April 9, 2025 • 35 mins
RaShauna Hamilton, the vice president of fan growth and community for the Washington Spirit, joins Sarah to discuss why it’s crucial for teams to listen to fans, how to create a memorable game day experience, and why she pivoted from her original goal of being a coach to get into community engagement. Plus, our NCAA tourney bracket winner and a fan meets the moment with an all-time jam.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're still
picking confetti out of our undies from Sunday's national title game.
It's Wednesday, April ninth, and on today's show will be
taking a break from college hoops madness Olivia Miles to
TCU to Naya Lats into South Carolina. Oh, we got
a lot to get to tomorrow, but today we're going
to pivot back to the NWSL and get right into
(00:22):
my conversation with the Washington Spirits vice President of Fan
Growth in Community Rashauna Hamilton. We caught up with their
a couple weeks ago to discuss a brand new season.
What made her pivot from coaching aspirations to community engagement work,
Why it's so crucial for teams and franchises to listen
to their fans and being intentional about uplifting cultures across
the DMV area with the Spirits events and theme nights.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
That interview's coming up right after this.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Joining us now, she's the vice president of Fan Growth
and Community for the washer Rington's Spirit of the National
Women's Soccer League, with previous stops at the Miami Dolphins
and Atlanta Hawks. She's a George Mason University alum and
got her master's at VCU.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
She could be a food photographer.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Based on the snapshots of a recent trip to Austin,
she was eating good and snapping good picks.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
It's Rashaanna Hamilton. Hirashaana, Hi, how are you good?
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Except I was also recently in Austin and I didn't
have nearly as much time as you did to go
to some good restaurants.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Based on those photos, well, I.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Do love to eat. I feel like the only way
to know a city is to eat your way through it,
and I definitely put on a few calories that should
require a couple of jogs once I got home.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
That is my strategy too, But it's also walk, so
I have to walk everywhere so I could see everything
and then break up the walk in with the eaton.
So I'm jealous of your trip. It looked awesome. I
want to go back to the beginning and talk about
your relationship with sports, whether playing or watching growing up,
and how you ended up on this path to working
in them.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Absolutely. My dad was a college basketball coach, and so
I played sports growing up. I watched him. He was
at Yukon and won a national championship at Yukon, actually
won two national championships at Yukon, and so I just
sat on the sidelines watching such great sports happen. That's
why I started playing. I was like, if the boys
(02:17):
can do it, I can do it too. And from
there it just I fell in love with it and
I figured it's time to explore it from a business side.
And it's very different, but I knew that I wanted
to find a way to contribute when my playing days
were over.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yeah, you actually spent some time when you were at
VCU as a women's basketball grad assistant.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Was that the path originally was to get into the
coaching side.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Of course, I was like, Okay, my career is over.
I don't want to go play overseas. I said, I'll
just teach other women how to do this game at
a high level. And what I realized is, hats off
to every college basketball coach on the world, because it
is a tough, tough gig and I feel like nowadays
it's gotten even tougher with the poor and nil It's
(03:01):
just you're really seeing the landscape change in college sports.
And so I thought I was going to be a
college basketball coach, and I took a very hard left
once I got into it.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
What did you like about it coaching?
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Well, I think what's cool about coaching is that you
really get to connect with players. I think that part
is cool, and honestly, they keep you young. I like
to consider myself like fresh and hip. And I was like,
all right, I know all the slang, like I know
what outfits to wear. Right, So I was like, all right,
this will keep me young and keep me cool. Like
to this day, my dad is still probably the coolest man.
(03:34):
I know. I'm like, he's the coolest grandpa in the
world because he's in college, so you know, he always
is telling me what's going on, and I'm like, man,
I need this to rub off on me.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
It's like a job that will both aid you quickly
and keep you young somehow at the same time.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah, And we thought wine was the only thing that
could do that. No college coaching.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
That's right, that's right. Let's talk about the Washington spirit.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
You're a DMV Natives, So what did it mean to
come back to work for a hometown team.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
The spirit is crazy, crazy, crazy big. Right now we
are growing and to come back home and be able
to be part of a club with an owner that
is really growing the game for women is absolutely phenomenal.
I will tell you when I got the call and
I was in Miami, and I said to myself, is
(04:25):
this the time to really take a big jump and
take a leap a little bit of faith because the
NWSL is an emerging league And I looked around at
the ownership, I looked around at what the NWSL was doing,
and it was a no brainer. It also helps that
my mom is still here and I've got two little ones,
(04:45):
so whenever you can live close to a grandma, that's
an easy yes. So I think it was a combination
of right place, right time, but also being a part
of this magnificent growth.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I want to get into some the differences from your
previous positions, but first, like just set the stage a
little by telling us what your main responsibilities are. Some
people might not really know what someone with your job does.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
That is totally fair. I get that question all the time.
What I say is I really kind of work in
three spaces and so fan growth. For us, the first
piece is our operations and running any match at Audifield.
So for us, we have one of the best fan
experiences in the city. Our fans truly love coming to
(05:29):
see us, and my team helps to put on that
experience and helps to really make sure fans are falling
in love with us one game at a time. And
the second space really is our community impact space, and
that's what we do philanthropically to show DC how we
support them. And then the third space that's super important
and this little sliver I think unique right now to
(05:51):
women's sports, is that fan engagement in growth, and that's
where we bring the brand externally to the market and
we meet people where they are to introduce them to us,
but also to get them to get a little taste
of who we are. That is what I like to
call our personality, and so I get a chance to
(06:11):
bring the personality out and about to streets.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
I was a minority owner of the Red Stars for
a couple of years and one of the things that
we talked about is how do we make the game
day experience a little bit more exciting or informative for fans.
How do you use the JumboTron or screens around the
field to be informing them about something that's happening or
a player that's playing because it's really difficult compared to
(06:34):
something like basketball, where you have built in breaks, timeouts, quarters,
et cetera. A lot more opportunities in basketball to have
someone go out and juggle plates or you know, throw
it fris me to a dog or do whatever else
you do to add some entertainment, and some of it
has to feel organic to to the team, even if
it's a new team or only as a couple of
years under its spelled. You also don't want to feel
(06:56):
like you're forcing these activations or moments during the game
onto face and they need to sort of create them themselves.
How do you respond to those restrictions? How do you
make sure that the game day isn't just about pre
and post but also during the game. What's a value
add for fans, especially maybe some who don't know soccer
as well need something to jar them back awake or interested,
you know the newbies that are like, I'm not sure
(07:18):
what's even happening out there.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Well, I think one thing that we've done that has
been super interesting is in your traditional American sports that
we're used to seeing on TV on prime time, they
have all this entertainment that's kind of roaming through the stadium.
We do that as well. So we've created our Spirit Crew,
which is our hype crew, and so they're roaming the concourse,
(07:42):
they're going up into the stands and engaging fans. We're
really taking every opportunity that a person is at the
building to connect with them. So we do your typical
things pre and post because that's important. It's really important time.
But when we have milestone moments within a match, we
make sure to put that on the video board. We're
(08:02):
sending our entertainment crews out so they can be capturing
moments with fans so we can share those as well,
and we try to make a really strong atmosphere. We
try to get the fans prepared to chant and cheer.
