April 11, 2024 • 49 mins
Twenty-five years later than expected and following several false starts, women’s professional soccer looks to finally be planting long-term roots. And at the center of it all is one of the icons of a US championship team.
Brandi Chastain, whose electrifying penalty kick in front of more than 90,000 screaming fans at the Rose Bowl sealed the 1999 Women’s World Cup, is a co-owner of Bay FC, the latest franchise to join the fast-growing National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). So what’s the difference with this league, this time, after two earlier failures? Solid investment for the long haul.
The moment seems to have arrived for women’s soccer, as it has for the broader profile of women in American sports. Bay FC was taking the field this spring just as the women’s edition of NCAA March Madness kept breaking its own records, driven by outsized performances and personalities like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. This new era of attention and support for women’s sports hasn’t seen its equal since Chastain’s famous, jersey-shedding celebration of her World Cup victory. That team—and its successors—produced stars that broke through into the broader public consciousness: Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe among them.
But all that excitement needed money to sustain it. These days, Chastain has linked up with Sixth Street Partners, a global investment firm that’s developed a business case for women’s sports.
Now, Chastain says, it’s up to her and her fellow owners to leverage not just the money, but the expertise. That means blending her experience as a World Cup winner, Olympic gold medalist and coach with the analytics generated across reams of Sixth Street spreadsheets to produce a winning team.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. I honestly believe that
part of the equation that wasn't in our control was
the mass general public and the business sector not ready
(00:23):
for women, not ready for powerful women, not ready for
women with big voices who have grand ideas. We didn't
have the deep pockets. And before coming here today, I
think that's the one thing that kept coming into my
head was I had zero dollars that I could be
an owner with. I didn't make money in the beginning
(00:43):
playing soccer.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
So Alex Brandy Chastain, I mean so many these superlatives
around her, two time Olympic gold medalists, two time World
Cup winner. If you wanted to find the perfect lens
for the past three to four decades of women's soccer,
the growth, the missed opportunities, the incredible successes, it's all right.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
There for her.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
She starts in ninety one on the US women's national
team in the very first ever women's World Cup.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
They win it.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
She gets cut from the team, but comes back from
the ninety six Olympics. Then that iconic moment in nineteen
ninety nine that sets her on a completely different journey.
She is one of those people who transcended her sport.
Now she's an owner, and that's what I am most interested.
I can't wait to hear the back and forth about
player turned owner.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
It's a vibe, you know.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Yeah. I mean, if you think about like ninety one
ninety nine, we just remember those years were so important
an iconic player, as you mentioned. But I'm really interested
to see how she transfers her ecosystem, her experience from
player to owner, and how she plans to bring value
to that franchise.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
So Alex, let's keep it in mind. Nineteen ninety nine,
it's this huge moment. Everybody's like women's soccer, it's here
to stay in the United States. Womh wah, it doesn't
happen right. The WSA and WPS, those are the first
and second women's soccer leagues in the US. They both folded.
So then the NWSL, the National Women's Soccer League, comes
along in twenty thirteen. So BFC, that's Brandy's team. They
(02:18):
come into the NWSL this year. They're the newest team.
And the twist for them is they're backed by a
private equity fund and that's a huge deal.
Speaker 5 (02:26):
It's very interesting. I'm intrigued.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
I'm going to ask her, like, how did you get
this enormous private equity group to invest in team sports,
in women's sports. I'm excited and I'm also excited. What
is her pitch? What is the value proposition in women's sports?
I know I feel very bullish about it. I want
to hear from her.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Right, So Sixth Street is the firm that she's a
partner with. She and three other former US national team
players teamed up with Alan Waxman. Sheryl Sandberg's also in
this group. This is a team led by Brandy that
could really be the key to US women's soccer from
a domestically perspective, having staying power, and that has been
(03:06):
elusive to this point, and to your point, women's sports
as a growth investment.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
You talk about it around your boardroom.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Right, phenomenal phenomena And look, Mark Lazie recently said he
finds more growth, more opportunity in women's sports than in
men's sport. I think that hasn't really been commercialized. But
I think when we look at women's sports, we won't
believe where it is in five years versus today.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
On this episode of the Deal, Brandy Chastain. So, Brandy,
we're very happy here. Let's start if you don't mind
introducing yourself and what you're doing these days.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Sure, my name is Brandy Chastain, and I am gosh,
I'm not sure how to introduce myself in terms of
my title. I'm a co founder of the Bay FC,
the newest expansion team in the NWSL. I'm one of
four founding women. And I'm born and raised in San Jose, California,
which is right in the heart of Silicon Valley and
(04:18):
the Bay Area. So that's my secondary title too. I'm
a mom and a grandmother and a wife, I guess.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
And a pretty good soccer player.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
And back in my data, back.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
In the day. Well, let's start back in the day.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
We're so fascinated by you having I feel like both
of us like watch this career that has mirrored soccer
in this country. I think we have to start in
nineteen ninety nine. That moment that you kicked the winning
penalty kick the world changes. What did it do for
(04:53):
you as a human but also as a business person.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Well, first and foremost, it made me sleepless for many
in many months, but in all seriousness, it gave a
visibility to a sport, a team individuals, not just myself
that had really been deserving since ninety one when we
had the first Women's World Cup in China, and nineteen
(05:18):
ninety six was the first time we had the Olympic Games.
So imagine, the Olympics have been around one hundred years
and women's soccer is just now getting in in nineteen
ninety six, and so I think ninety six was kind
of the first boost that we had that gave us
the idea and the confidence that we could put a
Women's World Cup in massive stadiums from coast to coast,
(05:41):
north to south, and FIFA wasn't really interested in that,
and so I think there was a big battle for
us to show up and to show off what we
could do, and that on the business side as well
as the footballing side of things, and so it changed
that dynamic for sure. Going forward, we've seen every World
(06:02):
Cup now done in this bigger way. I think for
me personally, it gave me a platform to stand on
so that I could just scream at the top of
my lungs about the importance of women's sports, the importance
of women and decision making positions. The importance of young
girls participating in sports. It created an opportunity for me
(06:24):
to dream of a nonprofit for young girls. So many
things changed that day, and in the moment, I didn't
know that, not at all, and that was not the intention,
which I feel really good about because I think all
great things come from organic moments, in genuine moments, and
so I'm obviously very proud of what has happened for
(06:47):
women in sports and women in general. Host nineteen ninety nine. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
When you look at iconic moments over the last century,
I mean, for me, my era was the Regijaction three
home run, the World Series again, the Dodgers on three pitches.
You look at Montana to Clark, you're in a San
Jose person famous pass, and you look at Jordan the
way he retarded as Utah. To me, as an American,
I felt so much pride, and I just saw that
(07:15):
over and over again. My question to you is, I
know how I felt. How did that make you feel
as an American? But b as really a pioneer in
a moment.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
I think in the moment, I was so exhausted. Prior
to that. We practiced those kicks a lot, and that's normal.
As you would in baseball fielding grounders or bunts or whatever.
So that's a normal kick. I would have taken a
kick in the run of play, but this is special.
You're in the World Cup, you're in the Rose Bowl,
it's the final game. It's been a bend not break
(07:48):
situation between two teams who were so good that either
one could have been Crown Champion. Right before going out
to the middle, our assistant coach had come up to
me and said, hey, you want to take a penalty.
I said, yep, no problem, I got it. Then our
head coach comes over, Tony de Chico, and he says, okay,
puts his hand on my shoulder and goes, you're going
(08:10):
to take a penalty. I said, yep, I talked to
Lauren already about it. He goes, okay, good, you're going
to take it with your left foot, and then he
ran off. So I didn't think about it because I
practiced them and practice no problem. But later after the
kick and after everything sort of took a beat. I'd
never taken a penalty with my left foot in a game. Wow,
(08:31):
And now we're in the World Cup final. You know
it would be like, hey, step up, left handed and hit,
so I think in that moment, what I think, what
jumps off the page for me is this concept that
I try to share every time I have a meeting
with a young person on the sports field or in
a big group of business people, is that we all
have tools, and sometimes we get stuck in using him
(08:55):
in the same manner that we always have used them.
But we were so much more than that, and we
can really turn those tools into to work in different ways.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
I honestly think there's a great just as a fan
and a former athlete, I think for viewers and listeners,
I think there's a great coach and teaching opportunity. Before
your coach has hit it with your left where was
from one to ten at your confidence level? And then
when he tells you that in real time, what does
it do to that number?
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Yeah, I think my confidence was ten and it was
probably eleven after you said that. And the reason being
is again, earlier in my career, I was my position
was goalscorer. That's all I woke up thinking about. That's
what I went to bed thinking about. After the ninety
one World Cup, I was cut from the team and
I spent four years away from the national team, and
(09:43):
Tony brought me back and he changed my position, and
so I trusted this man and this coach implicitly. So
if he said something to me, he was telling me
that because he believed that I could do it, and
so my confidence was always very high when he put
me in uncomfortable positions or an usual moments, And so
I think I was exhausted as well, Alex, to be fair,
(10:05):
but in all honesty, I think that's the narrative of
a coach in a player. Young player's life is so
important and if we get that right, people can blossom
into just about any I.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
Know, we're way Jason, like, it's funny because I'm thinking
about my World Series moments.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
You've been a little exhausted.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Probably helps because it kind of just you just want
to survive and it keeps you in the pocket. If
you're not tired, you might be a little bit too
energetic and too high.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
So that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Yeah, And so the expectation for women's soccer just explodes
at that point in that media bar and storming to
everything that happens after that. What was your expectation for
women's soccer as a business.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
I have to tell you, I've been in this almost
five decades. I've been loving and playing and supporting women's
soccer for quite some time, and of course I thought
it would be that inflection point to a successful league
that would then transform into more driven by business than
(11:11):
by just the love and the passion of the game.
