Latest / The Erica Show / Soccer Fans Around The World - Manchester City vs. Celtic FC Coming To Chapel Hill - Jamie Watson
Transcript
- 0:00All right, I'm so upxcited. We've already started talking because Jamie's just amazing
- 0:03Jamie Watson instudio, You and Clum and a soccer broadcaster. You've been doing
- 0:07this since you were eighteen. I'm sure it started way before then. But
- 0:10give us a scoop what is going down at Keenan Stadium because everybody's talking about
- 0:15a big event coming in July. Erica, I'm so excited to be here
- 0:19today. I'm a proud tar Heel, so I feel like I'm back home
- 0:23now. You know, I'm a Duke girl, but I love my tar
- 0:25Hill fans because all my best friends are from you and c Look at you.
- 0:28You were being the best representative for Duke that I have ever ever seen.
- 0:32No, And in all seriousness, I love this because we're talking about
- 0:36on Tuesday, July twenty third, at Keenan Stadium, we're gonna have two
- 0:39of the biggest teams in the world, the biggest, the biggest teams we're
- 0:43Manchester City right now, make a history, the best team in the world
- 0:48history. Year after year. It's remarkable. It's crazy to me to think
- 0:52some of the biggest stars and best soccer players in the world. Are going
- 0:55to be playing in the stadium that my dorm room looked out to right and
- 0:58they're going to be playing against one of the most his historic teams in Celtic
- 1:00FC, who have over one hundred trophies in their history. I mean,
- 1:06that's you're talking incredible. You're talking about history, meaning a team that's in
- 1:11the midst of a dynasty and this run that is going to be something that
- 1:15we talk about for decades of how good this Manchester City team is and they're
- 1:22going to be right here. So one of the cool things is when you
- 1:23go to FC series dot com you get your tickets, you'll be there Tuesday,
- 1:26July twenty third. You'll be able to experience a wonderful atmosphere that last
- 1:30year you saw Chelsea play Rexham at Keenan Stadium. They put over fifty thousand
- 1:34people in a sold out venue and the atmosphere inside the stadium and outside of
- 1:38the stadium was simply electric. I had poem because I wasn't there and I
- 1:42was just seeing the pictures. This is incredible to see that crowd. I
- 1:46mean it was incredible and a good cast to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars
- 1:49went to you even see Children's hospital. The proceeds being benefiting U and C
- 1:53Children's Hospital is something that's near and dear to my heart as a parent,
- 1:56obviously as a UNC a lum to know that there is the memories that made
- 2:00last year at that game, new memories will be made on Tuesday, July
- 2:02twenty third, but also there will be that extra impact that will happen,
- 2:07that impact that we may never know the full lengths of, because my goal,
- 2:10my hope, is that we're able to beat that one hundred and fifty
- 2:13thousand dollars and that's lofty and that's crazy to me to think, but that's
- 2:17how impactful FC series wants to be when they have these games. And so
- 2:22I'm really excited. So again FC series dot Com for Tuesday, July twenty
- 2:25third, that's where you could go, and Eric, I hope you'll be
- 2:29there to be able this time so we can't have to be there. Are
- 2:31you excited about the atmosphere before and being able to go meet some new friends
- 2:36And I don't know, maybe by the end of the day. Always do
- 2:38the interviews and I'm like, Okay, what are you most excited about?
- 2:40And then sometimes some people may have had some drinks or a lot of food
- 2:43or whatever it may be. And so you get very interesting stories from everybody.
- 2:46But you get to hear how soccer has changed their lives, their kids
- 2:50are involved in soccer, and how it really has made a difference, the
- 2:53connections that are made and new friends that are made, and the accents,
- 2:55like you're talking exactly right. It's a lot of cool stuff. So I'll
- 2:59be there for sure, getting like meet social media stuff. Good. No,
- 3:01And the cool thing is if you wanted to see Manchester City play,
- 3:05or you wanted to see Celtic play, well we'd have to get on a
- 3:07plane. We'd have to fly to a different continent halfway around the world.
- 3:12Or first up, you go to FC series dot com, you get your
- 3:15tickets and then you drive just down the road to Chapel Hill, the most
- 3:17beautiful campuses in the world. I'm not biased to whatsoever. And you get
- 3:22a chance to be there to watch this game Tuesday, July twenty third.
- 3:24But this is cool. You don't have to be a diehard soccer fan to
- 3:28go here, right, there will be that and there will be that supporter
- 3:30culture in that atmosphere and you can get immersed in it. But if you're
- 3:32a sports fan too and you're like, hey, I love big events,
- 3:36I love being at the event of the summer, whatever it is, I
- 3:38encourage you to go because if you go, you're gonna be enamored with the
- 3:43spectacle that's on the field of the best players in the world. You're gonna
- 3:46be like, this is not what I'm used to seeing on a Sunday at
- 3:50the park. This is world class soccer being played. But it's the people
- 3:53around there as well. It's the community, it's the event, it's the
- 3:57impact that it'll have on the community. That's what is so exciting to me.