We have our supporters teaching all of the chants and
cheers pregame so that by the time the ball goes
in and we start kicking off, everybody's ready. Everybody's knowledgeable
(08:26):
and excited to join us on this journey.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Nice you're a year into the job. You started and
join the team in March of last season. How was
the learning curve after years in the NFL and the NBA.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
I will be.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Honest, it was a little rough. I was like, what
when do we take a break? Like it just keeps going.
I think that was probably the biggest thing to get
used to, which also made me realize I could never
have been a high level athlete in soccer, right. I
played when I was younger, But I was like, oh no,
they just they keep running. That's like their condition for this.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
That's the sport.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Yeah yeah, So I think for me adjusting to that
was great. But what was the same, I think is
the passion. So I think when you are sitting in
a match, watching soccer match amongst nineteen thousand people, it
is a truly electric atmosphere. And I thought because we
(09:24):
didn't have these manufactured moments, that that atmosphere would take
a dip. So I kept assuming to myself. I was like, oh,
you know, we don't have a time out, we don't
have this, we don't have that. Like people are going
to fall asleep, people are going to be uninterested. And
I found that to be untrue in the best of ways.
I think because soccer is such a nail biting sport,
(09:46):
right you just you're waiting and waiting for that magic moment.
I think it keeps fans so interested because they feel
like they cannot leave their seat, because if you leave
your seat and there's that one goal, it's like you
waited all this time to miss the moment. And so
I think that is shocking, but also with shocking to
me coming from these more traditional sports that have so
(10:09):
much stoppage time, But it's also kind of nice. I'm
not sitting in the stands for four or five hours, right, like,
it feels very achievable for our fans.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
What do you think's the biggest difference when you're looking
to serve fans of women's sports in the women's sports
space versus serving fans in men's sports.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
We have done a lot of learning about our fans,
and the biggest difference I see is that our fans
are truly immune to the wins and losses. So I
think in these bigger sports, you see a team has
a bad year, their stadium starts to empty out right,
There's very few of these legacy teams that are fighting,
(10:51):
fighting and fighting for fans. And what we have found
in our segmentation studies is that our fans are really
with us because of what we represent, because of who
we are, because of what we believe in because of
the message that we provide. We are talking about strong
role models with our athletes, we are talking about all
(11:11):
of the community and philanthropic giving that we're doing, and
that message resonates with fans. And what we find as
well is that the soccer community is very tribal, and
so people want to come and they want to be
with their fellow people. That's really what we found, and
so they are there for the experience. But it is
(11:32):
a social gathering as much as it is an entertainment opportunity.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Yeah, I mean, I think, of course it helps a
little with newer, younger leagues because the suffering has only
gone on for so long for the teams that do
struggle in you know, established men's sports. I'm literally wearing
a cubsat right now. You can go one hundred and
eight years without winning it all, and then it does
start to feel like, listen, I love you, I'm going
(11:58):
to keep coming, but figure it out.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
What's interesting is it's a positive, of course that fans
are so aligned with their teams and they stand for
so much more than just soccer. At the same time,
that's a lot of pressure on teams and leagues in
the women's space, to not screw up, to not offend,
to not drop the ball. When it comes to important
social engagement, community engagement, intersectional issues. How intentional do you
(12:24):
have to be because you know that you will hear
it from your fans if you step in it.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Yeah, I think soccer fans are very vocal, but listen,
they are representing a generation where that is the norm.
I think the reality is is as we look at
Generation Z becoming a bigger population of not just the
workforce but consumers, they are an informed generation. They purchase intentionally,
(12:51):
and so what it requires is accountability. And I think
what the brands that are doing it really well, ourselves included,
is that even when we make a misstep, it's about
being accountable within that misstep, right, And so we desperately
try not to and we will always try to be
on the right side of history because that's what our
(13:12):
brands stand for. But it's not to say that these
that behind these brands aren't human beings that make mistakes.
And I think what's really really nice is that gen
Z sees effort, and gen Z ces progress, and gen
Z is empathetic. And so when brands do make a
misstep as long as they're willing to own that. I
think that these consumers and these fans they get it.
(13:33):
They understand. They're like, we are with you, and we
get that. And I think really the NWSL is doing
a great job of being player centric now and so
it's really hard to misstep when you let your players
have a voice. And the NWSL and especially the Spirit
does a really good job of giving the players their voice.
(13:54):
I think we've seen that in the CBA, in this
new CBA, and I think that is what's promising, is
that we are really testing and piloting something different and
saying we think different is better, and let's give it
a chance and see if that is the case.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Yeah, I would agree with you.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
I think the player centric league and then also listening
to fans. And we've seen an example of that of
late with the Boston and WSL team. Right, they rolled
out a name and a brand that was poorly received,
and they said, all right, bet let's go back, let's
listen to y'all, let's try to think about how we
did this and come back and try again. How much
engagement does the Spirit have with supporters groups, fans, message boards,
(14:34):
social media, chats. How much are you trying to keep
up with that, either directly to them or just hovering
behind the scenes and watching to make sure you know
what your fans are saying and thinking about the team
and the choices you're making constantly.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
The easy answer in the one word is constant.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
You got a lot of fence? Does?
Speaker 3 (14:52):
We got a lot of fence does? There's a lot
of us And the best part about being a lean
staff too, is that you have a lot of people
here that are p passionate about the brand, and so
when we are kind of circulating and watching what's happening,
we're doing it because we genuinely care about this organization.
But what's important is that our fans they do They
(15:12):
tell us exactly what they think, They tell us exactly
what they want. And we're also super intentional about not
talking about fans as these groupings of people where they're
not human. Right. Sometimes you hear a lot of marketers
start saying our demographic or this group right, like we
when we talk about them, we truly say our fans.
(15:33):
We do a survey after every match and we go
through and we read the verbatims because we want to
know that a dad brought his daughter, his eight year
old daughter to the match for her birthday with her
eight friends, and he was so overwhelmed and exhausted by
the time that night was over, but it is something
she's going to remember. We get pictures of you know,
(15:56):
ladybugs soccer that came to visit us, and there are
so many of those stories, and that's what we hold
on to, is those individual stories, because every fan matters
to us and we care about every single one of
their journeys and touch points with us.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
I remember talking to former Bull's employee at the time
he was still employed. They're just talking about how important
it is not to look at demographics but instead to
look at behaviors. Because i might be a certain demographic,
but when I'm taking my niece and nephew to a game,
I might be buying more food and candy, you know
that kind of stuff maybe merch for them, and if
I'm going with my friends, I'm buying more beer and
(16:35):
I'm engaging with the product differently. So needing to look
at how someone's behavior impacts how you want to serve
them instead of how they're demographic, might tell you what
you think that they're going to behave as is super important.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
I was reading an interview and you talked.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
About being willing to fail in order to see progress right,
and that you have to sort of take some big
swings and see how they work out. Is there an activation,
an event, a promotion that you remember taking a big
swing on that didn't work and what did you learn
from that?
