:20
  Speaker 4: where I had to interview.
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: I interviewed Mike McGee. It was my first ever interview.
• 40:23
  Speaker 2: Then I was calling the game.
• 40:25
  Speaker 5: I was in the studio.
• 40:26
  Speaker 2: And I remember thinking after, holy crap, this is a
• 40:28
  Speaker 2: lot of work, like you, Carly.
• 40:30
  Speaker 5: And I was thinking....
• 40:32
  Speaker 4: I liked when that red light was on. I liked
• 40:34
  Speaker 4: speaking about the game. I liked being close to the game,
• 40:37
  Speaker 4: but I was still a little too close to the
• 40:39
  Speaker 4: game where I was still hoping to play.
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: I was still hoping to rehab and get back on
• 40:44
  Speaker 2: the field.
• 40:44
  Speaker 4: So I wasn't quite sure I wanted to really relinquish
• 40:48
  Speaker 4: that hope that I could play, but I still knew
• 40:50
  Speaker 4: I needed to start working towards something. I started fitting
• 40:53
  Speaker 4: what was a realistic amount of work into my rehab
• 40:55
  Speaker 4: schedule where I'd fly on the weekends.
• 40:57
  Speaker 2: I'd call games. I'd I flew out to ESPN. I
• 41:00
  Speaker 2: did some work there.
• 41:01
  Speaker 4: Then eventually Fox saw me, and then I got the
• 41:02
  Speaker 4: call to do some shows. I worked at Gold Cup
• 41:05
  Speaker 4: in 2015. And then by that point, I knew this
• 41:08
  Speaker 4: was something I loved. It gave me enough motivation to
• 41:12
  Speaker 4: work at it, to want to be really good at it.
• 41:14
  Speaker 2: There was enough of a competitive aspect, which we as
• 41:17
  Speaker 2: athletes all love, where I wanted to be the best.
• 41:21
  Speaker 4: I wanted to beat out the guys in front of me,
• 41:22
  Speaker 4: whether that was Winalda or Brad Friedel and and those
• 41:26
  Speaker 4: guys at the time. And then the last part which
• 41:28
  Speaker 4: I really love and what I still love to this
• 41:30
  Speaker 4: day is being a part of a team.
• 41:33
  Speaker 2: And I think it's the closest I've ever had to
• 41:36
  Speaker 2: the locker room.
• 41:36
  Speaker 4: I love seeing you guys and we get to work
• 41:38
  Speaker 4: together and we get to eat meals together and travel together,
• 41:42
  Speaker 4: experience these tournaments together. And I think those experiences, more
• 41:46
  Speaker 4: than anything, are why I love it. I look back
• 41:48
  Speaker 4: on Sydney. We're playing these pickup soccer games, Carly, in
• 41:52
  Speaker 4: the middle of Sydney right there.
• 41:55
  Speaker 2: Those were so fun.
• 41:56
  Speaker 4: Heyo trying to two-foot me, me kicking her, wanting to
• 41:59
  Speaker 4: beat her team. And so I feel like I found
• 42:02
  Speaker 4: a new team, a new family off the field, and
• 42:04
  Speaker 4: I don't ever take that seriously.
• 42:06
  Speaker 2: For granted.
• 42:06
  Speaker 4: And I think that is what makes this so special
• 42:08
  Speaker 4: beyond just the on-air aspect is what we've created off-air.
• 42:13
  Speaker 4: And that's something I'm not sure I could recreate in
• 42:15
  Speaker 4: the same way because we're all with very like-minded people.
• 42:19
  Speaker 4: We're with all people that want to work hard and
• 42:20
  Speaker 4: be the best and put on the best show, but
• 42:22
  Speaker 4: also recognize.
• 42:24
  Speaker 2: What it's meant to be to be a part of
• 42:26
  Speaker 2: a team.
• 42:26
  Speaker 4: So.
• 42:27
  Speaker 2: That's why I'm so drawn to this.
• 42:29
  Speaker 4: And to quote our good friend, Alexi Lalas, if I'm
• 42:32
  Speaker 4: ever to give up this chair, someone's going to have
• 42:34
  Speaker 4: to pry it from my cold, dead hands one day.
• 42:37
  Speaker 2: I want to do this for as long as I can.
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: Did you find it hard to start calling games and,
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: you know, having to be a bit critical and sort
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: of that? Because for me as well, I exited the game,
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: retired from the game, and then I'm doing a broadcast
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: and I'm working the World Cup in 2023.
• 42:57
  Speaker 5: Really played with majority of those players. Did you find
• 43:00
  Speaker 5: that kind of hard?
• 43:02
  Speaker 4: No, I think this is really interesting because when I
• 43:05
  Speaker 4: first was like towing both lines where I was still
• 43:09
  Speaker 4: rehabbing and these were still my teammates that I remember
• 43:12
  Speaker 4: calling a pretty consequential national team game. It was U.S.
• 43:16
  Speaker 4: versus Mexico and they would qualify for the Confed's Cup.
• 43:18
  Speaker 2: But these are all my buddies and they end up losing.
• 43:20
  Speaker 5: To Mexico and I was in the booth.
• 43:23
  Speaker 4: And it's something so weird, but I was down on
• 43:27
  Speaker 4: the field pregame and all these guys come over and
• 43:29
  Speaker 4: they say hi to you and they're all still your friends.
• 43:32
  Speaker 4: But then all of a sudden now I have a
• 43:35
  Speaker 4: job to do where... what is my, my job in
• 43:39
  Speaker 4: that moment? My job is to be authentic and real
• 43:42
  Speaker 4: and honest with the audience. And so I can't protect
• 43:45
  Speaker 4: guys in a way that, that the audience thinks I'm
• 43:49
  Speaker 4: protecting and I'm not being, I'm not being honest because
• 43:52
  Speaker 4: then I lose credibility.
