August 7, 2025 • 33 mins
USWNT and Gotham FC midfielder Rose Lavelle joins Sarah to discuss her return to play after ankle surgery, how being sidelined helped her become a better teammate, her iconic pupper Wilma Jean Wrinkles, and the hilarious reason she celebrates September 20th every year.
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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 celebrating
the passing of the WNBA trade deadline by finally ordering
our favorite player's jersey. And to the folks who already
bought a Dwana Bonner Fever jersey or Melissa Smith and
DJJ Carrington wings gear.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Sorry fo ya.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
It's Thursday, August seventh, and on today show will be
skipping the need to know and getting straight to my
conversation with Gotham and US National team midfielder Rose Lavelle.
I caught up with her last Thursday, just as the
NWSL break was coming to a close, and we talked
about her return to the pitch following her first ever surgery,
busting out Celine Dion on the karaoke mic, and the
origin of one of the most consistent traditions on the Internet.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
That conversation's coming up right after.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
This, joining US now she's a midfielder forgot the MEPCI
of the NWSL and the US women's national team. With
over one hundred caps for her country. She won the
Bronze Ball as the third best player in the twenty
nineteen World Cup, helping the US to victory.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Earned Olympic Bronze.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Aka Rose Gold in twenty twenty one, and helped the
US to Olympic gold in twenty twenty four. She played
her college soccer for Wisconsin and was the number one
overall pick in the twenty nineteen NWSL draft, going to
the now defunct Boston Breakers. Mama or sister to Bulldog
Wilma Jean Wrinkles, and the inspiration for USL team mascot
Rose cow Bell. She will forever be known as the
(01:23):
Queen of Celine Dion karaoke, and she's not afraid to
pair a black tie gown with slippers.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
She's Rose LaVale.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Oh my gosh, that was such a great intro.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, we need to start with the most important thing.
So number one.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
I was in attendance for the Celein Dion performance at
the twenty twenty three US Women's National team Players Ball
and that definitely was not the first time you've done that, right,
I mean.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
It wasn't the first time I've sang the song, but
I that was the first time I karaoke did.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
Yeah, it looked very reversed, It looked very natural, and
your adoring crowd were ready and waiting to be literally
at your feet as if they were at a concert.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
This it just felt like it had happened before.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
No, I do have to say, I know it doesn't
look like it, but I did have to get forced
on stage. I didn't. I wasn't prepared for the moment,
and I know it does not look like that, but
that wasn't It wasn't planned, and I was reluctant at first.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Well, you stepped up in the moment in a really
impressive way.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Second most important, a baby cow was named after you.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
We need to talk about this, Okay.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Lionella Bessie of the USL team forward Madison FC, apparently
their mascot, a cow.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Has a baby. How does she end up being named
Rose cow Bell?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I think it just was a fan though, But nonetheless,
I'm obviously so honored. I haven't gotten to meet her yet,
but I do have a little bobblehead of her, which
I excited about.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Oh that's surprized possession. Yeah, that's that's incredible. You're one
with the animals. As we've established, everybody knows your dog,
Wilma Gene wrinkles. So can you clarify the relationship. Wilma
is your sister, your child, you're fur baby.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Wilma is my sister, so we have the same parents.
Her parents are my parents. So she still lives with
her parents in Cincinnati. She's just twelve years old, so
I would never expect her to not be living with
her parents.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Still fair, Yeah that makes sense.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Yeah, she does turn thirteen soon though.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
There are countless posters and signs made in honor of
you two. Often your faces are filling in iconic photos
where you replace the other faces of all the Wilma
gene content and tributes that you've seen, whether in person
or online.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
What are a few of your favorites.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Ooh, somebody gave me a Wilma pillow, like literally like
even larger than her, and I love that, Like I
still have that, and I it's like, oh my bad,
So that was I really liked that. I like keep everything,
like I have all my Wilma memorabilia, Like my apartment
is decorated with Wilma all over the place, so honestly, like,
(04:20):
I love it all. Somebody made a mug, a Wilma mug,
so I really like that. I have little cutouts of
her I have, Yeah, I mean I don't know, it's
hard to pick one, but yeah, the pillow and the
mug were pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
As someone who grew up with dog siblings and now
has three dog children, do you have a desire to
have your own dog child a niece to Wilma so
to say, Oh.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
My gosh, Wilma's like literally like my soul dog. Like,
I'm so don't. I don't know. I can't even like
talk about another dog because she's just like literally the
best thing ever.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
And with your schedule, maybe a little bit harder to
have a child than a sister.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Oh my gosh, I know, I don't know how people
do it. I don't know how people do it. I
don't know how people do it with like a dog,
but then like having an actual human child too, I'm like,
oh no, I like so much credit to all the mothers.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I really don't know how anyone gets anything done other
than just like staring at their child and making sure
it stays alive.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
I really don't know.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
I know, I'm like, it's hard to feed myself. I
can't imagine having to feed it another.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Okay, we're gonna get off the dog thing in a minute,
but we have one more dog related story because September
twentieth is a very important day in your life, and
it is one of the best and most consistent yearly
traditions for you to post about it. Ever since twenty sixteen,
you've commemorated September twentieth on Twitter. Last year you wrote,
for instance, twelve years ago today Mary got chased down
the street by a vicious neighbor dog, And to this
day it is still the funniest thing I've ever witnessed.
(05:46):
So let's start with the backstory. Tell us about Mary
and this dog.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Okay, okay, okay, We like had prior beef with this
dog before, so like we kind of knew it meant
business whenever it was around, Like we had just we
cut through its yard one time, and like it came
running and barking at us, and I sprinted out of
the yard. Immediately Mary hesitated because she was like, maybe
it wants to get pet.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Okay, and who's Mary?
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Mary is my sister, my younger sister. Okay, so it
like it's we knew it was. It was kind of
a nasty little dog. And then we just were like
going for a walk and there was this one house
that had like just free range puppies in the front yard.
I don't know, but we were like, let's go pet
the puppies. Of course, this nasty dog had like some
(06:33):
kind of connection to the puppies. We don't know if
it was the father, the mother, the we don't know.
But as we're in the yard petting the puppies, the
dog walks out of its own yard, which is like
a couple houses down, and starts coming over to the
puppy yard. I mean, Mary are immediately like, all right,
let's back out slowly because this isn't good. And I'm like, Mary,
(06:57):
if it comes for us, I'm jumping in the bed
of that truck over there. And I don't think she
took it seriously enough. And sure enough, it books it out,
does a circle around, does a circle around Mary, and
Mary's like, oh my gosh, looking around. We split in
opposite directions and it goes after Mary, and like, wow
(07:18):
it I should preface and say it's funny because she
was okay, like in hindsight, like knowing, knowing her side
of the story, Like it had its like it had
its teeth out, and it was like it was a
big dog. It was like a like a kind of
like a shepherd dog, like one of those that you
(07:38):
have on the farm to like run the wolf.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Right, Australian cattle dog. Australian shepherd.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Yeah, it was like one of those things. So it
was it was.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
It was.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
It was running her off the land and she she
tells her side obviously a lot better, but like in
her head, she was like how long can I run for?