Speaker 3 (17:01):
Oh, my gosh, I mean so many. You have to
be willing to do it. I think this year we
last year we had a giant American flag that we
had out on the field, and operationally it was tough
for us to do. I think it was you know,
soccer fans, especially Spirit fans, are patriotic and definitely care
(17:25):
about our country, but they're also very informed, and so
I think for them, because that was the only representation
on the field, they were like, well, what about what
about the Spirit? What about? And so to say that
we failed would be accurate because I think they were
expecting so much more of us, And so what we
said is what else can we provide that makes them
(17:46):
feel like they are truly here for a Spirit match?
And we've embraced their sense of identity in that, and
so this year we've we've failed last year at just
the Flag, we figured out how to kind of make
it better operationally, and then and this year we did
a center circle with the Spirit branding, and that's been
why we accepted and loved. We've got people asking us
(18:07):
to be part of that group to do it right,
and we just realized that, hey, there was just a
part of our fans identity that just resonated more and
for us, we were.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Like, we love it.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
We absolutely love having the opportunity to bring you more
Spirit branding. We would love to do that with more merch,
all all of that. So that was probably the one
for us that we thought, Okay, this is a flop.
How do we kind of take this flop and turn
it into something better.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Well, on editorial aside just from me that is not
attached to you in any way, I could see why
people maybe don't want the focus to be on American
patriotism right now. So yeah, we're going to take a
quick break. When we come back, I'm talking food and
fan engagement with Rashaanna Hamilton.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Keep it here. We do look at data for Washington's
Spirit fans.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Are there any surprises when it comes to different demographics
or fan groups? Like, were there numbers that shifted your
approach to outreach weather because you wanted to serve a
fan base that you didn't realize was as big as
it was, or maybe because you wanted to potentially catch
the eye of a fan base that you think you
could grow.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Well. I think what is important right in marketing is
that when you get to know who your core fan is,
that as much as you want to kind of stray
and try to go out and source these new fans,
you do have to think about what is my potential there?
And can I fish in a pond that I already
know is biting? And so we have decided, because of
(19:41):
really what's available to us and our market, We've decided
to fish where we know the fish are biting. And
so what that means for us is we are just
trying to learn more about the fans that have been
loyal to us. So we know about where they're consuming
women's sports, but where they're consuming other information, we try
to show up in those places. I mean, I will
(20:03):
tell you DC is a brunch city, and so last
year we had a game where we did a brunch promotion.
We're trying to expand that and now We're like, who
can we partner with to do brunch out?
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Oh we've seen that with the Mystics with their mimosa
and tickets.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Yeah, it worked out really well. Yeah, you DC folks.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
The DC girl is love, love, love a good brunch.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
I'm here, girl. Why try to fight it day drinking?
You know you're not hung over the next day, you
just hung over that night.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
So we we have kind of leaned into learning more
about our fans. But the same thing we find in
our youth soccer world that we get a lot of
youth soccer, we get a lot of girls that want
to become our athletes, but just girls that are seeing
these role models, and so we lean heavy into that.
(20:54):
I will say we we did see a very small
segment that we think about as like a sports generalist,
so they're just into sports in general. And I was
I was surprised, I think at that one, but not
surprised that they support us because we're winning. I didn't
want to brag, but we are winning. We did with
(21:16):
the Challenge Cup this year.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
We've noticed Yeah, so pretty good over there for y'all
the last couple of years.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Yeah, So I think that helps.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Right, Like we're Yeah, for sure, we're growing well.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
And also I think with the changing dynamic of women's
sports in general, hopefully going to women's events will be
a part of scanning your city for opportunities at entertainment
of all kinds. It used to be very intentional that
it was about being a women's sports fan, so like
in the same way that someone might go to a
baseball game, and if they don't love baseball, just because
(21:47):
it's part of the culture of living somewhere. Now they'll
start going to NWSL games, WNBA games, college women's basketball, like,
hopefully that'll be part of the scan.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Of what are the things you know available to me?
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Yeah, I have to tell you because I think this
is a great, great story on that is that I
had invited I have friends obviously all over the city.
I had invited a couple of my guy friends out.
There was like four of them. They are a little
younger than me, and so they're still in that age
where they have a good time when they go out
and party, and so I said, just come to a
Spirit game, just come to the home opener. You might
(22:20):
have a good time. I just want you to experience it.
They were open to it. They came and after I
get four text messages that was so much fun. Please
let me know when I can come back. But I
think that is the power of women's sports now is
that it's not a charity. It is entertainment and it
is exciting, it's fun to watch. There's a great environment.
(22:40):
And I tell you, I was like, okay, I have
converted four Spirit fans that if you would have asked.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Me, it's cool to be a part of yeah, the
way that it didn't used to be, right. It's part
of the water cooler talk, and it's part of being
able to keep up with what everyone wants to know
about and understand and like go to which is cool.
Last year, the Spirit celebrated the Black community in DC
with a Juneteenth celebration that included honoring Lincoln Phillips, legendary
soccer coach at Howard University, engaging with local small business.
(23:07):
Take us behind the scenes of creating an event like
that and how you can make sure it feels authentic
and not just a one off.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
We are very intentional about talking to each community that
we identify and want to celebrate, and so specifically for Juneteenth,
we worked with curators at the Smithsonian African American Museum.
We worked with local community members, members that are running
nonprofits that help tell stories within DC of the black community.
(23:34):
And also, for so long d C had really been
known as Chocolate City. It had been known as a
safe haven in a place where black people can thrive
with culture, economically, with homes, and so Juneteenth gave us
an opportunity to embrace that. And the great thing about
being a DC native is that I already know the inroads,
(23:56):
I already know where to go. I've been in this
city for years, and so getting an opportunity to work
with those groups that helps it feel authentic. We're not
just pretending we are living these values. We are living
these moments, and we are really taking the time to
make sure if we are going to celebrate this group
of people and show the world how beautiful their culture is,
(24:18):
that we do that in a way that they would
feel proud of us for helping to do. And so
I think it's just about if you are not the expert,
and if you are not the person, then you go
find that expert and be perfectly okay being a good listener.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
In addition to Juneteenth event, this year, you'll have that again.
You'll also have special theme games for things like Pride
and Hispanic Heritage among others. So there anything you can
tell us about what might be planned for this year
in terms of the theme nights you're having.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Listen, theme nights are a big deal over here. Okay,
We've got thirteen opportunities to bring fans out. And when
we say we know how to party for a theme,
we've been it. This year, we have our pitch side
pups have Pride, as you mentioned, we have Hispanic Heritage month.
We're working with our local Hispanic radio contacts to make
(25:08):
sure that again we're celebrating authentically. We're working with small businesses,
so we had Hispanic owned food trucks that partnered with
us last year. Anybody who experiences culture knows the number
one way to do it is through food, and so
you will always see us getting fans an opportunity to
have food be part of that culture. And so you'll
(25:31):
see that pregame in our new tailgating space. We have
just very much up to the ante when it comes
to theme nights. And I'm like, at this pace, I
don't know what we're going to do next year to
blow this year.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Out of the water.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
What's the date on that Pitch side Pups. I will
attend anything with dogs.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Pitchside Puffs is coming very very very soon. So that
is our May second game. May second, We've got you down.
