Big Meddling Energy with Lauren Holiday

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're searching
Pride parade, but we aren't getting any of the NWSL
title celebration photos we're looking for. It's Wednesday, November twenty seventh,
and on today's show, we'll be talking with US Women's
national team legend and Angel City FC co owner Lauren
Holiday about being a change maker in the sports ownership space,
her meet cute with MMBA player husband Drew Holiday, and

(00:22):
how a brain tumor helped her learn how to choose joy.
Plus the PWHL season starts this weekend, and a millennial
man in his spoons. Y'all tell us what you collect
on vacation. It's all coming up right after this welcome

(00:45):
back slices. Here's what you need to know today in
NWSL news. The Orlando Pride held their championship parade in
downtown Orlando on Monday, and the city showed up and
showed out. Commissioner Jessica Berman was in attendance, as was
co owner and former MNBA great Grant Hill. The drinks
kept flowing throughout the day and Marta head coach Seb

(01:05):
Hines and members of the team's executive leadership address the
crowd in front of City Hall. Later on Monday evening.
We'll link to the full City Hall ceremony and some
sights and sounds from the championship celebration in our show notes.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
More soccer news.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
The US women's national team heads across the Pond to
play a friendly this weekend. The retooled Olympic gold medal
winning side will face England at Wembley Stadium Saturday, November
thirtieth at twelve twenty pm Eastern. You can watch on TNT,
Telemundo and NBC Universo, or stream on Max and Peacock. Then,
on December third, the team heads to the Hague, Netherlands,
to face the Dutch national team at two forty five

(01:40):
pm Eastern. That'll be available on broadcast and streaming in
the same places. They'll be without their triple Espresso frontline
of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson for.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Both of those games.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
All three are resting nagging injuries. And don't forget these
two matches will be the last for a legendary keeper,
Alyssa Naire, who announced her retirement from international play after
all eleven years with the national team. In college soccer,
only eight teams are left in the twenty twenty four
NCUBLEA College Cup. There will be no repeat winner this year.
Vanderbilt upset twenty twenty three champion Florida State in the

(02:12):
second round. In the quarterfinals, it'll be Southern cal versus
Wake Forest, North Carolina versus Penn State, and Stanford versus
Notre Dame on Friday the twenty ninth. Then on Saturday,
the thirtieth, Duke plays Virginia Tech. We'll link to the
full weekend schedule in our show notes in college Vibes.
The twenty twenty four nc DOUBLEA Tournament is on the horizon.
The bracket selection show goes down on Sunday, December first,

(02:35):
at six pm Eastern on ESPN. Sixty four teams make
the tournament, thirty two get automatic bids, and the other
half are selected by the D one Women's Volleyball Committee.
Last season, Texas beat Nebraska three nothing in the championship
to win the school's second consecutive title and fourth overall.
The first and second rounds the tournament take place December
fifth through seventh, and you can get even more pumped

(02:56):
for the volleyball tourney by watching number one ranked pitt
play number three Louisville tonight at seven pm Eastern hell
of a matchup. Panthers won the first meeting between these
teams three to two on their home court back in October,
but the Cardinals have been on a nine game win
streak ever since. The winner of the rematchable claim at
least a share of the twenty twenty four ACC Volleyball Championship.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Catch the action on.

Speaker 1 (03:16):
ACC Network or streaming on ACC Network X via ESPN. Finally,
Track and Field News Grand Slam Track, a pro track
competition launched earlier this year by four time Olympic champ
Michael Johnson, has officially announced the signing of three time
gold medalist Gabby Thomas. Thomas's scheduled to compete at all
four Slams in twenty twenty five in Kingston, Miami, Philadelphia,

(03:37):
and Los Angeles. All Right, Selicis, we wanted to give
you an update today and a college volleyball story we've
touched on a few times over the last few months
concerning the San Jose State Spartans volleyball team. ESPN's Katie
Barnes has done excellent reporting on this and they were
on Tuesday's episode of the ESPN Daily Podcast if you
want to listen to them discuss their reporting in full,

