November 11, 2025 • 42 mins
Being a professional athlete is hard work, and so is being a mother. Over this past year, Madison and Anya have opened up their lives for the sake of women everywhere, sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly. Whether you’re a mom, an athlete, both, or none of the above, the Packers’ mission with this show was to make audiences feel seen by filling a gap in women's sports media. To celebrate the end of season one, The Packers walk down memory lane to reminisce over how much they have grown as people, parents, and podcasters. From sleep experts to authors to athletes to activists, the Packers left no stone unturned when it came to the line-up of riveting conversations. Enjoy this recap while Madison and Anya take a well-deserved rest, but don’t worry These Packs will Puck again soon 🏒 .
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hi everyone, Welcome to these packs puck. I'm Madison Packer
and I'm Anya Packer.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Madison and I are both former pro hockey players.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
We met through hockey and fell in love, and now
we're married with two awesome toddlers, ages two and four.
Speaker 4 (00:18):
These days, we're opening up about the chaos of our
daily lives, between the juggle of being athletes, raising kids.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
And all the messiness in between.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
So buckle the puck up because there is a lot
to talk about. Hey, pack, Hello, Hi, dun oh good, oh,
good love that.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
My team won the championship this weekend.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
We need that audio like I'm just gonna overlay that
audio every time you say.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
That, let's go, pack, we go. Baby.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Hey, what was the runners the record?
Speaker 1 (00:50):
We were.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Five?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Don't let it hurt you.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Nope, Gil, you were four one to no Nope. Yeah,
isn't the middle of tie?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
No?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
When's last tie? Welcome to sports.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Four zho to one good job.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Gold differential is insane.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
So yeah, my team was undefeated on the weekend. Champs
finally got some system play. The power play is next level.
The girls are buzzing. We're headed to Rochester this weekend,
so shout out to my Connecticut Junia Rangers U nineteen.
The girls are getting it right now.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Let's go all right, Well, I think I have a
hockey hot take about the weekend, and no better time
than when we're celebrating a high and maybe talk about
a low.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
So hit me with your hockey hot take.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Hockey hot take. In the last few days, it'll be
about a week when this airs Connabdard scored a filthy
Michigan goal from behind the goal line. For those who
don't know what that is, it's like kind of like
a lacrosse move. You pick it up with the toe
of your stick, you do a little flipperoo with the
puck and you go typically like right under the crossbar
(01:58):
on the short side corner. Beautiful goal. And Badard did
it in like didn't miss a beat, picked it up
behind in that beautiful goal in a tight game.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Physics is your friend here because it actually like hangs
on your stick, so if you've not seen it, you
literally score with your feet below the goal line.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Anyway, keep going. It's like a lacrosse move, like over
the shoulder. And I had a player tried to do
this in a six nothing lead, and I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa whoa Absolutely not right. The kid had confidence and
like at that point, even though the kid could do
it at any point. Usually kids don't try it in
(02:37):
a tight game because if you pull it off, it
usually works, but if you miss, you look very silly.
So the kids just gained the confidence to do it
right and like in a game where they have a
big lead. But me as a coach, I'm like you
hot dog, like don't have a dog. I can't call
them weenies l So I don't know. I'm in between
(03:00):
on it, but I think that there should be like
an unspoken moral code that you just don't do that.
But it happens a lot.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Here's the thing, here's my counter hot take to your
hot take. What's the difference between trying the Michigan yeah
in or a trick shot right versus when they just
sail down the wide side and rip a shot off
the opposite glass and it's a breakout anyway, Like, shot
quality at U nineteen level isn't spectacular.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Whoa, I disagree, And I did not follow that at all, No,
but I'm just saying, like I just think that shot,
oh you mean miss the hot yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
My point is like if you're gonna miss, you're gonna
miss regardless. Sometimes people think just getting a wide angle shot,
that's gonna miss the net because shot quality is what
it is at that level, right, Like even in college
shot quality isn't great. I don't think until you get
to the pros you're really shooting. I mean, top ten
teams maybe different, but like think of most college hockey,
(04:04):
I don't think the average shot is always shot incredibly intentionally,
do you.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Well, no, you're just trying to get pucks in the net.
But I think you're missing My point, Like my point
is not like the likelihood of scoring. My point is
like I think you're making a mockery of your opponent.
And if you're not going to do it in a
one nothing game, like don't wait until it's six nothing
to do it. Either do it or don't.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And you also don't do it when you're getting blown
out the opposite direction, like like I just feel like
at that point it does become like just like a
hot dog, like I don't know, like arrogant thing to do,
like if if you don't have the ability and like
the like juice to do it in a tight game.
Don't do it Otherwise you just look like a I
don't know, like a show off. You know, I'm with you.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
I'm saying if my options are try a Michigan or
send it up the far post so that it goes
a wide shot, it's the same same like that. That's
where my point is, like confidence or otherwise, do it
when it's on your stick and you have the availability
to do it. Doesn't matter if it's a zero zero
first period. If you have it on a stick, do it.
Don't now act like you have the skills of Trevor
(05:08):
Zegris to throw it up and bat it in with
the back end of your stick.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
You bum Just give me some grace. I'm struggling.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Yeah, I mean, And I think the same is true
the other way. Like sometimes when coaches get like a
really big lead, they'll like tell kids, oh, like stop shooting,
or like everyone has to touch the puck, or like
try this, Like I think that is equally degrading. But
also if like you're just standing out there playing tic
tac toe against kids who can't get the puck and
don't touch the puck, you also just look like you're
taunting them.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
I loathe when a team is getting crushed and their
answer is go take somebody's head off, and the game
actually becomes unsafe, and it's such a dumb way. I
think that if you can't coach the game the way
you do in a zero zero game and the way
you would in a six nothing game, you shouldn't be
a coach at any level. The way you do something
(05:55):
is the way you do everything. And I think if
you're doing something, whether it's telling your team not to
shoot or telling you and not focusing on the fundamentals
of the game and shot quality and or whatever integrity
of the game, go away, go do something else.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
I agree with that wholeheartedly, and that I think this
past weekend was the first time where my team felt
consistency on the bench because we had a few weekends
in a row where like the coaching has been consistent,
and I think for the first time the girls felt
that consistency. Yeah, and I think that that's hugely important,
especially to young athletes. I mean, they dominated all weekend
(06:33):
in the round robin, then they got a buy into
the final, even though we tied our last game. Then
that team that we tied, ended up losing to the
team we played in the final in a double shootout.
And the girls were down to nothing in the championship
game going into the last period and they came back
and scored four unanswered goals. And it was the first
time all season when they were down going into the
(06:55):
end of a game where they didn't seem like like
they believe that they could come back.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
The ability to think that you can do anything, whether
it be true or not, is such a powerful driver.
So if you think you can do the Michigan, do it.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Just do it.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Don't save it for when you have space and somebody's
down and the goalie is already poked with sieve holes
like and they just feel like crap.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Just do it.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Have the company to do it.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
CIV Seve Oh SIV.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Oh sorry, I said, Seeve one an idiot SIV Oh boy, wow,
I'm gonna leave it.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Don't edit that out. I'm gonna own that one, Seeve.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I think it's so funny though, and ironic. So before
the game, I don't do like big pregame serious speeches
like sometimes like go over stuff. But but like I
went in and I was trying to think about what
to say to the girls before the game, and like
a huge thing for us has been confidence. Yeah, And
I started to really finally see it before the final,
like the girls were having fun, Like the air was
(07:49):
light on the bench, And so I went in and
talked to him. I was like, how many of you,
Like don't you don't have to raise your hand, but
I want you to think of it, like how many
of you believe in a higher power, believe in God,
believe miracles, believe in ghosts, all these things that we
can't see. We find a way to put our faith
in and believe in it and get behind it. But
we all find it so hard to believe in the
(08:10):
thing that we see in the mirror every day, which
is ourselves. And all the girls were like, and I
was like it should It was like, it should be the.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
One creative writing major.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Maddie here here she is. I was like, it should
be the easiest thing for you because you are the
most constant and consistent thing. You know, every morning you
wake up, you look at your face in the mirror
every morning, your body gets you going, like, believe in
the thing that you know the most. And then the
girls went out and they crushed it.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
I think it's amazing.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
I think it's you know what it is though, And
I guess like we're going to keep just like patting
you on the back, which I'm so tired of. But
I think it's important to have a coach that has
actually been in those moments. And we talk about it
now more than ever, like just you know, over dinner.
But it's really important for a coach to look, see, feel, believe,
and also have had a coach that poured that same
(08:58):
level of love into them. You're definitely coaching with love.
You're not coaching with you know, the Denim Dad anger scream,
Like you're coaching from a perspective of I've literally done this.
I love you all, and I have empathy and I
again go women, But like, I think that's a really
important part of your coaching style and then what the
(09:19):
girls are taking from you. So while we started with
like a don't be a d bag and try to
Michigan and a six to nothing game, I think the
end all be all is if you have the confidence
to do something, you can do it. For sure, nothing
worse than quitting on yourself.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Agree wholeheartedly in the spirit of pumping my tires. I
think now would be a good time to transition to
the check in because I have never felt better.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Wow, Okay, are we gonna hit a hundred? Or are
we gonna.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Oh, we've already hit a hundred? I think I.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Think one time all season. I'm so sad this is
our last episode of the season, but let's go with
maybe we do we hit one hundred twice?
