← Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard
Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard
Landon Donovan and Tim Howard’s USMNT Memory Lane with Jenny Taft | Unfiltered Soccer
00:59:12
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- [00:00]
A
Foreign. Welcome into Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim. Today's special episode is brought to you by Walmart. What's happening, ld?
- [00:19]
B
What's up, guys? As always, follow us on social media. Unfiltered Soccer. Make sure you subscribe to the show on YouTube and follow on Apple Podcasts and Spotify if you love what we're doing. As always, leave us a review and you can email jordan@feedbackfiltered soccer.com. so we were in San Fran during the super bowl weekend with Jenny Taft. It was amazing. We had a great little fireside chat. We talked World cup and mls. It was awesome.
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A
Yeah. Obviously our own World cup experiences from the past. Sort of who we think is going to be breakout stars on this summer's tournament in terms of MLS talent. So really exciting stuff.
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B
Thanks, Jenny, for being our host. She's awesome. We love her and we hope you guys enjoy the chat.
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C
Thank you. Whoever did the. Jenny Chan, that was really sweet. Oh, thank you. Appreciate it. Good to see you guys. This is great. This is fun.
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A
Good fun.
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C
It's a good showing. I'm just excited to be with you guys. We were chatting before and I feel like, how lucky that I've been able to cover you guys throughout your careers now as broadcasters and friends. So thanks for letting me hang.
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B
Thanks, jt.
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A
Yeah, thanks for watching. Making us look good, that's the most important thing.
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C
Good. You gotta have a host once in a while.
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B
Yes.
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C
Well. And what's wild, and I know everyone in the audience agrees, we are just over 100 days out from the World cup here. So I think to start this off, it really is just your reaction to that because it really is here before we know it.
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B
It's funny when these things happen. So in 2010, I was in the room when they announced Russia and Qatar, and it was like that 2018 and 22 felt like a lifetime away. And then the same thing that happened when the US Got announced and you're thinking, that's not even, like, on my map in any way. You're not thinking about it all. And now we're 100 and a few days away and it's pretty wild, the excitement. I know you feel this too. Like, it's just building and building and building every day. And it's going to be an amazing summer.
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A
It's incredible. And I think I get to. I mean, we're working a little bit, but I would consider myself more of a fan, which is amazing for the first time probably in my life that I get to do that. But I'm also. My mind goes to the players. And as much as we on the outside are like just over 100 days doesn't really resonate with the players. They're so locked in and so focused of trying to stay fit, trying to play for their club team and be. Be ready and at it. And then. And then obviously for the march games, being ready and prepared. And there's so much going on in their brain that the numbers don't. That don't really make sense to them. They're just so laser focused, so. But I'm excited for them.
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C
How does it differ that it's here in the US and maybe we don't even know yet. Right. But for a player, from their perspective, when you said it hasn't really hit them yet, but how does it differ that it will be here in America?
- [03:00]
B
I mean, we can't speak to it because we didn't experience it completely accurately. But I do remember 94 and watching our US team and the world was way different at that time and the soccer world was way different. I know what it's like to have. We both do. To have moments or a game or something that changes everything for the rest of your life. The trajectory. And you think about where the Sport is now versus in 2010 or 2014 and then it's at home. So everything is magnified and exponentially bigger, more important, more responsibility, but way more opportunity. So their lives will change and could change drastically forever.
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A
Yeah. And we've spoken about this on the podcast is when I start to look back of host countries. I think of France in 98, right. They won. I think of South Korea in 2002. They had a run.
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B
Semi.
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A
The semis I think of in 2006. Germany was in. Germany went. Got third place. We saw Bafana. Bafana in South Africa. Okay. They didn't go far, but we saw what the country did for that team who shouldn't have done anything. And so when I look at our team and I think our team's very good, I'm just sort of this intangible of like they need to play well, they need to have luck, they need to have a rhythm. Sure. But there's going to be this crest of a wave that starts to grow after the first round, after the round of 32. And you're like, now, now you're thinking these kids might do something special because the country will be behind them. So it's pretty awesome to think about it that way.