She's like, and where do I run? Too? Like I
can't knock on a door because it's going to get her.
So she ended up. It felt like a long time
that it was chasing her, but like in reality it
(08:08):
was probably like I don't know, thirty yards, thirty forty yards,
which is still a long time, but it was. It
was so funny, And it was so funny because she's
okay and lived to tell the tale. Obviously, if there's
a different outcome.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Well, also, a smart dog, you know, didn't pick the
professional athlete to chase.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
It's like the old joke about outrunning.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
The bear, Like you don't have to out run the
barr you just have to outrun the other person. So
you smartly took off the other direction and sent the
dog after the easier victim. I love that you commemorated.
Do you have to set a reminder or does it
just naturally happen on that day that you immediately remember
that it's a special day.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
I do have a reminder yearly, but I usually always
remember without it.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Well, without knowing anything about the quote unquote vicious neighbor dog,
I'm on the dog side. I'm sure there's a reason
for it to cranky. You guys probably did something or not.
You just don't remember.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Yeah, I don't know. It was a mean dog. And
I don't say that about dogs like I'm like, I
love dogs with my whole heart, but this one was
a mean little thing.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Okay, dog therapy may be called for for the neighbor dogs,
and then we can we can revisit. Okay, let's talk
about soccer, because we're so excited to have you back
out on the pitch.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
It took a little while.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
You've battled some neat and ankle injuries over the last
couple of years, a couple of different surgeries. You've missed
time for club and country. How do you handle those
moments of sort of forced stillness of being made to
be away from the game.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
This was actually my first surgery that I got, but
obviously I have had like a lot of other injuries
before that, unfortunately. But yeah, I feel like anytime I
like am kind of forced to be out of the
game with an injury, I think I always think there's
like silver lining out of it. I think a lot
(09:55):
of it is it like forces you to be really
present and like kind of win the day. I feel like,
if I like look too far ahead, it seems like
you have such a huge mountain to climb, Whereas if
I can just focus on, like how am I gonna
get myself better each day mentally physically? And so I
think that that's like the like first thing is I
(10:18):
think it allows me to be really really present and
find like the joys and the little winds. I think
this go around, I keep saying, I feel like it
allowed me to kind of learn how to be a
good teammate when I can't just be impactful on the field,
Like how can I still be a voice and a
(10:39):
person to lean on when I'm not on the field
around training? So I think that that like allowed me
to step into like a bigger leadership role. So I
think there was like silver lining in that and then
I also think it like helped me really get my
body right all the other things that maybe I hadn't
(10:59):
had time to focus on with like the long seasons
and the short off season. So yeah, I think just
the time away always like I always kind of try
to find the silver lining in it, And I think the
quicker you can do that, the better like mentally you'll
be during the process, because it always is like obviously
very mentally draining.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
But yeah, what's your confidence, Like when you get back
on the pitch, do you have fears of reinjury or
not being as sharp or do you sort of just
come back reckless and ready.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
No, I mean I think that that's also something that
I have had to like learn and grow into a
little more because I think every time I've been injured,
like I always have the expectation of myself to like
once I'm back, like hit the ground running and not
miss a beat, and like then when I inevitably don't
(11:52):
do that, then I'm like upset with myself and like
just I like feel like I have probably way home
higher expectations than I should after being away for so long.
So I think going into today's injury, I've like recognized
that even when I'm back on the field, it's going
to be an up and down journey. Like just because
I'm back on the field doesn't mean my like rehab
(12:14):
process has stopped. Like it's still going to be a
bit till I'm at one hundred percent, and just like
allowing myself to, you know, have a little more grace
in those moments for myself. I think that that's been
another big learning point for me, is to like give
myself some grace in this return.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Yeah, it's not so much an on and off switch.
Is a much like a dimmer, right, You're just like
easing your way back.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Up towards the lightfully being on.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
When the US women's national team was in your hometown
of Cincinnati earlier this summer, you were still on a
minute's restriction from that ankle surgery.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
It wasn't really clear if you were going to play.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
But as the second half war on, the fans were
getting loud chanting we want Rose, we want Rose, And
we don't often see that type of chant work, but
somehow it worked this time. Emma Hayes decided to give
the crowd what they wanted, which was you, and after
the game she called it a nice cameo. So, what
are your thoughts when you're hearing the chance get louder
and then you see Emma kind of turn towards you.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Oh my gosh. I mean, it's like I got a
little shy, didn't not to do, but I it was
really funny. And I think, like I always say this,
I feel like everyone knows how much I love Cincinnati.
I think it like literally has like one of the
best atmospheres I've ever played in. I might be biased,
but I don't think I am. So yeah, I think
(13:35):
that that was like such a like funny, cool moment
to have. And I think it also like I feel
really grateful that Emma like allowed me to have that moment.
I keep saying. I think like obviously the older I get,
the less opportunity I have to like go and play
in front of my hometown, and it's such a special opportunity.
And I think for me, like just being healthy and
(13:59):
like being able to be on the roster for the
game was enough like that that was kind of like
my goal was to be able to like be back
and healthy by then, so like just getting to be
a part of the day was so special. I had
like no other expectations beyond that, So I like, do
feel really really like grateful that. Yeah, Emma allowed me
(14:21):
to like have that moment. I think it like speaks
too like the kind of coach she is that she
doesn't just care about us as players, she cares about
us as people. And yeah, I sure that that was
really really cool for her.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Your ties to Cincinnati are well known, and if I
didn't already know them, at this year's Players Ball, I
ended up in like a circle of you and Julie
Edelman and friend of the show Er fight Master and
all these other SENSI people just like bouncing back and
forth talking about Cincinnati. We're all so excited to talk
about it. And also I'm like revisit and immortified about
(14:54):
whatever number of drinks I had had that kept having
me say to you, don't you know Er from the
show Er? Have you ever seen the show Er? And
Everyone's like, not Er Gray's anatomy. I'm like, oh my god,
I'm such a more on. But anyway, I digress. I
want to quickly ask you, like, when you're on the
bench for the average game, maybe not Cincinnati, just in general,
how aware are you of the fans and what they're yelling.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
How aware of you have the coach.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
And whether the coaches may be about to call your
name to come in or you just in on the
game and that's all you're paying attention to.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
I feel like when you're like, I don't know, I
feel like you're kind of like locked into the game
because it's like you do have to be prepared at
any moment for there to be a change, and whether
that's you or somebody else, Like I think you kind
of have to be prepared for yourself to be ready
to go in the game or to help somebody else
who's about to go into the game. So I feel
(15:47):
like like we're all pretty walked in.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Yeah, like you got to know what's happened every moment
before you go in so you can best take advantage
of the play.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Let's talk about Gotham this season.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Obviously a team that's staff with talent, not always seeing
the results in the win column. Yet injuries obviously part
of that. You didn't make your season debut until June.