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Is are you at one hundred?
Speaker 3 (09:57):
No?
Speaker 1 (09:57):
I'm not quite there.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Okay, Well that's the most i climactic transition I've ever
heard in my life. But go right ahead.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Where are you at? I am a ninety point ninety three?
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Okay, okay, Yeah, life is good.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
I got to sleep in. I came home and gave
Harlan my medal from winning. She was so pumped she
woke up and immediately put it around her neck and
came in and did a little She.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Slept with it on.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
I know, at three o'clock in the morning, with the
medal on, smiling ear to ear, holding it in my face, going.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Mommy, look what I have. I said, MoMA, gave it
to you. She goes, kay, cuddle, sure, puts.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
The medal on, and then all night I'm literally wrestling
with a three year old and a freaking metal hitting
me in the face.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
So how are you doing? Then?
Speaker 3 (10:47):
I feel great. I woke up with the kids. They
were so excited for you to be home. I am
excited for you to be home. I'm excited for you
to do bedtime. I'm going to leave the house. I
don't know what I'm gonna do. I watched a mom
on TikTok order sushi and drink a bottle of wine
in her garage so that her husband could put her
kids to ben And I feel like that energy is
speaking to me. After Halloween weekend, alone with my thoughts
(11:09):
and feelings and two massive bags of candy and these kids.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
I could eat sushi in the car in the garage
and not talk to these kids all night. No, I
feel fine. I'm happy.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
I mean, I said, give it a little illusion. But
this is the wrap up to the first season of
These Packs Puck. I have never been more proud of
us for doing anything besides making our kids right. Like,
beyond making our kids. I find that as a couple
were crushing it right. Like we're supporting each other, We're
doing the things, but those are all things that we
should be doing. This podcast is something that was like
(11:42):
a completely stop culture. It was an opportunity that came
to us. We had no experience in it. I think
the people that we are today are better than the
people that we were, you know, one year ago.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
And I'm proud. I'm really, really, really.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Proud of the work that we put in here. So
I am at a ninety four baby. Oh, I thought
you're gonna hit No, I know, I'm sad. I have
to acknowledge and appreciate my sadness.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
I am sad.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
I really love the team that we work with. I
love our weekly checkens. We're going to take a little
break and reshuffle the pod a little bit, so kind
of the stress that I have that next week we
aren't immediately recording our season two kickoff is making me
a little bit sad.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
But that's okay.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
I think bigger, brighter horizons come for these Packspuck and
I could not be more proud of the work that
we did to get us here. Actually, in the spirit
of my pride, for this episode, we're going to do
a season one recap. We're going to talk about a
little bit of everything I you know, I hope I
keep it all together. But I'm really I'm really proud
of us, so I'm a ninety four. I'm happy I
(12:41):
got I think I chipped my tooth on a medal
last night, which is also digging the score a touch.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Oh was it the Ghost Medal that Whalan won for
his very original Ninja turtle costume.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
No, that was also ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Whylan mun a medal for just physically existing because he
also wanted pizza for dinner. He was walking around in
a Ninja Turtle's costume with a slice of pizza in
a box from the local pizza place, and that is
what set him over the edge. And I was like,
so disheartened that he won just for existing because oh,
(13:14):
they thought the pizza was part of the costume. Yeah,
they thought it was part of the bit, but he
was just hungry. Like in hindsight, yeah, it was adorable
and really really cute, but it was so unintentional that
it made me angry. But he did win an award
and he was so proud of himself, and he shared
it with his sister, so everybody wins. I could talk
an hour about how well I think they're sharing, but
(13:37):
let's go to a break we're going to come back
to a whole season recap. We can talk about the
growth of the kids, because I think that's very much
a part of the story. But right after this break
we'll get into a season one these Packspuck recap. I'm
(13:58):
really excited. I like I said in the check in,
I'm really really proud of ourselves. We have an entire
episode to talk about everything that you might have missed
or you heard, or that really resonated with.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Us all season long.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
So I'm gonna start by just asking you what was
one of the favorite parts of this last season for you?
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Ooh, I have two. So one was not recording. One
was a part of the experience of the pod as
a whole. When we went to the jingle Ball was
very fun. Yeah, shout out to Carrie Champion because I
think she is incredible. I love watching her on TV,
following her following her pod. I think she's incredible another
(14:41):
woman in the slate, So I really enjoyed our interactions
with her and that was a fun event. Also, I
don't really have a specific favorite.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Like I think like a general thing that you like.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I liked all the experts that we brought on. Yeah,
and we'll run it back more obviously with all of them.
But I just think that when we started this, we
weren't really sure which direction it was going to go, right,
And I think that a really cool part of it
has been bringing these other women on just to have conversation,
but then evolving and growing and learning so much as parents,
(15:12):
Like I think we are without a doubt we are
better parents because of the podcast, because we've been exposed
to all these people who have been able to help us.
And is it helped that we probably would have found
inevitably because we needed it maybe, But like, I just
think it's really cool how the universe brings people together,
and like the network that we've created as a result
of the pod has been really rewarding.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
I could not agree with you more. I think the
accessibility of having a problem, finding a solution and then
sharing that in real time has been a little vulnerable.
But it's also I think as women, I always say,
I trust a mom. I trust a mom. If you're
going to give me the ability to ask somebody, I'm
asking a mom. And so I really like that we
did that. I actually just recently got a text and
(15:57):
it's really important to me and it it was from
a mother of a friend that I lost my whole life.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
I grew up with a dear friend of mine.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
His name was Dougie, and he passed away when we
were in college, and it shook me. It really crushed me.
And later in life, right like we all stay in touch.
We start the podcast, I get a text from his mother, Michelle,
and it was like, this is Anya. This sounds like Anya.
Like I'm hearing old high school Anya. When you tell
your story about how you met Nattie, when you talk
(16:26):
about things like mental health, like, I'm hearing all the
things about you that I really love, and I in
that moment, I remember that the unifier in this podcast
is that you and I get to explain who we are,
explain where our brains go. But we were always kind
of those old people, and something about that. We talked
about it, and when we talked about our podcast, on
(16:47):
our episode about coming out, when we talked about your retirement,
which was also you know, a brutal episode to just
kind of like go through the two of us was
very emotional. I've always really tried to live my life
out loud. I've struggled, made I've struggled with depression. I've
struggled with anxiety. I've struggled with suicide. I've struggled with
coming out, being gay, being different, not being different enough,
(17:09):
like all these different otherisms. And this podcast has given
me a place to share that and so other people
can hear them, they can hopefully grow from them, they
can learn my experiences. So that was my favorite part
is maybe just being being seen. I feel very seen
in this podcast, and I appreciate everybody for letting me
stand on my soapbox and talk about stuff that I
(17:30):
care about.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
I like that, and I like this format. We didn't
really know. We knew what we wanted to do, but
we weren't really sure how to do it when we
came into this episode. And I have just now decided
that I kind of like the Q and A forum,
So we're going to keep this going. Mine's a deep one.
Kind of go ahead. What was the most challenging or
(17:52):
hardest part of the season or episode the season? Like,
what did you find was most difficult to talk about?
Speaker 2 (18:00):
There's two that stick out for me.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
There is really being vulnerable about the kids, and I
think that's thematic. I think it's hard as a mom
to admit that something's not working. So like McCall gordon
coming in and helping us with the sleeping, having conversations
about sexual assault amongst children, like with Kate Rope, those
are really hard and heavy topics.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
So I loved those episodes.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
I felt like Sarah Hartley also gave me a lot
to chew on as a parent, like not yelling like
so that part was just generally hard. Then we talked
about hockey. That's amazing and easy, super easy. I will
say your retiring was the hardest episode for me, and
it means nothing because I love you and it has
(18:44):
nothing to do with the fact that you're no longer
a hockey player. But actually recording an episode where I
had to think critically back on your entire career and
then what this new league means slash meant for us
was really hard. I mean, that was just hard to do.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
I say, there's a couple of moments that I'm really
proud of us, like us in that moment, I was
really proud of What about yourself?
Speaker 2 (19:07):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
I thought that it was hard to talk about our kids,
which you would think would be easy, but like when
we had the experts on for a variety of things,
I was afraid to like expose the kids, if that
makes sense.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Yeah, that's hard. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Like I think specifically of our episode with you mentioned
McCall gordon, and like I was so into it because
I was like, oh my goodness, all these things are
so applicable. But then I was like, everyone wants to
protect their kid, right, you want it to be like this,
like perfect little shit, like it's normal. But yeah, so
like I felt he's eating soap. I felt like, yeah,
I felt like that was hard to like take advice
(19:44):
in the moment and not overthink it, right. I think
I did a lot of that, and then we'd like
be in bed at night and a big.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
So like do you think do you think you need
to listen to this in fourteen years and hate us?
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Get off WebMD?