And that didn't happen. So that was very disappointing at
the minimum. Right, so in two thousand and three, when
the WUSA shut its doors, we had a chance for reflection.
And reflection is amazing because it allows you to say
what you did well, to celebrate those moments, but then
(11:36):
to recognize, okay, what didn't go well, and how can
we change And if you're really good and you're really
invested and you really believe, you can change anything. And
I think this as the third iteration of women's soccer,
the NWSL. We've gone through a lot of hardship, and
I honestly believe that part of the equation that wasn't
(11:58):
in our control was the mass general public and the
business sector not ready for women, not ready for powerful women,
not ready for women with big voices who have grand ideas.
We didn't have the deep pockets and before coming here today.
I think that's the one thing that kept coming into
my head was I had zero dollars that I could
(12:20):
be an owner with. I didn't make money in the
beginning playing soccer. I made some money, and when I
say some, it's much less than what they're making now.
And I felt like, Okay, I could make a living,
but not really great. And I was probably only one
of maybe a dozen possibly so I don't think our
(12:41):
illusions were two grand at that time. But we felt
that how could ninety thousand plus forty million or more
people tune in and have this not go somewhere? And
so we've been believers ever since. But it's taken a
lot of cajoling and a lot of educating and a
lot of believing, and then, you know, finding the right people.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Without getting too uncomfly deep into your finances. That's not
life changing. Money doesn't come to you after ninety nine, No,
not even not close.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
I have the work every day, thankfully. Yeah, in a
good way. Abby Wombach said it so eloquently. I thought
at the SP's when she was standing next to Peyton Manning,
if you might remember it, you know, her thing is here.
She is standing up as Athlete of the Year and
receiving this amazing, impressive award. But tomorrow she got to
go to work because the money she made won't sustain
(13:33):
her for the rest of her life. And that's what's different.
That's the difference between men and women's sports right now,
and we're working diligently every day to show the value. Listen,
let's talk about the two buckets. We've got men's professional
sports and we've got women's professional sports. And what I
think is so fascinating about the business sector is that
(13:56):
we know that women spend the majority of money in right,
So why is everything I'm pushing in this direction opposite
of that? Why don't we go after women in sports?
Why don't we get into women in sports because that's
where the money spent. So I think now people have
finally woke up to the fact that this is the richest,
deepest will of talent, intellect, opportunity that is out there.
(14:20):
There's nothing else out there that has as many resources
and as many people who can do great things as
women's sports.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yeah, one of the moments, which was obviously critical, was
even before nineteen ninety I went to nineteen ninety one
and you know that first World Cup and opened a
lot of eyes. Could you have imagined in nineteen ninety one,
when I believe you got five hundred bucks for winning
the World Cup, that's right, no prize money for the
(14:50):
for the team, that was just a bonus. I believe
that US Soccer paid. Could you have imagined or was
it your assumption that, of course one day it would
be like this.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Yeah, I think that's a great question. I think in
the moment, that's not what we were thinking about, right.
We were playing a game that we loved, that made
us feel individually accepted, wanted good about ourselves, and that
we could collectively come together from all the corners of
the United States and create this beautiful harmony on the
(15:21):
field born out of competition. Like I think this is
something that is really important in something that I stress
all the time that you know, competition for women has
historically not been a good thing because there's only been
one seat at the table, and so we have to
compete against each other, we couldn't support one another. But
this team was a beautiful example of how if Alex
(15:44):
and I were fighting for the same position, we could
still be great teammates. And we had that, and I
think that's why this team and going forward into nineteen
ninety nine we were so successful. How critical that is.
There's enough out there for all of us and we
can support each other in that way, and I think
going forward that's that really is going to be a
(16:06):
part of the landscape for women's sports. But thinking back
to ninety one, you know, we weren't thinking about big contracts.
I mean, we were thinking US Soccer needs to do better,
without a doubt. We had great captains in Carlo Overbag,
Julie Faudy, Michelle Akers, and we did. We fought for contracts. Honestly,
US Soccer. They put our back against the wall in
ninety six or ninety five after the World Cup, and
(16:29):
basically the players were willing to give up the Olympics,
the first ever Olympics in Atlanta, for a better contract,
not for them but for the future. And we stood
our ground and we got better, which was still not
good enough, but it was a move in the right direction.
But ninety one was the first opportunity to display what
we were doing on a big scale and for people
(16:53):
to look and say, hmm, something is going on. And
we could put sixty thousand people in a stadium in Guangzhou, China. Yeah,
and put out two great products and have the game
be excellent.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
So Brandy Jason asked you about ninety nine and that
was in the moment that changed things for you. When
you take a step back over the last five years,
I've seen some real movement and you see Kaitlyn Clark
going off, and you do, what are maybe one or
two three things that have happened that all of a
sudden you have big private equity firms, institutional capital trying
(17:27):
to pour money into women's sports.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Yeah. I would say moments like Kaitlyn Clark looking at
collegiate women's sports. I think Nebraska held a volleyball game
inside of the football stadium and it got ninety thousand people.
I mean that moves the needle. I think you look
at Women's World Cup again, the US one back to
back World Cups twenty fifteen, twenty nineteen. You know how
(17:50):
big can this World Cup be? And what is the
potential for selling sponsorships and broadcast rights. It's changed. Honestly,
FIFA didn't believe and wasn't interested in women's soccer, but
as a vehicle of equity they had to be even
though it wasn't equitable in the funds. But we're getting
(18:13):
there and that's important. It's still frustrating. There's still opportunity
out there to be better. And I think Alex to
give you more examples, I think every day we're seeing
young girls signing up participating in sports of all kinds.
So we're onto something. And I think everybody on the outside,
(18:34):
those people who were uncomfortable maybe in women's sports, are
now finding interest. They're finding that it's valid and that
they want to be involved.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
I think transparency has been one of the things that
have actually helped women's sports and the trajectory of it.
And i'd say what I mean, when you look at
the ESPN numbers, for example, we can now see them
the audience, the viewers can see them and daily almost weekly, right,
And when you look at the final four last year,
what was comparable was the viewership and the ratings. Yeah,
but I'll tell you what wasn't comparable is how the
(19:07):
media companies value and what they pay or don't pay
for women's sports and the reason why we're so bullish
at a corp and women's sports, and of course we
own the timbules and the basketball links. And now we're
looking at a third sport, a second sport in women,
a third sport to own in the world of women's sports,
which we're very excited about.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
And I would even take that example that you gave
about the basketball and go just go all the way
down to the size of the weight room, the fact
that the women had like twenty weights literally and the
men had a five thousand square foot gym basically in
the hotel. So even when your organization like the NCAA
(19:48):
doesn't support you in the way, even though the numbers
are even, it begs a lot of questions like what
is going on? Why are we so afraid of this environment?
I can't tell you. Is it a gender thing? Is
it a sporting thing.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
I do think there's a rewiring of the brain that
has to happen. Is not as zero some game. I
actually make a different argument that the more you compliment
and reward women, the better is for sports. And when
everything rises, all bolts rise. It's not like women get more,
we get less.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Is that right?
Speaker 5 (20:17):
I don't see it that way.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
One of the things that you alluded to, Brandy and
in that post ninety nine era with the WUSA and
then the subsequent league before the NWSL. I mean, if
you look at it from a pure business perspective, there's
essentially no sustained investment. We were talking about this. You
think about the links the WNBA, they're twenty six years in.
(20:41):
Why didn't people stick with it longer?
Speaker 1 (20:43):
I can't answer that because I wasn't the ownership group.
But I think what I would assert is that it
was a passion play. It was my kids are playing,
we love it, we want to be a part of it,
we want to help grow it. I think at that time, Alex,
to your point, it was if you exist, then there
is less, and we don't want that to grow. So
(21:05):
I think there was an actual tamping down of the
interest on it. Major League Soccer has been around for
a long time. They are supporting a group that I
work with and women in soccer who are trying to
make soccer opportunities accessible for more women and marginalized groups.
And Major League Soccer is supporting our career fair So
(21:28):
that is phenomenal, but it's taken a long time for
us to coexist in a way that I've always said,
it's soccer baseball doesn't have a natural competitor, right, does
not have a natural competitor. It's a traditional American sport,
and for us, I think soccer did feel slightly threatened
(21:48):
at times because of women's soccer instead of seeing it
like you saw, which is, Hey, we're going to do
soccer together. We're going to make it so great it's
going to be undeniable. We are the world's lead eating
sport by far. There's nothing out there that compares to us,
So why wouldn't we raise this boat to be on
(22:09):
this level?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
And so during that period of under investment and candidly
the failure of leagues, what does that feel like from
your perspective as someone who has devoted her life to
the sport you're playing and then ultimately coaching, What are
you seeing and what does that disconnect feel like as
you're kind of looking around, probably like mildly bewildered.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Well, I think there's two sides to this. I think
there is great opportunity and I think there is, of
course disappointment. And on the disappointment side, it's just how
I how can I do a better job of sharing
and making other people see the value of this, And
you know, we thought for a long time we had
done that, and we had broadcasted this the biggest game
(22:53):
in the world for women's sports at the time, and
we still weren't getting that traction. And again to your point,
Alex about you know, listen, people need to be rewired.
