Podcast Summary

Podcast: Sunday Sports Club with Allison Kuch
Episode: When your due date doesn’t care about football season (with guest Emma Kelly)
Date: November 9, 2025
Host: Allison Kuch
Guest: Emma Kelly (Maternal Health Advocate, Wife of Vikings Center Ryan Kelly)

Overview:

This deeply moving episode covers the realities of NFL family life, the challenges of moving and raising a family during a football career, and, most powerfully, Emma Kelly’s journey through pregnancy loss, infertility, NICU trauma, and healing. Both Allison and Emma provide an honest, unfiltered perspective on the emotional, logistical, and societal challenges facing partners of professional athletes—especially during pivotal life moments like pregnancy, childbirth, and loss.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Realities of NFL Family Life

• Instant Connections & Community: Emma and Allison reminisce about meeting as “team moms” and the difficulties of joining new communities every time their husbands were traded or signed (02:10–02:59).
• Misconceptions about NFL Glamour: They dispel myths of constant luxury—private planes, free tickets, superfluous wealth—clarifying that most NFL families pay for tickets, move frequently, and have little to no support from teams (06:00–07:18).
  • “Players pay for their tickets. Every single one.” – Allison Kuch (06:24)
  • “Everyone loves to make professional sports a lot sexier than they are.” – Emma Kelly (01:21)
• The Team 'WAG' Stigma: Both express discomfort over the term ‘WAGs,’ outlining the breadth of professionalism and agency among NFL spouses (04:32–06:00).
  • "I wanna crawl out of my skin when I hear the term 'WAG.'" – Emma Kelly (04:32)
• Moving & Logistics: Emma describes her family's abrupt move from Indianapolis to Minnesota, likening the NFL spouse experience to “herding cattle”—where families have little control over major life decisions (09:56–12:26; 20:30–24:59).

2. The Emotional Toll of NFL Life and Pregnancy/Loss

• Dramatic Moves During Pivotal Moments: Emma details moving while nine months pregnant, handling logistics and isolation without support due to the demands of her husband’s job (09:56–12:26).
• Free Agency Waiting Game: Both women highlight the stress and unknowns of free agency, where families must wait months before knowing where they’ll live (14:02–14:57).

3. The Pressure & Complexity of 'Doing Life' Around Football

• Lack of Control: The NFL controls almost every logistics for players & families, from schedule to location. Even pregnancy planning is nearly impossible, with due dates rarely matching off-season (112:01–112:19).
  • “You think that you get to try and have a specific birth month. Best of luck, sweetheart.” – Allison Kuch (112:16)
• Career Volatility: Emma candidly discusses the trauma of being uprooted with three children, including twins, while juggling playoff logistics and medical care (22:17–25:02).

4. Navigating Loss, Infertility, and Advocacy

• Stillbirth & Public Grief: Emma shares her harrowing experience with stillbirth, including discovering her daughter Mary Kate had no heartbeat at 20 weeks, laboring alone, and the simultaneous onslaught of nasty fan messages when her husband missed a game due to their loss (45:23–48:06).
  • “You’re getting all of these awful messages… I’m sitting there on a hospital bed, trying to figure out how I’m gonna deliver my baby who’s not with us anymore.” – Emma Kelly (46:58)
• NFL Support (and Lack Thereof): While the Colts were exceptionally supportive during their loss, Emma notes this is rare across the league (48:33–50:15).
  • “Jim Irsay… said, ‘Do what you need for your family. I got it. Tell me when you’re ready.’ That does not happen.” – Emma Kelly (48:43)
• Therapy & Marital Impact: Allison and Emma discuss the strain of grief on marriage, importance of honoring individual grieving processes, and the necessity (but not ease) of therapy (54:59–56:07).
  • “If there’s one thing…you need to honor each other’s grief, and it’s so different.” – Emma Kelly (55:41)
• Infertility & IVF: Emma goes into detail about her heartbreak and obsession to have another baby, stigma with IVF, and the emotional weight of each round. She encourages self-advocacy for anyone experiencing loss or infertility (58:37–64:43).
  • “Most of the time, no one really wants to do IVF, by the way.” – Allison Kuch (66:07)
  • “Never stop advocating for yourself. Don’t give up.” – Emma Kelly (63:01)
• Pregnancy After Loss: Her IVF journey led to twin boys, delivered prematurely at 27 weeks, both spending months in the NICU.
  • “My boys came out. They’re two pounds each. It was horrific… I didn’t even know their status. All I can do is nurse them… I felt so powerless.” – Emma Kelly (89:43–90:53)
  • “There’s no guarantee. Every day things can take a turn.” – Emma Kelly (92:02)