Speaker 2 (20:00):
I agree.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
I mean I also think the Eve Rotsky one was
a little difficult. I thought it was great and very topical,
but I think sometimes when we have to assign roles
for one another, it's almost like a mirror. A couple
of these episodes felt a little bit like a mirror,
and I saw maybe not so great qualities in myself,
and I thought that.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
One was interesting, right because it was almost fate at
its finest, because we recorded that episode right before I
then retired, came home, we went through all of that,
So that was like actually a huge blessing in disguise
because so many of those things. I honestly think that
if we hadn't had that episode when we did, and
we hadn't had that advice and information, that transition that
(20:39):
was already very difficult and hard and emotional, would have
been a hundred times worse.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Yeah, we may have killed each other.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
We learned so much in that and it was unintentional.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
Yeah, let's get into book club because I also think
that was hard, but just like objectively hard because I'm
not a reader and you're a reader, and so it
was like a lot of retraining my brain to a book,
which I think is crazy, but I'm not a reader,
and so that was challenging but so fun. I've decided
I really like raunchy books, and now this is my
(21:10):
new ethos. We talked about it on a couple different episodes,
but we talked about it with er fight Master. I
like this idea of external respectful but like raunchiness where
you can have this queer joy and love. And so
that whole series of books was really fun. When do
we ever get to expose people in the hockey world.
I feel like hockey romance and hockey fandom actually don't
(21:33):
intersect that much.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
And can we talk about the fact that no one
told me that Lexie Lafleur Brown's book was not I
literally was sitting there reading, thinking this was the story
of her and her husband and like they have kids.
I'm like, what is my reading? Yeah, it wasn't until
on the pod and she's like, oh no, no, no, no,
it's not. I mean it's not a biography or autobiography.
(21:54):
I like that. It's like that makes so much more sense.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
So that is amazing.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
And then to watch the arc of like Rachel Read
and Game Changers and go from a conversation in a
book series and the story to then getting picked up
by a television network and starting to develop into a
TV show, Like they are real proliferating stories amongst these
stories books, but that can continue on. And I really
enjoyed that meeting Rachel Read and having that whole illuminating
(22:21):
conversation about just bringing queerness from a men's perspective, into
the sport and into the books and the nuances there
is so interesting.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
I mean, we don't.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Celebrate queer joy in that landscape enough, we don't normalize
it enough. And I really liked her idea that, like,
if I could write a story of the idyllic world
that I want to see because gay love is just normal.
I thought that was so interesting from a straight woman,
that's such an interesting perspective.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
And it's so funny that you say that, because I
just finished watching Boots on Netflix. The underlying theme of
the story this young boy enlists in the Marines and
he's gay, and like the whole story talks about how
that's taboo in the Marines. It follows his journey through
his sexuality, and literally the whole time I'm watching it,
(23:13):
I was like, oh my god, I'm so pumped for
Game Changers. I like it just it just added like
a little element to the story, like co ed high
school crush. I don't know, I'm excited. I hope that
we can access the series once it's out here in
the States, because I think it's going to be really good.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
There was also a massive amount of other amazing women
that we had on the pod, right, Like we had
Meghan Duggan, we had Kristin Ferguson, we had Robin our Own,
we had Ali Kreeger, we had Natalie Spooner, like Emma
Woods was on the pod, like there are.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
I'm gonna make you pick who is your favorite fangirl
moment an athlete? Yeah, all right, I know who mine is.
I know your two favorites.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I know who mine is. I will let you say,
can I guess?
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (23:55):
I was gonna say at the count of three, we'll
say it together, once to two three, Ava Erickson, Yeah,
without a doubt. That was one of my favorite conversations
that we had. I felt like, it is really amazing
her story. It's amazing what she can do with it.
It's amazing how much she influenced the entire world with Survivor.
(24:18):
And when I'm in a bad headspace, I listened to
that podcast, that specific podcast.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
And I think that might be one of my proudest
moments of the pod as a whole. Like we actually
did a number of episodes that represented the neurodiversion community.
I guess I will say, and Ava's episode specifically, at
one moment I had a hard fangirl moment on the
pod because I was so incredibly blown away by her,
(24:47):
and she's young too, Like, Couple that with all of
the life experience she's had, plus going on Survivor, plus
going through this very personal, emotional, traumatizing moment in front
of the world, Couple that with what the world is
saying right now about people on the spectrum, Like, I
just think that for those who didn't listen, I would
(25:09):
encourage you to go back and take a listen. It
was just an incredible, incredible episode and I learned a
lot about myself. I learned a lot about her and
just being a good teammate, being a resilient person. That
was I think, not that I have a single favorite,
but that was definitely definitely one of my favorite episodes
to record this season.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
We took some really exciting risks, I feel like, I mean,
when we had Stephanie Dobbs Brown come on and talk
about being an athlete from the perspective of trying to
make your money stretch and being aware of the lack
of financial literacy in women's sports, like that is a
topic that people won't touch because it's not comfortable. It
(26:00):
doesn't feel like everything else we get to talk about
on a daily basis. And I really loved those big swings.
I loved our network of folks that were comfortable to
make them with us and seemingly out of the box.
I mean, we can span the gamut from other mothers.
Ali Kreeger an obvious best conversation ever to talk about
her father and her addiction with winning and how much
(26:22):
that drove her to having a really really, really great
conversation with the team that brought us inside out and
inside out too, and Riley and emotions and how hockey
ties in and having an anxiety attack on the ice
and something I personally can really relate to because I've
been there. But I just feel like the big swings
that we took this year were really exciting, and honestly,
(26:47):
I haven't heard them elsewhere, and I think that that's
really important that we can do that. Then we kind
of go into a totally different topic with doctor Joe,
you know, and that's a guest that I think was
really important to you. So why don't you talk a
little about that one? Because I think that one was
important you personally, Doctor.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Joe gooleaso incredible guy. He's the co founder and president
or CEO at Baker Street Behavioral Health. He's helped us
a lot, you know, as a family. He's helped all
the sports teams I've been involved with, and he does
a lot of work with professional teams and with adolescents,
not just athletes, but everybody. And I think that his
episode was important because it spoke not only to parents
(27:24):
but also to kids, right And like, I see it
a lot now as a coach. This generation of athlete
and kid is so much more comfortable talking about their
mental health, right. Like I have a few kids right
now my team that are injured, and they came to
us and we're like, I'm worried about my mental health.
I mean, I just think about how I wish so
(27:45):
many people that I grew up with had that courage.
I mean I played with a girl who committed suicide
when we were sixteen. I mean, if she had had
the ability and the tools and the resources to say, hey,
I'm struggling with my mental health. I think that the
more that we can continue to amplify that, Messa. It's
the work that Joe and his team do is incredible,
and I think that that's a huge part of growing
(28:05):
the game and growing the sport is continuing to show
athletes and kids that they have access to these resources.
And like you and I always talk about just continuing
to normalize the conversation versus the behavior so that we
can identify things that would signal us to there being
a problem.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
You know, I think all of that wrapped into using
a lot of time to talk about hockey. I mean,
we did a lot of talking about hockey, and I
think one that's the premise of this podcast. I think
more people should be talking about women's hockey, and more
people should be putting women's hockey on the map that
it belongs to be on and really meaningfully invest in it,
which unfortunately I just don't think we get yet. There's
(28:46):
pieces that were really fun when we got to talk
about the expansion draft, Like this season for women's hockey
was a goat season. It was season two. There was
so much movement going on. The draft was insane, had
two expansion teams, playoffs was out of control, right, nothing
made perfect sense. And so all season long we got
(29:07):
to talk about hockey and we got to give some
pretty ridiculous hot takes where we were passionate, we were fiery,
we were political at times, we were super ridiculous at
times where we just thought about, I don't know anything
because it's funny, So what what are some real hockey
mems that stand out for you? Or some aha moments
where you were like, this is why I love the thing.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Well, we talked about it on the pod. It wasn't
a moment that happened on the pod, but going up
to four nations and the fur coat, which we then
highlighted a little bit on the pod. That was fun.
I think some of the predictions and getting into the
banter back and forth you and I. I enjoyed that
a lot. Also, I agree with you because it's funny
you say the comment that you made about women's hockey growing, etc.
(29:52):
There was I woke up this morning. I was scrolling
through LinkedIn and it's been like talked about the price
of equipment. See firms, private equity firms buying up all
these equipment. Yeah, we talked about it, companies, et cetera.
Hockey is getting really expensive. The numbers of enrollment are
down across hockey as a whole, Like hockey's really struggling
and dying. However, women's hockey shafuragically it's yeah, it's exploding.
(30:19):
And Swift just became an official partner of the PWHL.
It's a new equipment primarily stick company, and the founder
and CEO was like, this is not like a charity.
This has been a goal of ours from the beginning
to get involved with the PWHL. Like, women's hockey is
killing it right now. We aren't doing this because it's
the only door we can get in. We want to
be in the women's hockey world because it's exploding, and
(30:42):
so to be able to follow women's hockey the way
we have while it's exploding has been really cool.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
I also think that being able to call players out
by name right when we talk about players that we like,
players that were enjoying their game, players that we're seeing
a lot of, like how frequently I mean, and we
had a great episode with Tessa from Jackson Jill's Right,
But besides and Jills and some other local, smaller podcasts,
how many people are really investing the time to get
to know these athletes, to talk about them, to fangirl
(31:09):
over CJ like I do so frequently to do all
the things that we do right, Like we're talking about
these players, we're not a fast and Alice Shelton on
a DP pair what it could look like for Seattle
to have the firepower of X y Z athlete. Like,
I think that's where you and I are really using
our powers for good not evil. Is objectively professional sports.