I think what's been happening in business for so long
is the way we do things right, that's the culture.
We've already been doing it like this. It's been successful.
Don't tell us how to do what we do when
(23:16):
that's not what we're interested in. What we're interested in
is growing opportunity.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Coming up, we discuss Brandy's transition from being a world
class player to being a team owner, plus how six
streets investment in her team BAFC potentially shifts the future
not just for women soccer but all of sports.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
Impostsandom. Is there something there for you that when you
walk into an owner's room with all these smart people,
private equity, institutional capital, is there any imposter syndom for
you as an athlete?
Speaker 1 (24:00):
I would say that there's a level of understanding who
I am. I don't have an MBA, I don't have
a private equity firm, but I know this game and
I know the segment and I understand the history, and
so I'm valuable. So in that way, I'm not pretending
to be someone i'm not, and I'm open to learning
(24:22):
and growing. So I'm not afraid to go into those meetings.
But I'm also willing to say, hey, can you say
that again, Let's talk this over, let's find a better way.
Speaker 4 (24:33):
And as a former player, what are one or two
three things that you've learned as an athlete and a
player that you wish owners did for you. Then now
you're thinking about doing for your players to bring value
and make it a better experience.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Well, I have to say there's one that stands out
above the rest that in men's sports, nobody will talk about.
Safety of the player has been the priority. And I
think if you looked to ross the board in business,
in sports or otherwise, safety has always been an issue
for women. Whether that's safety of speaking out, whether that's
(25:09):
safety being by yourself, whether that's walking to your car
at night. You know, whatever it is, safety is important.
You know, what is the culture of the environment and
do they support women. I'm going to say full stop,
safety is far and wide the most important.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
And clearly that's at the core has been at the
court of the discussion around the NWSL. Yes, this is
a league that almost became the third failure right because
of gruesome for lack of a better term, very widespread
scandal across the league that led to the commissioner, you know,
stepping down. I have to think something starts to form
(25:46):
in your head. Conversations are happening. Take us back to
that moment, right, I.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Think as those things are happening, obviously your head goes
right to the players and how could this happen? Because
as guardians or stewards of the game, my generation, how
didn't we change this? You know, how did we let
this happen? So I think there's a little bit of responsibility.
Then I think the thoughts go to how do we
(26:12):
make it better? And what kind of influence can I,
as an individual have or my collective group of ninety
nine ers have, And when Angel City was coming to town, myself,
Ali Wagner, Daniel Slayton, Leslie Osbourne, the other four hours. Yeah,
Oh I like that. Okay, I will say you said
(26:34):
it first, but I might have to go forward with that.
You know, we said what we have a historical significance
in women's soccer here, and yet we don't have a team.
We have to do something. All of a sudden started
the gears churning a little bit harder and faster and
reaching out to people. And ultimately, when we met some
(26:55):
good business folks, they said, you know, money will be
the least of your worries. I chuckled because I'm like
a decade older than these other three, thinking money's always
been the problem, right, always been the problem for us
because either we get it and we don't know how
to spend it. And the league actually historically did not
(27:16):
invite private equity to the table. And so we're game
changers a little bit in that way. And that's a
good thing, right. We're getting ourselves to look at ourselves
and say why and answer that why question and then
move forward to how can we then change the landscape
altogether and make our league even better? And so that
(27:38):
conversation started happening right away.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
So Sixth Street you got to think, well, if they're
looking at other data and they're looking in data room
potential and forecasting, and they're investing our viewers and listeners
should be is there something we should be investing in.
But how does Brandy in the court for as Jason tagged,
you guys, how do you get on the table with
six st every but it wants to get on the
table with them?
Speaker 5 (28:01):
Why you how'd you make that pitch?
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (28:03):
Great question, and I'm not sure I know all the parts,
but I think being locals was very important. We had
other relationships with the likes of Cheryl Samberg, who obviously
we know her from a different space, but just you know,
a woman in business. I think also, and honestly, at
(28:25):
the grassroots level, kids playing soccer. Alan Waxman's kids are
involved in you soccer.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
Alan Waxman, the co founder and CEO of.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Sorry, I appreciate that, and I think they're also they
have investments in international professional leagues and so they understand
the game and to your point about data, they see
how that's driving a lot of significant monetary decisions and valuations.
And so now is the right time?
Speaker 2 (28:54):
And is it fair to say, Brandy that as you
guys start talking about this and you sit with Ellen
and the sixth Street team, it's got to feel different
the types of questions they're asking than WUSA days and
subsequent I mean, did it feel different in terms of
their approach.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
Well, there's no even comparing what has happened before with
what is happening now, So it's almost a moot point.
We don't need to discuss it because it's it's so
insignificant what we were doing back then, with the exception
of the fact that we were still doing what we
believe for women's soccer was the right thing, which was
(29:34):
putting it out into the mass public in a professional landscape.
And like many other innovations, the first time doesn't usually
sure and in the final product, so it was necessary
for WUSA and WPS to exist before. But no sitting
(29:59):
in in a board room with sixth Street and going
through sheet after sheet of you know, necessary information and
to your point about you know how the data is
driving everything and really how even to pick players and
to line up players. And as a old school person
(30:21):
like I have to fight data every now and again
because I know with my eye I can tell you
what I see and what I know to be valuable.
But in the bigger market scheme six streets excellence will
rise above and allow us to make some good decisions
based upon things that we didn't have access to in
the past.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
And I mean, I think it's worth pointing out. I mean,
you're sitting in you know, owners meetings all the time, Alex.
I mean, this notion is radical. A private equity firm
coming in. It's the first time in US sports history
that an institutional investor has been the majority owner. This
has never happened in the NBA, NFL, MLBA elsewhere. I
have to think, I mean, I'm turning that, I'm turning
(31:01):
Pew for a second, But I mean that must feel
radical to you from the outside in and has the
potential to change how sports investment overall happens.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
Right, It changes everything and is radical in one sense,
but it's really a validation. But to Brandy's point about
some of the things I did as you, we fight
data sometimes because data is important, but it's not the gospel.
It's a guide, not a gospel, right, And the three
things we've did that we're not really p and l builders.
(31:33):
Where we build an owner's lounge because we wanted to
cast a net to have people like yourself and Jason
come in where we can mark and I can visit
and spend time with people.
Speaker 5 (31:42):
Locker room. The importance of locker room.
Speaker 4 (31:44):
We want players come in early and leaving late, so
create casting a net that's really friendly environment for players.
We know the difference between a great locker room and
a poor locker room. And then thirdly a family room.
And then they said, why family room, where's the p
and L. I said, it's a single most important asset
our players and their partners. The reason I know is
my girls were raised in the Yankee Locke family room,
(32:07):
so it is important. And happy partner, happy player. And
that's really three things that were really contrarian to numbers
but really have paid tremendous dividends to our players and
it shows.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
In our record.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Yeah, and I think some things you can't put on paper, right,
You can't. You can't quantify it, Yeah, you can't. And
I think peace of mind, safety, health, and wholeness are
aspects of the game that without those things, batting averages
go down, errors go up, you don't win penance, and
fans don't buy your merchandise and they don't buy tickets, and.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
So anxiety anxiety revenue goes down.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
Brandy Alex mentioned earlier sort of you know confidence level.
I'm going to turn that question a little bit to
you now as an owner, it feels like something important
is happening with the NWSL. You know, you look at
the numbers alone, fifty three million dollar expansion fee that
you guys paid record one hundred and twenty five million dollars.
You're investing into this team. That's setting a new standard
(33:09):
for other teams that are going to come into the league.
Boston is coming in. I believe that a year or
two after you guys do what is your confidence level
as an owner that this time it's going to work,
that this time is different.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Well, I think now we can look back over ten years,
like you're talking about, like what are the data points
over the last ten years, and we've seen it growing.
We now have an ownership in Kansas City who is
built the first ever women's sports specific stadium that's unbelievable,
that will preview in Kansas City this season. We have
(33:44):
more teams than we've ever had, We've had larger media
buys than we've ever had in the past. Players from
around the world, the best players around the world are
coming to the NWSL. Coaches from around the world are
coming to our league. So what started out as obviously
(34:07):
a young girl's dream is now manifesting itself in a
proper business forum and we get to now again expand
what women's soccer can do. And I'm very excited about
that because I want to change FIFA at the same
time as we're changing the landscape here in America about
(34:29):
traditional sports, like that's radical baseball, of course, traditional American sport,
American football, traditional American sport, basketball, traditional American sport, women's soccer,
traditional American sport. So bullish on making that a part
(34:49):
of the landscape, Like you can't say American sport without
saying women's soccer. I think that's critical to the future.
For me.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
It is this fascinating moment for the global game, right.
You know, we came out of a World Cup, which
was quite disappointing for those of us who are US
fans and fans and former players who have been at
the pinnacle. How do you hold on to that? I mean,
the world is to your point about the American game,
world's catching up.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
It's interesting though, I'm going to say everybody's saying the
world is catching up. The world has been ahead of
us in soccer since inception of the game, so we
really I think caught early momentum because we were very
fortunate to live and be in the United States of
America with Title nine blessing Sabilityjan King and the generation
of women who fought so hard and those lawmakers who
(35:40):
enacted Title nine in nineteen seventy two, because that changed
the landscape. That allowed federally funded money to be spread
across the board and to get an education meant that
you could also play sports. Now, not everybody was in compliance,
so it didn't work perfectly in the beginning, but now
it's changing. And now we have so many women who
(36:02):
are graduating as doctors and lawyers and whatever else that
they want while also playing sports. The world isn't catching
up to us. We have thrust ourselves into the soccer
landscape in a way that nobody else could in the
world interesting and we did it really well because I
think of what is so special about our country. What
(36:23):
is so special about our country is we have people
that are sitting right here together that look completely different.