(03:58):
but here's the gist of it from Katie's story.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Now you remember the number.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
Of teams were forfeiting matches with San Jose State after
an online outlet reported that a member of the team
was transgender. Now earlier the season, San Jose State co
captain Brooks Slusser joined a federal lawsuit challenging NCAA policy
allowing transgender athletes to participate in women's sports.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
The latest is this.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
On Monday, US District Judge s Cato Cruz denied a
motion filed by twelve plaintiffs, including Slusser and a spartan's
assistant coach, against the Mountain West Conference. It would have
rendered the San Jose State player in question ineligible and
removed Wins from the team. The plaintiffs argued that they
had their Title nine rights violated due to the participation

(04:39):
of a transgender athlete on the San Jose State volleyball team.
The motion also alleged that the plaintiff's free speech rights
were infringed upon because they were discouraged from speaking about
their opposition to her participation. Now, the player in question
has played for San Jose State for the past three
seasons without incident. We'll link to Katie's story about the
whole situation in our show notes.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
Take a read.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
The Mountain West Tournament is scheduled to start today in
Las Vegas. The Spartans, who received six four FOOIT victories
because of boycotts from Mountain West opponents, are seeded second
and they'll get a first round by The team is
scheduled to play in the semi finals Friday against the
winner of today's quarterfinal match between number three seed Utah
State and number six Boise State, both schools forfeited to
the Spartans during the regular season. All Right, Slices, this

(05:23):
is going to be our last show before Thanksgiving.

Speaker 2 (05:25):
We're taking a.

Speaker 1 (05:26):
Couple of days off to eat all the food and
watch all the shows you recommended. Just a quick reminder
that the professional Women's hockey season starts this Saturday, so
mark your calendars for the three games this opening PWHL weekend. Also,
we're going to talk to Minnesota Frost captain and US
legend Kendall Coin Scofield on Monday show. That'll help you
get even more fired up for Season two of the PWHL.

(05:48):
But before we hit the ice, we're not quite ready
to say goodbye to the field. We've got a little
more soccer talk from our incredible weekend at the NWSL Championship,
and coming up we're going to hear from ACFC co
owner and former US women's national team at NWSL player
Lauren Holiday, who I got to sit down with in
Kansas City. Part of the weekend's festivities was the presentation
of the twenty twenty four Lauren Holiday Impact Award, presented

(06:10):
by Nationwide, which celebrates the community involvement of fourteen different
players nominated by their teams. At the media day, an
award ceremony, and WSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said this about
the no brainer of naming the award after Lauren Holiday.

Speaker 3 (06:23):
When we made the decision with Nationwide to attempt to
name the award after a human who had outside contribution
to women's soccer, to the league, and to the community,
it was a very daunting task. It's hard to imagine
that we'd be able to get consensus and have complete
agreement across our ecosystem, that everyone would universally feel represents

(06:48):
what this award means to all of us, and the
process was actually quite surprising, without even prompting anyone with
potential names or ideas, when we presented this idea said
we'd like to think of someone who could embody the
essence of what this award means to the league and
to nationwide and to have it live the test of time.

(07:09):
Every single person, without prompting, said Lauren Holiday. And when
we call Lauren, of course she said yes, as she
always does, and not only is she lending her name
to this award, but she's lent her time, her resources,
for energy, her ideas, and we're so happy to have
her with us and part of carrying the legacy of

(07:31):
what this award means to us.

Speaker 1 (07:34):
This year's overall winner and fan vote winner BAFC defender
Jen Beattie, a breast cancer survivor herself, received thirty thousand
dollars to give to Pink Ribbon Good, which provides support
for those going through Breston gynecological cancer treatment. And a
little Birdie told me that each year Lauren matches with
a gift to that year's winner. Two you'll hear from
the incredible. Lauren Holliday herself coming up right after this break.

Speaker 2 (08:05):
Joining us here on good Games.