(31:32):
You're gonna have naysayers, You're gonna have critics. You're gonna
have the banter, right, the armchair quarterback that just sits
there and says.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Oh, Tommy Brady stinks because you missed this past and
blah blah blah.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
Right, Like I'm from Massachusetts. This is all I know
is people that are hyper critical of their athletes. And
I think that probably is coming down the pike for
women's hockey. People are gonna start going to the place
of let's be critical versus let's be supportive. But I
love that we use athletes names. I love that we
use stories that tell you who they really are. I
think it's important. I like talking about it. I like
(32:03):
talking about the potential of Sir Dakney and Izzy Daniel
and talking about what's going on on the ice.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
I'm proud of us for that.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
Well, and I liked that we had the ability to
highlight Natalie Spooner's story like that was so nice. One
we went somewhere where no one else was willing to go.
And the reality of the situation is it was true.
And I think that at first she was a little
hesitant in the interview and then she like embraced it, Like,
make no mistake, that woman is one of the best
players in the world. She will be an Olympian again.
(32:32):
She was the MVP of the league after birthing her
child and having multiple complications doing so, and she was overlooked, undervalued,
underpaid and like pigeonholed and then not immediately brought back
because she had a baby. Yeah, and she went through
all of that and was like, screw you. They weren't
treating her like she was injured. They were treating her
like she was never going to recover.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
And for any woman who's had a baby, or someone
who supported a woman coming back from childbirth, like the
body is incredible and it just needs time and we
give I mean, how much time did Landeskog get oh
coming back?
Speaker 2 (33:07):
Now you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (33:08):
I mean, like I think that's a very comparable comparison
in moment for those who don't know, Landeskog, the captain
of the Avalanche was out for like two years, very
very good hockey player, worth the investment the organization and
believed in him. Very similar credentials. I think Spooner's resume
actually might be a little bit better, like a little better, right,
(33:30):
And she wasn't given any benefit of doubt, right, and
she just ppw's but has to do so with a
lack of salary and a lack of resources because they
don't believe that she's going to make it back because
she's had a baby, which is an injury, like like right,
like you should be put on LTR in the same way.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
So that for me was again one of my favorites
to be able to do because I was so excited
for that interview because as a person in the trenches
in like in that world, when she got drafted, I
was like, what, like I felt disrespect.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
For I think her telling us for the first time
the depth and breath of her injuries shows how much
as a society we aren't willing to look at postpartum
as an injury. I think you highlight it perfectly, but
then we go into our own postpartum discussion in one
of the other episodes, and sometimes to just peel that
layer back and let people know what you're actually going through,
(34:23):
both mentally physically, how we're recovering. I'm not taking away
from anyone becoming a new parent, because becoming a new
parent while trying to be an elite level athlete, I
always say it's inherently selfish. Being an athlete is inherently selfish,
and being a parent is selfless. So it's a difficult
alignment anyway. But when you birth that child, there's a
(34:45):
whole other thing that comes into the fold. And I'm
with you, and I think that was another episode that
I really appreciated the time and space to kind of
we almost had an interview style conversation there where you
just kind of interviewed me with the postpartum stuff. So
I loved Natalie Spooner and I loved that whole conversation
that we had, and she was from the Ohio state,
(35:06):
like like Tessa Tessa Banoe, who we also had a
really fun conversation with. I think what Tessa is doing
and you know how things are going with Jock and Jill,
Jocks in Jill's.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Oh my god, what what you didn't know that's what
it was.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
No, I thought it was Jock's and Jill's, which was.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
Funn my goodness, No, whoa, this is a great moment
to catch live. I love our podcast, name theirs is better,
but there's a box in Jill's. Except I do like
when people you didn't know that you didn't know that
was the podcast.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
I'm obviously illiterate.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
I thought it was Jock's MM like Apostrophe and Jocks
and Jill's, not Jock's in Jills, which is all that.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
That brings me to another highlight moment of mine, which
I think we mentioned on the pod. When Anya used
to think that the Honor roll, which is like the
honor roll, h O N O R you made the
honor rule because you have high honors. You used to
think it was on a roll like O N A
(36:06):
R O L L. She's like, yeah, I'm on a roll.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
I am on a roll. I think that's exactly right.
I think that was on a roll.
Speaker 3 (36:13):
And I also think when we got into our section
of just Us episodes, we were on a roll.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
Say I worked that in there. Yep, you're welcome. I'll
be here all week.
Speaker 3 (36:22):
I liked when the podcast kind of shifted away from
just interview style and we got comfortable enough to start
having these conversations. That is where I really felt like
we up leveled midway through the season, when we could
do an entire hour long episode and fill it with
what I think to be engaging content. But it's just
that became really fun. That's when the podcast became really
(36:44):
fun to me.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
I agree, and all of that. We could go on
and on, but I think that's a good place to transition.
We each get one opportunity mm hmm, excitement, prediction, or
nugget into season two. I agree with you. I think
that we really podcasting is is like when we first
(37:07):
were approached with the opportunity, right, I think that we're
both like, yeah, we can just talk, and then you
get in the moment and it's kind of like it's hard.
It's hard, and then as you get comfortable, right, Like
back to your favorite guest ere fight Master, when they
were on they were like, I hate podcasting. It's all
this prep, it's all this that Like I don't hate
that part, but it is hard work. It's not just
(37:28):
as easy as just like you can't just turn on
the mic and go. I mean some people can, obviously
they do it live, but like you prep for that
and it has to be engaging. It's not just as
easy as talking and making it up as you go.
And I think that we found a cadence and we
found a rhythm, and I think that we got comfortable
pushing the limit. And I think that you and I
we've always joked like VI, a fly on the wall
(37:50):
in our house would be incredible. I think that we've
gotten comfortable with pushing that limit a little bit. I
think that we were able to dig and uncover some
areas that were super passionate about, both within and outside
of hockey and sport. And I think that now that
we understand it more like you're you are a perfectionist
and you demand excellence in everything you do, and I've
(38:11):
seen that also come true through this podcast. So I'm
really excited for now that we have our sales with
a little wind in them, like to be able to
hit the ground running and turn up the notch or
turn up the heat, turn up the heat, turn up
that not turn up the heat a notch because like
there were moments where things got heated and spicy. Emily
(38:32):
had to pop in a few times and say whoa, whoa, whoa, breathe, breathe.
But I think that was good. So I'm excited to
keep having those conversations because I also think that we're
been the best place we've ever been in and I
think it's because we have the healthiest communication strategy we've
ever had, because we talk about these things. We prop
to talk about these things like we have conversation and
then it's not over. We talk about it later. Like
(38:55):
we've just really opened a lot of areas of interest
for one another, and it's been really cool. So I'm
excited for more of that to come.
Speaker 3 (39:03):
Ah, that's kind of sweet. I'm gonna say something that
has nothing to do with how sweet that was. But
mine is to find the right place to have meaningful
investments in women's hockey content. I want women's hockey. I
want everyone to have the same opinion as the Swift CEO.
I want everyone to look at the rocket ship that
we have and the opportunity to expose people to a
(39:25):
new sport in a completely evergreen way. Women's hockey can
be the next hurdle that we cross over to then
normalize women's hockey content, women's hockey creators, women's hockey players,
women's hockey leaders into the you know, NWSL WNBA. We're
getting so close, we're nipping at the heels. We're just
(39:48):
not finding the right place to continue to grow that.
So as this community that follows these packs Puck grow,
as I get introduced at more places and they say
Anya a co host of these packs Buck.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
And I get to say, yes, we do. That's hilarious.
I think the more we can continue to.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Expect that hilarious.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
That's funny. I think that's funny. I think it's a
funny joke. I like the bit. I just want to
people laugh when you say that.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
Every time I get the chuckles, the yuckles, every time
I go off the yes we do.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
It's provocative, it's funny. I like the way we format things.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
I like that we always appreciate the whole athlete, the
whole mental health of the conversation, the fact that there
are kids that drive us crazy, and everybody's got kids,
or they're around kids, or they've been a kid. It's
so accessible and I want more people to pour their
hearts into women's TALKI like we do, and if we
can convert one more person into a women's talkie fan,
(40:37):
I think we've done everything right. So I appreciate this podcast.
I appreciate you for letting me just trauma dump sometimes
the things that are on my mind and then not
taking it back to the dinner table. We always seem
to somewhat like each other at the end of the day.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
I agree, so well, it's a great forum because you
love to talk and I'm a little more quiet, so's
it's a good blend here.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
You talk a lot.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
Well, this has been an incredible experience. I love you,
I'm proud of you. It's going to be a rap
on season one. I want to thank our excellent team
that has become family. JB Logan, Emily, you guys are great,
the greater iHeart team. This has been an incredible privilege
and experience, and we will catch you all on season
(41:22):
two of these packs. Puck. That's it for this week.
Thanks for listening, and if you like what you heard,
spread the word seriously right now, take your phone out,
text a friend and tell them to subscribe, and be.
Speaker 4 (41:40):
Sure to rate and review us on Apple podcasts and Spotify.
If you haven't already, it really really helps until next week.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
I'm Madison Packer.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
And I'm on Your Packer, and this was These Packs Puck.