We come from different places. We may have our history
or our heritage, may have spoke different languages. But they
came to America and they brought their best parts, and
they worked hard. They became successful and now the community grew.
(36:44):
And the way we saw soccer at the beginning for
women was we like what Spain's doing, We're like what
Japan's doing, Brazil, England, Norway, and we put it all
together and we were unafraid to say that and we
liked how that was kind of this melting pot of things.
We are still new to soccer in our country compared
(37:04):
to the world. We just found a way to do
it better in the beginning, and now we have to
be able to sustain that right.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
So how do you do that?
Speaker 1 (37:13):
I think you have to have the right people. I
think people matter, and again I think that's a diverse approach,
not just gender, not just color. We have to have
voices that come from all over and we have to
be comfortable in that. To me, that gives confidence to
an organization. If you are diverse, you have a chance
to grow in ways that institutions or organizations just can't.
(37:38):
They can't understand.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
You know, One thing that I'm curious about is where
you look to for inspiration.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
And I might turn this.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
On you in the second Alex Do because obviously playing
a different sport from the sport you're now an owner
in where do you get inspiration as you think about
building this new team.
Speaker 1 (37:58):
Well, Number one, I'm inspired by every environment I'm in.
But I think again, we're in Silicon Valley. The ideation
and the innovation that happens here changes the world, and
we want to be a leader globally in changing the
way women's soccer, women's football is consumed, celebrated, shared, viewed,
(38:23):
and we want to come up with radical ideas. I
think the word radical today is probably what we're most
interested in. Being different, you know us for you know,
we've been different our whole lives. People have always asked
us like why are you playing this game? Like what's
driving you to stay in this lane? And I think
we just saw something different and we've always been different.
(38:46):
So we have a chance to work with some executives
at the Warriors or the Giants or the forty nine ers,
and we value their experiences. We should absolutely sit down
and listen. And they're like, Okay, how does that help us?
And I think we can help each other.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
I would imagine that those conversations are a lot easier
in twenty twenty three, twenty twenty four than they were
twenty years ago.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of education that's gone
around the world about the sport. I think, you know,
we're pretty fortunate that we participated in the Olympic Games. Obviously,
everybody values the Olympics in a different way than they
do professional leagues. The ninety nine ers were a collective
of trailblazers, to be honest with you, you know, we
(39:34):
had a leader in Mia Hamm who was thrust into
the spotlight and carried herself so humbly and so honestly
and so team first that it just endeared people to
what it is that we were doing. And it wasn't
even big at that time. So you know what's happening now,
(39:54):
Just you know, think about how we've been spinning those
wheels for so long. We finally got the traction and
to make a bigger difference is really phenomenal. Again, it
all comes down to the people and the culture that
we want to create for every single person who sets
foot into our stadium or onto the training ground, or
(40:18):
into the locker room, into the boardroom, is that they're valued,
they're respected, that they have something to contribute to the outcome,
and that they also will be leaders at some.
Speaker 4 (40:31):
Point and Brandy as an owner player, Churn owner, what
has been the biggest surprise, if any, And is there
any owners out there that you're looking at, studying and
basically trying to learn from.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Well, I'm trying to learn from everybody. I'm as naive
as a new day like I might know. This is
not my specialty. I think there's Again, We're very fortunate
that we have started with Sixth Street and that we
have this opportunity with this institutional capital to march forward
(41:06):
in a big way, and that I think right there
sets the foundation for the type of group we can
be and team we can be. I talked to a
lot of fans, I mean people stop me everywhere dog park,
the golf club, and they're like, we are so excited
about your team. And then I asked them why, you know,
tell me why, and they're like, we haven't seen it
(41:30):
before and we want to be a part of it,
and we can't afford something else. We grew up playing
the game. It reminds me of my childhood. I mean,
so many reasons people want to be involved, and Brady, there's.
Speaker 4 (41:40):
A lot of athletes out there that are listening to
you that you're their role model. What surprises have you
seen that surprise you? That was surprised them as players,
not as owners.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Honestly, it's everything for me right now. You know, we
took our team down to Santa Barbara and we stayed
in the most beautiful place. Like the thought of that
happening for women's soccer was never in my never. I
would never think about that. But they deserve it, and
so we should do that the opportunity. Julie Foudy used
(42:14):
to say this all the time. We'd come into the
hotel and we'd have like one of those big conference
rooms for the buffet breakfast or the buffet lunch, and
it was the same old stuff and not great, and
she'd just like say, can I just have cheddar cheese?
Speaker 3 (42:31):
Please?
Speaker 1 (42:32):
Just give me cheddar cheese, you know instead of like,
you know.
Speaker 3 (42:35):
The white cheese fits the American you.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
Know, like that would have made things so much better, right,
So it's little things.
Speaker 4 (42:43):
Yeah, I'll tell you from personal experience, Jason and Brandy,
I will tell you that I played for almost twenty
three years in the major leagues with three teams, Seattle,
Texas and the Yankees, and I took a lot of
things for granted. I mean life in the major leagues
was outstanding. I mean, you show up locker room, you
have all type of food, all type of cheese, white yellow,
(43:04):
plenty of cheddar.
Speaker 5 (43:05):
You show up and you have clean uniforms.
Speaker 4 (43:07):
You go on the charter, you fly to a team,
you stay at a beautiful hotel, you have per DM,
you have all these things.
Speaker 5 (43:14):
And I never thought once like, how does this all happen?
How does the train run?
Speaker 1 (43:17):
Right?
Speaker 4 (43:18):
And now being on the other side as an owner,
you realize all the work and all the people and
all the commitment that takes to keep that train move
and it's been pretty, uh an educational process for me.
Speaker 1 (43:28):
Yeah, I think also to that point, and I'm glad
that you said that, because from our perspective we didn't
experience something like that to that degree. But I think
the thing again that we noticed as a team in
ninety nine specifically, and why this group is so special
about we all have to contribute to the outcome, right,
(43:49):
And it doesn't matter if you're serving the food, or
you're picking up the balls, or you're cleaning up after yourself.
You know the amount of gratitude that you have for
this opportunity and the people around you is paramount to anything.
Doesn't matter what your job is. If you're the center
back or the goalkeeper, you could still pick up the balls,
you can still move the goal, you can still say
(44:10):
thank you very much for the meal that's just been served.
And I think that awareness of the humanity that happens
around professional sports and my dedication and my deliberate shout
out to my team and other teams in the NWSL
is we have to have a connection to the people
who come to our stadiums and they have to feel
(44:32):
like this belongs to them. That is what will happen here,
and I hope that that happens everywhere because Alex, I
know that people would love to be next to you,
they'd love to get close to you, to get your
autograph or to look you in the eye, and you
just smile and then I mean that was me as
a kid. I was waiting right here in San Jose,
California for George Best to come out from the Santose
(44:54):
Earthquakes locker room and for me to be able to
get a picture or to have an autograph, and most
times it didn't happen, and I went away like Okay,
maybe next time, you know, Like I was enthusiastic about it,
but it never happened. I when our games were done
or practices were done and I had an opportunity to
(45:15):
engage with fans, That's always a priority because at the
end of the day, without them, an empty stadium means nothing.
Speaker 4 (45:23):
All right, Brandy, So you have a lot of young
athletes fans from all over the world. A lot of
people want to be like you. They want to be
a great Hall of Fame type player like you. They
want to have abs like you.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
Hey, that was a long time ago, my friend, I
got a big jacket on.
Speaker 4 (45:40):
An owner like you and follow your lead. How can
someone who's out there, who's young, middle age, older, how
can they be more like you?
Speaker 1 (45:48):
First, I think the number one important thing to remind
these people is that be your best self, right. Trying
to be somebody else will never work. You have to
be yourself. You have to invest time, you know, invest
your time and know your craft, and to be humble
while doing it because it will. As it did for me,
my whole career was not this straight line ascension to
(46:11):
Olympic gold medals and World Cup championships. You know, I
was injured. I had two ACL reconstructions. I was out
of the sport for two and a half years injured,
I was on the team, I was cut from the team,
I was brought back, change position. So I would say
it's important to be yourself, to invest time in yourself,
to understand that you will make mistakes and you will
(46:32):
fall down, but you're going to be fine. You're going
to get up and you're going to go after it.
Be kind, be kind, and know that no one's perfect.
And my mom, she gave me a saying when I
was a kid, when things weren't going well, when I
was injured and out of collegiate soccer for like I
(46:53):
said those two and a half years, she said, Brandy,
find your yes. People are going to tell you no,
and that is okay. Don't be afraid to ask the question.
So that's what I would say to people, you know,
find your yes. It won't always come easy, it won't
always come in the way that maybe you've dreamt it,
but it's out there and you can do it.
Speaker 5 (47:12):
I'm that well.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
This has just been such a pleasure. Thank you for
having us in your town. Best of luck with the
season with the team.
Speaker 3 (47:20):
What a treat for both of us. Thank you well.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
I would love to invite you to come to one
of our games, if you wouldn't mind say last you
tell me the date and I will give you the ticket.
Speaker 5 (47:29):
All right, Thank you so much. And likewise to Minnesota,
thank you, Timbos and the Links.
Speaker 1 (47:34):
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (47:43):
The Deal is a production from Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals.