Speaker 1 (08:07):
She's a former midfielder and forward for the US women's
national soccer team from twenty seven to twenty fifteen. A
two time Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champ, played
professionally for the Boston Breakers in the WPS before joining
Kansas City in the NWSL, where she was the league's
inaugural MVP in twenty thirteen. When she retired in twenty fifteen,
she was a two time champ and the league's all
time leading goal scorer and all time assists leader. A

(08:27):
UCLA brewin, she met her NBA star husband Drew Holiday there.
In twenty sixteen, she revealed that she was diagnosed with
a brain tumor during pregnancy with their first child, and
in twenty twenty they co founded the Drew and Lauren
Holiday Social Impact Fund, a program supporting nonprofits, businesses, and
educational institutions in five key cities with the goal of
combating socioeconomic inequality and fostering community growth. An Angel City

(08:48):
FC owner, the twenty twenty three Muhammad Ali Sports Umanitarian
Award winner at the SP's and a member of the
National Soccer Hall of Fame. We have a lot of
mutual friends, so I have so much good dirt that
I can't put any of in the interview. It's Lauren
Cheney Holliday. What's up, Lauren?

Speaker 4 (09:02):
Hi, thank you for having me and I agree. I
have heard a lot about you also, but we can
talk offline.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
Yeah, we just have.

Speaker 1 (09:09):
We've been circling each other and whenever someone's oh, did
you see Lauren Mike, Oh, actually I haven't met her again,
They're like, what, how is that possible? So here we
are in this lovely Western conference room making the magic happen.
I want to start. We were just talking before we
started recording. It's been almost a decade since you retired
from soccer. Looking around at this Championship weekend, the parties,
the activations, the enthusiasm, the press, the media. Can you

(09:33):
put in perspective the growth that you've seen in the
league since you left.

Speaker 4 (09:38):
Yeah, first off, almost a decade from retiring makes me
feel very old, so that's a little uncomfortable, But just
the growth in general is insane. I mean, I played
in Kansas City at Shawnee Mission North High School. When
we first started playing. We ended up playing at UMKC
at the end. Still, I'm pretty sure they would lie

(10:00):
about our attendance and they would say, oh, fifteen hundred,
and I'm sure there was only six hundred people in
the stands. So to come here and see like KC
Current over everything, like the branding. You go on an airport,
it's like Kansas City Chiefs KSE Current, You see the buses,
you see everything. Just with the branding alone is incredible.

(10:21):
I think the Lungs have done a phenomenal job here
doing that. The stadium is beautiful, and I think what
gets me the most is that we haven't even scratched
the surface of where this is going. Like this is
the first right, this is like they're pioneering a new
road and it's just the beginning and it's so cool

(10:45):
to see and it's full circle for me, But it's
just the beginning, and that's what gets me so excited.

Speaker 1 (10:51):
Can you simultaneously hold your enthusiasm for what's happening and
respect your place in that for having been a part
of it when you weren't made as much money and
getting the sponsored deals and playing in the purpose built facilities.
Can you hold that at the same time as a
little bit of like jealousy of like I really wish
I was still playing right now.

Speaker 4 (11:10):
Yeah, I do think that comes to mind. But I
had so much fun playing, Like I think back even
to the WPS and now the NWSL, and I'm like,
I met some of my best friends, Like we experienced
some of the wildest things ever, three flights to a
playoff game and you know, like just wild things that like,

(11:33):
of course, I'm so grateful to see the growth of
the sport. And then also like I get to say, like,
I had a really really good time, and I think
that is so cool.

Speaker 1 (11:46):
That is without knowing you, but of having heard so
much about you. That gratitude for the tough stuff is
probably why you're such a happy person and so beloved,
because instead of lamenting it, you're looking back and being like, hey,
but I had the best time. I got the best
out of what I had, which is that's really powerful
to remember. You've been a part of the USLW League,
the WPS, the NWSL. We love celebrating positives, we love

(12:09):
celebrating growth, but we also have to be critical in
order to keep improving. And I guarantee you have seen
things that leagues have done wrong and are still doing
wrong in this current iteration. What do you think stands
out to you from over the years.