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C
That's so true. I keep telling everyone I know I'm like, just find a way, find a way to get a ticket. It's because no one even knows yet. I think people have seen a World Cup. Yes, but maybe someone who doesn't know soccer as well. It's going to take over everything. And that's what's so cool to be a part of it in such a small way. And Tim, you mentioned that you're now a fan, which is unique. Who are you looking forward to seeing? I mean, are there players you want to see in person? What, what stands out in that way?
- [04:55]
A
Yeah. So, you know, I say that. I don't say it flippantly. And I was talking to a friend of mine and you and I discussed it. I, I want to be, I want to. Not just the World cup, but in general. I don't, I never go to a soccer game where I just enjoy it.
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B
Yeah.
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A
I mean, my daughter's soccer games, sure, but like professional soccer games, I don't go and I don't have, like, I always have an obligation. I want to just go. And I think, you know, my time spent in England, I have an affinity for England and, and their players and of course, the US Team. I would love to see Cristiano Ronaldo, who is a former teammate of mine. This is going to be his last World Cup. I mean, if you ask him, he probably thinks he can play another 10 years. Forever. Messi. Messi. Can we get a Messi ticket to see Argentina? Just because of. This is the end. So I think of those sort of players that I'd love to see. I would really love to see in person.
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C
In person. Landon. Anyone else stand out? Those two as well.
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B
I mean, I think the, the biggest rising star on the planet that is still relatively unknown probably in, in American soccer is Lamina Mall.
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C
Sure.
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B
And so he's, he's become a massive star, a superstar. But as far as the casual soccer fan or sports fan in our country, this is an 18, 19, 18 or 19 year old kid who could quite easily be the best player in the tournament. If he plays well and Spain win it, he could, he could get the golden ball. And I think he's going to be very motivated to do that.
- [06:18]
C
Still so young, so exciting. You mentioned Messi and I laugh because I think everyone has a messy story, but I will never forget I was at the World cup final. I'm pitch side and I know when I say that that's crazy that that was my role, but you see Argentina win and you see grown men just crying everywhere around Me. And that was when it first felt so real, how it means so much to so many people. I mean, just tears. It was incredible.
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B
Like, I'll never forget jt when I was at the. Whatever, the media area today at the Super Bowl.
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C
Right.
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B
And you have all these people who are into. Into the NFL, whatever, and some of the. Some of the questions were, how do you describe a World Cup? How do you. And the closest thing I can think of is kind of college football. And you experience that a lot, right? And like the fandom and the excitement. But when you tack on national pride.
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A
Yeah.
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B
It's just. It's exacerbated and it's crazy. And if you have never experienced it or seen it, you can't understand what that's like. And so it doesn't surprise me. I mean, we did the euros in 24, and when Portugal won, like, these guys are crying, like, properly crying and celebrating with the fans.
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A
You also mentioned them all. I just think that, like, there's something about you playing three World Cups. I played in three World Cups. And you get to a stage where you're like, this could be my last one, or, oh, my God, this is. This is scary. But when you're young, it's. You get these 18, 19 year old kids and they're. And they're just kids, they're boys. And you put them in this arena and you forget they don't have the baggage. Yeah, okay. They're human and they're gonna be nervous, but young Landon Donovan went and performed. Young Clint Dempsey went and performed. They. They don't have that. That baggage behind them to think, oh, what if they just go play with reckless abandon and they. They allow themselves to make mistakes because they're still in that growth process and they've been told, make those mistakes and it's just beautiful to see. And so could he win the Golden Ball? Absolutely. Because he has that ability.
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C
Okay, so young Landon. I like this direction.
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B
I look young with the fake hair.
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C
Now can we get a round of
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B
applause to my barber? Yeah. Thank you. I'm going to get Tim on it now.