• 43:53
  Speaker 2: But I was still thinking, well, I might have to
• 43:55
  Speaker 2: go back into that locker room.
• 43:56
  Speaker 4: And if I just stand here and I just bury guys, like,
• 43:59
  Speaker 4: what's that going to be like for me? And so
• 44:01
  Speaker 4: I think that was a moment where I said, look,
• 44:03
  Speaker 4: here's two things I'm going to do. Number one, whatever
• 44:05
  Speaker 4: I say on a microphone, I have to be prepared
• 44:07
  Speaker 4: to say to somebody's face. And if I can't do that,
• 44:10
  Speaker 4: then what I'm saying is not, it's not authentic and
• 44:13
  Speaker 4: it's not fair. I think you have to be critical,
• 44:15
  Speaker 4: but I think you have to do it in a
• 44:16
  Speaker 4: fair and respectful way. I think secondly, when I got
• 44:19
  Speaker 4: to the point when I recognized I'm not a player anymore,
• 44:22
  Speaker 4: I'm a broadcaster. This is my job. And my job
• 44:26
  Speaker 4: now is to be the best at my job. And
• 44:29
  Speaker 4: in order to do that, I have to be critical
• 44:31
  Speaker 4: and I have to be fair and I have to
• 44:32
  Speaker 4: be honest. And I think if I felt that I
• 44:35
  Speaker 4: did that in the right way, then my teammates and
• 44:38
  Speaker 4: my friends would ultimately respect it, whether they like it
• 44:41
  Speaker 4: or not. I didn't like everything... that a broadcaster ever
• 44:44
  Speaker 4: said about me in my career. But I think deep down,
• 44:47
  Speaker 4: I knew that some of that criticism was warranted and
• 44:50
  Speaker 4: some of it was fair.
• 44:52
  Speaker 2: Some of it, maybe not. But again, that's why it's
• 44:54
  Speaker 2: subjective and we have opinions.
• 44:56
  Speaker 4: I've lost a couple of friendships that have since been
• 44:59
  Speaker 4: rekindled in a way over time, but players that didn't.
• 45:02
  Speaker 2: Like what I said and how I said it.
• 45:04
  Speaker 4: And I think in hindsight, maybe some of the stuff
• 45:06
  Speaker 4: I did early in my career tried to be a
• 45:09
  Speaker 4: newsbreaker just because I thought that's what people felt you
• 45:12
  Speaker 4: had to do. And I remember looking back on that thinking,
• 45:14
  Speaker 4: why am I doing that? I was I was probably
• 45:17
  Speaker 4: really insecure about who I was trying to be as
• 45:20
  Speaker 4: a broadcaster and trying to copy other people as opposed
• 45:23
  Speaker 4: to just being me.
• 45:24
  Speaker 2: And I think that was the greatest comfort.
• 45:26
  Speaker 4: And I think what probably led to the most success
• 45:28
  Speaker 4: for me in broadcasting was.
• 45:30
  Speaker 2: Ultimately saying like, and I've learned.
• 45:32
  Speaker 4: on how Jenny's prepared and how John is prepared and
• 45:35
  Speaker 4: who different analysts are, not just in soccer, but different sports.
• 45:38
  Speaker 4: And I think I took all of that and I said,
• 45:41
  Speaker 4: now this is what I want to be. And I
• 45:43
  Speaker 4: think that's when you can be your very best is
• 45:46
  Speaker 4: when You're comfortable in who you are.
• 45:49
  Speaker 2: You're comfortable in what you're saying. You're confident in what
• 45:51
  Speaker 2: you're saying.
• 45:52
  Speaker 4: And I remember, was it Shaw and Carlos de Molina,
• 45:55
  Speaker 4: our producer, saying to me, look, if you don't believe
• 45:58
  Speaker 4: what you're saying on camera, nobody else is going to
• 46:00
  Speaker 4: believe it. So have conviction in what you say. Be
• 46:04
  Speaker 4: confident in what you say. And people can disagree with you,
• 46:07
  Speaker 4: but it is your opinion. And once you give your opinion,
• 46:10
  Speaker 4: that's based on your experiences. And that's why you're in
• 46:12
  Speaker 4: the position you're in. And I always found that to
• 46:15
  Speaker 4: be really helpful advice throughout my career.
• 46:17
  Speaker 3: Carly, did you struggle with that at the beginning of
• 46:19
  Speaker 3: just the being so close to it?
• 46:22
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I think it was hard.
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: I remember my first experience was pretty quickly after I retired.
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: There was a game. I think the U.S. team had
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: been playing Uzbekistan. I think Rob was there, Lexi, Heather Riley,
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: and it was myself on the desk and in studio learning,
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: you know, learning about the A block and the B block.
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: I'm like, what are these things? I remember it feeling
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: very strange. And then, you know, having worked the 2023
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: World Cup, which, again, was really just a couple of
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: years out that I had been, but majority of those
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: players I had played with. And like you, Stu, you know,
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: everything that I said, you know, and some of that criticism,
• 47:11
  Speaker 1: I mean, it was pretty warranted because the team didn't
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: play well that that World Cup, I would say to
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: the team if I were in a meeting room and
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: in a space with them. So yeah, I think I've
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: always been authentic. I've always been a bit direct. Have
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: I necessarily done it the best that I possibly could
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: do as a player? Probably not. Over the years, I
• 47:37
  Speaker 1: learned how to talk to my teammates better, how to
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: be a better leader, even on air, just figuring out
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: what to say, how to say it. But majority of
• 47:47
  Speaker 1: what comes out of my mouth isn't, it isn't for clicks.