Speaker 4 (41:51):
These Packs Puck is a production of iHeart Women's Sports
and Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. It's hosted by US
Madison and on You Packer. Emily Mayor Kanoff is our
senior producer and story editor.
Speaker 1 (42:02):
We were mixed and mastered by Mary dew.
Speaker 4 (42:05):
Our executive producers are Jennifer Bassett, Jesse Katz, and Ally Perry.
Hi everyone, Welcome to these packs puck. I'm Madison Packer
and I'm Anya Packer.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Madison and I are both former pro hockey players.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
We met through hockey and fell in love, and now
we're married with two awesome toddlers, ages two and four.
Speaker 4 (00:18):
These days, we're opening up about the chaos of our
daily lives, between the juggle of being athletes, raising kids.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
And all the messiness in between.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
So buckle the puck up because there is a lot
to talk about. Hey, pack, Hello, Hi, dun oh good, oh,
good love that.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
My team won the championship this weekend.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
We need that audio like I'm just gonna overlay that
audio every time you say.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
That, let's go, pack, we go. Baby.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Hey, what was the runners the record?
Speaker 1 (00:50):
We were.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Five?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Don't let it hurt you.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Nope, Gil, you were four one to no Nope. Yeah,
isn't the middle of tie?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
No?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
When's last tie? Welcome to sports.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Four zho to one good job.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Gold differential is insane.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
So yeah, my team was undefeated on the weekend. Champs
finally got some system play. The power play is next level.
The girls are buzzing. We're headed to Rochester this weekend,
so shout out to my Connecticut Junia Rangers U nineteen.
The girls are getting it right now.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Let's go all right, Well, I think I have a
hockey hot take about the weekend, and no better time
than when we're celebrating a high and maybe talk about
a low.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
So hit me with your hockey hot take.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Hockey hot take. In the last few days, it'll be
about a week when this airs Connabdard scored a filthy
Michigan goal from behind the goal line. For those who
don't know what that is, it's like kind of like
a lacrosse move. You pick it up with the toe
of your stick, you do a little flipperoo with the
puck and you go typically like right under the crossbar
(01:58):
on the short side corner. Beautiful goal. And Badard did
it in like didn't miss a beat, picked it up
behind in that beautiful goal in a tight game.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Physics is your friend here because it actually like hangs
on your stick, so if you've not seen it, you
literally score with your feet below the goal line.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Anyway, keep going. It's like a lacrosse move, like over
the shoulder. And I had a player tried to do
this in a six nothing lead, and I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa whoa Absolutely not right. The kid had confidence and
like at that point, even though the kid could do
it at any point. Usually kids don't try it in
(02:37):
a tight game because if you pull it off, it
usually works, but if you miss, you look very silly.
So the kids just gained the confidence to do it
right and like in a game where they have a
big lead. But me as a coach, I'm like you
hot dog, like don't have a dog. I can't call
them weenies l So I don't know. I'm in between
(03:00):
on it, but I think that there should be like
an unspoken moral code that you just don't do that.
But it happens a lot.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Here's the thing, here's my counter hot take to your
hot take. What's the difference between trying the Michigan yeah
in or a trick shot right versus when they just
sail down the wide side and rip a shot off
the opposite glass and it's a breakout anyway, Like, shot
quality at U nineteen level isn't spectacular.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Whoa, I disagree, And I did not follow that at all, No,
but I'm just saying, like I just think that shot,
oh you mean miss the hot yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
My point is like if you're gonna miss, you're gonna
miss regardless. Sometimes people think just getting a wide angle shot,
that's gonna miss the net because shot quality is what
it is at that level, right, Like even in college
shot quality isn't great. I don't think until you get
to the pros you're really shooting. I mean, top ten
teams maybe different, but like think of most college hockey,
(04:04):
I don't think the average shot is always shot incredibly intentionally,
do you.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Well, no, you're just trying to get pucks in the net.
But I think you're missing My point, Like my point
is not like the likelihood of scoring. My point is
like I think you're making a mockery of your opponent.
And if you're not going to do it in a
one nothing game, like don't wait until it's six nothing
to do it. Either do it or don't.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And you also don't do it when you're getting blown
out the opposite direction, like like I just feel like
at that point it does become like just like a
hot dog, like I don't know, like arrogant thing to do,
like if if you don't have the ability and like
the like juice to do it in a tight game.
Don't do it Otherwise you just look like a I
don't know, like a show off. You know, I'm with you.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
I'm saying if my options are try a Michigan or
send it up the far post so that it goes
a wide shot, it's the same same like that. That's
where my point is, like confidence or otherwise, do it
when it's on your stick and you have the availability
to do it. Doesn't matter if it's a zero zero
first period. If you have it on a stick, do it.
Don't now act like you have the skills of Trevor
(05:08):
Zegris to throw it up and bat it in with
the back end of your stick.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
You bum Just give me some grace. I'm struggling.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Yeah, I mean, And I think the same is true
the other way. Like sometimes when coaches get like a
really big lead, they'll like tell kids, oh, like stop shooting,
or like everyone has to touch the puck, or like
try this, Like I think that is equally degrading. But
also if like you're just standing out there playing tic
tac toe against kids who can't get the puck and
don't touch the puck, you also just look like you're
taunting them.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
I loathe when a team is getting crushed and their
answer is go take somebody's head off, and the game
actually becomes unsafe, and it's such a dumb way. I
think that if you can't coach the game the way
you do in a zero zero game and the way
you would in a six nothing game, you shouldn't be
a coach at any level. The way you do something
(05:55):
is the way you do everything. And I think if
you're doing something, whether it's telling your team not to
shoot or telling you and not focusing on the fundamentals
of the game and shot quality and or whatever integrity
of the game, go away, go do something else.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
I agree with that wholeheartedly, and that I think this
past weekend was the first time where my team felt
consistency on the bench because we had a few weekends
in a row where like the coaching has been consistent,
and I think for the first time the girls felt
that consistency. Yeah, and I think that that's hugely important,
especially to young athletes. I mean, they dominated all weekend
(06:33):
in the round robin, then they got a buy into
the final, even though we tied our last game. Then
that team that we tied, ended up losing to the
team we played in the final in a double shootout.
And the girls were down to nothing in the championship
game going into the last period and they came back
and scored four unanswered goals. And it was the first
time all season when they were down going into the
(06:55):
end of a game where they didn't seem like like
they believe that they could come back.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
The ability to think that you can do anything, whether
it be true or not, is such a powerful driver.
So if you think you can do the Michigan, do it.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Just do it.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Don't save it for when you have space and somebody's
down and the goalie is already poked with sieve holes
like and they just feel like crap.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Just do it.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Have the company to do it.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
CIV Seve Oh SIV.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Oh sorry, I said, Seeve one an idiot SIV Oh boy, wow,
I'm gonna leave it.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Don't edit that out. I'm gonna own that one, Seeve.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I think it's so funny though, and ironic. So before
the game, I don't do like big pregame serious speeches
like sometimes like go over stuff. But but like I
went in and I was trying to think about what
to say to the girls before the game, and like
a huge thing for us has been confidence. Yeah, And
I started to really finally see it before the final,
like the girls were having fun, Like the air was
(07:49):
light on the bench, And so I went in and
talked to him. I was like, how many of you,
Like don't you don't have to raise your hand, but
I want you to think of it, like how many
of you believe in a higher power, believe in God,
believe miracles, believe in ghosts, all these things that we
can't see. We find a way to put our faith
in and believe in it and get behind it. But
we all find it so hard to believe in the
(08:10):
thing that we see in the mirror every day, which
is ourselves. And all the girls were like, and I
was like it should It was like, it should be the.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
One creative writing major.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Maddie here here she is. I was like, it should
be the easiest thing for you because you are the
most constant and consistent thing. You know, every morning you
wake up, you look at your face in the mirror
every morning, your body gets you going, like, believe in
the thing that you know the most. And then the
girls went out and they crushed it.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
I think it's amazing.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
I think it's you know what it is though, And
I guess like we're going to keep just like patting
you on the back, which I'm so tired of. But
I think it's important to have a coach that has
actually been in those moments. And we talk about it
now more than ever, like just you know, over dinner.
But it's really important for a coach to look, see, feel, believe,
and also have had a coach that poured that same
(08:58):
level of love into them. You're definitely coaching with love.
You're not coaching with you know, the Denim Dad anger scream,
Like you're coaching from a perspective of I've literally done this.
I love you all, and I have empathy and I
again go women, But like, I think that's a really
important part of your coaching style and then what the
(09:19):
girls are taking from you. So while we started with
like a don't be a d bag and try to
Michigan and a six to nothing game, I think the
end all be all is if you have the confidence
to do something, you can do it. For sure, nothing
worse than quitting on yourself.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Agree wholeheartedly in the spirit of pumping my tires. I
think now would be a good time to transition to
the check in because I have never felt better.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Wow, Okay, are we gonna hit a hundred? Or are
we gonna.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Oh, we've already hit a hundred? I think I.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Think one time all season. I'm so sad this is
our last episode of the season, but let's go with
maybe we do we hit one hundred twice?
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Is are you at one hundred?
Speaker 3 (09:57):
No?
Speaker 1 (09:57):
I'm not quite there.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Okay, Well that's the most i climactic transition I've ever
heard in my life. But go right ahead.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Where are you at? I am a ninety point ninety three?
