The RSL Sr Director of Communications on tomorrow's final group stage game in the Leagues Cup, Unbeaten streak in MLS play, Transfer window still open + more
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
So feb Miss American. You're tuned to the Shan O'Connell
Show from the Murdoch Chevrolet Studio of ESPN seven hundred
and Hans drinking whiskey and ride sing in this sob
the day that I shato'condal show on ESPN seven and
(00:20):
ninety Twoe f e We welcome in, Frey Fitzgerald, RSL
Insider Friend of the Program RSL. Back in the Western
Conference playoff hunt in Earnest and of course League's Cup
group stage game tomorrow night, Get a title seven thirty
at America First Field, Frey, welcome back to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
How are you?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Oh see good buddy?
Speaker 2 (00:43):
How are you doing all right? How has the How's
the League's Cup been so far? For you?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
It's been exciting, It's been fun. It's always a little
different to play these Mexican teams with their style of play,
their implementation of what Donny likes to all the dark arts,
how they try to work over the referee and the
opponent and just all the the extra It's been good
(01:10):
for us obviously starting off the phase one as they
call it. You can't call it a group stage because
everybody doesn't play. Everybody but club America is one of
the biggest clubs in CONCA CAF in the Western Hemisphere.
We were fifteen seconds away from getting the full three
points against them, give up a late goal which was
quality from them, and then our man Rafael Cabral stepped
(01:34):
up massive in the shootout. And then three days later,
you know, we get the early goal against Athletico San Luis,
we get the late goal to tie it up and
send it to a shootout, and then that shootout did
not go our way. Shootouts are crazy. I feel like
I'd love them, except when it involves our team, and
then I start questioning my heart, like if I can
(01:57):
if I'm just getting old too quick and I can't
handle it. So but it's been fun, man, And and
look we go into the match day three tomorrow against Carrettro.
We still have a chance. We need we need to win,
and we need like six other MLS teams to fail
to win, so either an outright loss or a shootout loss,
(02:19):
and then we can be one of the top four
out of eighteen MLS teams to get to the quarterfinals.
So chances are slim, but we've got a league game
on Sunday in New York that's going to be important.
We've got new players that we're hopefully going to be
able to integrate soon as well. So it's a lot
a lot of good stuff going.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Off before we move on to anything. I want to
I want to go back to these these shootouts because
we've I've had lots of conversations with lots of soccer
people about shootouts versus run a play, and it feels
like I enjoy watching a shootout, but it feels like
that's kind of a new sort of opinion like it.
(02:57):
The soccer purist is always like, no, no, no, you got
to let the match we decide by run a play.
It's not the same thing. And it feels like I'm
shamed for enjoying a good shootout. But you're someone who
just said you you even like a shootout as as
it doesn't involve our assel, So where are we supposed
to fall on these things?
Speaker 3 (03:15):
So the shootout after ninety minutes is a very thing,
right with some of these tournaments lately, with League Cup
and Concer Cap and other tournaments. You may remember, OHC
you probably don't, but when MLS had the All Star
Game here at what was then Rio tinto Stadium In
two thousand and nine, RSL and MLS hosted Everton and
(03:36):
it did go straight to a shootout after ninety minutes.
It was a very new, unique concept then, and our
old owner Dave Check had said, you know what, I
hate ties, there's no emotional resolution from a regular season tie.
Maybe every game should go to a shootout. So he
was roundly mocked and criticized and all that fun stuff.
So I actually just kind of tweeted out yesterday because
(03:59):
I've been watching a lot of Leagues Cup. It's fun
to be able to see other teams that you don't
get to see with all the MLS games all stacked
up on each other on a typical Saturday night at
seven thirty Mountain. But I don't know, man, I guess
I'm in the mid Nordy. Maybe you are too, you know.
I just I Sometimes I go home from a tie
and I'm like, you know what, I would have rather
(04:20):
us lost, because then I would know how to emotionally
process what I just saw over the last ninety minutes.