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: It isn't for things to go viral. It's coming from
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: my heart. It's exactly how I feel. And in those
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: moments in 2023, I mean, you guys know, we were being,
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: you know, flashed as soon as the games ended with
• 48:05
  Speaker 1: live pictures and live images. There was no meeting or
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: talking to each other on the desk as to what
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: are you going to say?
• 48:14
  Speaker 5: What are you going to say?
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: You know, that was just purely coming from what was
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: within me and how I was feeling. So, yeah, I mean,
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: I think it's hard. I think, you know, people kind
• 48:28
  Speaker 1: of view me as this like unlikable person. But again, Stu,
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: to your point, the credibility piece, when you're There's something
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: that I need to say and be critical. I mean,
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: I'm not going to be afraid to say it. And,
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: you know, I don't look for those moments. Again, I'm
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: not trying to go viral. Those moments just kind of
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: come in the moment and with how I'm feeling. But
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: it's definitely hard. But at the end of the day,
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: I think people take me for what I'm worth.
• 48:58
  Speaker 2: They don't have to like it, but they respect it.
• 49:01
  Speaker 4: And I think even with you and your friendship and
• 49:04
  Speaker 4: you're authentic and you love those that are close to you.
• 49:07
  Speaker 2: But you're also very honest and people don't always love.
• 49:10
  Speaker 5: To hear that.
• 49:11
  Speaker 4: I'm actually fascinated for both of your perspectives. And Jenny,
• 49:13
  Speaker 4: I know you experienced some of this in France a
• 49:16
  Speaker 4: little bit. And I've been asked about this a fair
• 49:19
  Speaker 4: few times is how do you deal with criticism and
• 49:23
  Speaker 4: social media blowback and what comes with that, because I
• 49:27
  Speaker 4: know a lot of people handle it very differently. I'm
• 49:30
  Speaker 4: always fascinated by, you know, someone like Alexi too, who's,
• 49:34
  Speaker 4: he takes the trolls head on and he engages online,
• 49:37
  Speaker 4: but I know deep down Alexi's, some of it hurts,
• 49:40
  Speaker 4: you know, some of it you don't like to hear,
• 49:42
  Speaker 4: but I think athletes and Jenny, you're a high level
• 49:47
  Speaker 4: athlete in college as well. And not were, you still
• 49:50
  Speaker 4: are a high level athlete, but I think it's part
• 49:53
  Speaker 4: of our mentality and how we've We've dealt with that
• 49:56
  Speaker 4: a lot growing up, but I'm kind of fascinated by
• 49:58
  Speaker 4: this because people don't always talk about it.
• 50:01
  Speaker 6: We don't have to say high level athlete.
• 50:03
  Speaker 3: You know, there was a time one of our promos
• 50:05
  Speaker 3: was like superstar lacrosse player.
• 50:07
  Speaker 6: And I'm like, let's just say played on the team.
• 50:10
  Speaker 5: Hey, you're a high level athlete. Just go with it.
• 50:12
  Speaker 3: I'm around you guys. I think Twitter's interesting because both
• 50:16
  Speaker 3: of you do it differently. I've seen Carly sometimes clap
• 50:19
  Speaker 3: back at people.
• 50:20
  Speaker 2: I don't.
• 50:20
  Speaker 6: I never do.
• 50:21
  Speaker 2: I don't care.
• 50:21
  Speaker 6: I read stuff.
• 50:23
  Speaker 3: Soccer in particular can be a tough crew. I feel
• 50:26
  Speaker 3: like soccer criticism is not, like, sometimes for a sport
• 50:30
  Speaker 3: that I feel like... The women's soccer fan base is.
• 50:33
  Speaker 6: They don't.
• 50:34
  Speaker 5: Kind of crazy.
• 50:35
  Speaker 2: And it's weird.
• 50:36
  Speaker 3: We want more people to love the game. And I
• 50:39
  Speaker 3: think at times it should be more inclusive to new
• 50:42
  Speaker 3: fans that are learning it, right?
• 50:43
  Speaker 5: But it's a tough.
• 50:45
  Speaker 6: space.
• 50:46
  Speaker 3: Like, I will look at mentions on Twitter every so often,
• 50:49
  Speaker 3: but I don't do it every time. I don't ever
• 50:52
  Speaker 3: search my name because it's the people that don't tag
• 50:54
  Speaker 3: you that are really going to come at you. Like,
• 50:57
  Speaker 3: I find that fascinating, the difference between critiquing someone who
• 51:00
  Speaker 3: tags you and just writes out your name. You know,
• 51:02
  Speaker 3: I've had it, Stu, like you mentioned. Was that France
• 51:05
  Speaker 3: where I kind of was mistaken for a different reporter?
• 51:07
  Speaker 3: It was the weirdest thing. I really was mistaken for
• 51:10
  Speaker 3: someone else who'd criticized a team in a way that
• 51:14
  Speaker 3: the fan base did not like. And I was getting
• 51:16
  Speaker 3: death threats. And I woke up and had no idea
• 51:19
  Speaker 3: why my phone was going off. And it was a
• 51:22
  Speaker 3: little freaky, right? And that was not even me. So
• 51:24
  Speaker 3: I was feeling this. And it was a total, you know,
• 51:27
  Speaker 3: mistaken identity thing.
• 51:29
  Speaker 6: Very bizarre. It didn't feel great. I used to host Undisputed.