Speaker 4 (12:23):
Yeah, I think for me is people didn't believe, you know,
they didn't believe that women's sports was capable of this.
It was like, well, what do you want us to do?
We're losing money, we're doing this and now like being
involved and understanding the business side of sports. It's like
a lot of teams lose money, but to have the
marketing to have and I think we were still not there,

(12:45):
Like the marketing isn't there, We're not being we're not
on the main channels enough. Not everyone is a household name.
Yet I think the marketing piece is what comes up
for me, Like it was absolutely zero when I played,
and now it's like, oh, we're doing something, you know,
Like I said, I shout out the lungs for what

(13:06):
they're doing here in Kansas City. But it's still such
a long way to go. There are still people in
cities that there are NWSL teams that do not know
that there's a professional women's soccer league in America and
that's unacceptable in.

Speaker 2 (13:21):
Their cities too.

Speaker 1 (13:22):
I remember when I took over as minority owner of
the Chicago Red Stars, that was one of the first
things I said, is people here don't even know that
Megan Rappino, Alex Morgan, these names that they do know
are playing here and they could go see them. They
don't have to wait for the friendlies when the US
one's national team comes into town. But the marketing is
so bad, especially in cities that have other professional teams.

(13:42):
And to say the product is the problem and it
won't work when you haven't invested enough on the awareness side,
on getting on the proper networks and channels is so
short sighted.

Speaker 2 (13:52):
And so we're seeing that change.

Speaker 1 (13:53):
But even in this current NWSL, what do you see
and you're like, that's still not We still need to
work on that.

Speaker 4 (14:00):
The purpose built facilities. I think facilities aren't equal across
the league. And obviously in every sports team, one owner
might spend more whatever, and there will be some disparities,
but there's a vast difference in some of the locations.
I think that needs to get better. I think travel

(14:20):
where how are we traveling throughout the whole season, not
just the playoffs? Like that is huge, not only for timing,
but for recovery for the athletes, for all of that,
and I think the investment in women's nutrition, their bodies
there were vastly different than men, and just understanding like

(14:43):
how we can continue to grow in that and have
the ability the access to it without it being on
our own dime. So I think that all of those
things still in the NBSL can improve greatly.

Speaker 1 (14:57):
Ever since you were tired, you've been interested in team
ownership and you've taken business classes at Harvard. You've become
an athlete advisor for Avenue Capital Group that's run by
former Bucks co owner Mark Lasry. Your husband played for
the Bucks for a while, won a championship there, and
that Avenue Group was reportedly set to take control of
the NC Courage. In fact, on our show we reported
about the majority ownership by and set to go through.

Speaker 2 (15:20):
What's the latest on that? We haven't heard much since
that original report.

Speaker 4 (15:23):
Yeah, I think that's a dream, right. I would love
to be a part of that. It's still in process.
I don't know how much that I can divulge in
this setting, but yeah, I think that that would be
The hope is that I would get to be a
part of an ownership group where I had real say

(15:44):
and my voice was heard and I had a real
role in that. And I hope that it is with
North Carolina Courage.

Speaker 2 (15:52):
So the dream isn't over yet, even though we haven't
heard about.

Speaker 4 (15:54):
The dream's not over yet. It's not over yet.

Speaker 1 (15:57):
But it's not a sure thing at this point because
we haven't heard that it went through all the final
league approvals.

Speaker 4 (16:02):
Yeah, I don't think it's a sure thing. That hasn't happened. So, Okay,
we haven't signed the dotted line yet.

Speaker 2 (16:09):
Got it.

Speaker 1 (16:10):
What's interesting to you about being a controlling owner because
you are a part owner of Angel City, but you
want to be in a different role.

Speaker 4 (16:16):
How much time do we have? Okay, that is my question,
and maybe we get to talk longer after this. But
for me, I have a dream. It is not just
for the end of CELL. I want to start in
the end ofsl But I believe, truly the athletes need
to have an ownership stake in their leagues. And I'm

(16:38):
extremely passionate about it because I think there needs to
be integrity from the top. And I'm not saying that
ownership groups don't have integrity, but an integrity of understanding
what an athlete goes through to play the sport, Understanding
what I have been through in the NWSL, in the WPS,
and making sure that like our voices are heard. So