But maybe I'm just a and I'm not a newb
I've been in this dumb game for thirty years, so
that's that's my opinion.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So emotional resolution is a great way to put it.
It's it's one of the obstacles for soccer's popularity with
American sports fans in my opinion, where it's like, what
do you mean there's ties. We watched this whole game
and all this back and forth of this craziness and
it's nil nil, and I'm supposed to be excited about that.
So the shootout does offer that resolution.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Well, you know, some of those ties feel like wins
and some feel like losses. You just never know, And
that's part of why we love this marathon. Ten and
a half month season and thirty four games in playoffs,
I guess, and all these other cups they're played concurrently.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Well, let's talk about where ourselves at in the Western
Conference right now, unbeaten through several matches, five wins, building
up the points and back really in the thick of
that playoff race. And the last time we talked, we
were touching on this with Ursel kind of on the
outside looking in but within striking distance because of how
(05:29):
much there still is left to play. Where do you
feel the team's at right now with the schedule ahead,
And like you said, you know, your RSL campaign being
interrupted by some league cup and things like that. Is
this team in the spot it needs to be as
the playoffs do approach.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
Yeah, look June in July and good to us. We've
lost one out of our last nine games. We've moved
from thirteen up to eight in the Western Conference standings.
The top nine go to the playoffs. One game skewer
plays than some of the teams surrounding us. So I
think everybody's pretty optimistic. You know, we do go to
(06:09):
New York Sunday, We go to Charlotte weekend of the sixteenth,
so you got to take Carr's some business on the road,
and then you're then you're back at home for five
of your final final eight. So we think it's all
there ahead of us, and I think everybody's feeling super
super optimistic about the you know, the stretch run. We've
(06:33):
got a rescheduled game from earlier in the.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Year against LAFC that has moved down to September seventeenth,
and if Seattle or US go to the League's Cup
final on August thirty one, that August thirty trip up
to play the Sounders will also be rescheduled. So it
could end up being a really congested you know what
(07:00):
am I trying to say September, I guess, but we
feel like we're a really deep team. We feel like
we're healthy right now. We're bringing in some new forwards
to up the level of competition. We got a Mecca
and Nelly back. We've got Brian o'hada who had two
goals in his first seventy five RSL games and now
has three in his last three. So there's a lot
(07:22):
of reason to believe that maybe if this team gets
super hot, we can get a top four, top four
Western Conference home field advantage seed. Com late October.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Tray Fitzgerald our guest here on the seat O'Connell sho
talk in RSL. They are right now in eighth place
in the Western Conference playoffs. Transfer windows we're talking about,
you know, a free agency in some sports, you talk
about the trademarket being open. Transfer window right now in MLS.
(07:58):
What does RSL look to do while it's helping?
Speaker 3 (08:03):
So the transfer window opened on pioneered Ay, July twenty fourth,
we announced a new designated player from Brazil. His name
is Juan Cruz for both to Fogo, one of the
bigger clubs over there played in Botafogo actually spent ten
million dollars on him in February to get him out
(08:23):
of Bulgaria where he was a prolific goal scorer. So
we're excited to have him. Looks like hopefully by the
end of the week we'll be able to announce the
other very heavily rumored target named Victor Olatunji from Sparta Prague.
Trying to get that paperwork and work visa and all
that stuff done, so hopefully both of these guys might
even be able to see the field for US as
(08:46):
early as Sunday against New York. There's maybe a five
percent chance we can even see Cruz tomorrow night against
the Carretzuro if his work visa comes in. And the
reason that these visas made happened a little more quickly
is they both had US visitor visas, which are easier
to convert to a work visa than having to start
(09:07):
from scratch with the interview and the State Department all
that kind of stuff, which you can understand that the
immigration process is extremely complicated over the last you know,
six months.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Well, what about other additions or other moves that you
could see RSL engaging in in this all the transfer
windows open.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Yeah, Look, Kirk Schmid has until August twenty third. I
think he and Pablo have talked about maybe adding some
depth in the back line or maybe on the wing.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
I know, I know.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Kurt's got a lot of irons in the fire. So
you know, maybe we'll get him on with you in
the next week or two and talk about where that
is as we maybe get a little closer to close
the window and see what our roster is going to
look like down the stretch.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
I hope I asked this the right way. But is
our sl a plug and play organization? I mean, in
other sports? And I have better understanding of other sports
than I do of soccer, right, you have to make
sure that whoever you bring in fits with the chemistry
of the locker room, that they fit with the style
(10:11):
of play in this case, with formation and and your
how you plan to attack and things like that. In basketball,
it's not in football. It's not always just about all right,
is this a good player and does he fit you know,
because we need a forward. Let's go get a forward.