• 51:33
  Speaker 3: There were a couple instances where I had said a
• 51:35
  Speaker 3: couple things that were not popular opinions. And I still
• 51:38
  Speaker 3: at times get like random messages from people. So Social
• 51:43
  Speaker 3: can hurt, but I do find you have to... It
• 51:45
  Speaker 3: goes back to what both of you said, the confidence in...
• 51:48
  Speaker 3: Your opinions come from one experience and confidence, and you
• 51:52
  Speaker 3: have to own that you know and feel good about
• 51:54
  Speaker 3: what you're saying. And I love what you said, Stu,
• 51:56
  Speaker 3: but if you could say it to their face, that
• 51:58
  Speaker 3: would be the same. And I think both of you
• 52:00
  Speaker 3: guys have that authenticity. So Twitter's a weird one for me. I...
• 52:04
  Speaker 3: The other problem is when you've made a mistake and
• 52:06
  Speaker 3: you know it's going to be on there, I'm like,
• 52:07
  Speaker 3: don't look, don't look at it, don't look at.
• 52:09
  Speaker 6: It, don't look at that criticism. But it's kind of
• 52:12
  Speaker 6: part of it in a weird way.
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: And then who's the bots and who's not? And, you know,
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: I don't mean to keep bringing up Alexi here, but
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: in my experience, you know, I didn't really.
• 52:23
  Speaker 5: Love Alexi when I was playing.
• 52:25
  Speaker 1: You know, I felt like he always had something to
• 52:27
  Speaker 1: say and whether he was slighting me, the team, and
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: I remember, I think it was before 2019 World Cup
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: and I was in an event with him and he's like, yeah,
• 52:37
  Speaker 1: you guys aren't going to win the World Cup.
• 52:39
  Speaker 5: And I'm like, oh, really?
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: I'm like, well, when we do win the World Cup,
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: you know, I expect you to apologize.
• 52:46
  Speaker 5: And, you know, he just kind of laughed and chuckled.
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: But I think I base all of my relationships with
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: people on how they are when I meet them in person. And,
• 52:58
  Speaker 1: and I think that's what frustrates me is when people
• 53:00
  Speaker 1: kind of come at me and, you know, they, they
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: question who I am as a person and, and the
• 53:06
  Speaker 1: human element of, of how I treat people.
• 53:09
  Speaker 5: And, you know, you're, you're taking what I say.
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: On TV, on live TV, uh, opinions that I'm making
• 53:18
  Speaker 1: and about the game or whatnot. And, you know, you
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: just question kind of my integrity as a person. And
• 53:25
  Speaker 1: I think that that's what kind of bugs me. And
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: to be honest, you know, Brian's like, yeah, I didn't
• 53:30
  Speaker 1: really love Alexi, you know, when you were playing and stuff.
• 53:32
  Speaker 1: And we've spent so much time with him. And he's
• 53:36
  Speaker 1: such a good human being, you know, and his politics, this, that,
• 53:42
  Speaker 1: what he believes in.
• 53:43
  Speaker 5: And, you know, I don't take that into consideration. I base.
• 53:48
  Speaker 1: How I feel about people on how they treat me,
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: how they treat others, what they're like as a person.
• 53:55
  Speaker 1: And I've really, you know, got to know him a
• 53:56
  Speaker 1: lot and understand him and his personality. And I think
• 54:01
  Speaker 1: it's kind of cool to be able to then work
• 54:03
  Speaker 1: with somebody who's been critical of our team and me
• 54:06
  Speaker 1: as a person and player. And then, you know, to
• 54:09
  Speaker 1: just kind of move on from the situation. Like it's not,
• 54:13
  Speaker 1: people hold on to Such crazy stuff.
• 54:16
  Speaker 4: Experience with feedback on social media has definitely changed over
• 54:19
  Speaker 4: the years. When I first started, I'll be honest, I
• 54:22
  Speaker 4: would check social media at halftime and I would see
• 54:26
  Speaker 4: fans from different sides of both teams that I was
• 54:30
  Speaker 4: calling being critical of me or saying, oh, you're so
• 54:33
  Speaker 4: biased towards the LA Galaxy and why are you saying this?
• 54:37
  Speaker 4: And then I found that that would then impact my
• 54:40
  Speaker 4: analysis in the second half.
• 54:41
  Speaker 2: And I was allowing.
• 54:43
  Speaker 4: Joe Schmo on X to influence my opinions and my
• 54:47
  Speaker 4: thoughts on the game.
• 54:49
  Speaker 2: And then I had this moment where I thought, wait,
• 54:52
  Speaker 2: I'm the one who's played.
• 54:53
  Speaker 4: I'm the one who has this experience and the expertise here.
• 54:56
  Speaker 4: Why am I allowing, even though I know deep down,
• 54:59
  Speaker 4: I'm not being biased here. any team on the field.
• 55:01
  Speaker 4: I don't care who wins. I'm literally trying to call
• 55:04
  Speaker 4: it down the middle and call the game in a
• 55:07
  Speaker 4: fair way. I'm never invested in a way beyond U.S.
• 55:10
  Speaker 4: national team games. And even then, I have to be
• 55:13
  Speaker 4: impartial and unbiased in moments in my analysis, but I
• 55:17
  Speaker 4: want the U.S.
• 55:17
  Speaker 5: To win.
• 55:18
  Speaker 2: That's no secret.
• 55:19
  Speaker 4: When I'm broadcasting for an American broadcast network, I think
• 55:23
  Speaker 4: that that's okay to show that. But yeah, I had
• 55:26
  Speaker 4: that moment where I thought, why am I letting this
• 55:28
  Speaker 4: guy who I would never.