Obviously Midge person had some time before coming back. What
else do you think has contributed to this team's current
sort of middle of the pack status when maybe more
was expected.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Yeah, I mean I feel that's a good question, and
I think I feel like we've had some really big
wins and maybe some like I think we've had some
high highs and some low low So I think like
maybe just consistency. And I think part of that is
just having people coming in and out obviously, but I
think that's also like on us to own that and
make sure that we are like bringing that every single
(16:36):
day and training every single game. Is that like consistency piece.
I think, you know, how you do one thing is
how you do everything, So I think kind of like
leaning into that mentality. I think definitely this month together,
we like didn't travel obviously, we just like got to
train and really continue to build on the connections relationships
we got on the field. So I think that that's
(16:56):
really helped us and hopefully will help us coming into
the second half of this season. I think last year
it's like we had a lot of we had a
really great season, but it was a lot of like
one to OH wins, two OH wins, and so now
I feel like we're having bigger wins, but then it
also feels like the losses are feeling a little bigger too.
So I think for us it's just kind of like
finding our consistency, and like I said, I think hopefully
(17:20):
this month that we've had together is going to help
us find that in the second half of the season.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Yeah, and despite some of the struggles, as of this taping,
your squad is in eighth place eighteen points. It's just
four points back of fifth place Portland, just seven points
back of second place Orlando.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
So I imagine there's.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
A lot of enthusiasm and excitement around getting back out
there because you can make up ground pretty quickly.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think anybody who has played
in the end of you Cell knows like this second
half of the season is where it gets like wild.
This second half, it's like it doesn't really matter where
you are, Like there's so much parody in the league
that like you can start at the bottom and then
at the top. You can start at the top and
end of the bottom. So yeah, I mean I think
(18:02):
it's it's about to get wild, but that's that's the
fun of it.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Yeah, it is a league known for parody, but we
have a very clear top and a very clear bottom
and then a packed sort of middle. We've always seen
that sort of as a positive, I think both for
fans of teams knowing that they've always got a shot,
and also just as evidence of good quality play up
and down. Do you think it's bad for the league
that there are some teams that are very clearly not
(18:26):
keeping up.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
No, I mean I think that might like be inevitable
as we continue to expand, that there's going to be
teams that are going to be at the bottom. But
I think I'll say that I think even the teams
that are at the bottom, they're still really hard to play. Like,
I think what's fun about this league is you can't
you can't afford to take one game off. Like every
game is going to be a game. It's going to
(18:48):
be a battle, no matter who you're playing in the standings.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
It's still a chaos league, There's no doubt about that.
It's always been known as chaos league. Does it feel
that way inside the league two year after year?
Speaker 3 (19:00):
I would only say chaos in the way that like,
teams can move up and down in the table, but
it's obviously very transitional, very physical. But I also think
that teams are starting to find their own styles of
play too, which has been really cool to see. An
evolution of the league is like more established playing styles
per team. So I wouldn't say it's chaotic in that sense,
(19:23):
but more just chaotic in the sense that it's like,
at this point in the season, it's like you really
don't know where people are going to end up.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Yeah, any given day, somebody can win. To your point, Yeah,
I mean it's been fun to watch some of the
teams establish themselves, both in terms of style of play
and differentiating themselves from other squads.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
But also culture.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
And I think in women's sports, the nascent nature of
so many of the leagues makes it hard to sort
of attach to traditions or nostalgia in the same way
you can with these men's leagues that have been around
for one hundred years. So I love places that are
starting to have a very distinct feel. Gotham is one
of those. And I think the fit checks and women's
(20:05):
sports are also a thing that's sort of becoming something
that the leagues are known for and leaning into the
way that women athletes combine their fashion and their fits
with sport.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Do you like that part of it?
Speaker 1 (20:17):
I know you rack some slippers with your dress at
the most recent players gallus, you're already ahead of the trends.
But as far as putting together an outfit of the
day and like hitting those pregame poses, is that natural
for you?
Speaker 3 (20:29):
That's not natural for me, And I'm not very good
at that part. I'm so jealous of the people that are,
Like every time I see Mandy Freeman walk in, I'm like,
how did you do it? How did you put that together? Like,
I'm just I'm in awe of her like fashion sense.
She just puts together amazing outfits, but I'm not good
(20:50):
at that personally, so I usually I'm not very active
on the runway during game days.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Would you let her address you?
Speaker 3 (21:00):
Oh? Yeah, I mean I don't. I still am like,
I'm not like a super comfortable person in front of
the camera, So I don't know if i'd be like
good at posing. But yeah, I would recommend Mandy be
anybody stylist that's like she has like such a gift.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
I feel like the key is always layers.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Like I feel like I can pick an okay like
dress or something, but the key to looking fashionable is
like a bunch of pieces together that somehow look like
they wouldn't work and then do and I cannot do.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
That, Like, I know, I know, you need to talk
to Mandy.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Okay, well we'll both go in and have a session. Yeah,
you'll find out what a rate is by the hour.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
We got to take a quick break more with rose
leavel right after this. I want to go back a
couple of years back in twenty seventeen, you got your
first US women's national team cap. The rest of the
roster is people like Julie Ertz, Kelly O'Hara, Meghan Rpino,
(21:55):
Alex Morgan, Sam Muis, Alyssena or Tobin Heath, Becky Ceburne.
Like that isn't in sane roster to join and beyond
so many all time greats, and a bunch of them
retired in the last year. Now, so what does it
feel like to just keep showing up and find out
that as time passes you're now among the most capped
players that are on the team.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Oh my gosh. Well that part is really weird because
I know I am, I know I'm now like one
of the more veteran players, but it doesn't feel like that.
It's like it happens so suddenly, But then I guess
so slowly at the same time, so it's kind of weird,
But I do feel like so grateful for the time
(22:36):
that I like first got on the national team, and
because I think it was like the time that there
was a little bit of a transition, so I had
like kind of the comfort of some of my friends.
But at the same time, I got to like learn
and play with so many players that I like watched
and looked up to and idolized, and like then all
of a sudden, now I'm sharing the field and getting
(22:57):
to learn from them every single day, and I feel
so lucky for that, and I think that that's like
really allowed me to now step into this position on
the team where now I am a maybe a more
veteran player, but I feel like I had such great
people to learn from too set me up to like
be in this position as well as like all the
(23:19):
other you know, players in my age cohort, I think
we we got really like lucky, and I feel really
blessed that I got so many years with like such
incredible people and players. MM.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
You've been described in the past plenty of articles written
about you as a reluctant star. You know, emerging despite
maybe not wanting to be in the spotlight. Do you
still feel that way or to feel a necessity to
be more vocal as you gain veteran status.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Oh, man, I mean I think like on a like, yeah,
I'm not really like super someone who likes to be
in the front of the camera. But I do also think,
like again going off of like having such great people
to learn from, I think of the way that like
in the major tournaments, they kind of like protected us
(24:13):
as younger players from the medium, from the outside and
all like the external pressure. So I definitely think now
coming into this role, like that's where I see I
have to step up in those ways, is just being
more of a voice for the team in that sense,
maybe taking more pressure from the media and also like
being able to kind of shield the younger players from
(24:37):
it or you know, like teach them how to handle it.