Everyone's always trying to bring in the right guys and
(10:33):
the personality is in that locker room right now? How
easy is it to fit other people in and make
sure that that is the right guy for the situation
that RSL has with you know, a team on the rise.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Yeah, that's a good question, right Just like any interview
process for any job, there's a there's a lot of layers. Then.
I know Pablo and his staff and Kurt and his staff,
they all, you know, they spend a lot of time
talking again on Zoom, having multiple interviews, not just the
player and his agent, but his current and former teammates.
(11:08):
Is trying to figure out that personality piece and figure out,
you know, how somebody is going to integrate. And sometimes
you just don't know and you think everything's perfect and
then you know, they show up and it doesn't work out.
But a lot of times it does. And we think,
especially these two guys, with what they've done in Europe
and South America in their past careers, that they should
(11:32):
be able to hopefully integrate quickly. And then you know,
every coach will tell you, you know, for these summer transfers
that when they have a good preseason with the team
in January or February, that's really where they're able to
kind of get into the nuance of the game model
and all that stuff, But there's a universal aspect of
the game that sometimes we all probably make a little
(11:55):
too much out of some of that stuff.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
From a team chemistry standpoint, is there is there anyone
this locker room right now who you're like, Oh, that
person is the one who's gonna walk over. They're gonna
greet the new guys. They're gonna be the ones that
are like, Hey, this is what Utah's about, this is
what Sandy's about, this is what salt Lake's about. Is
there is there that ambassador type personality already in the
locker room?
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Sure, we're lucky. We got a lot of those guys.
Our goalkeeper, Rapa Cabral is a big leader and a big,
big captain. We've got five in the leadership group that
uh you know in Mecca and Nelly's another one of
those guys. Justin Glad's been part of the club for
eleven years. We got a lot of guys that are
(12:40):
able to do that. Pablo Weeze has been around, so
you know, that's one of the things that makes my
job a lot of fun and really easy, is we
have so many quality humans and people in our locker
room that that these new guys coming in, man, they
are greeted like family. In fact, Cruises agent told me
(13:01):
the other day, he's like, look, I've been around a
lot of clubs with a lot of different players, and
nothing quite has the vibe that you guys have created.
And you know, there's sometimes, I guess at certain places
a standoff, standoffish attitude right for the new guys, and
everybody's been really welcoming, even the guys that have to
(13:21):
compete for jobs with the new guys.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
What has the adjustment been like for the franchise now
that you know we are a growing sports market, there's
a hockey team in town. In my opinion, the Jazz
role in town has changed pretty drastically because of how
bad the team is right now, and you know, the
ownership change and things like that, and of course, when
(13:45):
you're talking about the sports landscape of our state, RSL
was like the Jazz were the first mover professional sports.