So we've got you and your down for May second
we go. It's also our celebration of AAPI heritage months.
So you'll get a combination of really strong food, really
good culture, and some cute pups.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Perfect. We'll hit the road right now, I'll throw them
in the car.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Women's soccer in the US used to be a predominantly
white sport, but that's changing.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
There are some of the biggest names now women of.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Color, whether that's Triple Espresso like Trinity Rodman, Mausewans, and
Sophia Wilson formerly Sophia Smith, or international stars like Tamushawinga
and Barbara Banda. How does your approach to community connection
change because the makeup of the sport is changing.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
Now because it is a global game. I think here
we are looking to bring that access to the communities
that historically have not had it, and so we do
that by partnering with community organizations. For US, that's organizations
like Boys and Girls Club and DC Scores, they are
already doing programming. They already are engaging with kids in
(26:58):
programming to help produce better outcomes for those kids. And
so what we do is we work with them to
help bring soccer as an avenue for them to experience sport.
And I think what we're finding is as we're going
into black and brown communities here, it is becoming more accessible,
more acceptable, it's becoming an option. I think they're also
(27:20):
seeing role models that look like them. Right, if you
can see it, you can be it. And so for
us it really has changed. I mean, our stadium is
in the Anacostia Navy Yard area, which is a historically
black community in DC, and so instead of going out
to more suburban communities, we've said, hey, if we want
to grow the game in black and brown communities, we
(27:42):
can actually do that right where Autyfield sits. How do
we work with DC Parks and rec How do we
work with some of these nonprofits that are in that community,
because we know that by doing that it helps further
our game, but it also helps clear that participation gap.
And I have to tell you that's important because in
a city with such a high minority population. We also
(28:03):
have the largest gap between girls and boys playing sports
in the entire country. We are the smallest space, but
we have a twenty percent difference in the amount of
girls in the amount of boys that are playing sports
in general. And so we have looked at that problem
and said, how do we help do our part to
fix it if nothing else in our sport.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Yeah, one of your superstars, Trinity Rodman, the kind of
player that sells tickets helps with the whole fan growth
part of your jobs. Real nice when she talks about
how playing club footy overseas is an inevitability, How does
that change your timeline for promoting her and centering her
in your efforts if you're aware that you might not
(28:49):
always have a Trinity Rodman in a Washington Spirit Jersey.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Listen, we have the Michelle Kange effect, and I think
that is more than enough. We are a global brand
is simply by having the Michelle Kaning effect. And I
think we continue to support our players. We continue to
really highlight our players, understand their talent, and I think
Michelle has been great at investing in the talent that
(29:13):
our women have. And we are focused on making sure
as many fans as possible, and DC could come out
and see Trinity play. And so I think you know,
for us, is it is that simple? It's focusing on
those things.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
So is the Michelle Kang effect?
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Don't count on Trinity leaving because we're going to convince her.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
To stay, or is it count on Michelle being able
to get the next Trinity run?
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Listen, all I know is I leave the sporting ops
to sporting.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Good answer, Good answer. Let's talk Michelle King.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
How involved does she in the team's community outreach and
engagement with fans?
Speaker 2 (29:48):
How much do you interact with her as an owner in.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
The presentation of what your team stands for and how
you want to engage with the community.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
Michelle really sets the tone for the team. The one
thing I will say is that Michelle King as an owner,
and the one word I will use is visionary. She
is involved in what we're doing. She is invested in
what we're doing, and she also understands the importance of
doing it in the nation's capital in DC. And so
she has invested in women's sports, but she's also looking
(30:18):
around DC and making sure that she's investing in DC.
So it's been exciting I think to have such a
visionary woman really helping the city.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
When I think of Michelle King, the one word that
comes to mind for me is fits. Legendary fits. Do
you have a favorite and doesn't involve a cape?
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Okay, my favorite Michelle look as I like to say
that eliewuk K is really anytime she gives me a sunglasses,
like any sunglass she gives me, I'm like, when we
have a meeting or or I shouldn't say a meeting.
When we are at a match and Michelle throws on
one of her glasses, I'm like, I'm here for this energy.
(31:00):
The thing amazing is about to happen and I'm about
to witness it. And I think, what's really cool is
that Michelle knows that her fashion is iconic and she
owns it. And she's like, don't believe me, just watch right.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
No, it's a power play for sure.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
I remember meeting her and being introduced to hers one
of the owners of the Red Stars, and I was
wearing jeans and a like zip up and she had
one of her looks on and I was like, yeah,
these are not the same people economically and otherwise.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Rashana, thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
It's so fun to get a peek behind what teams
are doing, and there's so much good stuff happening at
the Spirit. It's nice to hear how y'all are getting
it done.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Yeah, we are trying, I will say, we are trying
to build little Spirit fans everywhere, big Spirit fans everywhere.
We are trying to do our part on the field.
But I think what's really cool is that we are
really trying to engage fans in a different way. We
are trying to show them how fun soccer is. And
I will tell you being able to witness even the
(32:00):
smallest how Hirschfeldt fan has been ultimately life changing. I
mean when you see a kid start crying because of
the way that how brought us into that extra time
and got some penalty kick action in the semi final
last year. I think it's just really symbolism of things
to come with this club, and I'm excited to see
(32:22):
how we keep growing and keep progressing and moving forward.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Thanks so much for Shauna. Yes, we have to take
another quick break when we return. Highlights that eat meet
a song that slaps welcome back slices first, a quick
(32:48):
shout out to Mary Zee, who won the Good Game
with Sarah Spain bracket challenge, and not only that, she's
a Connecticut resident and Yukon fan who made the trek
to Tampa and got to see her squad win in person.
Who's the big winner, clearly, Mary, Prize coming your way
just as soon as they get my ass to the
post office.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Mary.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
We love that you're listening, but we want to get
you in the game every day too, So here's our
good gameplay of the day. If you find yourself in
the DMV area, or if you live there like meish
make your way to some Washington Spirit games and community
events this season. Sounds like Rashana's got some really amazing
things planned, so you don't want to miss out. We
always love to hear from you slices, so hit us
up on email. Good Game at Wondermedia network dot com
(33:27):
and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review. It's easy.
Watch the folks who gave the women's tourney their one
Shining Moment review ten out of ten, given the people
what they want rating. Every year, the Men's NCAA Hoops
Tournament ends with a video montage of highlights set to
the now iconic song one shining moment. The women don't
(33:48):
get the same treatment, so someone stepped in to make
things right. Shout out at Trilly Donovan two on Twitter
for creating their own montage of highlights from The Big Dance,
appropriately set to I Want to Dance with Somebody and
all time banger truly Whitney Houston forever and honestly Trollie
Donovan two forever.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Thanks for doing that. We'll link to the video in
our show notes. Now it's your turn to rate and review.
Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
Slices, Good Game, Rashaana, Good Game, Washington Spirit, few sports
teams smiling and taking photos at the White House as
if the world, our savings, our healthcare, our rights, and
our due process aren't all completely and totally right now
because the man you're smiling with looking at you Dodgers.