So I definitely think like in that sense, that's where
I can like lean more into, I guess being in
the media. But I think like from like a personal
standpoint of it just being like I'm not super want
to be on the camera, I feel.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Like, yeah, you find your own ways to kind of lead,
and it feels like this inevitability that you've ended up
where you are. You wrote a paper as a little
kid about Mia Ham. In high school the person you
most wanted to meet was Mega Rapeto, and then you
end up on a field with her in these major
moments like are you able to really feel like, holy shit,
(25:18):
I'm the person now that the little people are writing
papers about that the high schoolers most want to meet,
Like can you sit in the greatness of the career
that you've had so far with still more to come?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Or is that hard for you right now?
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Oh? I mean, I feel like it's like it hasn't
really hit me yet. I always say, I think it
is really cool that I now am able to give
back to the sport in the same way that it's
given to me, because I know how much it meant
to me to have Mia Ham in the ninety nine
ers and have a Pino and like Heather mits is
from Cincinnati and so to have those players to like
(25:51):
look up to and for me to see that and
be like I want to be in their shoes one day,
it is really cool to now, I guess recognize that
now I'm kind of like able to be that for
some people. I don't know if it's like fully hit me,
and I don't know if it ever will, but it's
definitely something that I feel like is pretty special in
(26:11):
what we get to do.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Yeah, you, as a result of your great play have
become pretty in demand, from skincare to dog products to
other things. You've got lots of endorsements. Is there any
sort of like weird collab that you've been offered? You
don't have to say the name of the brand, but
is there something that you're like, Yeah, I don't know
about that one.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
I don't think so, I'm sure there is that. I
can't think of one.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
So you're getting mostly good offers and lots of dog offers.
You're getting a lot of partnerships with Wilma. Can you
tell me about those?
Speaker 3 (26:43):
Wilma is such a star, She's so cute, she has
so much funk and personality, so it's like, of course
she should be highlighted. Yeah. I feel like any chance
I can show off Wilma, is I love it?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Do you have to split the check?
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Yeah? I will.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Extra treats extra exactly. Okay, So what's the goal for
the rest of the season.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
What are you focused on?
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Both personally and with Gotham as you push toward the playoffs,
I think.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
From a personal standpoint, like you said at the beginning,
like I'm still kind of on this rehab journey, so
getting back to a place where I feel one hundred percent,
I don't know when that will be, but I think
working towards that, I think from like as a collective
from our team, obviously, we want to keep pushing to
be in playoff position and keep pushing to beat towards
(27:35):
the top of the table. We also have these Conka
GAF games coming up, so having a good showing with that.
We're going to have obviously a really really tight schedule
with all those games, so I think it might get
a little crazy down the stretch, but yeah, I think
performing in both those competitions is our goal obviously.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
Okay, last question for you.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
We play our own version of bench Start Cut, except
our versions easier because you.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Don't have to cut anything.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Okay, Okay, it's just good, gooder, and goodest, So I
want them in that order, from least to best, good
good or goodest. Midge Purse doing a cameo in Chicago
on Broadway. Oh my gosh, Midge Purse on the off
season or Midge Purse in the SI Swimsuit runway.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
Oh my gosh, Okay, I'm gonna say good is her
off season, but only just because I haven't seen it.
What I know, I've got to watch it. I know,
I don't really watch a lot of TV. It's kind
of my downfall, or is it.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
I think it's probably positive, But yeah, you should watch it.
It's fun.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
So I'm going to say good for that. I'm going
to say gooder for Broadway even though that was like
so sick of her, And I'm going to say what
was the word goodest?
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Goodest?
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Yeah, goodest. I'm going to say SI Swimsuit because she
like worked that runway. She did so good on that.
She did so good on the Broadway too, but like.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
No, she really did.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
She looked like a natural she yeah, she like I
thought she did. It was like perfect cowboy, like the
perfect amount. Yeah, she worked that.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
The like lifeguard photo shoot. I was like, girl, stop it,
save job for someone else. Well, we love talking to you,
we love watching you, whether it's performing Celine Dion or
playing soccer.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
So thank you so much for the time and good
luck in the second half.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
We got to take another break. When we come back.
Hyperbole Gone too far? Welcome back, slices. We always love
that you're listening, but we want you to get in
the game every day too, So here's our good game
play of the day.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Watch the US Gymnastics Championships.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
They yet underway today, though the women don't compete till tomorrow.
And if you missed our conversation with Olympic gymnast turned
analyst Lori Hernandez earlier this week, go back and listen
to that.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
She'll get you all prep for the Championships.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
We'll link to that episode and the broadcast schedule in
the show notes. We always love to hear from you,
so hit us up on email Good game at wondermedianetwork
dot com or leave us a voicemail at eight seven
two two four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Rate and review.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Just scroll down to where the stars are click five
stars and write something nice about us.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
It really helps, and it's easy.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Watch not really doing what you say you're really doing,
rating zero points for operating in a false reality review.
On Monday, Sports on Prime posted a video of a
giant receipt of Diana Trossi's career stats and accomplishments being
unfurled off a bridge with the caption they really hung
(30:53):
Diana Tarassi's receipts off the Manhattan Bridge. Tarasi premieres August
seventh on Prime Video. The only problem they didn't really
hang anything the video was AI. Now I'm not a
fan of AI videos in general, but I'd have kept
it moving on this if they just posted it with
a caption like, imagine if we hung DT's receipts or
(31:14):
would you make the trip to see it if we
hung DT's receipts. Instead, they let folks who don't know
better believe it's real. With all the fake news, misinformation,
lies and scams out there about really important things like elections, genocide,
ice arrests, and otherwise misleading sports, DOOC promos clearly aren't
the most pressing issue, but it still matters to me
(31:36):
because when we can't tell what's real, nothing holds value anymore.
If we figure out that this company didn't actually do
this cool thing, will we doubt the next activation or
the next marketing campaign we see and the next one
after that. These fakes, cheapen the real thing, and I
know they're just using like internet slang like they.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Really did that. But don't say you really did something
if you really didn't.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
Don't say you honored an all time player, if you
really didn't.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
Bottom line, if you're not.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Driving all the way out to Door County, Wisconsin to
sit your very real ass on a very real bench
honoring a very real motherfucking goat, then don't say you
really did that.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
Shit.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Now it's your turn to rate and review, and don't
be like.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
I really rated and reviewed Good Game with Sarah Spain
without really doing it, So do it, really do it?
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Thanks for listening, See you tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
Good game, rows, Good game Willma Jeane you to that
vicious neighbor dog.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Actually, Hi, buddy, I bet you're innocent. I bet you
just need a little more love.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
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. Our executive
producers are Christina Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.