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A
No chance. No chance.
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C
We believe that's a great idea for a podcast. Okay, so young Landon, there's nerves, I'm sure, But take me into that moment. Your first World Cup. What were you thinking about? What do you remember?
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B
Not a whole lot. I was just excited to be there. Tim's right. When you are. I was 20. You think you're invincible and you think it's never going to end. You really do. You Just think, this is normal. I remember one time, Tony Miola, former goalkeeper, we were in national team camp together, and I had won my. In my first year in mls, we won. Second year, we didn't. Third year, we won. And I was talking to him, and I was like, tony, I just think this is going to be the way my career goes. Like, every other year, I'll win a championship. And he looks at me and he goes, landon, you are such an idiot. He goes, that's not how soccer. You don't just win every other year, but when you're young, you believe that this is just the trajectory and the way it goes forever. And that's the beauty of it, man, because you don't want to put anything in Lamina Mall's head, like, just go play.
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C
It's almost better not to.
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B
Way better.
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C
Tim, what do you remember? First World Cup.
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A
Oh, first World Cup, I was. I was older, you know, 2000, 2006, I went to the World Cup. I was Casey's understudy, which, again, for me was brilliant, because I got to see how Landon, who had been there before, who's a friend, and then the older guys, how they. How they operated in big moments. We had a bad World cup as well. So I got to see what that was like and sort of how. How these guys dealt with the adversity and dealt with the preparation. So coming into sort of 2010, I was. I felt ready. I felt ready to play, and. And we got drawn in a tough group with England, and obviously that was a place I was playing, and I had been playing for a while, so I was excited about it. I was excited to sort of pit ourselves against. Against England, who we thought were a top team, and they were. And, yeah, I was excited. I was ready, but I was. I. I was still at the point where I was. I knew enough to be nervous, not like the young kids, but that always felt like I was ready for it and excited. And South Africa was special, you know, And. And you had to have probably been there to understand why it was so special, but it was. It was awesome to be a part of that group.
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C
Do you guys remember a moment from your playing days and maybe it was after a World cup where your popularity just shifted and you were recognized in such a way? Like, what. What do you remember from that?
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B
This is a good. It's a good. Good question. So when I got home from South Korea in 2002, okay, in the airport when I landed, and this was jt this was the first time this had happened. I was going. I'll never forget. I was coming down an escalator and someone was like, landon, so nice to meet you. And up until that point, unless I was in San Jose with the earthquakes, nobody recognized me, knew who I was, nothing. And it was this moment where I was like, oh, my God. Oh, my God, this is different. And then, similarly, when we came home in 2010.
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A
Yep.
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B
My whole life changed. And I. When I got home, that. I got home on a Monday or Tuesday that weekend, Bruce gave me the weekend off, and Mike McGee was injured and Omar Gonzalez was on yellow cards. You guys went to Vegas for the weekend?
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A
Yeah. You did?
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B
Oh, that's when I realized.
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C
Should we say more about that story?
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B
No, we're not going to dig into that right now. But that's when I realized, Maria. That's when I knew things had changed.
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A
Yeah, it was. You know, for me, it was interesting because I was a part of the 2010 team, as you mentioned, and we talk about this a lot on the podcast. That was the rise of social media. So you're like, either side of that World cup, social media is happening. So we're. Remember, we're on the other side of the world, quite literally, and we're seeing things in real time because of social media, where that was. And that was the sort of the. We felt like a transitional moment where it was not just soccer fans, it was corporate America leaving their job early to go into the bars and the pubs. For me, for me, it's interesting. I'll take you inside the head of an athlete or the mind of an athlete. My transitional moment was the Belgium game in 2014, and it. But. But. But mentally it was different for me. I got back to the States and was crazy again. The memes and all the things that Tim Howard could save and the Secretary of Defense, and it was crazy. And people recognized me, but I didn't. I didn't absorb it that way. I actually absorbed it. It was 2014. I said, I've played for the biggest clubs in the world. I've been doing this for, like, you're just recognizing now.