• 55:30
  Speaker 2: seek analysis or feedback from.
• 55:33
  Speaker 4: And don't even really respect their opinion at all, now
• 55:36
  Speaker 4: influence how I'm thinking about stuff. And it's when I
• 55:39
  Speaker 4: realized X at least is like a Yelp review, where
• 55:44
  Speaker 4: if you think you go to a restaurant and you've
• 55:46
  Speaker 4: had a good experience at the restaurant, right? You like
• 55:49
  Speaker 4: the food, you like the vibe. None of us are
• 55:51
  Speaker 4: going to really get on. I don't want to speak
• 55:53
  Speaker 4: for you, but I am. I don't think any of
• 55:55
  Speaker 4: the two of you are getting on Yelp after saying, wow,
• 55:58
  Speaker 4: I really liked Sarah. She was a wonderful hostess. My
• 56:02
  Speaker 4: server today was great. The food was wonderful. Send my
• 56:05
  Speaker 4: regards to the chef. I'll be happy to come back.
• 56:08
  Speaker 4: I walk away and say, you know what? That was
• 56:10
  Speaker 4: a great restaurant. I'm going to recommend that to my friends.
• 56:13
  Speaker 4: I'm also not the person if I have the worst
• 56:15
  Speaker 4: experience in the world that I'm getting on that and
• 56:17
  Speaker 4: I'm going to yell and scream and yelp about this
• 56:20
  Speaker 4: is like those are the people on X are the
• 56:22
  Speaker 4: same people that get on if their burger was served
• 56:25
  Speaker 4: just a little bit overcooked from their medium rare and
• 56:28
  Speaker 4: they're going to say it's the worst place ever.
• 56:30
  Speaker 2: Don't go to it.
• 56:31
  Speaker 4: Those are the people that get on X and say,
• 56:34
  Speaker 4: I can't stand Carly Lloyd. I can't believe Jenny's staff
• 56:37
  Speaker 4: would say that. Stu Holden is the worst commentator in
• 56:40
  Speaker 4: the whole entire universe. Like those are the same people
• 56:43
  Speaker 4: you're dealing with. And to me, like that just has
• 56:46
  Speaker 4: no credibility. And so that's why when I look at
• 56:48
  Speaker 4: that stuff, I kind of laugh now. I feel like
• 56:50
  Speaker 4: both you guys, that's such great advice.
• 56:52
  Speaker 3: And it's an important conversation to have too for anyone
• 56:55
  Speaker 3: in that space.
• 56:56
  Speaker 6: It's not real world, right? Social is not a real space.
• 57:00
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 57:00
  Speaker 5: Hold that thought. We'll be back with more from Stu Holden.
• 57:14
  Speaker 3: Stu, we've been friends and worked together for so many years,
• 57:17
  Speaker 3: and I have such vivid memories of Kenna as a baby,
• 57:20
  Speaker 3: which is crazy because she's now a preteen. You're coaching soccer.
• 57:23
  Speaker 3: You now have Remy as well. I've got Gigi. We've
• 57:26
  Speaker 3: got Harper and another amazing kid on the way. So
• 57:29
  Speaker 3: has parenthood changed? you know, changed how you approach this
• 57:32
  Speaker 3: job and just kind of take us into that evolution
• 57:35
  Speaker 3: for you because you are ahead of the game with
• 57:37
  Speaker 3: Carly and I if.
• 57:38
  Speaker 6: You want to give any advice.
• 57:41
  Speaker 4: I think what I will say is that parenting and
• 57:45
  Speaker 4: being a dad, and it's the greatest gift you could
• 57:48
  Speaker 4: ever give yourself, I guess, in that way, if you
• 57:52
  Speaker 4: think about it, because truly, I love it.
• 57:56
  Speaker 2: I think you, I know both of you love being parents.
• 57:59
  Speaker 4: And Carly, it was really fun now to be able
• 58:03
  Speaker 4: to talk about this. But I remember vividly you going
• 58:06
  Speaker 4: through a lot when we were all in Sydney together
• 58:08
  Speaker 4: and all the various struggles that you went through to
• 58:12
  Speaker 4: get to this point. And I.
• 58:15
  Speaker 2: Knew I wanted to be a dad at some point
• 58:17
  Speaker 2: in life.
• 58:19
  Speaker 4: Kara and I ended up having one night between my
• 58:22
  Speaker 4: bachelor and her bachelorette party. And then a couple weeks later,
• 58:26
  Speaker 4: we found out she.
• 58:27
  Speaker 2: Was pregnant at the wedding.
• 58:28
  Speaker 4: And we're like, all right, we're going to start this
• 58:30
  Speaker 4: whole marriage thing off pretty well here with kids.
• 58:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 58:35
  Speaker 2: And so now I just think every stage.
• 58:37
  Speaker 4: Is so fun, but it really has given me such
• 58:39
  Speaker 4: a perspective on just... I think really it relates back
• 58:44
  Speaker 4: to all of what we've talked about in this podcast
• 58:46
  Speaker 4: so far about sports and careers and now TV and
• 58:53
  Speaker 4: thinking about dealing with criticism. Like what really matters is
• 58:58
  Speaker 4: when you get off that microphone and you come home
• 59:01
  Speaker 4: and you're a dad and you're raising humans and you're
• 59:04
  Speaker 4: going through all these amazing experiences together. And I think
• 59:08
  Speaker 4: you both are so... great at making time for your families.
• 59:12
  Speaker 4: And Jenny, I never forget you being on your first
• 59:15
  Speaker 4: trip away from Gigi and how hard that.