5. Advocacy & Stillbirth Prevention

• Count the Kicks: Emma became an ambassador for stillbirth prevention and “Count the Kicks,” an app tracking fetal movements to prevent tragedy (74:20–74:28).
  • "Count the Kicks is a stillbirth prevention company… tracking fetal movements is the only indicator something is wrong in pregnancy." – Emma Kelly (74:19)
• Self-Advocacy Message for Others: Emma’s story illustrates the importance of pushing for medical support, regardless of external pressures (80:38–81:56).
  • “You have a voice—use it… Don’t be afraid to go in and advocate for your baby.” – Emma Kelly (80:54–81:56)

6. Healing, Unexpected Joy, and Moving Forward

• Birth of Her Daughter, Stella: After NICU trauma, Emma unexpectedly conceives again and delivers a healthy daughter. This VBAC birth (vaginal birth after cesarean) was “divine,” providing deep healing, especially after two traumatic births and multiple losses (109:40–119:03).
• Wisdom to Listeners: She finds value and bravery both in continuing to try for a family and knowing when stopping is right, empathizing with all paths to healing (120:19–121:25).
  • "There’s beauty and bravery in saying enough is enough, too… There's beauty in both of those." – Emma Kelly (120:28)
• Looking Towards Life Beyond Football: Both women discuss how football revolves less and less around their identities as their families and priorities shift (121:29–123:53).
  • “Our life has evolved to so much more than football now.” – Emma Kelly (123:42)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On being an NFL spouse:

  • "I feel like you age in dog years in the NFL." – Emma Kelly (00:43)
  • “The team doesn’t even know who I am… unless I’m causing an issue.” – Allison Kuch (06:06)

• On NFL myths:

  • “Everyone just assumes, right, like, every vacation you’re taking a private jet.” – Allison Kuch (05:59)
  • “Let me put this out for you guys… these guys are in the top 1% of what they do in the country, maybe even the world.” – Emma Kelly (08:36)

• On loss:

  • “How do you face a world without your child in it anymore?” – Emma Kelly (51:31)
  • “I didn’t mean to open up the world to our loss, but it’s the only way I survived.” – Emma Kelly (51:41)

• On motherhood and healing:

  • “If anyone’s listening to this and you’re going through hell right now—just hang on if you want to… Look at where we get to sit.” – Emma Kelly (120:19)

• Humor in hardship:

  • “We got this amazing local jeweler… and I got my ear pierced…then they told me the price after and I’m like, oh, that's a real diamond!” – Allison Kuch (03:45)
  • “His neighbors are 70 plus… but god bless Ann next door—happy hour at 3pm every day!” – Emma Kelly (27:22)

Important Timestamps

• Meeting and NFL Community: 00:28–03:37
• Misconceptions about NFL Life: 05:49–07:18
• Moving and Free Agency Stress: 09:41–14:57
• NFL’s Lack of Support for Family Needs: 21:01–25:02
• Pregnancy Loss and Stillbirth: 45:22–51:31
• Therapy and Marriage After Loss: 54:58–58:07
• Infertility/IVF Journey: 58:23–67:30
• NICU & Twin Boys’ Traumatic Start: 84:40–98:30
• Birth and Healing With Daughter Stella: 109:40–119:18
• Wisdom for Listeners/Looking Forward: 120:19–123:53

Tone and Language

Both women are warm, approachable, candid, and unflinching—blending humor and hard truth in a conversational style that encourages empathy. Emma is particularly open about trauma and healing, and Allison supports with her own, slightly lighter stories and heartfelt encouragement.

Conclusion

This episode is a powerful blend of “real talk” about NFL life, motherhood, loss, healing, and resilience. While centered on their lived experiences, Emma and Allison offer validation, guidance, and advocacy for anyone managing family, career pressures, or loss—on or off the gridiron.

Find Emma Kelly:

• Instagram: @emmakelly
  Find Allison Kuch:
• Instagram: @allisonkuch
• TikTok: @allisonkuch