(33:03):
Our editors are Emily Rutter, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch and
Gianna Palmer.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Our associate producer is Lucy Jones.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Production assistance from Avery LOFTUS and I'm Your Host Sarah
Spain
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're celebrating
the passing of the WNBA trade deadline by finally ordering
our favorite player's jersey. And to the folks who already
bought a Dwana Bonner Fever jersey or Melissa Smith and
DJJ Carrington wings gear.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Sorry fo ya.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
It's Thursday, August seventh, and on today show will be
skipping the need to know and getting straight to my
conversation with Gotham and US National team midfielder Rose Lavelle.
I caught up with her last Thursday, just as the
NWSL break was coming to a close, and we talked
about her return to the pitch following her first ever surgery,
busting out Celine Dion on the karaoke mic, and the
origin of one of the most consistent traditions on the Internet.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
That conversation's coming up right after.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
This, joining US now she's a midfielder forgot the MEPCI
of the NWSL and the US women's national team. With
over one hundred caps for her country. She won the
Bronze Ball as the third best player in the twenty
nineteen World Cup, helping the US to victory.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Earned Olympic Bronze.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Aka Rose Gold in twenty twenty one, and helped the
US to Olympic gold in twenty twenty four. She played
her college soccer for Wisconsin and was the number one
overall pick in the twenty nineteen NWSL draft, going to
the now defunct Boston Breakers. Mama or sister to Bulldog
Wilma Jean Wrinkles, and the inspiration for USL team mascot
Rose cow Bell. She will forever be known as the
(01:23):
Queen of Celine Dion karaoke, and she's not afraid to
pair a black tie gown with slippers.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
She's Rose LaVale.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Oh my gosh, that was such a great intro.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, we need to start with the most important thing.
So number one.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
I was in attendance for the Celein Dion performance at
the twenty twenty three US Women's National team Players Ball
and that definitely was not the first time you've done that, right,
I mean.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
It wasn't the first time I've sang the song, but
I that was the first time I karaoke did.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
Yeah, it looked very reversed, It looked very natural, and
your adoring crowd were ready and waiting to be literally
at your feet as if they were at a concert.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
This it just felt like it had happened before.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
No, I do have to say, I know it doesn't
look like it, but I did have to get forced
on stage. I didn't. I wasn't prepared for the moment,
and I know it does not look like that, but
that wasn't It wasn't planned, and I was reluctant at first.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Well, you stepped up in the moment in a really
impressive way.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Second most important, a baby cow was named after you.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
We need to talk about this, Okay.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Lionella Bessie of the USL team forward Madison FC, apparently
their mascot, a cow.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Has a baby. How does she end up being named
Rose cow Bell?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I think it just was a fan though, But nonetheless,
I'm obviously so honored. I haven't gotten to meet her yet,
but I do have a little bobblehead of her, which
I excited about.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Oh that's surprized possession. Yeah, that's that's incredible. You're one
with the animals. As we've established, everybody knows your dog,
Wilma Gene wrinkles. So can you clarify the relationship. Wilma
is your sister, your child, you're fur baby.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Wilma is my sister, so we have the same parents.
Her parents are my parents. So she still lives with
her parents in Cincinnati. She's just twelve years old, so
I would never expect her to not be living with
her parents.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Still fair, Yeah that makes sense.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Yeah, she does turn thirteen soon though.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
There are countless posters and signs made in honor of
you two. Often your faces are filling in iconic photos
where you replace the other faces of all the Wilma
gene content and tributes that you've seen, whether in person
or online.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
What are a few of your favorites.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Ooh, somebody gave me a Wilma pillow, like literally like
even larger than her, and I love that, Like I
still have that, and I it's like, oh my bad,
So that was I really liked that. I like keep everything,
like I have all my Wilma memorabilia, Like my apartment
is decorated with Wilma all over the place, so honestly, like,
(04:20):
I love it all. Somebody made a mug, a Wilma mug,
so I really like that. I have little cutouts of
her I have, Yeah, I mean I don't know, it's
hard to pick one, but yeah, the pillow and the
mug were pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
As someone who grew up with dog siblings and now
has three dog children, do you have a desire to
have your own dog child a niece to Wilma so
to say, Oh.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
My gosh, Wilma's like literally like my soul dog. Like,
I'm so don't. I don't know. I can't even like
talk about another dog because she's just like literally the
best thing ever.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
And with your schedule, maybe a little bit harder to
have a child than a sister.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Oh my gosh, I know, I don't know how people
do it. I don't know how people do it. I
don't know how people do it with like a dog,
but then like having an actual human child too, I'm like,
oh no, I like so much credit to all the mothers.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I really don't know how anyone gets anything done other
than just like staring at their child and making sure
it stays alive.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
I really don't know.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
I know, I'm like, it's hard to feed myself. I
can't imagine having to feed it another.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Okay, we're gonna get off the dog thing in a minute,
but we have one more dog related story because September
twentieth is a very important day in your life, and
it is one of the best and most consistent yearly
traditions for you to post about it. Ever since twenty sixteen,
you've commemorated September twentieth on Twitter. Last year you wrote,
for instance, twelve years ago today Mary got chased down
the street by a vicious neighbor dog, And to this
day it is still the funniest thing I've ever witnessed.
(05:46):
So let's start with the backstory. Tell us about Mary
and this dog.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Okay, okay, okay, We like had prior beef with this
dog before, so like we kind of knew it meant
business whenever it was around, Like we had just we
cut through its yard one time, and like it came
running and barking at us, and I sprinted out of
the yard. Immediately Mary hesitated because she was like, maybe
it wants to get pet.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Okay, and who's Mary?
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Mary is my sister, my younger sister. Okay, so it
like it's we knew it was. It was kind of
a nasty little dog. And then we just were like
going for a walk and there was this one house
that had like just free range puppies in the front yard.
I don't know, but we were like, let's go pet
the puppies. Of course, this nasty dog had like some
(06:33):
kind of connection to the puppies. We don't know if
it was the father, the mother, the we don't know.
But as we're in the yard petting the puppies, the
dog walks out of its own yard, which is like
a couple houses down, and starts coming over to the
puppy yard. I mean, Mary are immediately like, all right,
let's back out slowly because this isn't good. And I'm like, Mary,
(06:57):
if it comes for us, I'm jumping in the bed
of that truck over there. And I don't think she
took it seriously enough. And sure enough, it books it out,
does a circle around, does a circle around Mary, and
Mary's like, oh my gosh, looking around. We split in
opposite directions and it goes after Mary, and like, wow
(07:18):
it I should preface and say it's funny because she
was okay, like in hindsight, like knowing, knowing her side
of the story, Like it had its like it had
its teeth out, and it was like it was a
big dog. It was like a like a kind of
like a shepherd dog, like one of those that you
(07:38):
have on the farm to like run the wolf.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Right, Australian cattle dog. Australian shepherd.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Yeah, it was like one of those things. So it
was it was.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
It was.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
It was running her off the land and she she
tells her side obviously a lot better, but like in
her head, she was like how long can I run for?