(34:33):
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our Executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.
Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez and Grace Lynch.
(34:55):
Our associate producer is Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host
Sarah Spain
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're still
picking confetti out of our undies from Sunday's national title game.
It's Wednesday, April ninth, and on today's show will be
taking a break from college hoops madness Olivia Miles to
TCU to Naya Lats into South Carolina. Oh, we got
a lot to get to tomorrow, but today we're going
to pivot back to the NWSL and get right into
(00:22):
my conversation with the Washington Spirits vice President of Fan
Growth in Community Rashauna Hamilton. We caught up with their
a couple weeks ago to discuss a brand new season.
What made her pivot from coaching aspirations to community engagement work,
Why it's so crucial for teams and franchises to listen
to their fans and being intentional about uplifting cultures across
the DMV area with the Spirits events and theme nights.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
That interview's coming up right after this.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Joining us now, she's the vice president of Fan Growth
and Community for the washer Rington's Spirit of the National
Women's Soccer League, with previous stops at the Miami Dolphins
and Atlanta Hawks. She's a George Mason University alum and
got her master's at VCU.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
She could be a food photographer.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Based on the snapshots of a recent trip to Austin,
she was eating good and snapping good picks.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
It's Rashaanna Hamilton. Hirashaana, Hi, how are you good?
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Except I was also recently in Austin and I didn't
have nearly as much time as you did to go
to some good restaurants.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Based on those photos, well, I.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Do love to eat. I feel like the only way
to know a city is to eat your way through it,
and I definitely put on a few calories that should
require a couple of jogs once I got home.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
That is my strategy too, But it's also walk, so
I have to walk everywhere so I could see everything
and then break up the walk in with the eaton.
So I'm jealous of your trip. It looked awesome. I
want to go back to the beginning and talk about
your relationship with sports, whether playing or watching growing up,
and how you ended up on this path to working
in them.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Absolutely. My dad was a college basketball coach, and so
I played sports growing up. I watched him. He was
at Yukon and won a national championship at Yukon, actually
won two national championships at Yukon, and so I just
sat on the sidelines watching such great sports happen. That's
why I started playing. I was like, if the boys
(02:17):
can do it, I can do it too. And from
there it just I fell in love with it and
I figured it's time to explore it from a business side.
And it's very different, but I knew that I wanted
to find a way to contribute when my playing days
were over.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yeah, you actually spent some time when you were at
VCU as a women's basketball grad assistant.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Was that the path originally was to get into the
coaching side.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Of course, I was like, Okay, my career is over.
I don't want to go play overseas. I said, I'll
just teach other women how to do this game at
a high level. And what I realized is, hats off
to every college basketball coach on the world, because it
is a tough, tough gig and I feel like nowadays
it's gotten even tougher with the poor and nil It's
(03:01):
just you're really seeing the landscape change in college sports.
And so I thought I was going to be a
college basketball coach, and I took a very hard left
once I got into it.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
What did you like about it coaching?
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Well, I think what's cool about coaching is that you
really get to connect with players. I think that part
is cool, and honestly, they keep you young. I like
to consider myself like fresh and hip. And I was like,
all right, I know all the slang, like I know
what outfits to wear. Right, So I was like, all right,
this will keep me young and keep me cool. Like
to this day, my dad is still probably the coolest man.
(03:34):
I know. I'm like, he's the coolest grandpa in the
world because he's in college, so you know, he always
is telling me what's going on, and I'm like, man,
I need this to rub off on me.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
It's like a job that will both aid you quickly
and keep you young somehow at the same time.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah, And we thought wine was the only thing that
could do that. No college coaching.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
That's right, that's right. Let's talk about the Washington spirit.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
You're a DMV Natives, So what did it mean to
come back to work for a hometown team.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
The spirit is crazy, crazy, crazy big. Right now we
are growing and to come back home and be able
to be part of a club with an owner that
is really growing the game for women is absolutely phenomenal.
I will tell you when I got the call and
I was in Miami, and I said to myself, is
(04:25):
this the time to really take a big jump and
take a leap a little bit of faith because the
NWSL is an emerging league And I looked around at
the ownership, I looked around at what the NWSL was doing,
and it was a no brainer. It also helps that
my mom is still here and I've got two little ones,
(04:45):
so whenever you can live close to a grandma, that's
an easy yes. So I think it was a combination
of right place, right time, but also being a part
of this magnificent growth.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I want to get into some the differences from your
previous positions, but first, like just set the stage a
little by telling us what your main responsibilities are. Some
people might not really know what someone with your job does.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
That is totally fair. I get that question all the time.
What I say is I really kind of work in
three spaces and so fan growth. For us, the first
piece is our operations and running any match at Audifield.
So for us, we have one of the best fan
experiences in the city. Our fans truly love coming to
(05:29):
see us, and my team helps to put on that
experience and helps to really make sure fans are falling
in love with us one game at a time. And
the second space really is our community impact space, and
that's what we do philanthropically to show DC how we
support them. And then the third space that's super important
and this little sliver I think unique right now to
(05:51):
women's sports, is that fan engagement in growth, and that's
where we bring the brand externally to the market and
we meet people where they are to introduce them to us,
but also to get them to get a little taste
of who we are. That is what I like to
call our personality, and so I get a chance to
(06:11):
bring the personality out and about to streets.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
I was a minority owner of the Red Stars for
a couple of years and one of the things that
we talked about is how do we make the game
day experience a little bit more exciting or informative for fans.
How do you use the JumboTron or screens around the
field to be informing them about something that's happening or
a player that's playing because it's really difficult compared to
(06:34):
something like basketball, where you have built in breaks, timeouts, quarters,
et cetera. A lot more opportunities in basketball to have
someone go out and juggle plates or you know, throw
it fris me to a dog or do whatever else
you do to add some entertainment, and some of it
has to feel organic to to the team, even if
it's a new team or only as a couple of
years under its spelled. You also don't want to feel
(06:56):
like you're forcing these activations or moments during the game
onto face and they need to sort of create them themselves.
How do you respond to those restrictions? How do you
make sure that the game day isn't just about pre
and post but also during the game. What's a value
add for fans, especially maybe some who don't know soccer
as well need something to jar them back awake or interested,
you know the newbies that are like, I'm not sure
(07:18):
what's even happening out there.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Well, I think one thing that we've done that has
been super interesting is in your traditional American sports that
we're used to seeing on TV on prime time, they
have all this entertainment that's kind of roaming through the stadium.
We do that as well. So we've created our Spirit Crew,
which is our hype crew, and so they're roaming the concourse,
(07:42):
they're going up into the stands and engaging fans. We're
really taking every opportunity that a person is at the
building to connect with them. So we do your typical
things pre and post because that's important. It's really important time.
But when we have milestone moments within a match, we
make sure to put that on the video board. We're
(08:02):
sending our entertainment crews out so they can be capturing
moments with fans so we can share those as well,
and we try to make a really strong atmosphere. We
try to get the fans prepared to chant and cheer.