The Deals hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly. Our
producers are Victory Veyz and Lizzie Phillipp. Our story editor
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(48:07):
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(48:29):
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(48:53):
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Subscribe to the Deal wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks
for listening.
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. I honestly believe that
part of the equation that wasn't in our control was
the mass general public and the business sector not ready
(00:23):
for women, not ready for powerful women, not ready for
women with big voices who have grand ideas. We didn't
have the deep pockets. And before coming here today, I
think that's the one thing that kept coming into my
head was I had zero dollars that I could be
an owner with. I didn't make money in the beginning
(00:43):
playing soccer.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
So Alex Brandy Chastain, I mean so many these superlatives
around her, two time Olympic gold medalists, two time World
Cup winner. If you wanted to find the perfect lens
for the past three to four decades of women's soccer,
the growth, the missed opportunities, the incredible successes, it's all right.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
There for her.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
She starts in ninety one on the US women's national
team in the very first ever women's World Cup.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
They win it.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
She gets cut from the team, but comes back from
the ninety six Olympics. Then that iconic moment in nineteen
ninety nine that sets her on a completely different journey.
She is one of those people who transcended her sport.
Now she's an owner, and that's what I am most interested.
I can't wait to hear the back and forth about
player turned owner.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
It's a vibe, you know.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Yeah. I mean, if you think about like ninety one
ninety nine, we just remember those years were so important
an iconic player, as you mentioned. But I'm really interested
to see how she transfers her ecosystem, her experience from
player to owner, and how she plans to bring value
to that franchise.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
So Alex, let's keep it in mind. Nineteen ninety nine,
it's this huge moment. Everybody's like women's soccer, it's here
to stay in the United States. Womh wah, it doesn't
happen right. The WSA and WPS, those are the first
and second women's soccer leagues in the US. They both folded.
So then the NWSL, the National Women's Soccer League, comes
along in twenty thirteen. So BFC, that's Brandy's team. They
(02:18):
come into the NWSL this year. They're the newest team.
And the twist for them is they're backed by a
private equity fund and that's a huge deal.
Speaker 5 (02:26):
It's very interesting. I'm intrigued.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
I'm going to ask her, like, how did you get
this enormous private equity group to invest in team sports,
in women's sports. I'm excited and I'm also excited. What
is her pitch? What is the value proposition in women's sports?
I know I feel very bullish about it. I want
to hear from her.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Right, So Sixth Street is the firm that she's a
partner with. She and three other former US national team
players teamed up with Alan Waxman. Sheryl Sandberg's also in
this group. This is a team led by Brandy that
could really be the key to US women's soccer from
a domestically perspective, having staying power, and that has been
(03:06):
elusive to this point, and to your point, women's sports
as a growth investment.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
You talk about it around your boardroom.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Right, phenomenal phenomena And look, Mark Lazie recently said he
finds more growth, more opportunity in women's sports than in
men's sport. I think that hasn't really been commercialized. But
I think when we look at women's sports, we won't
believe where it is in five years versus today.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
On this episode of the Deal, Brandy Chastain. So, Brandy,
we're very happy here. Let's start if you don't mind
introducing yourself and what you're doing these days.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Sure, my name is Brandy Chastain, and I am gosh,
I'm not sure how to introduce myself in terms of
my title. I'm a co founder of the Bay FC,
the newest expansion team in the NWSL. I'm one of
four founding women. And I'm born and raised in San Jose, California,
which is right in the heart of Silicon Valley and
(04:18):
the Bay Area. So that's my secondary title too. I'm
a mom and a grandmother and a wife, I guess.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
And a pretty good soccer player.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
And back in my data, back.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
In the day. Well, let's start back in the day.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
We're so fascinated by you having I feel like both
of us like watch this career that has mirrored soccer
in this country. I think we have to start in
nineteen ninety nine. That moment that you kicked the winning
penalty kick the world changes. What did it do for
(04:53):
you as a human but also as a business person.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Well, first and foremost, it made me sleepless for many
in many months, but in all seriousness, it gave a
visibility to a sport, a team individuals, not just myself
that had really been deserving since ninety one when we
had the first Women's World Cup in China, and nineteen
(05:18):
ninety six was the first time we had the Olympic Games.
So imagine, the Olympics have been around one hundred years
and women's soccer is just now getting in in nineteen
ninety six, and so I think ninety six was kind
of the first boost that we had that gave us
the idea and the confidence that we could put a
Women's World Cup in massive stadiums from coast to coast,
(05:41):
north to south, and FIFA wasn't really interested in that,
and so I think there was a big battle for
us to show up and to show off what we
could do, and that on the business side as well
as the footballing side of things, and so it changed
that dynamic for sure. Going forward, we've seen every World
(06:02):
Cup now done in this bigger way. I think for
me personally, it gave me a platform to stand on
so that I could just scream at the top of
my lungs about the importance of women's sports, the importance
of women and decision making positions. The importance of young
girls participating in sports. It created an opportunity for me
(06:24):
to dream of a nonprofit for young girls. So many
things changed that day, and in the moment, I didn't
know that, not at all, and that was not the intention,
which I feel really good about because I think all
great things come from organic moments, in genuine moments, and
so I'm obviously very proud of what has happened for
(06:47):
women in sports and women in general. Host nineteen ninety nine. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
When you look at iconic moments over the last century,
I mean, for me, my era was the Regijaction three
home run, the World Series again, the Dodgers on three pitches.
You look at Montana to Clark, you're in a San
Jose person famous pass, and you look at Jordan the
way he retarded as Utah. To me, as an American,
I felt so much pride, and I just saw that
(07:15):
over and over again. My question to you is, I
know how I felt. How did that make you feel
as an American? But b as really a pioneer in
a moment.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
I think in the moment, I was so exhausted. Prior
to that. We practiced those kicks a lot, and that's normal.
As you would in baseball fielding grounders or bunts or whatever.
So that's a normal kick. I would have taken a
kick in the run of play, but this is special.
You're in the World Cup, you're in the Rose Bowl,
it's the final game. It's been a bend not break
(07:48):
situation between two teams who were so good that either
one could have been Crown Champion. Right before going out
to the middle, our assistant coach had come up to
me and said, hey, you want to take a penalty.
I said, yep, no problem, I got it. Then our
head coach comes over, Tony de Chico, and he says, okay,
puts his hand on my shoulder and goes, you're going
(08:10):
to take a penalty. I said, yep, I talked to
Lauren already about it. He goes, okay, good, you're going
to take it with your left foot, and then he
ran off. So I didn't think about it because I
practiced them and practice no problem. But later after the
kick and after everything sort of took a beat. I'd
never taken a penalty with my left foot in a game. Wow,
(08:31):
And now we're in the World Cup final. You know
it would be like, hey, step up, left handed and hit,
so I think in that moment, what I think, what
jumps off the page for me is this concept that
I try to share every time I have a meeting
with a young person on the sports field or in
a big group of business people, is that we all
have tools, and sometimes we get stuck in using him
(08:55):
in the same manner that we always have used them.
But we were so much more than that, and we
can really turn those tools into to work in different ways.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
I honestly think there's a great just as a fan
and a former athlete, I think for viewers and listeners,
I think there's a great coach and teaching opportunity. Before
your coach has hit it with your left where was
from one to ten at your confidence level? And then
when he tells you that in real time, what does
it do to that number?
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Yeah, I think my confidence was ten and it was
probably eleven after you said that. And the reason being
is again, earlier in my career, I was my position
was goalscorer. That's all I woke up thinking about. That's
what I went to bed thinking about. After the ninety
one World Cup, I was cut from the team and
I spent four years away from the national team, and
(09:43):
Tony brought me back and he changed my position, and
so I trusted this man and this coach implicitly. So
if he said something to me, he was telling me
that because he believed that I could do it, and
so my confidence was always very high when he put
me in uncomfortable positions or an usual moments, And so
I think I was exhausted as well, Alex, to be fair,
(10:05):
but in all honesty, I think that's the narrative of
a coach in a player. Young player's life is so
important and if we get that right, people can blossom
into just about any I.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
Know, we're way Jason, like, it's funny because I'm thinking
about my World Series moments.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
You've been a little exhausted.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Probably helps because it kind of just you just want
to survive and it keeps you in the pocket. If
you're not tired, you might be a little bit too
energetic and too high.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
So that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Yeah, And so the expectation for women's soccer just explodes
at that point in that media bar and storming to
everything that happens after that. What was your expectation for
women's soccer as a business.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
I have to tell you, I've been in this almost
five decades. I've been loving and playing and supporting women's
soccer for quite some time, and of course I thought
it would be that inflection point to a successful league
that would then transform into more driven by business than
(11:11):
by just the love and the passion of the game.
And that didn't happen. So that was very disappointing at
the minimum. Right, so in two thousand and three, when
the WUSA shut its doors, we had a chance for reflection.
And reflection is amazing because it allows you to say
what you did well, to celebrate those moments, but then
(11:36):
to recognize, okay, what didn't go well, and how can
we change And if you're really good and you're really
invested and you really believe, you can change anything. And
I think this as the third iteration of women's soccer,
the NWSL. We've gone through a lot of hardship, and
I honestly believe that part of the equation that wasn't
(11:58):
in our control was the mass general public and the
business sector not ready for women, not ready for powerful women,
not ready for women with big voices who have grand ideas.
We didn't have the deep pockets and before coming here today.
I think that's the one thing that kept coming into
my head was I had zero dollars that I could
(12:20):
be an owner with. I didn't make money in the
beginning playing soccer. I made some money, and when I
say some, it's much less than what they're making now.