• 59:16
  Speaker 2: Was for you. And you and I kind of getting
• 59:21
  Speaker 2: closer in those different moments because.
• 59:23
  Speaker 4: Of you leaning on me of how I handled that
• 59:26
  Speaker 4: with Kenna. You being there when I was going through
• 59:28
  Speaker 4: that with Kenna in the first tournament away from her
• 59:30
  Speaker 4: in Russia. And I think all of that is just
• 59:35
  Speaker 4: to say, I've been on this wild ride and seeing
• 59:37
  Speaker 4: the different stages of parenting where you're going through raising
• 59:41
  Speaker 4: a kid that's like a version of a vegetable and
• 59:44
  Speaker 4: you're just like, okay, like this is, is this like
• 59:46
  Speaker 4: human blob something?
• 59:48
  Speaker 2: And then they turn.
• 59:48
  Speaker 4: Into these like humans that smile and laugh and give
• 59:52
  Speaker 4: you so much joy and meaning to life, I think, honestly.
• 59:55
  Speaker 4: And now I'm in this like weird position that's so
• 59:59
  Speaker 4: fun where I'm coaching my kid as a part-time coach
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 4: in U10 soccer. I'm seeing different parents handle all this
• 1:00:06
  Speaker 4: different stuff.
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 2: And this will be for another podcast because parents, as
• 1:00:10
  Speaker 2: we know, are.
• 1:00:10
  Speaker 4: Just absolutely insane about anything for their kids because we
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 4: all want to give our kids a leg up in life.
• 1:00:17
  Speaker 4: But sometimes it just takes you down this path that
• 1:00:21
  Speaker 4: you end up doing crazy, stupid stuff. And I see
• 1:00:25
  Speaker 4: so much of it where parents let that drive the
• 1:00:28
  Speaker 4: experiences for their kids and not let their kids be
• 1:00:31
  Speaker 4: kids and realize that we have to.
• 1:00:34
  Speaker 2: as.
• 1:00:34
  Speaker 4: Parents create an environment where we're nurturing, we're firm, we're
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 4: setting boundaries, we're doing things that are going to upset
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 4: our kids, but it's better for their long term.
• 1:00:46
  Speaker 2: Our kids are growing up in a different life than
• 1:00:48
  Speaker 2: we grew up.
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 4: But still, I want to imprint old school values on
• 1:00:52
  Speaker 4: my kids of appreciating things, of knowing what life is about,
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 4: of knowing what adversity is like. But how do you
• 1:00:59
  Speaker 4: even manufacture that for your my kid in this experience
• 1:01:02
  Speaker 4: when they're growing up in Los Angeles, like, and they
• 1:01:05
  Speaker 4: have everything they could ever want in life. And I
• 1:01:09
  Speaker 4: want to enjoy nice vacations. I want to do nice things,
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 4: but I still want them to have a drive and
• 1:01:16
  Speaker 4: a determination that will take them far in life. And
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 4: I think that's the hardest tightrope that I'm constantly walking
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 4: as a dad is as I sit here up at
• 1:01:26
  Speaker 4: our lake house and we're about to go out on
• 1:01:28
  Speaker 4: the water after this.
• 1:01:29
  Speaker 2: And it's a good life.
• 1:01:31
  Speaker 4: I want them to know that this is a life
• 1:01:34
  Speaker 4: that I've worked really hard for and it's not been
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 4: easy for me. And I've had to go through a
• 1:01:39
  Speaker 4: lot of ups and downs to get to where I
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 4: am and to be able to provide. But still, that
• 1:01:44
  Speaker 4: is the hardest thing I honestly think about.
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 2: Even on the soccer field is.
• 1:01:47
  Speaker 4: My daughter is really motivated. She's really talented. But she's
• 1:01:53
  Speaker 4: not the best one in the state, obviously. And she's
• 1:01:56
  Speaker 4: not the best one in the country. And I try
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 4: to challenge her in different ways to bring the best
• 1:02:02
  Speaker 4: out in her without me overstepping, but knowing like I'm
• 1:02:05
  Speaker 4: trying to lead the horse to water in a way
• 1:02:07
  Speaker 4: if she wants it.
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 2: Like, I think that's the thing.
• 1:02:10
  Speaker 4: That for all of us, you know, Jenny, you had
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 4: a dad that was really successful in, in hockey and
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 4: partly what you achieved in, in your career and how
• 1:02:17
  Speaker 4: your parents motivated you. But I, I think I, I'm
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 4: always fascinated in how we approach that now with our
• 1:02:23
  Speaker 4: kids to try to get them to be as driven
• 1:02:27
  Speaker 4: and as successful as, as all of us are. So
• 1:02:29
  Speaker 4: it's a, it's a long way of setting the conversation
• 1:02:32
  Speaker 4: for something that I think a Just parenting is the best.
• 1:02:36
  Speaker 4: It's it is so awesome. I love I love being
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 4: a dad. It's it's what gives me life.
• 1:02:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I've thought about that as well, Stu, is just,
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 1: you know, I had one pair of cleats that had
• 1:02:49
  Speaker 1: to last me the whole entire year.
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 1: You know, but these kids have the opportunity to have,
• 1:02:55
  Speaker 1: you know, things in the backyard and the net. I mean,
• 1:02:57
  Speaker 1: I didn't even have a soccer goal at my house.
• 1:02:59
  Speaker 1: I'm like, here I am. No soccer goal at the house.