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Okay, okay, Yeah, life is good.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
I got to sleep in. I came home and gave
Harlan my medal from winning. She was so pumped she
woke up and immediately put it around her neck and
came in and did a little She.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Slept with it on.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
I know, at three o'clock in the morning, with the
medal on, smiling ear to ear, holding it in my face, going.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Mommy, look what I have. I said, MoMA, gave it
to you. She goes, kay, cuddle, sure, puts.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
The medal on, and then all night I'm literally wrestling
with a three year old and a freaking metal hitting
me in the face.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
So how are you doing? Then?
Speaker 3 (10:47):
I feel great. I woke up with the kids. They
were so excited for you to be home. I am
excited for you to be home. I'm excited for you
to do bedtime. I'm going to leave the house. I
don't know what I'm gonna do. I watched a mom
on TikTok order sushi and drink a bottle of wine
in her garage so that her husband could put her
kids to ben And I feel like that energy is
speaking to me. After Halloween weekend, alone with my thoughts
(11:09):
and feelings and two massive bags of candy and these kids.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
I could eat sushi in the car in the garage
and not talk to these kids all night. No, I
feel fine. I'm happy.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
I mean, I said, give it a little illusion. But
this is the wrap up to the first season of
These Packs Puck. I have never been more proud of
us for doing anything besides making our kids right. Like,
beyond making our kids. I find that as a couple
were crushing it right. Like we're supporting each other, We're
doing the things, but those are all things that we
should be doing. This podcast is something that was like
(11:42):
a completely stop culture. It was an opportunity that came
to us. We had no experience in it. I think
the people that we are today are better than the
people that we were, you know, one year ago.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
And I'm proud. I'm really, really, really.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Proud of the work that we put in here. So
I am at a ninety four baby. Oh, I thought
you're gonna hit No, I know, I'm sad. I have
to acknowledge and appreciate my sadness.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
I am sad.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
I really love the team that we work with. I
love our weekly checkens. We're going to take a little
break and reshuffle the pod a little bit, so kind
of the stress that I have that next week we
aren't immediately recording our season two kickoff is making me
a little bit sad.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
But that's okay.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
I think bigger, brighter horizons come for these Packspuck and
I could not be more proud of the work that
we did to get us here. Actually, in the spirit
of my pride, for this episode, we're going to do
a season one recap. We're going to talk about a
little bit of everything I you know, I hope I
keep it all together. But I'm really I'm really proud
of us, so I'm a ninety four. I'm happy I
(12:41):
got I think I chipped my tooth on a medal
last night, which is also digging the score a touch.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Oh was it the Ghost Medal that Whalan won for
his very original Ninja turtle costume.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
No, that was also ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Whylan mun a medal for just physically existing because he
also wanted pizza for dinner. He was walking around in
a Ninja Turtle's costume with a slice of pizza in
a box from the local pizza place, and that is
what set him over the edge. And I was like,
so disheartened that he won just for existing because oh,
(13:14):
they thought the pizza was part of the costume. Yeah,
they thought it was part of the bit, but he
was just hungry. Like in hindsight, yeah, it was adorable
and really really cute, but it was so unintentional that
it made me angry. But he did win an award
and he was so proud of himself, and he shared
it with his sister, so everybody wins. I could talk
an hour about how well I think they're sharing, but
(13:37):
let's go to a break we're going to come back
to a whole season recap. We can talk about the
growth of the kids, because I think that's very much
a part of the story. But right after this break
we'll get into a season one these Packspuck recap. I'm
(13:58):
really excited. I like I said in the check in,
I'm really really proud of ourselves. We have an entire
episode to talk about everything that you might have missed
or you heard, or that really resonated with.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Us all season long.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
So I'm gonna start by just asking you what was
one of the favorite parts of this last season for you?
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Ooh, I have two. So one was not recording. One
was a part of the experience of the pod as
a whole. When we went to the jingle Ball was
very fun. Yeah, shout out to Carrie Champion because I
think she is incredible. I love watching her on TV,
following her following her pod. I think she's incredible another
(14:41):
woman in the slate, So I really enjoyed our interactions
with her and that was a fun event. Also, I
don't really have a specific favorite.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Like I think like a general thing that you like.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I liked all the experts that we brought on. Yeah,
and we'll run it back more obviously with all of them.
But I just think that when we started this, we
weren't really sure which direction it was going to go, right,
And I think that a really cool part of it
has been bringing these other women on just to have conversation,
but then evolving and growing and learning so much as parents,
(15:12):
Like I think we are without a doubt we are
better parents because of the podcast, because we've been exposed
to all these people who have been able to help us.
And is it helped that we probably would have found
inevitably because we needed it maybe, But like, I just
think it's really cool how the universe brings people together,
and like the network that we've created as a result
of the pod has been really rewarding.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
I could not agree with you more. I think the
accessibility of having a problem, finding a solution and then
sharing that in real time has been a little vulnerable.
But it's also I think as women, I always say,
I trust a mom. I trust a mom. If you're
going to give me the ability to ask somebody, I'm
asking a mom. And so I really like that we
did that. I actually just recently got a text and
(15:57):
it's really important to me and it it was from
a mother of a friend that I lost my whole life.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
I grew up with a dear friend of mine.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
His name was Dougie, and he passed away when we
were in college, and it shook me. It really crushed me.
And later in life, right like we all stay in touch.
We start the podcast, I get a text from his mother, Michelle,
and it was like, this is Anya. This sounds like Anya.
Like I'm hearing old high school Anya. When you tell
your story about how you met Nattie, when you talk
(16:26):
about things like mental health, like, I'm hearing all the
things about you that I really love, and I in
that moment, I remember that the unifier in this podcast
is that you and I get to explain who we are,
explain where our brains go. But we were always kind
of those old people, and something about that. We talked
about it, and when we talked about our podcast, on
(16:47):
our episode about coming out, when we talked about your retirement,
which was also you know, a brutal episode to just
kind of like go through the two of us was
very emotional. I've always really tried to live my life
out loud. I've struggled, made I've struggled with depression. I've
struggled with anxiety. I've struggled with suicide. I've struggled with
coming out, being gay, being different, not being different enough,
(17:09):
like all these different otherisms. And this podcast has given
me a place to share that and so other people
can hear them, they can hopefully grow from them, they
can learn my experiences. So that was my favorite part
is maybe just being being seen. I feel very seen
in this podcast, and I appreciate everybody for letting me
stand on my soapbox and talk about stuff that I
(17:30):
care about.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
I like that, and I like this format. We didn't
really know. We knew what we wanted to do, but
we weren't really sure how to do it when we
came into this episode. And I have just now decided
that I kind of like the Q and A forum,
So we're going to keep this going. Mine's a deep one.
Kind of go ahead. What was the most challenging or
(17:52):
hardest part of the season or episode the season? Like,
what did you find was most difficult to talk about?
Speaker 2 (18:00):
There's two that stick out for me.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
There is really being vulnerable about the kids, and I
think that's thematic. I think it's hard as a mom
to admit that something's not working. So like McCall gordon
coming in and helping us with the sleeping, having conversations
about sexual assault amongst children, like with Kate Rope, those
are really hard and heavy topics.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
So I loved those episodes.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
I felt like Sarah Hartley also gave me a lot
to chew on as a parent, like not yelling like
so that part was just generally hard. Then we talked
about hockey. That's amazing and easy, super easy. I will
say your retiring was the hardest episode for me, and
it means nothing because I love you and it has
(18:44):
nothing to do with the fact that you're no longer
a hockey player. But actually recording an episode where I
had to think critically back on your entire career and
then what this new league means slash meant for us
was really hard. I mean, that was just hard to do.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
I say, there's a couple of moments that I'm really
proud of us, like us in that moment, I was
really proud of What about yourself?
Speaker 2 (19:07):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
I thought that it was hard to talk about our kids,
which you would think would be easy, but like when
we had the experts on for a variety of things,
I was afraid to like expose the kids, if that
makes sense.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Yeah, that's hard. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Like I think specifically of our episode with you mentioned
McCall gordon, and like I was so into it because
I was like, oh my goodness, all these things are
so applicable. But then I was like, everyone wants to
protect their kid, right, you want it to be like this,
like perfect little shit, like it's normal. But yeah, so
like I felt he's eating soap. I felt like, yeah,
I felt like that was hard to like take advice
(19:44):
in the moment and not overthink it, right. I think
I did a lot of that, and then we'd like
be in bed at night and a big.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
So like do you think do you think you need
to listen to this in fourteen years and hate us?
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Get off WebMD?
Speaker 2 (20:00):
I agree.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
I mean I also think the Eve Rotsky one was
a little difficult. I thought it was great and very topical,
but I think sometimes when we have to assign roles
for one another, it's almost like a mirror. A couple
of these episodes felt a little bit like a mirror,
and I saw maybe not so great qualities in myself,
and I thought that.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
One was interesting, right because it was almost fate at
its finest, because we recorded that episode right before I
then retired, came home, we went through all of that,
So that was like actually a huge blessing in disguise
because so many of those things. I honestly think that
if we hadn't had that episode when we did, and
we hadn't had that advice and information, that transition that
(20:39):
was already very difficult and hard and emotional, would have
been a hundred times worse.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Yeah, we may have killed each other.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
We learned so much in that and it was unintentional.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
Yeah, let's get into book club because I also think
that was hard, but just like objectively hard because I'm
not a reader and you're a reader, and so it
was like a lot of retraining my brain to a book,
which I think is crazy, but I'm not a reader,
and so that was challenging but so fun. I've decided
I really like raunchy books, and now this is my
(21:10):
new ethos. We talked about it on a couple different episodes,
but we talked about it with er fight Master. I
like this idea of external respectful but like raunchiness where
you can have this queer joy and love. And so
that whole series of books was really fun. When do
we ever get to expose people in the hockey world.