(16:58):
I think in the ENDBSL, my idea of control, to
have a controlling stake in an NWSL team is to
create an environment that I want to be replicated across
all leagues men's women's internationally in America, but to run
it with integrity. Hey, everyone from the top down, like,
this is what we believe in, this is what we're

(17:20):
shooting for, this is our vision. Right, So everyone is
in alignment, the athlete and the ownership. So sometimes I
think there's a disconnect, Right, the ownership wants to win
for a vastly different reason than why the athlete wants
to win, and so it's like, well, how do we
get an alignment. How does the athlete and the ownership
want to win for the same reason. There can be nuances.
Ownership can care more about one thing and the athlete

(17:42):
can care more about another. But if we have that
integrity to know that we're both working toward that goal,
I think it's going to change sports. And I think
the only way you do that is with an athlete
that has a voice in a majority position. And so
that's my dream, that's my that's what I want to do.
I like look at ownership groups like Michelle O Kang

(18:05):
and her voice is so powerful and what she's doing
and everything she does, I love it, and I'm like, yes,
and let's get an athlete. Let's get a player that
played with her, because she's going to change the world.
She already is. And so I think that that's where
my passion is. And I'm like, I see that, and
I see that I have an opportunity in Mark and Avenue.

(18:26):
They've been an incredible partner with me where they say, hey,
this is yours, this is you're the expert here, and
to give me that taste of like, wow, I am
the expert has really like opened my mind, So like
what can we do?

Speaker 2 (18:41):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (18:41):
You know, I know you're friends with Merret Matthias. She
came on the show and I don't know if it
made the final cut because she and I were talking
for a long time, but one thing she mentioned was
hierarchies in sport, and in men's sport, the athlete is
at the top of it, the top of the pyramid
because they're the product, they're the reason it succeeds. They
people understand that they're the value there. And in women's
sports there's somewhere in the middle. They're just not valued

(19:03):
the same way. They're not paid the same, the facilities
aren't the same, the respect isn't the same, the treatment
isn't the same. That's how toxic situations also occur so
often in women's sports, because there isn't enough power in
the athlete to overcome some of the manipulations or otherwise
that come from staff, coaches, ownership. Is it possible to
do that without someone like Mark Lazary or the kind

(19:27):
of capital behind you to compete, Because what's happened in
the NWSL. There is a woman I was speaking to
who is putting in a bid on the Portland Thorns,
and midway through the process of having this massive group
of women with a lot of money, they said, well,
the main owner has to be a billionaire. Wipes out
their bit. There's who do we call Oprah and Kylie Jenner?
There's like three, right, So when we make it about

(19:48):
only money, we end up having mostly majority middle aged
white dudes owning everything. And if they say you're the
expert and put you in charge.

Speaker 2 (19:55):
Awesome. If they don't, we end up with the same
pattern over and over again. How do we stop?

Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (20:00):
At first off, I think it is consistency, right, we
need to have a consistency across the board for the league.
If this is our standard, then that's our standard. But
then we have to rethink it. How are we getting
athletes involved? Yes, isn't a former NWSL player, even a
former women's national team player. There's not any of us
that are billionaires. There's not one of us that could

(20:22):
come in and do that. But then it's like, oh,
we're not taking funds or we don't want funds in
the league, or we don't want this, or we don't
want that, and so that makes it really hard. So
I do think it's special. And there's something about partnerships
with a billionaire who says, actually, I'm giving you control
because you are the expert. And I think that that's

(20:43):
what is so special about Avenue that I've experienced is
Mark and his sister started Avenue Capital. Right, Sonya has
just as much. Say she is a powerful woman who
believes in women, and they believe in us like they
would not partner with me if they didn't believe that
I could do it. And even when sometimes I doubt myself,
I mean, let's be fair. Sometimes I like what am

(21:05):
I doing? Like how do I know? Do I know this?
And I'm like constantly reminded that it is possible. But
that's how we also rethink sports because I think you
said it's different, and I agree with mere. It is
different for women versus men. But also our men don't
control the NBA. They don't they the NBA. Yes, there

(21:26):
might be a single person that has a little more control,
but it's like what if Yes, I know there's been
Michael Jordan and the ownership group, but what if it
was a whole group of NBA players that took back
and owned a team. What if their voice was on
the board. What if there was a collective of understanding.