RSL's been here a long time. They're a well established club,
So what is the what is the move? What's the
adjustment to accommodate, you know, the Mammoth to accommodate the
changing landscape with the Utah Jazz, to accommodate an eventual
(14:08):
and Major League baseball team. It seems like that's probably
an eventuality here, Like where does the MLS and RSL
specifically kind of fit into that picture, because I know
it doesn't just happen passively.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Yeah. No, Look, I think twenty years ago when Dave
Checkets brought RSL to town very much, the feeling was, hey,
another professional organization that rising tide lifts all boats. Our
presence could enhance you know, the attractiveness of the Jazz
and the college football scene and all that. And that's
certainly how we have felt with you know, the Mammoth
(14:42):
and hockey coming into the best hockey league in the
world NHL, and we all we're all sports fans, right,
so seeing that now with the Miller group and Steve
Starks kind of leading the charge and the Miller family,
you know, they're excited about baseball, which makes us excited
about baseball. And having more facilities, more energy around professional
(15:02):
sports and high end entertainment, it's good for everything. And yeah, sure,
I think there's a certain level of competition right for
eyeballs for fans, for busts in the seats, for corporate dollars,
all that stuff. But you know, we feel like we've
carved out a great niche. We have fifteen thousand Seaton
ticket holders, we have a young, diverse audience. Soccer is
(15:23):
going to get a massive jolt with the world cupping
here in North America next year, as you and I
have talked about in the past. So it's just it's
extremely exciting time. We're all jazz fans, we're all Mammoth fans,
We're all you know, major League baseball fans. I can't
wait to go see my giants come to town here
in four or five years out there hopefully off at
North Temple and enjoy a beer and a broad and
(15:45):
take in some Major League baseball.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Here's what I need. I need Mammoth sweater in the
Claret and Cobalt, and I need an RSL shirt in
the mammoth blue like that the little crossover. That's what
we need. It's right. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
We actually had an item of the game probably right
around the time Utah Hockey Club played it first game
a little over a year ago, and those claret and
Cobalt hockey sweaters sold out in twenty minutes. I think
at our team store two hundred and eighty eight of them.
So hopefully we can reissue that because that was a
really cool item and people were pretty psyched to throw
(16:25):
those on.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Yeah, it's a great idea to have that. Appreciate you
giving us time whenever you're able. Thank you for today.
We'll talk again soon.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
Oh fit, we got to get you out to a game, man,
so just let me know when you want to come.
Get a press baths, sit on the sideline and see
how fast and strong and athletic these guys are.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Let's do it all right, Talk soon, yeah,
So feb Miss American. You're tuned to the Shan O'Connell
Show from the Murdoch Chevrolet Studio of ESPN seven hundred
and Hans drinking whiskey and ride sing in this sob
the day that I shato'condal show on ESPN seven and
(00:20):
ninety Twoe f e We welcome in, Frey Fitzgerald, RSL
Insider Friend of the Program RSL. Back in the Western
Conference playoff hunt in Earnest and of course League's Cup
group stage game tomorrow night, Get a title seven thirty
at America First Field, Frey, welcome back to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
How are you?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Oh see good buddy?
Speaker 2 (00:43):
How are you doing all right? How has the How's
the League's Cup been so far? For you?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
It's been exciting, It's been fun. It's always a little
different to play these Mexican teams with their style of play,
their implementation of what Donny likes to all the dark arts,
how they try to work over the referee and the
opponent and just all the the extra It's been good
(01:10):
for us obviously starting off the phase one as they
call it. You can't call it a group stage because
everybody doesn't play. Everybody but club America is one of
the biggest clubs in CONCA CAF in the Western Hemisphere.
We were fifteen seconds away from getting the full three
points against them, give up a late goal which was
quality from them, and then our man Rafael Cabral stepped
(01:34):
up massive in the shootout. And then three days later,
you know, we get the early goal against Athletico San Luis,
we get the late goal to tie it up and
send it to a shootout, and then that shootout did
not go our way. Shootouts are crazy. I feel like
I'd love them, except when it involves our team, and
then I start questioning my heart, like if I can
(01:57):
if I'm just getting old too quick and I can't
handle it. So but it's been fun, man, And and
look we go into the match day three tomorrow against Carrettro.
We still have a chance. We need we need to win,
and we need like six other MLS teams to fail
to win, so either an outright loss or a shootout loss,
(02:19):
and then we can be one of the top four
out of eighteen MLS teams to get to the quarterfinals.