She's like, and where do I run? Too? Like I
can't knock on a door because it's going to get her.
So she ended up. It felt like a long time
that it was chasing her, but like in reality it
(08:08):
was probably like I don't know, thirty yards, thirty forty yards,
which is still a long time, but it was. It
was so funny, And it was so funny because she's
okay and lived to tell the tale. Obviously, if there's
a different outcome.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Well, also, a smart dog, you know, didn't pick the
professional athlete to chase.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
It's like the old joke about outrunning.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
The bear, Like you don't have to out run the
barr you just have to outrun the other person. So
you smartly took off the other direction and sent the
dog after the easier victim. I love that you commemorated.
Do you have to set a reminder or does it
just naturally happen on that day that you immediately remember
that it's a special day.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
I do have a reminder yearly, but I usually always
remember without it.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Well, without knowing anything about the quote unquote vicious neighbor dog,
I'm on the dog side. I'm sure there's a reason
for it to cranky. You guys probably did something or not.
You just don't remember.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Yeah, I don't know. It was a mean dog. And
I don't say that about dogs like I'm like, I
love dogs with my whole heart, but this one was
a mean little thing.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Okay, dog therapy may be called for for the neighbor dogs,
and then we can we can revisit. Okay, let's talk
about soccer, because we're so excited to have you back
out on the pitch.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
It took a little while.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
You've battled some neat and ankle injuries over the last
couple of years, a couple of different surgeries. You've missed
time for club and country. How do you handle those
moments of sort of forced stillness of being made to
be away from the game.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
This was actually my first surgery that I got, but
obviously I have had like a lot of other injuries
before that, unfortunately. But yeah, I feel like anytime I
like am kind of forced to be out of the
game with an injury, I think I always think there's
like silver lining out of it. I think a lot
(09:55):
of it is it like forces you to be really
present and like kind of win the day. I feel like,
if I like look too far ahead, it seems like
you have such a huge mountain to climb, Whereas if
I can just focus on, like how am I gonna
get myself better each day mentally physically? And so I
think that that's like the like first thing is I
(10:18):
think it allows me to be really really present and
find like the joys and the little winds. I think
this go around, I keep saying, I feel like it
allowed me to kind of learn how to be a
good teammate when I can't just be impactful on the field,
Like how can I still be a voice and a
(10:39):
person to lean on when I'm not on the field
around training? So I think that that like allowed me
to step into like a bigger leadership role. So I
think there was like silver lining in that and then
I also think it like helped me really get my
body right all the other things that maybe I hadn't
(10:59):
had time to focus on with like the long seasons
and the short off season. So yeah, I think just
the time away always like I always kind of try
to find the silver lining in it, And I think the
quicker you can do that, the better like mentally you'll
be during the process, because it always is like obviously
very mentally draining.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
But yeah, what's your confidence, Like when you get back
on the pitch, do you have fears of reinjury or
not being as sharp or do you sort of just
come back reckless and ready.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
No, I mean I think that that's also something that
I have had to like learn and grow into a
little more because I think every time I've been injured,
like I always have the expectation of myself to like
once I'm back, like hit the ground running and not
miss a beat, and like then when I inevitably don't
(11:52):
do that, then I'm like upset with myself and like
just I like feel like I have probably way home
higher expectations than I should after being away for so long.
So I think going into today's injury, I've like recognized
that even when I'm back on the field, it's going
to be an up and down journey. Like just because
I'm back on the field doesn't mean my like rehab
(12:14):
process has stopped. Like it's still going to be a
bit till I'm at one hundred percent, and just like
allowing myself to, you know, have a little more grace
in those moments for myself. I think that that's been
another big learning point for me, is to like give
myself some grace in this return.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Yeah, it's not so much an on and off switch.
Is a much like a dimmer, right, You're just like
easing your way back.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Up towards the lightfully being on.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
When the US women's national team was in your hometown
of Cincinnati earlier this summer, you were still on a
minute's restriction from that ankle surgery.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
It wasn't really clear if you were going to play.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
But as the second half war on, the fans were
getting loud chanting we want Rose, we want Rose, And
we don't often see that type of chant work, but
somehow it worked this time. Emma Hayes decided to give
the crowd what they wanted, which was you, and after
the game she called it a nice cameo. So, what
are your thoughts when you're hearing the chance get louder
and then you see Emma kind of turn towards you.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Oh my gosh. I mean, it's like I got a
little shy, didn't not to do, but I it was
really funny. And I think, like I always say this,
I feel like everyone knows how much I love Cincinnati.
I think it like literally has like one of the
best atmospheres I've ever played in. I might be biased,
but I don't think I am. So yeah, I think
(13:35):
that that was like such a like funny, cool moment
to have. And I think it also like I feel
really grateful that Emma like allowed me to have that moment.
I keep saying. I think like obviously the older I get,
the less opportunity I have to like go and play
in front of my hometown, and it's such a special opportunity.
And I think for me, like just being healthy and
(13:59):
like being able to be on the roster for the
game was enough like that that was kind of like
my goal was to be able to like be back
and healthy by then, so like just getting to be
a part of the day was so special. I had
like no other expectations beyond that, So I like, do
feel really really like grateful that. Yeah, Emma allowed me
(14:21):
to like have that moment. I think it like speaks
too like the kind of coach she is that she
doesn't just care about us as players, she cares about
us as people. And yeah, I sure that that was
really really cool for her.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Your ties to Cincinnati are well known, and if I
didn't already know them, at this year's Players Ball, I
ended up in like a circle of you and Julie
Edelman and friend of the show Er fight Master and
all these other SENSI people just like bouncing back and
forth talking about Cincinnati. We're all so excited to talk
about it. And also I'm like revisit and immortified about
(14:54):
whatever number of drinks I had had that kept having
me say to you, don't you know Er from the
show Er? Have you ever seen the show Er? And
Everyone's like, not Er Gray's anatomy. I'm like, oh my god,
I'm such a more on. But anyway, I digress. I
want to quickly ask you, like, when you're on the
bench for the average game, maybe not Cincinnati, just in general,
how aware are you of the fans and what they're yelling.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
How aware of you have the coach.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
And whether the coaches may be about to call your
name to come in or you just in on the
game and that's all you're paying attention to.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
I feel like when you're like, I don't know, I
feel like you're kind of like locked into the game
because it's like you do have to be prepared at
any moment for there to be a change, and whether
that's you or somebody else, Like I think you kind
of have to be prepared for yourself to be ready
to go in the game or to help somebody else
who's about to go into the game. So I feel
(15:47):
like like we're all pretty walked in.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Yeah, like you got to know what's happened every moment
before you go in so you can best take advantage
of the play.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Let's talk about Gotham this season.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Obviously a team that's staff with talent, not always seeing
the results in the win column. Yet injuries obviously part
of that. You didn't make your season debut until June.