• 1:03:02
  Speaker 1: But surely I made it, you know, so. I think
• 1:03:06
  Speaker 1: as I navigate this, obviously Harper is young and the baby,
• 1:03:09
  Speaker 1: you know, coming soon. But I think that's going to
• 1:03:12
  Speaker 1: be the hardest thing is obviously we have the means
• 1:03:15
  Speaker 1: to give them the opportunities to that we may not
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 1: have had. But how do you balance that? And the
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 1: bigger they get, the bigger the problems.
• 1:03:24
  Speaker 5: They become, right?
• 1:03:25
  Speaker 2: That's very true.
• 1:03:27
  Speaker 3: So, Stu, you let us know how it goes and
• 1:03:29
  Speaker 3: just keep us posted. And we'll do some of the
• 1:03:32
  Speaker 3: things you do and some of the things you don't do.
• 1:03:34
  Speaker 5: Yeah, exactly.
• 1:03:36
  Speaker 3: I mean, this has been so much fun. Stu, we
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 3: so appreciate your time. We obviously love you as a
• 1:03:40
  Speaker 3: person and, you know, colleague.
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 6: And thank you. for being our first guest.
• 1:03:44
  Speaker 5: Yes, thank you for coming on. We feel honored. I
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 5: can't wait. I can't wait to see the behind the scenes.
• 1:03:49
  Speaker 4: I'm going to send you the video of me that
• 1:03:51
  Speaker 4: Carly was talking about where I'm like, oh my God.
• 1:03:53
  Speaker 6: I need to see it. And me in the corner.
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 5: I guess before we go, though, we should ask him, right?
• 1:03:59
  Speaker 4: Yep.
• 1:04:00
  Speaker 1: About your whatever it takes moment where you've had to
• 1:04:03
  Speaker 1: figure out what to do to make you as successful
• 1:04:06
  Speaker 1: as you can be.
• 1:04:07
  Speaker 4: So, I think this parlays into the conversation about parenting
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 4: and experience and.
• 1:04:17
  Speaker 2: Going through adversity.
• 1:04:19
  Speaker 4: I think adversity is what truly shapes our ability to
• 1:04:22
  Speaker 4: sink or swim and creates a personality trait. I think
• 1:04:28
  Speaker 4: that some of that is within, some of it has
• 1:04:31
  Speaker 4: to come to the forefront when you're challenged.
• 1:04:33
  Speaker 2: And I think that's when you find out the most
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 2: about yourself.
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 4: And when I've done some self-reflection, about, I don't know,
• 1:04:41
  Speaker 4: what were the traits or what are the traits that
• 1:04:43
  Speaker 4: I think make me successful to this day? And I
• 1:04:46
  Speaker 4: think that is a lot of just a never say
• 1:04:48
  Speaker 4: die attitude, ability to push through pain, through adversity, to
• 1:04:54
  Speaker 4: rise above, to prove people wrong. I don't know why
• 1:04:58
  Speaker 4: I feel like I need to do that at times,
• 1:05:00
  Speaker 4: but I think I just have this insane drive to
• 1:05:02
  Speaker 4: want to be the best and to be the best.
• 1:05:04
  Speaker 4: I'm constantly competing and But I was smaller growing up.
• 1:05:11
  Speaker 2: I always played up in soccer.
• 1:05:13
  Speaker 4: I had some inherent talent that I think was, you know,
• 1:05:18
  Speaker 4: came from my parents, which I've learned we give our
• 1:05:20
  Speaker 4: kids everything. So when I look at my kids on
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 4: the soccer field, I'm like, you're welcome. And then secondly,
• 1:05:27
  Speaker 4: I think it was honestly, I had a knee injury
• 1:05:30
  Speaker 4: in high school when I was 16. And it was
• 1:05:33
  Speaker 4: something that was minor and then ended up turning into, like,
• 1:05:36
  Speaker 4: I had a cartilage defect that had to be repaired,
• 1:05:38
  Speaker 4: and I was out for way longer than I was
• 1:05:41
  Speaker 4: ever expected to be. And that was, I think, the
• 1:05:44
  Speaker 4: moment when I was 16 years old that everything I
• 1:05:47
  Speaker 4: had dreamed and wanted to be, that was all really
• 1:05:49
  Speaker 4: a dream at that point, which was be a professional
• 1:05:52
  Speaker 4: soccer player. It's all I ever thought was going to happen,
• 1:05:55
  Speaker 4: and I just, like, it was going to happen. It
• 1:05:56
  Speaker 4: was never a question of if, it was just when.
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 4: Then when everything was taken away from me and I
• 1:06:02
  Speaker 4: was out from soccer for eight months, at 16, you
• 1:06:05
  Speaker 4: really don't know what hit you. And I was a
• 1:06:07
  Speaker 4: straight-A student before that. I went to Cs and Ds.
• 1:06:10
  Speaker 2: I was partying. I put on weight.
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 4: And then I kind of had this, like, reconcile, wake
• 1:06:18
  Speaker 4: up call where I was benched of my high school
• 1:06:22
  Speaker 4: team when I got back.
• 1:06:24
  Speaker 2: I didn't feel like myself.
• 1:06:25
  Speaker 4: And I remember my dad saying to me, what you're
• 1:06:28
  Speaker 4: doing now off the field is going to, you're never
• 1:06:31
  Speaker 4: going to get this chance again. So if you want it,
• 1:06:34
  Speaker 4: go get it. If not, just keep doing what you're
• 1:06:36
  Speaker 4: doing because you're just going to kind of drift away.
• 1:06:38
  Speaker 4: drift off into nothing. And that was the real challenge
• 1:06:40
  Speaker 4: moment for me where I challenged myself. I was challenged
• 1:06:43
  Speaker 4: by coaches. I was challenged by my parents. And then I,
• 1:06:46
  Speaker 4: I rose above and I got back and I got
• 1:06:49
  Speaker 4: a scholarship to Clemson and I went as a walk on.