And I felt like, Okay, I could make a living,
but not really great. And I was probably only one
of maybe a dozen possibly so I don't think our
(12:41):
illusions were two grand at that time. But we felt
that how could ninety thousand plus forty million or more
people tune in and have this not go somewhere? And
so we've been believers ever since. But it's taken a
lot of cajoling and a lot of educating and a
lot of believing, and then, you know, finding the right people.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Without getting too uncomfly deep into your finances. That's not
life changing. Money doesn't come to you after ninety nine, No,
not even not close.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
I have the work every day, thankfully. Yeah, in a
good way. Abby Wombach said it so eloquently. I thought
at the SP's when she was standing next to Peyton Manning,
if you might remember it, you know, her thing is here.
She is standing up as Athlete of the Year and
receiving this amazing, impressive award. But tomorrow she got to
go to work because the money she made won't sustain
(13:33):
her for the rest of her life. And that's what's different.
That's the difference between men and women's sports right now,
and we're working diligently every day to show the value. Listen,
let's talk about the two buckets. We've got men's professional
sports and we've got women's professional sports. And what I
think is so fascinating about the business sector is that
(13:56):
we know that women spend the majority of money in right,
So why is everything I'm pushing in this direction opposite
of that? Why don't we go after women in sports?
Why don't we get into women in sports because that's
where the money spent. So I think now people have
finally woke up to the fact that this is the richest,
deepest will of talent, intellect, opportunity that is out there.
(14:20):
There's nothing else out there that has as many resources
and as many people who can do great things as
women's sports.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yeah, one of the moments, which was obviously critical, was
even before nineteen ninety I went to nineteen ninety one
and you know that first World Cup and opened a
lot of eyes. Could you have imagined in nineteen ninety one,
when I believe you got five hundred bucks for winning
the World Cup, that's right, no prize money for the
(14:50):
for the team, that was just a bonus. I believe
that US Soccer paid. Could you have imagined or was
it your assumption that, of course one day it would
be like this.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Yeah, I think that's a great question. I think in
the moment, that's not what we were thinking about, right.
We were playing a game that we loved, that made
us feel individually accepted, wanted good about ourselves, and that
we could collectively come together from all the corners of
the United States and create this beautiful harmony on the
(15:21):
field born out of competition. Like I think this is
something that is really important in something that I stress
all the time that you know, competition for women has
historically not been a good thing because there's only been
one seat at the table, and so we have to
compete against each other, we couldn't support one another. But
this team was a beautiful example of how if Alex
(15:44):
and I were fighting for the same position, we could
still be great teammates. And we had that, and I
think that's why this team and going forward into nineteen
ninety nine we were so successful. How critical that is.
There's enough out there for all of us and we
can support each other in that way, and I think
going forward that's that really is going to be a
(16:06):
part of the landscape for women's sports. But thinking back
to ninety one, you know, we weren't thinking about big contracts.
I mean, we were thinking US Soccer needs to do better,
without a doubt. We had great captains in Carlo Overbag,
Julie Faudy, Michelle Akers, and we did. We fought for contracts. Honestly,
US Soccer. They put our back against the wall in
ninety six or ninety five after the World Cup, and
(16:29):
basically the players were willing to give up the Olympics,
the first ever Olympics in Atlanta, for a better contract,
not for them but for the future. And we stood
our ground and we got better, which was still not
good enough, but it was a move in the right direction.
But ninety one was the first opportunity to display what
we were doing on a big scale and for people
(16:53):
to look and say, hmm, something is going on. And
we could put sixty thousand people in a stadium in Guangzhou, China. Yeah,
and put out two great products and have the game
be excellent.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
So Brandy Jason asked you about ninety nine and that
was in the moment that changed things for you. When
you take a step back over the last five years,
I've seen some real movement and you see Kaitlyn Clark
going off, and you do, what are maybe one or
two three things that have happened that all of a
sudden you have big private equity firms, institutional capital trying
(17:27):
to pour money into women's sports.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Yeah. I would say moments like Kaitlyn Clark looking at
collegiate women's sports. I think Nebraska held a volleyball game
inside of the football stadium and it got ninety thousand people.
I mean that moves the needle. I think you look
at Women's World Cup again, the US one back to
back World Cups twenty fifteen, twenty nineteen. You know how
(17:50):
big can this World Cup be? And what is the
potential for selling sponsorships and broadcast rights. It's changed. Honestly,
FIFA didn't believe and wasn't interested in women's soccer, but
as a vehicle of equity they had to be even
though it wasn't equitable in the funds. But we're getting
(18:13):
there and that's important. It's still frustrating. There's still opportunity
out there to be better. And I think Alex to
give you more examples, I think every day we're seeing
young girls signing up participating in sports of all kinds.
So we're onto something. And I think everybody on the outside,
(18:34):
those people who were uncomfortable maybe in women's sports, are
now finding interest. They're finding that it's valid and that
they want to be involved.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
I think transparency has been one of the things that
have actually helped women's sports and the trajectory of it.
And i'd say what I mean, when you look at
the ESPN numbers, for example, we can now see them
the audience, the viewers can see them and daily almost weekly, right,
And when you look at the final four last year,
what was comparable was the viewership and the ratings. Yeah,
but I'll tell you what wasn't comparable is how the
(19:07):
media companies value and what they pay or don't pay
for women's sports and the reason why we're so bullish
at a corp and women's sports, and of course we
own the timbules and the basketball links. And now we're
looking at a third sport, a second sport in women,
a third sport to own in the world of women's sports,
which we're very excited about.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
And I would even take that example that you gave
about the basketball and go just go all the way
down to the size of the weight room, the fact
that the women had like twenty weights literally and the
men had a five thousand square foot gym basically in
the hotel. So even when your organization like the NCAA
(19:48):
doesn't support you in the way, even though the numbers
are even, it begs a lot of questions like what
is going on? Why are we so afraid of this environment?
I can't tell you. Is it a gender thing? Is
it a sporting thing.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
I do think there's a rewiring of the brain that
has to happen. Is not as zero some game. I
actually make a different argument that the more you compliment
and reward women, the better is for sports. And when
everything rises, all bolts rise. It's not like women get more,
we get less.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Is that right?
Speaker 5 (20:17):
I don't see it that way.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
One of the things that you alluded to, Brandy and
in that post ninety nine era with the WUSA and
then the subsequent league before the NWSL. I mean, if
you look at it from a pure business perspective, there's
essentially no sustained investment. We were talking about this. You
think about the links the WNBA, they're twenty six years in.
(20:41):
Why didn't people stick with it longer?
Speaker 1 (20:43):
I can't answer that because I wasn't the ownership group.
But I think what I would assert is that it
was a passion play. It was my kids are playing,
we love it, we want to be a part of it,
we want to help grow it. I think at that time, Alex,
to your point, it was if you exist, then there
is less, and we don't want that to grow. So
(21:05):
I think there was an actual tamping down of the
interest on it. Major League Soccer has been around for
a long time. They are supporting a group that I
work with and women in soccer who are trying to
make soccer opportunities accessible for more women and marginalized groups.
And Major League Soccer is supporting our career fair So
(21:28):
that is phenomenal, but it's taken a long time for
us to coexist in a way that I've always said,
it's soccer baseball doesn't have a natural competitor, right, does
not have a natural competitor. It's a traditional American sport,
and for us, I think soccer did feel slightly threatened
(21:48):
at times because of women's soccer instead of seeing it
like you saw, which is, Hey, we're going to do
soccer together. We're going to make it so great it's
going to be undeniable. We are the world's lead eating
sport by far. There's nothing out there that compares to us,
So why wouldn't we raise this boat to be on
(22:09):
this level?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
And so during that period of under investment and candidly
the failure of leagues, what does that feel like from
your perspective as someone who has devoted her life to
the sport you're playing and then ultimately coaching, What are
you seeing and what does that disconnect feel like as
you're kind of looking around, probably like mildly bewildered.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Well, I think there's two sides to this. I think
there is great opportunity and I think there is, of
course disappointment. And on the disappointment side, it's just how
I how can I do a better job of sharing
and making other people see the value of this, And
you know, we thought for a long time we had
done that, and we had broadcasted this the biggest game
(22:53):
in the world for women's sports at the time, and
we still weren't getting that traction. And again to your point,
Alex about you know, listen, people need to be rewired.
I think what's been happening in business for so long
is the way we do things right, that's the culture.
We've already been doing it like this. It's been successful.
Don't tell us how to do what we do when
(23:16):
that's not what we're interested in. What we're interested in
is growing opportunity.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Coming up, we discuss Brandy's transition from being a world
class player to being a team owner, plus how six
streets investment in her team BAFC potentially shifts the future
not just for women soccer but all of sports.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
Impostsandom. Is there something there for you that when you
walk into an owner's room with all these smart people,
private equity, institutional capital, is there any imposter syndom for
you as an athlete?
Speaker 1 (24:00):
I would say that there's a level of understanding who
I am. I don't have an MBA, I don't have
a private equity firm, but I know this game and
I know the segment and I understand the history, and
so I'm valuable. So in that way, I'm not pretending
to be someone i'm not, and I'm open to learning
(24:22):
and growing. So I'm not afraid to go into those meetings.
But I'm also willing to say, hey, can you say
that again, Let's talk this over, let's find a better way.