We have our supporters teaching all of the chants and
cheers pregame so that by the time the ball goes
in and we start kicking off, everybody's ready. Everybody's knowledgeable
(08:26):
and excited to join us on this journey.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Nice you're a year into the job. You started and
join the team in March of last season. How was
the learning curve after years in the NFL and the NBA.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
I will be.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Honest, it was a little rough. I was like, what
when do we take a break? Like it just keeps going.
I think that was probably the biggest thing to get
used to, which also made me realize I could never
have been a high level athlete in soccer, right. I
played when I was younger, But I was like, oh no,
they just they keep running. That's like their condition for this.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
That's the sport.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Yeah yeah, So I think for me adjusting to that
was great. But what was the same, I think is
the passion. So I think when you are sitting in
a match, watching soccer match amongst nineteen thousand people, it
is a truly electric atmosphere. And I thought because we
(09:24):
didn't have these manufactured moments, that that atmosphere would take
a dip. So I kept assuming to myself. I was like, oh,
you know, we don't have a time out, we don't
have this, we don't have that. Like people are going
to fall asleep, people are going to be uninterested. And
I found that to be untrue in the best of ways.
I think because soccer is such a nail biting sport,
(09:46):
right you just you're waiting and waiting for that magic moment.
I think it keeps fans so interested because they feel
like they cannot leave their seat, because if you leave
your seat and there's that one goal, it's like you
waited all this time to miss the moment. And so
I think that is shocking, but also with shocking to
me coming from these more traditional sports that have so
(10:09):
much stoppage time, But it's also kind of nice. I'm
not sitting in the stands for four or five hours, right, like,
it feels very achievable for our fans.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
What do you think's the biggest difference when you're looking
to serve fans of women's sports in the women's sports
space versus serving fans in men's sports.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
We have done a lot of learning about our fans,
and the biggest difference I see is that our fans
are truly immune to the wins and losses. So I
think in these bigger sports, you see a team has
a bad year, their stadium starts to empty out right,
There's very few of these legacy teams that are fighting,
(10:51):
fighting and fighting for fans. And what we have found
in our segmentation studies is that our fans are really
with us because of what we represent, because of who
we are, because of what we believe in because of
the message that we provide. We are talking about strong
role models with our athletes, we are talking about all
(11:11):
of the community and philanthropic giving that we're doing, and
that message resonates with fans. And what we find as
well is that the soccer community is very tribal, and
so people want to come and they want to be
with their fellow people. That's really what we found, and
so they are there for the experience. But it is
(11:32):
a social gathering as much as it is an entertainment opportunity.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Yeah, I mean, I think, of course it helps a
little with newer, younger leagues because the suffering has only
gone on for so long for the teams that do
struggle in you know, established men's sports. I'm literally wearing
a cubsat right now. You can go one hundred and
eight years without winning it all, and then it does
start to feel like, listen, I love you, I'm going
(11:58):
to keep coming, but figure it out.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
What's interesting is it's a positive, of course that fans
are so aligned with their teams and they stand for
so much more than just soccer. At the same time,
that's a lot of pressure on teams and leagues in
the women's space, to not screw up, to not offend,
to not drop the ball. When it comes to important
social engagement, community engagement, intersectional issues. How intentional do you
(12:24):
have to be because you know that you will hear
it from your fans if you step in it.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Yeah, I think soccer fans are very vocal, but listen,
they are representing a generation where that is the norm.
I think the reality is is as we look at
Generation Z becoming a bigger population of not just the
workforce but consumers, they are an informed generation. They purchase intentionally,
(12:51):
and so what it requires is accountability. And I think
what the brands that are doing it really well, ourselves included,
is that even when we make a misstep, it's about
being accountable within that misstep, right, And so we desperately
try not to and we will always try to be
on the right side of history because that's what our
(13:12):
brands stand for. But it's not to say that these
that behind these brands aren't human beings that make mistakes.
And I think what's really really nice is that gen
Z sees effort, and gen Z ces progress, and gen
Z is empathetic. And so when brands do make a
misstep as long as they're willing to own that. I
think that these consumers and these fans they get it.
(13:33):
They understand. They're like, we are with you, and we
get that. And I think really the NWSL is doing
a great job of being player centric now and so
it's really hard to misstep when you let your players
have a voice. And the NWSL and especially the Spirit
does a really good job of giving the players their voice.
(13:54):
I think we've seen that in the CBA, in this
new CBA, and I think that is what's promising, is
that we are really testing and piloting something different and
saying we think different is better, and let's give it
a chance and see if that is the case.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Yeah, I would agree with you.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
I think the player centric league and then also listening
to fans. And we've seen an example of that of
late with the Boston and WSL team. Right, they rolled
out a name and a brand that was poorly received,
and they said, all right, bet let's go back, let's
listen to y'all, let's try to think about how we
did this and come back and try again. How much
engagement does the Spirit have with supporters groups, fans, message boards,
(14:34):
social media, chats. How much are you trying to keep
up with that, either directly to them or just hovering
behind the scenes and watching to make sure you know
what your fans are saying and thinking about the team
and the choices you're making constantly.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
The easy answer in the one word is constant.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
You got a lot of fence? Does?
Speaker 3 (14:52):
We got a lot of fence does? There's a lot
of us And the best part about being a lean
staff too, is that you have a lot of people
here that are p passionate about the brand, and so
when we are kind of circulating and watching what's happening,
we're doing it because we genuinely care about this organization.
But what's important is that our fans they do They
(15:12):
tell us exactly what they think, They tell us exactly
what they want. And we're also super intentional about not
talking about fans as these groupings of people where they're
not human. Right. Sometimes you hear a lot of marketers
start saying our demographic or this group right, like we
when we talk about them, we truly say our fans.
(15:33):
We do a survey after every match and we go
through and we read the verbatims because we want to
know that a dad brought his daughter, his eight year
old daughter to the match for her birthday with her
eight friends, and he was so overwhelmed and exhausted by
the time that night was over, but it is something
she's going to remember. We get pictures of you know,
(15:56):
ladybugs soccer that came to visit us, and there are
so many of those stories, and that's what we hold
on to, is those individual stories, because every fan matters
to us and we care about every single one of
their journeys and touch points with us.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
I remember talking to former Bull's employee at the time
he was still employed. They're just talking about how important
it is not to look at demographics but instead to
look at behaviors. Because i might be a certain demographic,
but when I'm taking my niece and nephew to a game,
I might be buying more food and candy, you know
that kind of stuff maybe merch for them, and if
I'm going with my friends, I'm buying more beer and
(16:35):
I'm engaging with the product differently. So needing to look
at how someone's behavior impacts how you want to serve
them instead of how they're demographic, might tell you what
you think that they're going to behave as is super important.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
I was reading an interview and you talked.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
About being willing to fail in order to see progress right,
and that you have to sort of take some big
swings and see how they work out. Is there an activation,
an event, a promotion that you remember taking a big
swing on that didn't work and what did you learn
from that?