I feel like hockey romance and hockey fandom actually don't
(21:33):
intersect that much.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
And can we talk about the fact that no one
told me that Lexie Lafleur Brown's book was not I
literally was sitting there reading, thinking this was the story
of her and her husband and like they have kids.
I'm like, what is my reading? Yeah, it wasn't until
on the pod and she's like, oh no, no, no, no,
it's not. I mean it's not a biography or autobiography.
(21:54):
I like that. It's like that makes so much more sense.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
So that is amazing.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
And then to watch the arc of like Rachel Read
and Game Changers and go from a conversation in a
book series and the story to then getting picked up
by a television network and starting to develop into a
TV show, Like they are real proliferating stories amongst these
stories books, but that can continue on. And I really
enjoyed that meeting Rachel Read and having that whole illuminating
(22:21):
conversation about just bringing queerness from a men's perspective, into
the sport and into the books and the nuances there
is so interesting.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
I mean, we don't.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Celebrate queer joy in that landscape enough, we don't normalize
it enough. And I really liked her idea that, like,
if I could write a story of the idyllic world
that I want to see because gay love is just normal.
I thought that was so interesting from a straight woman,
that's such an interesting perspective.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
And it's so funny that you say that, because I
just finished watching Boots on Netflix. The underlying theme of
the story this young boy enlists in the Marines and
he's gay, and like the whole story talks about how
that's taboo in the Marines. It follows his journey through
his sexuality, and literally the whole time I'm watching it,
(23:13):
I was like, oh my god, I'm so pumped for
Game Changers. I like it just it just added like
a little element to the story, like co ed high
school crush. I don't know, I'm excited. I hope that
we can access the series once it's out here in
the States, because I think it's going to be really good.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
There was also a massive amount of other amazing women
that we had on the pod, right, Like we had
Meghan Duggan, we had Kristin Ferguson, we had Robin our Own,
we had Ali Kreeger, we had Natalie Spooner, like Emma
Woods was on the pod, like there are.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
I'm gonna make you pick who is your favorite fangirl
moment an athlete? Yeah, all right, I know who mine is.
I know your two favorites.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I know who mine is. I will let you say,
can I guess?
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (23:55):
I was gonna say at the count of three, we'll
say it together, once to two three, Ava Erickson, Yeah,
without a doubt. That was one of my favorite conversations
that we had. I felt like, it is really amazing
her story. It's amazing what she can do with it.
It's amazing how much she influenced the entire world with Survivor.
(24:18):
And when I'm in a bad headspace, I listened to
that podcast, that specific podcast.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
And I think that might be one of my proudest
moments of the pod as a whole. Like we actually
did a number of episodes that represented the neurodiversion community.
I guess I will say, and Ava's episode specifically, at
one moment I had a hard fangirl moment on the
pod because I was so incredibly blown away by her,
(24:47):
and she's young too, Like, Couple that with all of
the life experience she's had, plus going on Survivor, plus
going through this very personal, emotional, traumatizing moment in front
of the world, Couple that with what the world is
saying right now about people on the spectrum, Like, I
just think that for those who didn't listen, I would
(25:09):
encourage you to go back and take a listen. It
was just an incredible, incredible episode and I learned a
lot about myself. I learned a lot about her and
just being a good teammate, being a resilient person. That
was I think, not that I have a single favorite,
but that was definitely definitely one of my favorite episodes
to record this season.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
We took some really exciting risks, I feel like, I mean,
when we had Stephanie Dobbs Brown come on and talk
about being an athlete from the perspective of trying to
make your money stretch and being aware of the lack
of financial literacy in women's sports, like that is a
topic that people won't touch because it's not comfortable. It
(26:00):
doesn't feel like everything else we get to talk about
on a daily basis. And I really loved those big swings.
I loved our network of folks that were comfortable to
make them with us and seemingly out of the box.
I mean, we can span the gamut from other mothers.
Ali Kreeger an obvious best conversation ever to talk about
her father and her addiction with winning and how much
(26:22):
that drove her to having a really really, really great
conversation with the team that brought us inside out and
inside out too, and Riley and emotions and how hockey
ties in and having an anxiety attack on the ice
and something I personally can really relate to because I've
been there. But I just feel like the big swings
that we took this year were really exciting, and honestly,
(26:47):
I haven't heard them elsewhere, and I think that that's
really important that we can do that. Then we kind
of go into a totally different topic with doctor Joe,
you know, and that's a guest that I think was
really important to you. So why don't you talk a
little about that one? Because I think that one was
important you personally, Doctor.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Joe gooleaso incredible guy. He's the co founder and president
or CEO at Baker Street Behavioral Health. He's helped us
a lot, you know, as a family. He's helped all
the sports teams I've been involved with, and he does
a lot of work with professional teams and with adolescents,
not just athletes, but everybody. And I think that his
episode was important because it spoke not only to parents
(27:24):
but also to kids, right And like, I see it
a lot now as a coach. This generation of athlete
and kid is so much more comfortable talking about their
mental health, right. Like I have a few kids right
now my team that are injured, and they came to
us and we're like, I'm worried about my mental health.
I mean, I just think about how I wish so
(27:45):
many people that I grew up with had that courage.
I mean I played with a girl who committed suicide
when we were sixteen. I mean, if she had had
the ability and the tools and the resources to say, hey,
I'm struggling with my mental health. I think that the
more that we can continue to amplify that, Messa. It's
the work that Joe and his team do is incredible,
and I think that that's a huge part of growing
(28:05):
the game and growing the sport is continuing to show
athletes and kids that they have access to these resources.
And like you and I always talk about just continuing
to normalize the conversation versus the behavior so that we
can identify things that would signal us to there being
a problem.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
You know, I think all of that wrapped into using
a lot of time to talk about hockey. I mean,
we did a lot of talking about hockey, and I
think one that's the premise of this podcast. I think
more people should be talking about women's hockey, and more
people should be putting women's hockey on the map that
it belongs to be on and really meaningfully invest in it,
which unfortunately I just don't think we get yet. There's
(28:46):
pieces that were really fun when we got to talk
about the expansion draft, Like this season for women's hockey
was a goat season. It was season two. There was
so much movement going on. The draft was insane, had
two expansion teams, playoffs was out of control, right, nothing
made perfect sense. And so all season long we got
(29:07):
to talk about hockey and we got to give some
pretty ridiculous hot takes where we were passionate, we were fiery,
we were political at times, we were super ridiculous at
times where we just thought about, I don't know anything
because it's funny, So what what are some real hockey
mems that stand out for you? Or some aha moments
where you were like, this is why I love the thing.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Well, we talked about it on the pod. It wasn't
a moment that happened on the pod, but going up
to four nations and the fur coat, which we then
highlighted a little bit on the pod. That was fun.
I think some of the predictions and getting into the
banter back and forth you and I. I enjoyed that
a lot. Also, I agree with you because it's funny
you say the comment that you made about women's hockey growing, etc.
(29:52):
There was I woke up this morning. I was scrolling
through LinkedIn and it's been like talked about the price
of equipment. See firms, private equity firms buying up all
these equipment. Yeah, we talked about it, companies, et cetera.
Hockey is getting really expensive. The numbers of enrollment are
down across hockey as a whole, Like hockey's really struggling
and dying. However, women's hockey shafuragically it's yeah, it's exploding.
(30:19):
And Swift just became an official partner of the PWHL.
It's a new equipment primarily stick company, and the founder
and CEO was like, this is not like a charity.
This has been a goal of ours from the beginning
to get involved with the PWHL. Like, women's hockey is
killing it right now. We aren't doing this because it's
the only door we can get in. We want to
be in the women's hockey world because it's exploding, and
(30:42):
so to be able to follow women's hockey the way
we have while it's exploding has been really cool.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
I also think that being able to call players out
by name right when we talk about players that we like,
players that were enjoying their game, players that we're seeing
a lot of, like how frequently I mean, and we
had a great episode with Tessa from Jackson Jill's Right,
But besides and Jills and some other local, smaller podcasts,
how many people are really investing the time to get
to know these athletes, to talk about them, to fangirl
(31:09):
over CJ like I do so frequently to do all
the things that we do right, Like we're talking about
these players, we're not a fast and Alice Shelton on
a DP pair what it could look like for Seattle
to have the firepower of X y Z athlete. Like,
I think that's where you and I are really using
our powers for good not evil. Is objectively professional sports.