So chances are slim, but we've got a league game
on Sunday in New York that's going to be important.
We've got new players that we're hopefully going to be
able to integrate soon as well. So it's a lot
a lot of good stuff going.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Off before we move on to anything. I want to
I want to go back to these these shootouts because
we've I've had lots of conversations with lots of soccer
people about shootouts versus run a play, and it feels
like I enjoy watching a shootout, but it feels like
that's kind of a new sort of opinion like it.
(02:57):
The soccer purist is always like, no, no, no, you got
to let the match we decide by run a play.
It's not the same thing. And it feels like I'm
shamed for enjoying a good shootout. But you're someone who
just said you you even like a shootout as as
it doesn't involve our assel, So where are we supposed
to fall on these things?
Speaker 3 (03:15):
So the shootout after ninety minutes is a very thing,
right with some of these tournaments lately, with League Cup
and Concer Cap and other tournaments. You may remember, OHC
you probably don't, but when MLS had the All Star
Game here at what was then Rio tinto Stadium In
two thousand and nine, RSL and MLS hosted Everton and
(03:36):
it did go straight to a shootout after ninety minutes.
It was a very new, unique concept then, and our
old owner Dave Check had said, you know what, I
hate ties, there's no emotional resolution from a regular season tie.
Maybe every game should go to a shootout. So he
was roundly mocked and criticized and all that fun stuff.
So I actually just kind of tweeted out yesterday because
(03:59):
I've been watching a lot of Leagues Cup. It's fun
to be able to see other teams that you don't
get to see with all the MLS games all stacked
up on each other on a typical Saturday night at
seven thirty Mountain. But I don't know, man, I guess
I'm in the mid Nordy. Maybe you are too, you know.
I just I Sometimes I go home from a tie
and I'm like, you know what, I would have rather
(04:20):
us lost, because then I would know how to emotionally
process what I just saw over the last ninety minutes.
But maybe I'm just a and I'm not a newb
I've been in this dumb game for thirty years, so
that's that's my opinion.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So emotional resolution is a great way to put it.
It's it's one of the obstacles for soccer's popularity with
American sports fans in my opinion, where it's like, what
do you mean there's ties. We watched this whole game
and all this back and forth of this craziness and
it's nil nil, and I'm supposed to be excited about that.
So the shootout does offer that resolution.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Well, you know, some of those ties feel like wins
and some feel like losses. You just never know, And
that's part of why we love this marathon. Ten and
a half month season and thirty four games in playoffs,
I guess, and all these other cups they're played concurrently.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Well, let's talk about where ourselves at in the Western
Conference right now, unbeaten through several matches, five wins, building
up the points and back really in the thick of
that playoff race. And the last time we talked, we
were touching on this with Ursel kind of on the
outside looking in but within striking distance because of how
(05:29):
much there still is left to play. Where do you
feel the team's at right now with the schedule ahead,
And like you said, you know, your RSL campaign being
interrupted by some league cup and things like that. Is
this team in the spot it needs to be as
the playoffs do approach.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
Yeah, look June in July and good to us. We've
lost one out of our last nine games. We've moved
from thirteen up to eight in the Western Conference standings.
The top nine go to the playoffs. One game skewer
plays than some of the teams surrounding us. So I
think everybody's pretty optimistic. You know, we do go to
(06:09):
New York Sunday, We go to Charlotte weekend of the sixteenth,
so you got to take Carr's some business on the road,
and then you're then you're back at home for five
of your final final eight. So we think it's all
there ahead of us, and I think everybody's feeling super
super optimistic about the you know, the stretch run. We've
(06:33):
got a rescheduled game from earlier in the.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Year against LAFC that has moved down to September seventeenth,
and if Seattle or US go to the League's Cup
final on August thirty one, that August thirty trip up
to play the Sounders will also be rescheduled. So it
could end up being a really congested you know what
(07:00):
am I trying to say September, I guess, but we
feel like we're a really deep team. We feel like
we're healthy right now. We're bringing in some new forwards
to up the level of competition. We got a Mecca
and Nelly back. We've got Brian o'hada who had two
goals in his first seventy five RSL games and now
has three in his last three. So there's a lot
(07:22):
of reason to believe that maybe if this team gets
super hot, we can get a top four, top four
Western Conference home field advantage seed. Com late October.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Tray Fitzgerald our guest here on the seat O'Connell sho
talk in RSL. They are right now in eighth place
in the Western Conference playoffs. Transfer windows we're talking about,
you know, a free agency in some sports, you talk
about the trademarket being open. Transfer window right now in MLS.