Speaker 3 (17:01):
Oh, my gosh, I mean so many. You have to
be willing to do it. I think this year we
last year we had a giant American flag that we
had out on the field, and operationally it was tough
for us to do. I think it was you know,
soccer fans, especially Spirit fans, are patriotic and definitely care
(17:25):
about our country, but they're also very informed, and so
I think for them, because that was the only representation
on the field, they were like, well, what about what
about the Spirit? What about? And so to say that
we failed would be accurate because I think they were
expecting so much more of us, And so what we
said is what else can we provide that makes them
(17:46):
feel like they are truly here for a Spirit match?
And we've embraced their sense of identity in that, and
so this year we've we've failed last year at just
the Flag, we figured out how to kind of make
it better operationally, and then and this year we did
a center circle with the Spirit branding, and that's been
why we accepted and loved. We've got people asking us
(18:07):
to be part of that group to do it right,
and we just realized that, hey, there was just a
part of our fans identity that just resonated more and
for us, we were.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Like, we love it.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
We absolutely love having the opportunity to bring you more
Spirit branding. We would love to do that with more merch,
all all of that. So that was probably the one
for us that we thought, Okay, this is a flop.
How do we kind of take this flop and turn
it into something better.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Well, on editorial aside just from me that is not
attached to you in any way, I could see why
people maybe don't want the focus to be on American
patriotism right now. So yeah, we're going to take a
quick break. When we come back, I'm talking food and
fan engagement with Rashaanna Hamilton.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Keep it here. We do look at data for Washington's
Spirit fans.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Are there any surprises when it comes to different demographics
or fan groups? Like, were there numbers that shifted your
approach to outreach weather because you wanted to serve a
fan base that you didn't realize was as big as
it was, or maybe because you wanted to potentially catch
the eye of a fan base that you think you
could grow.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Well. I think what is important right in marketing is
that when you get to know who your core fan is,
that as much as you want to kind of stray
and try to go out and source these new fans,
you do have to think about what is my potential there?
And can I fish in a pond that I already
know is biting? And so we have decided, because of
(19:41):
really what's available to us and our market, We've decided
to fish where we know the fish are biting. And
so what that means for us is we are just
trying to learn more about the fans that have been
loyal to us. So we know about where they're consuming
women's sports, but where they're consuming other information, we try
to show up in those places. I mean, I will
(20:03):
tell you DC is a brunch city, and so last
year we had a game where we did a brunch promotion.
We're trying to expand that and now We're like, who
can we partner with to do brunch out?
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Oh we've seen that with the Mystics with their mimosa
and tickets.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Yeah, it worked out really well. Yeah, you DC folks.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
The DC girl is love, love, love a good brunch.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
I'm here, girl. Why try to fight it day drinking?
You know you're not hung over the next day, you
just hung over that night.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
So we we have kind of leaned into learning more
about our fans. But the same thing we find in
our youth soccer world that we get a lot of
youth soccer, we get a lot of girls that want
to become our athletes, but just girls that are seeing
these role models, and so we lean heavy into that.
(20:54):
I will say we we did see a very small
segment that we think about as like a sports generalist,
so they're just into sports in general. And I was
I was surprised, I think at that one, but not
surprised that they support us because we're winning. I didn't
want to brag, but we are winning. We did with
(21:16):
the Challenge Cup this year.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
We've noticed Yeah, so pretty good over there for y'all
the last couple of years.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Yeah, So I think that helps.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Right, Like we're Yeah, for sure, we're growing well.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
And also I think with the changing dynamic of women's
sports in general, hopefully going to women's events will be
a part of scanning your city for opportunities at entertainment
of all kinds. It used to be very intentional that
it was about being a women's sports fan, so like
in the same way that someone might go to a
baseball game, and if they don't love baseball, just because
(21:47):
it's part of the culture of living somewhere. Now they'll
start going to NWSL games, WNBA games, college women's basketball, like,
hopefully that'll be part of the scan.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Of what are the things you know available to me?
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Yeah, I have to tell you because I think this
is a great, great story on that is that I
had invited I have friends obviously all over the city.
I had invited a couple of my guy friends out.
There was like four of them. They are a little
younger than me, and so they're still in that age
where they have a good time when they go out
and party, and so I said, just come to a
Spirit game, just come to the home opener. You might
(22:20):
have a good time. I just want you to experience it.
They were open to it. They came and after I
get four text messages that was so much fun. Please
let me know when I can come back. But I
think that is the power of women's sports now is
that it's not a charity. It is entertainment and it
is exciting, it's fun to watch. There's a great environment.
(22:40):
And I tell you, I was like, okay, I have
converted four Spirit fans that if you would have asked.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Me, it's cool to be a part of yeah, the
way that it didn't used to be, right. It's part
of the water cooler talk, and it's part of being
able to keep up with what everyone wants to know
about and understand and like go to which is cool.
Last year, the Spirit celebrated the Black community in DC
with a Juneteenth celebration that included honoring Lincoln Phillips, legendary
soccer coach at Howard University, engaging with local small business.
(23:07):
Take us behind the scenes of creating an event like
that and how you can make sure it feels authentic
and not just a one off.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
We are very intentional about talking to each community that
we identify and want to celebrate, and so specifically for Juneteenth,
we worked with curators at the Smithsonian African American Museum.
We worked with local community members, members that are running
nonprofits that help tell stories within DC of the black community.
(23:34):
And also, for so long d C had really been
known as Chocolate City. It had been known as a
safe haven in a place where black people can thrive
with culture, economically, with homes, and so Juneteenth gave us
an opportunity to embrace that. And the great thing about
being a DC native is that I already know the inroads,
(23:56):
I already know where to go. I've been in this
city for years, and so getting an opportunity to work
with those groups that helps it feel authentic. We're not
just pretending we are living these values. We are living
these moments, and we are really taking the time to
make sure if we are going to celebrate this group
of people and show the world how beautiful their culture is,
(24:18):
that we do that in a way that they would
feel proud of us for helping to do. And so
I think it's just about if you are not the expert,
and if you are not the person, then you go
find that expert and be perfectly okay being a good listener.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
In addition to Juneteenth event, this year, you'll have that again.
You'll also have special theme games for things like Pride
and Hispanic Heritage among others. So there anything you can
tell us about what might be planned for this year
in terms of the theme nights you're having.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Listen, theme nights are a big deal over here. Okay,
We've got thirteen opportunities to bring fans out. And when
we say we know how to party for a theme,
we've been it. This year, we have our pitch side
pups have Pride, as you mentioned, we have Hispanic Heritage month.
We're working with our local Hispanic radio contacts to make
(25:08):
sure that again we're celebrating authentically. We're working with small businesses,
so we had Hispanic owned food trucks that partnered with
us last year. Anybody who experiences culture knows the number
one way to do it is through food, and so
you will always see us getting fans an opportunity to
have food be part of that culture. And so you'll
(25:31):
see that pregame in our new tailgating space. We have
just very much up to the ante when it comes
to theme nights. And I'm like, at this pace, I
don't know what we're going to do next year to
blow this year.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Out of the water.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
What's the date on that Pitch side Pups. I will
attend anything with dogs.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Pitchside Puffs is coming very very very soon. So that
is our May second game. May second, We've got you down.
So we've got you and your down for May second
we go. It's also our celebration of AAPI heritage months.