Obviously Midge person had some time before coming back. What
else do you think has contributed to this team's current
sort of middle of the pack status when maybe more
was expected.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Yeah, I mean I feel that's a good question, and
I think I feel like we've had some really big
wins and maybe some like I think we've had some
high highs and some low low So I think like
maybe just consistency. And I think part of that is
just having people coming in and out obviously, but I
think that's also like on us to own that and
make sure that we are like bringing that every single
(16:36):
day and training every single game. Is that like consistency piece.
I think, you know, how you do one thing is
how you do everything, So I think kind of like
leaning into that mentality. I think definitely this month together,
we like didn't travel obviously, we just like got to
train and really continue to build on the connections relationships
we got on the field. So I think that that's
(16:56):
really helped us and hopefully will help us coming into
the second half of this season. I think last year
it's like we had a lot of we had a
really great season, but it was a lot of like
one to OH wins, two OH wins, and so now
I feel like we're having bigger wins, but then it
also feels like the losses are feeling a little bigger too.
So I think for us it's just kind of like
finding our consistency, and like I said, I think hopefully
(17:20):
this month that we've had together is going to help
us find that in the second half of the season.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Yeah, and despite some of the struggles, as of this taping,
your squad is in eighth place eighteen points. It's just
four points back of fifth place Portland, just seven points
back of second place Orlando.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
So I imagine there's.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
A lot of enthusiasm and excitement around getting back out
there because you can make up ground pretty quickly.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think anybody who has played
in the end of you Cell knows like this second
half of the season is where it gets like wild.
This second half, it's like it doesn't really matter where
you are, Like there's so much parody in the league
that like you can start at the bottom and then
at the top. You can start at the top and
end of the bottom. So yeah, I mean I think
(18:02):
it's it's about to get wild, but that's that's the
fun of it.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Yeah, it is a league known for parody, but we
have a very clear top and a very clear bottom
and then a packed sort of middle. We've always seen
that sort of as a positive, I think both for
fans of teams knowing that they've always got a shot,
and also just as evidence of good quality play up
and down. Do you think it's bad for the league
that there are some teams that are very clearly not
(18:26):
keeping up.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
No, I mean I think that might like be inevitable
as we continue to expand, that there's going to be
teams that are going to be at the bottom. But
I think I'll say that I think even the teams
that are at the bottom, they're still really hard to play. Like,
I think what's fun about this league is you can't
you can't afford to take one game off. Like every
game is going to be a game. It's going to
(18:48):
be a battle, no matter who you're playing in the standings.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
It's still a chaos league, There's no doubt about that.
It's always been known as chaos league. Does it feel
that way inside the league two year after year?
Speaker 3 (19:00):
I would only say chaos in the way that like,
teams can move up and down in the table, but
it's obviously very transitional, very physical. But I also think
that teams are starting to find their own styles of
play too, which has been really cool to see. An
evolution of the league is like more established playing styles
per team. So I wouldn't say it's chaotic in that sense,
(19:23):
but more just chaotic in the sense that it's like,
at this point in the season, it's like you really
don't know where people are going to end up.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Yeah, any given day, somebody can win. To your point, Yeah,
I mean it's been fun to watch some of the
teams establish themselves, both in terms of style of play
and differentiating themselves from other squads.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
But also culture.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
And I think in women's sports, the nascent nature of
so many of the leagues makes it hard to sort
of attach to traditions or nostalgia in the same way
you can with these men's leagues that have been around
for one hundred years. So I love places that are
starting to have a very distinct feel. Gotham is one
of those. And I think the fit checks and women's
(20:05):
sports are also a thing that's sort of becoming something
that the leagues are known for and leaning into the
way that women athletes combine their fashion and their fits
with sport.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Do you like that part of it?
Speaker 1 (20:17):
I know you rack some slippers with your dress at
the most recent players gallus, you're already ahead of the trends.
But as far as putting together an outfit of the
day and like hitting those pregame poses, is that natural
for you?
Speaker 3 (20:29):
That's not natural for me, And I'm not very good
at that part. I'm so jealous of the people that are,
Like every time I see Mandy Freeman walk in, I'm like,
how did you do it? How did you put that together? Like,
I'm just I'm in awe of her like fashion sense.
She just puts together amazing outfits, but I'm not good
(20:50):
at that personally, so I usually I'm not very active
on the runway during game days.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Would you let her address you?
Speaker 3 (21:00):
Oh? Yeah, I mean I don't. I still am like,
I'm not like a super comfortable person in front of
the camera, So I don't know if i'd be like
good at posing. But yeah, I would recommend Mandy be
anybody stylist that's like she has like such a gift.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
I feel like the key is always layers.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Like I feel like I can pick an okay like
dress or something, but the key to looking fashionable is
like a bunch of pieces together that somehow look like
they wouldn't work and then do and I cannot do.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
That, Like, I know, I know, you need to talk
to Mandy.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Okay, well we'll both go in and have a session. Yeah,
you'll find out what a rate is by the hour.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
We got to take a quick break more with rose
leavel right after this. I want to go back a
couple of years back in twenty seventeen, you got your
first US women's national team cap. The rest of the
roster is people like Julie Ertz, Kelly O'Hara, Meghan Rpino,
(21:55):
Alex Morgan, Sam Muis, Alyssena or Tobin Heath, Becky Ceburne.
Like that isn't in sane roster to join and beyond
so many all time greats, and a bunch of them
retired in the last year. Now, so what does it
feel like to just keep showing up and find out
that as time passes you're now among the most capped
players that are on the team.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Oh my gosh. Well that part is really weird because
I know I am, I know I'm now like one
of the more veteran players, but it doesn't feel like that.
It's like it happens so suddenly, But then I guess
so slowly at the same time, so it's kind of weird,
But I do feel like so grateful for the time
(22:36):
that I like first got on the national team, and
because I think it was like the time that there
was a little bit of a transition, so I had
like kind of the comfort of some of my friends.
But at the same time, I got to like learn
and play with so many players that I like watched
and looked up to and idolized, and like then all
of a sudden, now I'm sharing the field and getting
(22:57):
to learn from them every single day, and I feel
so lucky for that, and I think that that's like
really allowed me to now step into this position on
the team where now I am a maybe a more
veteran player, but I feel like I had such great
people to learn from too set me up to like
be in this position as well as like all the
(23:19):
other you know, players in my age cohort, I think
we we got really like lucky, and I feel really
blessed that I got so many years with like such
incredible people and players. MM.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
You've been described in the past plenty of articles written
about you as a reluctant star. You know, emerging despite
maybe not wanting to be in the spotlight. Do you
still feel that way or to feel a necessity to
be more vocal as you gain veteran status.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Oh, man, I mean I think like on a like, yeah,
I'm not really like super someone who likes to be
in the front of the camera. But I do also think,
like again going off of like having such great people
to learn from, I think of the way that like
in the major tournaments, they kind of like protected us
(24:13):
as younger players from the medium, from the outside and
all like the external pressure. So I definitely think now
coming into this role, like that's where I see I
have to step up in those ways, is just being
more of a voice for the team in that sense,
maybe taking more pressure from the media and also like
being able to kind of shield the younger players from
(24:37):
it or you know, like teach them how to handle it.