(07:58):
What does RSL look to do while it's helping?
Speaker 3 (08:03):
So the transfer window opened on pioneered Ay, July twenty fourth,
we announced a new designated player from Brazil. His name
is Juan Cruz for both to Fogo, one of the
bigger clubs over there played in Botafogo actually spent ten
million dollars on him in February to get him out
(08:23):
of Bulgaria where he was a prolific goal scorer. So
we're excited to have him. Looks like hopefully by the
end of the week we'll be able to announce the
other very heavily rumored target named Victor Olatunji from Sparta Prague.
Trying to get that paperwork and work visa and all
that stuff done, so hopefully both of these guys might
even be able to see the field for US as
(08:46):
early as Sunday against New York. There's maybe a five
percent chance we can even see Cruz tomorrow night against
the Carretzuro if his work visa comes in. And the
reason that these visas made happened a little more quickly
is they both had US visitor visas, which are easier
to convert to a work visa than having to start
(09:07):
from scratch with the interview and the State Department all
that kind of stuff, which you can understand that the
immigration process is extremely complicated over the last you know,
six months.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Well, what about other additions or other moves that you
could see RSL engaging in in this all the transfer
windows open.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Yeah, Look, Kirk Schmid has until August twenty third. I
think he and Pablo have talked about maybe adding some
depth in the back line or maybe on the wing.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
I know, I know.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Kurt's got a lot of irons in the fire. So
you know, maybe we'll get him on with you in
the next week or two and talk about where that
is as we maybe get a little closer to close
the window and see what our roster is going to
look like down the stretch.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
I hope I asked this the right way. But is
our sl a plug and play organization? I mean, in
other sports? And I have better understanding of other sports
than I do of soccer, right, you have to make
sure that whoever you bring in fits with the chemistry
of the locker room, that they fit with the style
(10:11):
of play in this case, with formation and and your
how you plan to attack and things like that. In basketball,
it's not in football. It's not always just about all right,
is this a good player and does he fit you know,
because we need a forward. Let's go get a forward.
Everyone's always trying to bring in the right guys and
(10:33):
the personality is in that locker room right now? How
easy is it to fit other people in and make
sure that that is the right guy for the situation
that RSL has with you know, a team on the rise.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Yeah, that's a good question, right Just like any interview
process for any job, there's a there's a lot of layers. Then.
I know Pablo and his staff and Kurt and his staff,
they all, you know, they spend a lot of time
talking again on Zoom, having multiple interviews, not just the
player and his agent, but his current and former teammates.
(11:08):
Is trying to figure out that personality piece and figure out,
you know, how somebody is going to integrate. And sometimes
you just don't know and you think everything's perfect and
then you know, they show up and it doesn't work out.
But a lot of times it does. And we think,
especially these two guys, with what they've done in Europe
and South America in their past careers, that they should
(11:32):
be able to hopefully integrate quickly. And then you know,
every coach will tell you, you know, for these summer transfers
that when they have a good preseason with the team
in January or February, that's really where they're able to
kind of get into the nuance of the game model
and all that stuff, But there's a universal aspect of
the game that sometimes we all probably make a little
(11:55):
too much out of some of that stuff.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
From a team chemistry standpoint, is there is there anyone
this locker room right now who you're like, Oh, that
person is the one who's gonna walk over. They're gonna
greet the new guys. They're gonna be the ones that
are like, Hey, this is what Utah's about, this is
what Sandy's about, this is what salt Lake's about. Is
there is there that ambassador type personality already in the
locker room?