(21:47):
And that's where like my passion is. It's like, we're athletes.
We need to take back our sport like we live it.
We know what our bodies need, we know how to
market ourselves, we understand the nuances of that. Teach us
the business side and we could flourish.

Speaker 1 (22:03):
What have you learned from the ACFC ownership side, because
I feel like I having briefly been in the ownership
side and having been an athlete only at collegiate level,
and talking to so many on both sides, there is
a disconnect sometimes between the athletes saying we want extra.

Speaker 2 (22:16):
Y just sat down with Billy Jean King and she said,
my issue.

Speaker 1 (22:18):
With the athletes is that they're always saying we deserve,
we deserve, we deserve, But when I ask them what
they know about the business side, it is zero. So
they don't know if the people promoting the events are
making money. They know they get their check at the
end and that they want more of that. So how
do we What have you learned from being on the
ownership side that has made you maybe a little bit
more empathetic to that side to say the players, Oh,
by the way, when they tell you no on this

(22:39):
or this, it's not to be dicks.

Speaker 2 (22:41):
It's here's how this works.

Speaker 4 (22:43):
That's why I think it's so important for athletes to
be involved because I remember, like the first meetings I
had going through financials right, and I'm.

Speaker 2 (22:51):
Like, oh, they lose how much money?

Speaker 4 (22:55):
And then you know, talking to Mark and owning an
NBA team and he's like, yeah, you could lose their
thirty million dollars a year, or like you, your losses
could be this and understanding like the P and L
sheets and the and and all of that. My eyes
were like, oh, well, when the NWSL started, there is
absolutely zero way that we could have done anything different

(23:16):
than a Southwest flight the night before a game. There
was there was no other way. And so I think
that understanding that side. If there is an athlete that
is involved that's doing it a we can tell it
differently and there's a different level of understanding. But so
many times as an athlete were dismissed. It's like I

(23:38):
was never told, oh, this is how much money I
put in and we're actually losing like a million dollars
more than and I have a loss of this amount,
Like no one was ever telling us those things. Would
we have met on more understanding, I think so. But
also then it's like, okay, well what are we putting
into the marketing? What are we And maybe if you

(24:00):
take on a collaborative approach where the athlete wants to
serve you and wants to do more so that it
can build, then that will help. But right now, like
you said, there is a DISCONNECTE.

Speaker 1 (24:11):
Yeah, it's been probably interesting for you to be married
to a male professional athlete. Everything's different, treatment, paychecks, facilities,
all the stuff.

Speaker 2 (24:20):
But I was told by a little bird that you
have a good meet cute with your husband, Drew Holiday.

Speaker 4 (24:25):
I think I know that little bird. Yeah, Drew and
I met. We met in college and he's younger than me.
So I was at the women's basketball game, supporting women's sports,
but I was basketball playing high school. I was friends
with all the women's basketball players at UCLA. So I
went after class sitting by myself. Drew walks in with

(24:46):
one of the other freshman basketball players and someone comes
up to him. He's like, oh my gosh, Darren Collison,
can I have your autograph? And I'm like giggling because
I know he's not Darren Collison. I know he's like,
you know, freshman basketball player coming in, And after they leave,
he was so gracious, and after they leave, he's like
talking to his friend like, what the heck? I don't
even look like Darren. And I told him I was like,

(25:09):
don't worry, like you're cuter than Darren. And honestly, there
was no intention I promise, Sure, but I just thought
he was more attractive and so just facts. We became
friends after that, and yeah, that's really cute.

Speaker 1 (25:24):
There are cliches about folks who go through tough times
and what they learned from it, but they are usually
cliches for a reason. A lot of people come out
of traumatic events with a different perspective. Do you find
that after the brain tumor, after the support that he
gave you, after you had your child in the midst
of dealing with that, you were pregnant when you when
you learned that you had that, did it change your
perspective in all the ways that people say when you

(25:45):
have those traumatic events.