So I definitely think like in that sense, that's where
I can like lean more into, I guess being in
the media. But I think like from like a personal
standpoint of it just being like I'm not super want
to be on the camera, I feel.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Like, yeah, you find your own ways to kind of lead,
and it feels like this inevitability that you've ended up
where you are. You wrote a paper as a little
kid about Mia Ham. In high school the person you
most wanted to meet was Mega Rapeto, and then you
end up on a field with her in these major
moments like are you able to really feel like, holy shit,
(25:18):
I'm the person now that the little people are writing
papers about that the high schoolers most want to meet,
Like can you sit in the greatness of the career
that you've had so far with still more to come?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Or is that hard for you right now?
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Oh? I mean, I feel like it's like it hasn't
really hit me yet. I always say, I think it
is really cool that I now am able to give
back to the sport in the same way that it's
given to me, because I know how much it meant
to me to have Mia Ham in the ninety nine
ers and have a Pino and like Heather mits is
from Cincinnati and so to have those players to like
(25:51):
look up to and for me to see that and
be like I want to be in their shoes one day,
it is really cool to now, I guess recognize that
now I'm kind of like able to be that for
some people. I don't know if it's like fully hit me,
and I don't know if it ever will, but it's
definitely something that I feel like is pretty special in
(26:11):
what we get to do.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Yeah, you, as a result of your great play have
become pretty in demand, from skincare to dog products to
other things. You've got lots of endorsements. Is there any
sort of like weird collab that you've been offered? You
don't have to say the name of the brand, but
is there something that you're like, Yeah, I don't know
about that one.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
I don't think so, I'm sure there is that. I
can't think of one.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
So you're getting mostly good offers and lots of dog offers.
You're getting a lot of partnerships with Wilma. Can you
tell me about those?
Speaker 3 (26:43):
Wilma is such a star, She's so cute, she has
so much funk and personality, so it's like, of course
she should be highlighted. Yeah. I feel like any chance
I can show off Wilma, is I love it?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Do you have to split the check?
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Yeah? I will.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Extra treats extra exactly. Okay, So what's the goal for
the rest of the season.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
What are you focused on?
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Both personally and with Gotham as you push toward the playoffs,
I think.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
From a personal standpoint, like you said at the beginning,
like I'm still kind of on this rehab journey, so
getting back to a place where I feel one hundred percent,
I don't know when that will be, but I think
working towards that, I think from like as a collective
from our team, obviously, we want to keep pushing to
be in playoff position and keep pushing to beat towards
(27:35):
the top of the table. We also have these Conka
GAF games coming up, so having a good showing with that.
We're going to have obviously a really really tight schedule
with all those games, so I think it might get
a little crazy down the stretch, but yeah, I think
performing in both those competitions is our goal obviously.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
Okay, last question for you.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
We play our own version of bench Start Cut, except
our versions easier because you.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Don't have to cut anything.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Okay, Okay, it's just good, gooder, and goodest, So I
want them in that order, from least to best, good
good or goodest. Midge Purse doing a cameo in Chicago
on Broadway. Oh my gosh, Midge Purse on the off
season or Midge Purse in the SI Swimsuit runway.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
Oh my gosh, Okay, I'm gonna say good is her
off season, but only just because I haven't seen it.
What I know, I've got to watch it. I know,
I don't really watch a lot of TV. It's kind
of my downfall, or is it.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
I think it's probably positive, But yeah, you should watch it.
It's fun.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
So I'm going to say good for that. I'm going
to say gooder for Broadway even though that was like
so sick of her, And I'm going to say what
was the word goodest?
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Goodest?
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Yeah, goodest. I'm going to say SI Swimsuit because she
like worked that runway. She did so good on that.
She did so good on the Broadway too, but like.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
No, she really did.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
She looked like a natural she yeah, she like I
thought she did. It was like perfect cowboy, like the
perfect amount. Yeah, she worked that.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
The like lifeguard photo shoot. I was like, girl, stop it,
save job for someone else. Well, we love talking to you,
we love watching you, whether it's performing Celine Dion or
playing soccer.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
So thank you so much for the time and good
luck in the second half.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
We got to take another break. When we come back.
Hyperbole Gone too far? Welcome back, slices. We always love
that you're listening, but we want you to get in
the game every day too, So here's our good game
play of the day.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Watch the US Gymnastics Championships.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
They yet underway today, though the women don't compete till tomorrow.
And if you missed our conversation with Olympic gymnast turned
analyst Lori Hernandez earlier this week, go back and listen
to that.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
She'll get you all prep for the Championships.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
We'll link to that episode and the broadcast schedule in
the show notes. We always love to hear from you,
so hit us up on email Good game at wondermedianetwork
dot com or leave us a voicemail at eight seven
two two four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Rate and review.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Just scroll down to where the stars are click five
stars and write something nice about us.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
It really helps, and it's easy.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Watch not really doing what you say you're really doing,
rating zero points for operating in a false reality review.
On Monday, Sports on Prime posted a video of a
giant receipt of Diana Trossi's career stats and accomplishments being
unfurled off a bridge with the caption they really hung
(30:53):
Diana Tarassi's receipts off the Manhattan Bridge. Tarasi premieres August
seventh on Prime Video. The only problem they didn't really
hang anything the video was AI. Now I'm not a
fan of AI videos in general, but I'd have kept
it moving on this if they just posted it with
a caption like, imagine if we hung DT's receipts or
(31:14):
would you make the trip to see it if we
hung DT's receipts. Instead, they let folks who don't know
better believe it's real. With all the fake news, misinformation,
lies and scams out there about really important things like elections, genocide,
ice arrests, and otherwise misleading sports, DOOC promos clearly aren't
the most pressing issue, but it still matters to me
(31:36):
because when we can't tell what's real, nothing holds value anymore.
If we figure out that this company didn't actually do
this cool thing, will we doubt the next activation or
the next marketing campaign we see and the next one
after that. These fakes, cheapen the real thing, and I
know they're just using like internet slang like they.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Really did that. But don't say you really did something
if you really didn't.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
Don't say you honored an all time player, if you
really didn't.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
Bottom line, if you're not.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Driving all the way out to Door County, Wisconsin to
sit your very real ass on a very real bench
honoring a very real motherfucking goat, then don't say you
really did that.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
Shit.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Now it's your turn to rate and review, and don't
be like.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
I really rated and reviewed Good Game with Sarah Spain
without really doing it, So do it, really do it?
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Thanks for listening, See you tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
Good game, rows, Good game Willma Jeane you to that
vicious neighbor dog.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Actually, Hi, buddy, I bet you're innocent. I bet you
just need a little more love.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
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. Our executive
producers are Christina Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.
(33:03):
Our editors are Emily Rutter, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch and
Gianna Palmer.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Our associate producer is Lucy Jones.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Production assistance from Avery LOFTUS and I'm Your Host Sarah
Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
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