(31:32):
You're gonna have naysayers, You're gonna have critics. You're gonna
have the banter, right, the armchair quarterback that just sits
there and says.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Oh, Tommy Brady stinks because you missed this past and
blah blah blah.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
Right, Like I'm from Massachusetts. This is all I know
is people that are hyper critical of their athletes. And
I think that probably is coming down the pike for
women's hockey. People are gonna start going to the place
of let's be critical versus let's be supportive. But I
love that we use athletes names. I love that we
use stories that tell you who they really are. I
think it's important. I like talking about it. I like
(32:03):
talking about the potential of Sir Dakney and Izzy Daniel
and talking about what's going on on the ice.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
I'm proud of us for that.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
Well, and I liked that we had the ability to
highlight Natalie Spooner's story like that was so nice. One
we went somewhere where no one else was willing to go.
And the reality of the situation is it was true.
And I think that at first she was a little
hesitant in the interview and then she like embraced it, Like,
make no mistake, that woman is one of the best
players in the world. She will be an Olympian again.
(32:32):
She was the MVP of the league after birthing her
child and having multiple complications doing so, and she was overlooked, undervalued,
underpaid and like pigeonholed and then not immediately brought back
because she had a baby. Yeah, and she went through
all of that and was like, screw you. They weren't
treating her like she was injured. They were treating her
like she was never going to recover.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
And for any woman who's had a baby, or someone
who supported a woman coming back from childbirth, like the
body is incredible and it just needs time and we
give I mean, how much time did Landeskog get oh
coming back?
Speaker 2 (33:07):
Now you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (33:08):
I mean, like I think that's a very comparable comparison
in moment for those who don't know, Landeskog, the captain
of the Avalanche was out for like two years, very
very good hockey player, worth the investment the organization and
believed in him. Very similar credentials. I think Spooner's resume
actually might be a little bit better, like a little better, right,
(33:30):
And she wasn't given any benefit of doubt, right, and
she just ppw's but has to do so with a
lack of salary and a lack of resources because they
don't believe that she's going to make it back because
she's had a baby, which is an injury, like like right,
like you should be put on LTR in the same way.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
So that for me was again one of my favorites
to be able to do because I was so excited
for that interview because as a person in the trenches
in like in that world, when she got drafted, I
was like, what, like I felt disrespect.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
For I think her telling us for the first time
the depth and breath of her injuries shows how much
as a society we aren't willing to look at postpartum
as an injury. I think you highlight it perfectly, but
then we go into our own postpartum discussion in one
of the other episodes, and sometimes to just peel that
layer back and let people know what you're actually going through,
(34:23):
both mentally physically, how we're recovering. I'm not taking away
from anyone becoming a new parent, because becoming a new
parent while trying to be an elite level athlete, I
always say it's inherently selfish. Being an athlete is inherently selfish,
and being a parent is selfless. So it's a difficult
alignment anyway. But when you birth that child, there's a
(34:45):
whole other thing that comes into the fold. And I'm
with you, and I think that was another episode that
I really appreciated the time and space to kind of
we almost had an interview style conversation there where you
just kind of interviewed me with the postpartum stuff. So
I loved Natalie Spooner and I loved that whole conversation
that we had, and she was from the Ohio state,
(35:06):
like like Tessa Tessa Banoe, who we also had a
really fun conversation with. I think what Tessa is doing
and you know how things are going with Jock and Jill,
Jocks in Jill's.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Oh my god, what what you didn't know that's what
it was.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
No, I thought it was Jock's and Jill's, which was.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
Funn my goodness, No, whoa, this is a great moment
to catch live. I love our podcast, name theirs is better,
but there's a box in Jill's. Except I do like
when people you didn't know that you didn't know that
was the podcast.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
I'm obviously illiterate.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
I thought it was Jock's MM like Apostrophe and Jocks
and Jill's, not Jock's in Jills, which is all that.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
That brings me to another highlight moment of mine, which
I think we mentioned on the pod. When Anya used
to think that the Honor roll, which is like the
honor roll, h O N O R you made the
honor rule because you have high honors. You used to
think it was on a roll like O N A
(36:06):
R O L L. She's like, yeah, I'm on a roll.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
I am on a roll. I think that's exactly right.
I think that was on a roll.
Speaker 3 (36:13):
And I also think when we got into our section
of just Us episodes, we were on a roll.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
Say I worked that in there. Yep, you're welcome. I'll
be here all week.
Speaker 3 (36:22):
I liked when the podcast kind of shifted away from
just interview style and we got comfortable enough to start
having these conversations. That is where I really felt like
we up leveled midway through the season, when we could
do an entire hour long episode and fill it with
what I think to be engaging content. But it's just
that became really fun. That's when the podcast became really
(36:44):
fun to me.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
I agree, and all of that. We could go on
and on, but I think that's a good place to transition.
We each get one opportunity mm hmm, excitement, prediction, or
nugget into season two. I agree with you. I think
that we really podcasting is is like when we first
(37:07):
were approached with the opportunity, right, I think that we're
both like, yeah, we can just talk, and then you
get in the moment and it's kind of like it's hard.
It's hard, and then as you get comfortable, right, Like
back to your favorite guest ere fight Master, when they
were on they were like, I hate podcasting. It's all
this prep, it's all this that Like I don't hate
that part, but it is hard work. It's not just
(37:28):
as easy as just like you can't just turn on
the mic and go. I mean some people can, obviously
they do it live, but like you prep for that
and it has to be engaging. It's not just as
easy as talking and making it up as you go.
And I think that we found a cadence and we
found a rhythm, and I think that we got comfortable
pushing the limit. And I think that you and I
we've always joked like VI, a fly on the wall
(37:50):
in our house would be incredible. I think that we've
gotten comfortable with pushing that limit a little bit. I
think that we were able to dig and uncover some
areas that were super passionate about, both within and outside
of hockey and sport. And I think that now that
we understand it more like you're you are a perfectionist
and you demand excellence in everything you do, and I've
(38:11):
seen that also come true through this podcast. So I'm
really excited for now that we have our sales with
a little wind in them, like to be able to
hit the ground running and turn up the notch or
turn up the heat, turn up the heat, turn up
that not turn up the heat a notch because like
there were moments where things got heated and spicy. Emily
(38:32):
had to pop in a few times and say whoa, whoa, whoa, breathe, breathe.
But I think that was good. So I'm excited to
keep having those conversations because I also think that we're
been the best place we've ever been in and I
think it's because we have the healthiest communication strategy we've
ever had, because we talk about these things. We prop
to talk about these things like we have conversation and
then it's not over. We talk about it later. Like
(38:55):
we've just really opened a lot of areas of interest
for one another, and it's been really cool. So I'm
excited for more of that to come.
Speaker 3 (39:03):
Ah, that's kind of sweet. I'm gonna say something that
has nothing to do with how sweet that was. But
mine is to find the right place to have meaningful
investments in women's hockey content. I want women's hockey. I
want everyone to have the same opinion as the Swift CEO.
I want everyone to look at the rocket ship that
we have and the opportunity to expose people to a
(39:25):
new sport in a completely evergreen way. Women's hockey can
be the next hurdle that we cross over to then
normalize women's hockey content, women's hockey creators, women's hockey players,
women's hockey leaders into the you know, NWSL WNBA. We're
getting so close, we're nipping at the heels. We're just
(39:48):
not finding the right place to continue to grow that.
So as this community that follows these packs Puck grow,
as I get introduced at more places and they say
Anya a co host of these packs Buck.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
And I get to say, yes, we do. That's hilarious.
I think the more we can continue to.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Expect that hilarious.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
That's funny. I think that's funny. I think it's a
funny joke. I like the bit. I just want to
people laugh when you say that.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
Every time I get the chuckles, the yuckles, every time
I go off the yes we do.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
It's provocative, it's funny. I like the way we format things.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
I like that we always appreciate the whole athlete, the
whole mental health of the conversation, the fact that there
are kids that drive us crazy, and everybody's got kids,
or they're around kids, or they've been a kid. It's
so accessible and I want more people to pour their
hearts into women's TALKI like we do, and if we
can convert one more person into a women's talkie fan,
(40:37):
I think we've done everything right. So I appreciate this podcast.
I appreciate you for letting me just trauma dump sometimes
the things that are on my mind and then not
taking it back to the dinner table. We always seem
to somewhat like each other at the end of the day.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
I agree, so well, it's a great forum because you
love to talk and I'm a little more quiet, so's
it's a good blend here.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
You talk a lot.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
Well, this has been an incredible experience. I love you,
I'm proud of you. It's going to be a rap
on season one. I want to thank our excellent team
that has become family. JB Logan, Emily, you guys are great,
the greater iHeart team. This has been an incredible privilege
and experience, and we will catch you all on season
(41:22):
two of these packs. Puck. That's it for this week.
Thanks for listening, and if you like what you heard,
spread the word seriously right now, take your phone out,
text a friend and tell them to subscribe, and be.
Speaker 4 (41:40):
Sure to rate and review us on Apple podcasts and Spotify.
If you haven't already, it really really helps until next week.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
I'm Madison Packer.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
And I'm on Your Packer, and this was These Packs Puck.
Speaker 4 (41:51):
These Packs Puck is a production of iHeart Women's Sports
and Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. It's hosted by US
Madison and on You Packer. Emily Mayor Kanoff is our
senior producer and story editor.
Speaker 1 (42:02):
We were mixed and mastered by Mary dew.
Speaker 4 (42:05):
Our executive producers are Jennifer Bassett, Jesse Katz, and Ally Perry.
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