Speaker 4 (25:47):
Yeah, that's interesting. So I think my whole life has
been slightly traumatic. Like I had open heart surgery when
I was four years old. I like just how I
grew up, everything it was like then soccer. I feel
like it all prepped me for that moment. But there's
nothing more traumatic than you worrying about your child. And

(26:10):
for me, it was like I needed my daughter to
be okay for me to ever be okay. And I
think after when my daughter is healthy and thriving, it
is completely changed my perspective on what matters and like
for me, I am super competitive, Like, don't play Uno
with me. I will call you a name and don't know,

(26:31):
don't like I will call you a cheater if you
beat me, and I have no qualms about it, like
you probably did cheat, like truly, I mean if.

Speaker 2 (26:38):
You beat me, probably something's up.

Speaker 4 (26:39):
Absolutely, and I just lose. I don't lose so obviously, right.
I think our Drew and I's biggest fight was over Uno.
So I think that that is like a real thing
for me. But I realized, like what do I care
about most is like how do we make life beautiful?
How do we love people? How are you loving on people?

(27:01):
And I think that that is what really like changed
my perspective of like, yeah, I'm competitive, I like to win.
I'm competitive for my husband he's competitive, but I more.
But it's like, no, what matters is like is community,
is people, family love, And I think that that's helped
me get through a lot.

Speaker 1 (27:21):
You have big mothering energy, not only for your own children.
You've been coaching your daughter's soccer team, but also I've
been told you mother Drew's teammates, whether telling guys, hey,
time to man up and propose to your fiance stop
messing around?

Speaker 2 (27:36):
How about this?

Speaker 1 (27:37):
Can I help you with your housing while you're figuring
out your move and your divorce?

Speaker 2 (27:41):
Like you are now this mother. Did you have that
before you had kids?

Speaker 1 (27:46):
Or do you think that that comes from having these
little babies running around?

Speaker 4 (27:50):
I think if my sister was listening to this, she
would laugh out loud. I am like the epitome of
the youngest child, like forget her school bad, leaves the
doors open, forgets to lock the front door, like I
am that person locks their key in the car so
to hear like I have mothering energy. She would probably
laugh out loud, like I probably didn't do my own

(28:12):
hair until I got to college, so that is hilarious
to me. But I think it's really just like meeting
people where they are.

Speaker 2 (28:20):
Maybe I should have said big meddling energy.

Speaker 4 (28:22):
Oh I like that.

Speaker 2 (28:23):
I like meddling energy.

Speaker 1 (28:25):
Fro. I'm like, let me tell you how to handle
your relationship and your life and your housing. It feels
like mothering, but it might just be metal.

Speaker 4 (28:32):
It might be meddling. And hey, if you ask, you
wanted my opinion, right.

Speaker 2 (28:35):
Yeah, because I'm also youngest, not mothering energy. Big meddaling energy. Yeah, yeah, big,
let me help you out. I know what's best for.

Speaker 4 (28:42):
You, absolutely, I think that I do that too. But
you know, if you want to have the conversation, I'm
open to giving you my opinion. Sometimes you might have
to kick me under the table.

Speaker 2 (28:52):
I heard that. Sometimes he says, Okay, that's good.

Speaker 4 (28:54):
Yeah, he'll give me big eyes, like, please don't actually
say your opinion, maybe like say half of your today
and not not the whole thing.

Speaker 2 (29:02):
Oh man, we're gonna get along.

Speaker 1 (29:04):
Yeah, okay, last question for you, And it might be
just big picture and you kind of already spoke to
it about like loving on people and spreading love. But
is there advice you would give people that never have
to go through the ordeal that you did about what
they should know from the other side of it, that like, hey,
don't wait for this thing to happen to you. Don't

(29:24):
wait for this moment where you fear for yourself or
someone else you care about to realize X or to
start doing X.