So you'll get a combination of really strong food, really
good culture, and some cute pups.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Perfect. We'll hit the road right now, I'll throw them
in the car.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Women's soccer in the US used to be a predominantly
white sport, but that's changing.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
There are some of the biggest names now women of.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Color, whether that's Triple Espresso like Trinity Rodman, Mausewans, and
Sophia Wilson formerly Sophia Smith, or international stars like Tamushawinga
and Barbara Banda. How does your approach to community connection
change because the makeup of the sport is changing.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
Now because it is a global game. I think here
we are looking to bring that access to the communities
that historically have not had it, and so we do
that by partnering with community organizations. For US, that's organizations
like Boys and Girls Club and DC Scores, they are
already doing programming. They already are engaging with kids in
(26:58):
programming to help produce better outcomes for those kids. And
so what we do is we work with them to
help bring soccer as an avenue for them to experience sport.
And I think what we're finding is as we're going
into black and brown communities here, it is becoming more accessible,
more acceptable, it's becoming an option. I think they're also
(27:20):
seeing role models that look like them. Right, if you
can see it, you can be it. And so for
us it really has changed. I mean, our stadium is
in the Anacostia Navy Yard area, which is a historically
black community in DC, and so instead of going out
to more suburban communities, we've said, hey, if we want
to grow the game in black and brown communities, we
(27:42):
can actually do that right where Autyfield sits. How do
we work with DC Parks and rec How do we
work with some of these nonprofits that are in that community,
because we know that by doing that it helps further
our game, but it also helps clear that participation gap.
And I have to tell you that's important because in
a city with such a high minority population. We also
(28:03):
have the largest gap between girls and boys playing sports
in the entire country. We are the smallest space, but
we have a twenty percent difference in the amount of
girls in the amount of boys that are playing sports
in general. And so we have looked at that problem
and said, how do we help do our part to
fix it if nothing else in our sport.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Yeah, one of your superstars, Trinity Rodman, the kind of
player that sells tickets helps with the whole fan growth
part of your jobs. Real nice when she talks about
how playing club footy overseas is an inevitability, How does
that change your timeline for promoting her and centering her
in your efforts if you're aware that you might not
(28:49):
always have a Trinity Rodman in a Washington Spirit Jersey.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Listen, we have the Michelle Kange effect, and I think
that is more than enough. We are a global brand
is simply by having the Michelle Kaning effect. And I
think we continue to support our players. We continue to
really highlight our players, understand their talent, and I think
Michelle has been great at investing in the talent that
(29:13):
our women have. And we are focused on making sure
as many fans as possible, and DC could come out
and see Trinity play. And so I think you know,
for us, is it is that simple? It's focusing on
those things.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
So is the Michelle Kang effect?
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Don't count on Trinity leaving because we're going to convince her.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
To stay, or is it count on Michelle being able
to get the next Trinity run?
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Listen, all I know is I leave the sporting ops
to sporting.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Good answer, Good answer. Let's talk Michelle King.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
How involved does she in the team's community outreach and
engagement with fans?
Speaker 2 (29:48):
How much do you interact with her as an owner in.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
The presentation of what your team stands for and how
you want to engage with the community.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
Michelle really sets the tone for the team. The one
thing I will say is that Michelle King as an owner,
and the one word I will use is visionary. She
is involved in what we're doing. She is invested in
what we're doing, and she also understands the importance of
doing it in the nation's capital in DC. And so
she has invested in women's sports, but she's also looking
(30:18):
around DC and making sure that she's investing in DC.
So it's been exciting I think to have such a
visionary woman really helping the city.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
When I think of Michelle King, the one word that
comes to mind for me is fits. Legendary fits. Do
you have a favorite and doesn't involve a cape?
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Okay, my favorite Michelle look as I like to say
that eliewuk K is really anytime she gives me a sunglasses,
like any sunglass she gives me, I'm like, when we
have a meeting or or I shouldn't say a meeting.
When we are at a match and Michelle throws on
one of her glasses, I'm like, I'm here for this energy.
(31:00):
The thing amazing is about to happen and I'm about
to witness it. And I think, what's really cool is
that Michelle knows that her fashion is iconic and she
owns it. And she's like, don't believe me, just watch right.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
No, it's a power play for sure.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
I remember meeting her and being introduced to hers one
of the owners of the Red Stars, and I was
wearing jeans and a like zip up and she had
one of her looks on and I was like, yeah,
these are not the same people economically and otherwise.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Rashana, thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
It's so fun to get a peek behind what teams
are doing, and there's so much good stuff happening at
the Spirit. It's nice to hear how y'all are getting
it done.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Yeah, we are trying, I will say, we are trying
to build little Spirit fans everywhere, big Spirit fans everywhere.
We are trying to do our part on the field.
But I think what's really cool is that we are
really trying to engage fans in a different way. We
are trying to show them how fun soccer is. And
I will tell you being able to witness even the
(32:00):
smallest how Hirschfeldt fan has been ultimately life changing. I
mean when you see a kid start crying because of
the way that how brought us into that extra time
and got some penalty kick action in the semi final
last year. I think it's just really symbolism of things
to come with this club, and I'm excited to see
(32:22):
how we keep growing and keep progressing and moving forward.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Thanks so much for Shauna. Yes, we have to take
another quick break when we return. Highlights that eat meet
a song that slaps welcome back slices first, a quick
(32:48):
shout out to Mary Zee, who won the Good Game
with Sarah Spain bracket challenge, and not only that, she's
a Connecticut resident and Yukon fan who made the trek
to Tampa and got to see her squad win in person.
Who's the big winner, clearly, Mary, Prize coming your way
just as soon as they get my ass to the
post office.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Mary.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
We love that you're listening, but we want to get
you in the game every day too, So here's our
good gameplay of the day. If you find yourself in
the DMV area, or if you live there like meish
make your way to some Washington Spirit games and community
events this season. Sounds like Rashana's got some really amazing
things planned, so you don't want to miss out. We
always love to hear from you slices, so hit us
up on email. Good Game at Wondermedia network dot com
(33:27):
and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review. It's easy.
Watch the folks who gave the women's tourney their one
Shining Moment review ten out of ten, given the people
what they want rating. Every year, the Men's NCAA Hoops
Tournament ends with a video montage of highlights set to
the now iconic song one shining moment. The women don't
(33:48):
get the same treatment, so someone stepped in to make
things right. Shout out at Trilly Donovan two on Twitter
for creating their own montage of highlights from The Big Dance,
appropriately set to I Want to Dance with Somebody and
all time banger truly Whitney Houston forever and honestly Trollie
Donovan two forever.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Thanks for doing that. We'll link to the video in
our show notes. Now it's your turn to rate and review.
Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
Slices, Good Game, Rashaana, Good Game, Washington Spirit, few sports
teams smiling and taking photos at the White House as
if the world, our savings, our healthcare, our rights, and
our due process aren't all completely and totally right now
because the man you're smiling with looking at you Dodgers.
(34:33):
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our Executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.
Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez and Grace Lynch.
(34:55):
Our associate producer is Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host
Sarah Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
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