- 4:00It's so multi layered, multifaceted, and how it's going to make memories
- 4:04and who knows, it could be the core memory that you're looking for a
- 4:08team and you're like, I like soccer, but which team do I want
- 4:11to go for and who do I want to support and follow? Maybe this
- 4:14is that moment where you fall in love with Celtic or Manchester City. I
- 4:16don't know. Maybe by the end of it, ka you'll have a favorite
- 4:18team team. I have friends flying in from London there, like we have
- 4:21to be at this, Like, how cool is that? Right? They
- 4:25lived here like years ago, and now they're coming back to be at this
- 4:28and you'll get to be the hostess with the mostest show them around, be
- 4:30like this is my area. You're back here, You're back home. Let
- 4:33me take you in my favorite restaurants, and then let's get you out early
- 4:36to the tailgate to have a great time hanging out. And then let's go
- 4:39into the game and yell and scream and go crazy all the things you can't
- 4:43do at work. How did Keenan get chosen? Because they have multiple cities
- 4:46like New York? Is it Orlando? Yeah, some of the biggest markets
- 4:49Atlanta. How did Chapel Hill get on the map for that? Because this
- 4:53is such a huge thing, Like when the Hockey Series came here, it
- 4:56was major that they were here. So how did Keenan get chosen? Simply
- 5:00put, this is a major market for soccer. The checks the box for
- 5:04you soccer, all the soccer fields everywhere. Yes. As a mom,
- 5:06I'm like I didn't know this existed, right, your kids start playing it
- 5:10way, oh my gosh, and you're like, wow, this is incredible.
- 5:13Yeah, not what my parks look like when I was in shit here
- 5:15because there's such a there's such a vibrant soccer culture and an acceptance to it,
- 5:18and you can you got the box ticked for youth soccer, right,
- 5:23But then we get up to the collegiate level, both men's and women's professionally,
- 5:26there's a men's and a women's team here. Wake metd is one of
- 5:29the best complexes in the country bar none. But then last year over fifty
- 5:33thousand people came to the match with Chelsea and Rexham sold out, so it's
- 5:38sort of a no brainer. And this is the first time Celtic is coming
- 5:40to the United States in fourteen years, and they understand that coming to a
- 5:44market like the Triangle is so important to help share their story and grow their
- 5:48brand, yeah, and to be able to display the good soccer on the
- 5:53field. And then one of the best teams in the world chooses and wants
- 5:57to play at Chapel Hill and at Keenan Stadium on July twenty third. It's
- 6:01it's not a coincidence. They understand how appreciated soccer is here and how it's
- 6:06a booming and vibrant and diverse market to be in, so of course they
- 6:11want to be there. Of course, they want to align themselves with a
- 6:14market like this, and I'm so excited. So FC series dot com for
- 6:17Tuesday, July twenty third, Manchester City and Celtic. I know I'll be
- 6:20there, Erica, You'll be there there. I hope the restaurants are very
- 6:24happy because they're like last year was booming, so we can't wait for all
- 6:27the extra business. Great for the economy. I hope your loyal, wonderful
- 6:30listeners will will join us and be there too. It's like a kind of
- 6:32an unofficial meet and greet, and you know they'll get to see you there.
- 6:36I'll be there tagging along as you know. Like I know, Erica,
- 6:40I'll be there you too. I mean, of course you played for
- 6:42unc went pro sins you're eighteen. I mean like you know this. I'm
- 6:45going invested. You're sitting there like, oh my gosh, it's easy to
- 6:47get excited about it. I'm twenty years into being a part of professional soccer
- 6:50in this country. Twelve players started when you were a baby. Then I
- 6:54was just just turned thirty eight last last week. And look, I'm I'm
- 6:59ex this because I am very fortunate as a broadcaster. I get to see
- 7:03soccer from around the world, men's and women's. Manchester City is like appointment
- 7:09television when they play and I'm a parent, I've got work stuff going on,
- 7:14but I still find time to watch them play on TV. Now you're
- 7:17telling me I can drive down the road and like watch them in person,
- 7:20right, Like, That's what gets me excited about is because I'm like,
- 7:23these are people that I'm twenty years in and if they walked by me,
- 7:27I'm gonna be like, Hey, we signed my shirt. Can we take
- 7:29a picture together? Like I'm not supposed to be starstruck at this point,
- 7:32but that's the caliber of players that Manchester City have is I will be like,
- 7:38you know, Early Holland, we take a picture of me, Kevin
- 7:40de Branna, the coach, Pep Guardiola and Celtic have it too. They've
- 7:43got a manager and Brendan Rodgers that I have been a big fan of for
- 7:46a long time. And there's a player Cameron Carter Vickers who plays for the
- 7:50US men's national team and plays over there for Celtics. So there's some household
- 7:55names that will be just down the road from us. That's what's so cool
- 7:59to me is that I get to be here with fifty thousand friends and new
- 8:03friends, and I'll make some new friends and I'll make some new memories and
- 8:05it's all going to happen on Tuesday, July twenty third FC series dot Com.
- 8:09It's how you get your tickets. You're good. I know what they
- 8:11got you. You're good. Hey, No, you're good. This is
- 8:13so fun to talk with. I appreciate you, Erica. Thank you so
- 8:16much for having me on. Thanks Jamie,