Speaker 4 (24:33):
And as a former player, what are one or two
three things that you've learned as an athlete and a
player that you wish owners did for you. Then now
you're thinking about doing for your players to bring value
and make it a better experience.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Well, I have to say there's one that stands out
above the rest that in men's sports, nobody will talk about.
Safety of the player has been the priority. And I
think if you looked to ross the board in business,
in sports or otherwise, safety has always been an issue
for women. Whether that's safety of speaking out, whether that's
(25:09):
safety being by yourself, whether that's walking to your car
at night. You know, whatever it is, safety is important.
You know, what is the culture of the environment and
do they support women. I'm going to say full stop,
safety is far and wide the most important.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
And clearly that's at the core has been at the
court of the discussion around the NWSL. Yes, this is
a league that almost became the third failure right because
of gruesome for lack of a better term, very widespread
scandal across the league that led to the commissioner, you know,
stepping down. I have to think something starts to form
(25:46):
in your head. Conversations are happening. Take us back to
that moment, right, I.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Think as those things are happening, obviously your head goes
right to the players and how could this happen? Because
as guardians or stewards of the game, my generation, how
didn't we change this? You know, how did we let
this happen? So I think there's a little bit of responsibility.
Then I think the thoughts go to how do we
(26:12):
make it better? And what kind of influence can I,
as an individual have or my collective group of ninety
nine ers have, And when Angel City was coming to town, myself,
Ali Wagner, Daniel Slayton, Leslie Osbourne, the other four hours. Yeah,
Oh I like that. Okay, I will say you said
(26:34):
it first, but I might have to go forward with that.
You know, we said what we have a historical significance
in women's soccer here, and yet we don't have a team.
We have to do something. All of a sudden started
the gears churning a little bit harder and faster and
reaching out to people. And ultimately, when we met some
(26:55):
good business folks, they said, you know, money will be
the least of your worries. I chuckled because I'm like
a decade older than these other three, thinking money's always
been the problem, right, always been the problem for us
because either we get it and we don't know how
to spend it. And the league actually historically did not
(27:16):
invite private equity to the table. And so we're game
changers a little bit in that way. And that's a
good thing, right. We're getting ourselves to look at ourselves
and say why and answer that why question and then
move forward to how can we then change the landscape
altogether and make our league even better? And so that
(27:38):
conversation started happening right away.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
So Sixth Street you got to think, well, if they're
looking at other data and they're looking in data room
potential and forecasting, and they're investing our viewers and listeners
should be is there something we should be investing in.
But how does Brandy in the court for as Jason tagged,
you guys, how do you get on the table with
six st every but it wants to get on the
table with them?
Speaker 5 (28:01):
Why you how'd you make that pitch?
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (28:03):
Great question, and I'm not sure I know all the parts,
but I think being locals was very important. We had
other relationships with the likes of Cheryl Samberg, who obviously
we know her from a different space, but just you know,
a woman in business. I think also, and honestly, at
(28:25):
the grassroots level, kids playing soccer. Alan Waxman's kids are
involved in you soccer.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
Alan Waxman, the co founder and CEO of.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Sorry, I appreciate that, and I think they're also they
have investments in international professional leagues and so they understand
the game and to your point about data, they see
how that's driving a lot of significant monetary decisions and valuations.
And so now is the right time?
Speaker 2 (28:54):
And is it fair to say, Brandy that as you
guys start talking about this and you sit with Ellen
and the sixth Street team, it's got to feel different
the types of questions they're asking than WUSA days and
subsequent I mean, did it feel different in terms of
their approach.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
Well, there's no even comparing what has happened before with
what is happening now, So it's almost a moot point.
We don't need to discuss it because it's it's so
insignificant what we were doing back then, with the exception
of the fact that we were still doing what we
believe for women's soccer was the right thing, which was
(29:34):
putting it out into the mass public in a professional landscape.
And like many other innovations, the first time doesn't usually
sure and in the final product, so it was necessary
for WUSA and WPS to exist before. But no sitting
(29:59):
in in a board room with sixth Street and going
through sheet after sheet of you know, necessary information and
to your point about you know how the data is
driving everything and really how even to pick players and
to line up players. And as a old school person
(30:21):
like I have to fight data every now and again
because I know with my eye I can tell you
what I see and what I know to be valuable.
But in the bigger market scheme six streets excellence will
rise above and allow us to make some good decisions
based upon things that we didn't have access to in
the past.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
And I mean, I think it's worth pointing out. I mean,
you're sitting in you know, owners meetings all the time, Alex.
I mean, this notion is radical. A private equity firm
coming in. It's the first time in US sports history
that an institutional investor has been the majority owner. This
has never happened in the NBA, NFL, MLBA elsewhere. I
have to think, I mean, I'm turning that, I'm turning
(31:01):
Pew for a second, But I mean that must feel
radical to you from the outside in and has the
potential to change how sports investment overall happens.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
Right, It changes everything and is radical in one sense,
but it's really a validation. But to Brandy's point about
some of the things I did as you, we fight
data sometimes because data is important, but it's not the gospel.
It's a guide, not a gospel, right, And the three
things we've did that we're not really p and l builders.
(31:33):
Where we build an owner's lounge because we wanted to
cast a net to have people like yourself and Jason
come in where we can mark and I can visit
and spend time with people.
Speaker 5 (31:42):
Locker room. The importance of locker room.
Speaker 4 (31:44):
We want players come in early and leaving late, so
create casting a net that's really friendly environment for players.
We know the difference between a great locker room and
a poor locker room. And then thirdly a family room.
And then they said, why family room, where's the p
and L. I said, it's a single most important asset
our players and their partners. The reason I know is
my girls were raised in the Yankee Locke family room,
(32:07):
so it is important. And happy partner, happy player. And
that's really three things that were really contrarian to numbers
but really have paid tremendous dividends to our players and
it shows.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
In our record.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Yeah, and I think some things you can't put on paper, right,
You can't. You can't quantify it, Yeah, you can't. And
I think peace of mind, safety, health, and wholeness are
aspects of the game that without those things, batting averages
go down, errors go up, you don't win penance, and
fans don't buy your merchandise and they don't buy tickets, and.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
So anxiety anxiety revenue goes down.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
Brandy Alex mentioned earlier sort of you know confidence level.
I'm going to turn that question a little bit to
you now as an owner, it feels like something important
is happening with the NWSL. You know, you look at
the numbers alone, fifty three million dollar expansion fee that
you guys paid record one hundred and twenty five million dollars.
You're investing into this team. That's setting a new standard
(33:09):
for other teams that are going to come into the league.
Boston is coming in. I believe that a year or
two after you guys do what is your confidence level
as an owner that this time it's going to work,
that this time is different.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Well, I think now we can look back over ten years,
like you're talking about, like what are the data points
over the last ten years, and we've seen it growing.
We now have an ownership in Kansas City who is
built the first ever women's sports specific stadium that's unbelievable,
that will preview in Kansas City this season. We have
(33:44):
more teams than we've ever had, We've had larger media
buys than we've ever had in the past. Players from
around the world, the best players around the world are
coming to the NWSL. Coaches from around the world are
coming to our league. So what started out as obviously
(34:07):
a young girl's dream is now manifesting itself in a
proper business forum and we get to now again expand
what women's soccer can do. And I'm very excited about
that because I want to change FIFA at the same
time as we're changing the landscape here in America about
(34:29):
traditional sports, like that's radical baseball, of course, traditional American sport,
American football, traditional American sport, basketball, traditional American sport, women's soccer,
traditional American sport. So bullish on making that a part
(34:49):
of the landscape, Like you can't say American sport without
saying women's soccer. I think that's critical to the future.
For me.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
It is this fascinating moment for the global game, right.
You know, we came out of a World Cup, which
was quite disappointing for those of us who are US
fans and fans and former players who have been at
the pinnacle. How do you hold on to that? I mean,
the world is to your point about the American game,
world's catching up.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
It's interesting though, I'm going to say everybody's saying the
world is catching up. The world has been ahead of
us in soccer since inception of the game, so we
really I think caught early momentum because we were very
fortunate to live and be in the United States of
America with Title nine blessing Sabilityjan King and the generation
of women who fought so hard and those lawmakers who
(35:40):
enacted Title nine in nineteen seventy two, because that changed
the landscape. That allowed federally funded money to be spread
across the board and to get an education meant that
you could also play sports. Now, not everybody was in compliance,
so it didn't work perfectly in the beginning, but now
it's changing. And now we have so many women who
(36:02):
are graduating as doctors and lawyers and whatever else that
they want while also playing sports. The world isn't catching
up to us. We have thrust ourselves into the soccer
landscape in a way that nobody else could in the
world interesting and we did it really well because I
think of what is so special about our country. What
(36:23):
is so special about our country is we have people
that are sitting right here together that look completely different.
We come from different places. We may have our history
or our heritage, may have spoke different languages. But they
came to America and they brought their best parts, and
they worked hard. They became successful and now the community grew.
(36:44):
And the way we saw soccer at the beginning for
women was we like what Spain's doing, We're like what
Japan's doing, Brazil, England, Norway, and we put it all
together and we were unafraid to say that and we
liked how that was kind of this melting pot of things.
We are still new to soccer in our country compared
(37:04):
to the world. We just found a way to do
it better in the beginning, and now we have to
be able to sustain that right.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
So how do you do that?
Speaker 1 (37:13):
I think you have to have the right people. I
think people matter, and again I think that's a diverse approach,
not just gender, not just color. We have to have
voices that come from all over and we have to
be comfortable in that. To me, that gives confidence to
an organization. If you are diverse, you have a chance
to grow in ways that institutions or organizations just can't.