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Sure, we're lucky. We got a lot of those guys.
Our goalkeeper, Rapa Cabral is a big leader and a big,
big captain. We've got five in the leadership group that
uh you know in Mecca and Nelly's another one of
those guys. Justin Glad's been part of the club for
eleven years. We got a lot of guys that are
(12:40):
able to do that. Pablo Weeze has been around, so
you know, that's one of the things that makes my
job a lot of fun and really easy, is we
have so many quality humans and people in our locker
room that that these new guys coming in, man, they
are greeted like family. In fact, Cruises agent told me
(13:01):
the other day, he's like, look, I've been around a
lot of clubs with a lot of different players, and
nothing quite has the vibe that you guys have created.
And you know, there's sometimes, I guess at certain places
a standoff, standoffish attitude right for the new guys, and
everybody's been really welcoming, even the guys that have to
(13:21):
compete for jobs with the new guys.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
What has the adjustment been like for the franchise now
that you know we are a growing sports market, there's
a hockey team in town. In my opinion, the Jazz
role in town has changed pretty drastically because of how
bad the team is right now, and you know, the
ownership change and things like that, and of course, when
(13:45):
you're talking about the sports landscape of our state, RSL
was like the Jazz were the first mover professional sports.
RSL's been here a long time. They're a well established club,
So what is the what is the move? What's the
adjustment to accommodate, you know, the Mammoth to accommodate the
changing landscape with the Utah Jazz, to accommodate an eventual
(14:08):
and Major League baseball team. It seems like that's probably
an eventuality here, Like where does the MLS and RSL
specifically kind of fit into that picture, because I know
it doesn't just happen passively.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Yeah. No, Look, I think twenty years ago when Dave
Checkets brought RSL to town very much, the feeling was, hey,
another professional organization that rising tide lifts all boats. Our
presence could enhance you know, the attractiveness of the Jazz
and the college football scene and all that. And that's
certainly how we have felt with you know, the Mammoth
(14:42):
and hockey coming into the best hockey league in the
world NHL, and we all we're all sports fans, right,
so seeing that now with the Miller group and Steve
Starks kind of leading the charge and the Miller family,
you know, they're excited about baseball, which makes us excited
about baseball. And having more facilities, more energy around professional
(15:02):
sports and high end entertainment, it's good for everything. And yeah, sure,
I think there's a certain level of competition right for
eyeballs for fans, for busts in the seats, for corporate dollars,
all that stuff. But you know, we feel like we've
carved out a great niche. We have fifteen thousand Seaton
ticket holders, we have a young, diverse audience. Soccer is
(15:23):
going to get a massive jolt with the world cupping
here in North America next year, as you and I
have talked about in the past. So it's just it's
extremely exciting time. We're all jazz fans, we're all Mammoth fans,
We're all you know, major League baseball fans. I can't
wait to go see my giants come to town here
in four or five years out there hopefully off at
North Temple and enjoy a beer and a broad and
(15:45):
take in some Major League baseball.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Here's what I need. I need Mammoth sweater in the
Claret and Cobalt, and I need an RSL shirt in
the mammoth blue like that the little crossover. That's what
we need. It's right. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
We actually had an item of the game probably right
around the time Utah Hockey Club played it first game
a little over a year ago, and those claret and
Cobalt hockey sweaters sold out in twenty minutes. I think
at our team store two hundred and eighty eight of them.
So hopefully we can reissue that because that was a
really cool item and people were pretty psyched to throw
(16:25):
those on.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Yeah, it's a great idea to have that. Appreciate you
giving us time whenever you're able. Thank you for today.
We'll talk again soon.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
Oh fit, we got to get you out to a game, man,
so just let me know when you want to come.
Get a press baths, sit on the sideline and see
how fast and strong and athletic these guys are.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Let's do it all right, Talk soon, yeah,
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