• 1:06:51
  Speaker 4: And then I just, I was in environments that really
• 1:06:55
  Speaker 4: pushed me to be the best. And I think that
• 1:06:57
  Speaker 4: was the, um, The biggest thing I think was just
• 1:07:02
  Speaker 4: learning that I could push through and I could rise
• 1:07:04
  Speaker 4: to challenge and I could do things that I didn't
• 1:07:06
  Speaker 4: think I was capable of before. And it created this
• 1:07:09
  Speaker 4: just insane drive for me that I've maintained throughout the
• 1:07:13
  Speaker 4: rest of my life. And I think that I've never
• 1:07:15
  Speaker 4: let anybody else define who I am.
• 1:07:18
  Speaker 2: I've always been the one that defined my story.
• 1:07:21
  Speaker 4: I probably linked that back to 16 and being written
• 1:07:24
  Speaker 4: off and coaches saying I was never going to be
• 1:07:26
  Speaker 4: big enough or fast enough and I had these injuries
• 1:07:29
  Speaker 4: and I'd never get back from that. And I take
• 1:07:31
  Speaker 4: great pride in proving people wrong. So it's the greatest
• 1:07:33
  Speaker 4: way to like really piss me off and get the
• 1:07:36
  Speaker 4: most out of me is to tell me I can't
• 1:07:37
  Speaker 4: do something because I'm going to try everything to try
• 1:07:39
  Speaker 4: to do that.
• 1:07:41
  Speaker 5: Same with me, Stu.
• 1:07:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 1:07:44
  Speaker 5: I know you're the same way, too. Good company. Good company.
• 1:07:47
  Speaker 3: I love this. That's a good one. I did not
• 1:07:49
  Speaker 3: realize that, Stu. I forgot you're a walk-on, too. Like,
• 1:07:52
  Speaker 3: I always forget that part of your story.
• 1:07:54
  Speaker 2: I think people like Jenny, too.
• 1:07:55
  Speaker 4: Jenny's got this, like, great smile, and you're, like, you're
• 1:08:00
  Speaker 4: so endearing to people, and you're very warm. But I've
• 1:08:02
  Speaker 4: also seen the other side of Jenny Taft, which is, like,
• 1:08:05
  Speaker 4: don't mess with me, dude.
• 1:08:06
  Speaker 2: Like, you have this.
• 1:08:09
  Speaker 2: This cutting edge competitiveness.
• 1:08:11
  Speaker 4: And it doesn't always show in the same way that
• 1:08:15
  Speaker 4: I don't know if people would see the same way,
• 1:08:17
  Speaker 4: like as you said about me, that I'm this way.
• 1:08:20
  Speaker 4: But I just have it in a different way. It's more,
• 1:08:23
  Speaker 4: you mess with the bull, you get the horns. And
• 1:08:25
  Speaker 4: it doesn't happen often. Like even a couple of the
• 1:08:27
  Speaker 4: parents have said they've seen that for me when I'm
• 1:08:29
  Speaker 4: coaching is I'll all of a sudden like flip to
• 1:08:32
  Speaker 4: this serious mode where I'm Like I get into like
• 1:08:35
  Speaker 4: a competitiveness and it's not that I want to win.
• 1:08:37
  Speaker 4: It's as much as like, I just want to push
• 1:08:40
  Speaker 4: people to be their best. And I don't like a
• 1:08:43
  Speaker 4: certain level of blase, just kind of, I'm happy to
• 1:08:47
  Speaker 4: be here. I'm like, if we're going to be here,
• 1:08:48
  Speaker 4: we're going to be here and we're going to, we're
• 1:08:50
  Speaker 4: going to work hard and we're going to do the
• 1:08:52
  Speaker 4: best that we can.
• 1:08:53
  Speaker 5: But I never like kind of half-assed on anything. Yeah.
• 1:08:59
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 1:09:00
  Speaker 6: Carly and I joke about whether we'll be able to
• 1:09:02
  Speaker 6: coach you sports.
• 1:09:03
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 1:09:03
  Speaker 2: We haven't decided. Listen, the ideal role that I've.
• 1:09:05
  Speaker 5: Found so far is assistant coach.
• 1:09:07
  Speaker 4: I can still be just like a dad, but I
• 1:09:10
  Speaker 4: can still kind of, you know, give the parent voice
• 1:09:13
  Speaker 4: when you have to be firm. When your kids are like,
• 1:09:15
  Speaker 4: oh crap, like dad is serious right now. You still
• 1:09:18
  Speaker 4: have to have some of that.
• 1:09:21
  Speaker 5: Oh my gosh.
• 1:09:23
  Speaker 4: Thank you, Stu. This was so fun. I appreciate you both.
• 1:09:27
  Speaker 4: I look forward to listening, watching, seeing all the clips.
• 1:09:31
  Speaker 4: But for now, I'm going to go fire up the
• 1:09:32
  Speaker 4: margarita machine and like get out there on the water
• 1:09:35
  Speaker 4: and be on vacay mode.
• 1:09:37
  Speaker 5: Have a cocktail for me.
• 1:09:38
  Speaker 3: I know.
• 1:09:39
  Speaker 2: Have one for Carly.
• 1:09:40
  Speaker 6: Actually, I'll have one with you later.
• 1:09:41
  Speaker 5: That's a good idea.
• 1:09:44
  Speaker 6: Thank you, Stu.
• 1:09:44
  Speaker 5: Thanks, Stu. We appreciate it.
• 1:09:52
  Speaker 4: Thank you.