(37:38):
They can't understand.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
You know, One thing that I'm curious about is where
you look to for inspiration.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
And I might turn this.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
On you in the second Alex Do because obviously playing
a different sport from the sport you're now an owner
in where do you get inspiration as you think about
building this new team.
Speaker 1 (37:58):
Well, Number one, I'm inspired by every environment I'm in.
But I think again, we're in Silicon Valley. The ideation
and the innovation that happens here changes the world, and
we want to be a leader globally in changing the
way women's soccer, women's football is consumed, celebrated, shared, viewed,
(38:23):
and we want to come up with radical ideas. I
think the word radical today is probably what we're most
interested in. Being different, you know us for you know,
we've been different our whole lives. People have always asked
us like why are you playing this game? Like what's
driving you to stay in this lane? And I think
we just saw something different and we've always been different.
(38:46):
So we have a chance to work with some executives
at the Warriors or the Giants or the forty nine ers,
and we value their experiences. We should absolutely sit down
and listen. And they're like, Okay, how does that help us?
And I think we can help each other.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
I would imagine that those conversations are a lot easier
in twenty twenty three, twenty twenty four than they were
twenty years ago.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of education that's gone
around the world about the sport. I think, you know,
we're pretty fortunate that we participated in the Olympic Games. Obviously,
everybody values the Olympics in a different way than they
do professional leagues. The ninety nine ers were a collective
of trailblazers, to be honest with you, you know, we
(39:34):
had a leader in Mia Hamm who was thrust into
the spotlight and carried herself so humbly and so honestly
and so team first that it just endeared people to
what it is that we were doing. And it wasn't
even big at that time. So you know what's happening now,
(39:54):
Just you know, think about how we've been spinning those
wheels for so long. We finally got the traction and
to make a bigger difference is really phenomenal. Again, it
all comes down to the people and the culture that
we want to create for every single person who sets
foot into our stadium or onto the training ground, or
(40:18):
into the locker room, into the boardroom, is that they're valued,
they're respected, that they have something to contribute to the outcome,
and that they also will be leaders at some.
Speaker 4 (40:31):
Point and Brandy as an owner player, Churn owner, what
has been the biggest surprise, if any, And is there
any owners out there that you're looking at, studying and
basically trying to learn from.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Well, I'm trying to learn from everybody. I'm as naive
as a new day like I might know. This is
not my specialty. I think there's Again, We're very fortunate
that we have started with Sixth Street and that we
have this opportunity with this institutional capital to march forward
(41:06):
in a big way, and that I think right there
sets the foundation for the type of group we can
be and team we can be. I talked to a
lot of fans, I mean people stop me everywhere dog park,
the golf club, and they're like, we are so excited
about your team. And then I asked them why, you know,
tell me why, and they're like, we haven't seen it
(41:30):
before and we want to be a part of it,
and we can't afford something else. We grew up playing
the game. It reminds me of my childhood. I mean,
so many reasons people want to be involved, and Brady, there's.
Speaker 4 (41:40):
A lot of athletes out there that are listening to
you that you're their role model. What surprises have you
seen that surprise you? That was surprised them as players,
not as owners.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Honestly, it's everything for me right now. You know, we
took our team down to Santa Barbara and we stayed
in the most beautiful place. Like the thought of that
happening for women's soccer was never in my never. I
would never think about that. But they deserve it, and
so we should do that the opportunity. Julie Foudy used
(42:14):
to say this all the time. We'd come into the
hotel and we'd have like one of those big conference
rooms for the buffet breakfast or the buffet lunch, and
it was the same old stuff and not great, and
she'd just like say, can I just have cheddar cheese?
Speaker 3 (42:31):
Please?
Speaker 1 (42:32):
Just give me cheddar cheese, you know instead of like,
you know.
Speaker 3 (42:35):
The white cheese fits the American you.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
Know, like that would have made things so much better, right,
So it's little things.
Speaker 4 (42:43):
Yeah, I'll tell you from personal experience, Jason and Brandy,
I will tell you that I played for almost twenty
three years in the major leagues with three teams, Seattle,
Texas and the Yankees, and I took a lot of
things for granted. I mean life in the major leagues
was outstanding. I mean, you show up locker room, you
have all type of food, all type of cheese, white yellow,
(43:04):
plenty of cheddar.
Speaker 5 (43:05):
You show up and you have clean uniforms.
Speaker 4 (43:07):
You go on the charter, you fly to a team,
you stay at a beautiful hotel, you have per DM,
you have all these things.
Speaker 5 (43:14):
And I never thought once like, how does this all happen?
How does the train run?
Speaker 1 (43:17):
Right?
Speaker 4 (43:18):
And now being on the other side as an owner,
you realize all the work and all the people and
all the commitment that takes to keep that train move
and it's been pretty, uh an educational process for me.
Speaker 1 (43:28):
Yeah, I think also to that point, and I'm glad
that you said that, because from our perspective we didn't
experience something like that to that degree. But I think
the thing again that we noticed as a team in
ninety nine specifically, and why this group is so special
about we all have to contribute to the outcome, right,
(43:49):
And it doesn't matter if you're serving the food, or
you're picking up the balls, or you're cleaning up after yourself.
You know the amount of gratitude that you have for
this opportunity and the people around you is paramount to anything.
Doesn't matter what your job is. If you're the center
back or the goalkeeper, you could still pick up the balls,
you can still move the goal, you can still say
(44:10):
thank you very much for the meal that's just been served.
And I think that awareness of the humanity that happens
around professional sports and my dedication and my deliberate shout
out to my team and other teams in the NWSL
is we have to have a connection to the people
who come to our stadiums and they have to feel
(44:32):
like this belongs to them. That is what will happen here,
and I hope that that happens everywhere because Alex, I
know that people would love to be next to you,
they'd love to get close to you, to get your
autograph or to look you in the eye, and you
just smile and then I mean that was me as
a kid. I was waiting right here in San Jose,
California for George Best to come out from the Santose
(44:54):
Earthquakes locker room and for me to be able to
get a picture or to have an autograph, and most
times it didn't happen, and I went away like Okay,
maybe next time, you know, Like I was enthusiastic about it,
but it never happened. I when our games were done
or practices were done and I had an opportunity to
(45:15):
engage with fans, That's always a priority because at the
end of the day, without them, an empty stadium means nothing.
Speaker 4 (45:23):
All right, Brandy, So you have a lot of young
athletes fans from all over the world. A lot of
people want to be like you. They want to be
a great Hall of Fame type player like you. They
want to have abs like you.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
Hey, that was a long time ago, my friend, I
got a big jacket on.
Speaker 4 (45:40):
An owner like you and follow your lead. How can
someone who's out there, who's young, middle age, older, how
can they be more like you?
Speaker 1 (45:48):
First, I think the number one important thing to remind
these people is that be your best self, right. Trying
to be somebody else will never work. You have to
be yourself. You have to invest time, you know, invest
your time and know your craft, and to be humble
while doing it because it will. As it did for me,
my whole career was not this straight line ascension to
(46:11):
Olympic gold medals and World Cup championships. You know, I
was injured. I had two ACL reconstructions. I was out
of the sport for two and a half years injured,
I was on the team, I was cut from the team,
I was brought back, change position. So I would say
it's important to be yourself, to invest time in yourself,
to understand that you will make mistakes and you will
(46:32):
fall down, but you're going to be fine. You're going
to get up and you're going to go after it.
Be kind, be kind, and know that no one's perfect.
And my mom, she gave me a saying when I
was a kid, when things weren't going well, when I
was injured and out of collegiate soccer for like I
(46:53):
said those two and a half years, she said, Brandy,
find your yes. People are going to tell you no,
and that is okay. Don't be afraid to ask the question.
So that's what I would say to people, you know,
find your yes. It won't always come easy, it won't
always come in the way that maybe you've dreamt it,
but it's out there and you can do it.
Speaker 5 (47:12):
I'm that well.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
This has just been such a pleasure. Thank you for
having us in your town. Best of luck with the
season with the team.
Speaker 3 (47:20):
What a treat for both of us. Thank you well.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
I would love to invite you to come to one
of our games, if you wouldn't mind say last you
tell me the date and I will give you the ticket.
Speaker 5 (47:29):
All right, Thank you so much. And likewise to Minnesota,
thank you, Timbos and the Links.
Speaker 1 (47:34):
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (47:43):
The Deal is a production from Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals.
The Deals hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly. Our
producers are Victory Veyz and Lizzie Phillipp. Our story editor
is Sir Dartha Mohonta. Our system producer is Stacy Wong.
Blake Maple is our sound engineer. Rubab Chakir is our
creative director. Our direction is from Jacqueline Kessler. Original music
(48:07):
by Blake Maples, casting by Dave Warren. Our managing editor
is David Ravella. Our executive producers r s Age Bauman,
Jason Kelly, Adam Kamiski, Kelly Laferrier, Ashley Hoenig, Trey Shallihorn,
Kyle Kramer, and Andrew Barden. Additional support from Rachel Scarmuzino,
(48:29):
Elena Los Angeles Vanessa Perdomo and Anna Masaakis. David Dimingez
is our director of photography. Our camera operators are David
Nicholson and Paul Overstrom. Alex Diacanis is our video editor.
Our gaffer is Peter Dendrinos, our grip is Alex Ajayi,
and our production assistant is Maya Dstapons. You can also
(48:53):
watch The Deal on Bloomberg Originals on YouTube and Bloomberg Television.
Subscribe to the Deal wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks
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