Speaker 4 (29:32):
I think I would just tell them that it's a choice,
like you have a choice to choose joy, and I
think it's it's a lot easier than choosing the other like,
sometimes everything feels like it's going wrong. I'm a mom,
Like I can tell my kids to do something, they
don't do it, And it's like I could literally crumble

(29:53):
for the day, or you can choose joy, and sometimes
I crumble. But it's like I would just tell people,
like it's choice. You have a choice to how you
react to things. You have a choice on how you
handle a trade. You have a choice on how you
handle disappointment, a medical scare, any of those things. And

(30:14):
I would say, like, in those moments, choose joy.

Speaker 1 (30:17):
You had a choice of how to spend your time today,
and you came to this conference room to talk to us,
So thank you, so appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (30:23):
Yeah, no, thank you for having me. I feel like
we could talk for an hour.

Speaker 2 (30:26):
Yeah, we probably will later, Okay, we got to take
another break.

Speaker 1 (30:33):
When we come back, we learn about all the cute
little things you like to collect from your travels. It's
coming up next, Welcome Back Slices. As we recover from
our trips abroad and stateside, we are loving reading about

(30:53):
all the things that you collect on vacation. The obvious
from the magnet shot glasses, Christmas ornaments, postcards, globes to
the less obvious, like coffee, mugs, earrings, and spices. And
we got some pretty funny responses from y'all on social too.
At Reviling, Neptune said, spoons because I'm apparently an old
woman in a millennial man's body. At Count Nivik said,

(31:16):
I usually come back with an extra pound or two
from all the food I eat, and it tends to
stay with me.

Speaker 2 (31:21):
Very relatable. At Funky Old.

Speaker 1 (31:23):
Medina, we usually just collect credit card debt for a
hot sec. Also relatable at the oh Man Dan, I
like to pick up a different form of food poisoning.
Whenever I travel, I could really close my eyes and
remember each place and the aftermath. And finally, at que Bruby,
my wife and I collect photos of our kids, holding
up pictures of all the places we could have traveled

(31:45):
if we didn't have kids. Well que Bruby, as the
meme says, I have dogs, not kids. I'd rather ruin
my carpet than my life. Wink wink. Thanks to your
great comments and photos everyone, and that Magnet collection photo
Michelle Wow, and thanks as always forgetting in the game.
Now here's today's good gameplay of the day. I have
to assume none of you were planning to do this,

(32:05):
but just in case, please do not show up to
your Thanksgiving dinner in an Indian headdress properly known as
a Native American war bonnet. Instead, look up what native
land you live on. Learn about the history of your area,
the good, the bad, and the ugly. We'll link to
a site in our show notes where you can search
your location and find out who lived there before you.
We always love to hear from you, so hit us

(32:27):
up on email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or
leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two o
four fifty seventy, and don't forget to subscribe. Rate and
review It's easy Watch Surviving Thanksgiving with a stressful family
Dynamic rating five out of five therapist recommendations. Review Number one.
Know your triggers and plan ahead for how not to

(32:48):
get derailed or set off. Number two. Come with topics
of conversation so you're ready to pivot to something pleasant.

Speaker 2 (32:55):
Number three.

Speaker 1 (32:56):
Set healthy boundaries and accept what's not in your control.

Speaker 2 (33:00):
Number four.

Speaker 1 (33:00):
If you feel yourself getting stressed, just take a break.
Find some busy work to do by yourself. Or just
hide in the bathroom for a couple of minutes, take
some deep breaths to get regulated, and finally number five,
try to find the positive about the people around you,
the meal you're eating, the safe home you're in, whatever
you got to do, and one in doubt watch the
snl adele Thanksgiving sketch together never fails. Now it's your turn,

(33:24):
rate and review and thanks for listening. See you next week.
Happy Thanksgiving and happy Native American Heritage Day on Friday.

Speaker 2 (33:31):
Good Game, Lauren, Good Game, a.

Speaker 1 (33:33):
Couple much needed days off, few Thanksgiving tables without creamed corn.

Speaker 2 (33:38):
What are you doing with your lives? People?

Speaker 1 (33:42):
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.

Speaker 2 (33:56):
Our executive producers are.

Speaker 1 (33:57):
Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, Emily Rutter. Our editors
are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and Lindsay Craterwell.
Production assistants from Lucy Jones and I'm your Host Sarah
Spain

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Sarah Spain

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