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C
So I almost.
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A
I almost turned around and I was like. I felt a bit like. Like hard done by. But in. In time, it was special for me because I think as an athlete, when we. When we're done playing, you have nothing left to give. I have an ability to connect with fans. And I always. Whether I'm in the airport or shopping with my kids, people always talk about that game. And so I'm very lucky to have Sort of like that one shining moment that we can connect on. People want to tell me about where they were and what they were doing, and it's just a special moment.
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C
That's so true. I was just thinking, I know where I was. I know where I was. Do you guys remember where you were watching? I mean, it's a pivotal moment.
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B
Where were you?
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C
I was with friends. At this point, I'm trying to think. Well, in Minnesota. Yeah, obviously. Yeah, Minnesota.
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A
Minnesota, huh?
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C
And I remember thinking about your confidence, and it was just so. I don't know, it was just so electric in so many ways, and I feel like I just want to watch replays.
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B
Tim does not lack for confidence.
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C
That's okay. I don't think you do either.
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B
I would either if I look like that, to be fair.
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C
Okay, so maybe the World cup bubble, I think that's a really unique angle just because I've now covered a couple World Cups and I've seen the team in that way. And you talk about social media was kind of happening. But describe when you're in it, you're kind of not paying attention to the outside world and how you guys are handling that bubble that is the US Bubble at a World Cup.
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B
I'd be curious if you asked that question to the current players, because we. We could definitely seclude ourselves and isolate ourselves because we didn't have the phone in front of us with everything going on. And so I wonder now I think about this summer, and I think if the first game goes amazing, they're all gonna know everything that's going on. You cannot help it. You're just in front of you all the time. If it goes poorly, they're gonna hear it and they're gonna know. And it's really hard to isolate from yourself. When we were in South Africa, I mean, not only being on the other side of the world, but where we stayed, we were. I mean, we were with the elephants, right? Like, and the zebras.
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A
Seriously, quite literally, yeah.
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B
Yeah. And so we didn't know anything that was going on. But for them, they're not gonna be able to avoid it.
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A
But the cool thing about the World cup bubble land, in which you can appreciate these players, it'll be the same. You rarely get an opportunity over the course of three, four, hopefully five or six games. Jenny, where you. This is the greatest singular moment. This is the greatest singular month. I mean, you're all here. There's 50 to 100 people here. Think about the greatest singular moment month in your life. Right. So you rarely are going to get people locked in. Like, think about 2006. We had a terrible World cup, but guess what? Clint Dempsey went on that field in that final game and thought, no, no, I'm giving everything here because I can score a goal, you know, and, and. And what that means to your career. So you have this collection of 23 guys, and every single one of them, no matter how the games go, are thinking, this is my moment. So everybody's locked in, and quite frankly, if we get to the next round, it's a big paycheck. Yeah. If we get through the. If we get to the round 32, that's a big paycheck. I can. I can score. There's. The world is watching. I could go to the Premier League or get bought by another team. It's. It's such an insane bubble because you never think you're out of it. You never think. There's always something to do and something to play for.
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C
How about the fact that this is the biggest World cup we've ever had? Expanded 48 teams. I just love your. Your thoughts on that. Pros, cons, there's gonna be a lot of soccer to watch, and I think we're all gonna be very busy. Okay, so tell me, tell me why Hate love?
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B
Like, go ahead.
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A
So. So I, I changed my view on this because. No, no, because I don't love it, and Landon knows I don't love it for. For the fact that there are, I think, going to be some teams that sort of get beat up.
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C
Okay.
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A
But I, I, I, I was. I. After I said that on the podcast, we had a little back and forth. I saw some experts, some journalists speaking, and. And I, I sort of locked into this conversation, and what they said to me sort of changed my mind, or what they said to each other changed my mind. And that was basically because I said, well, there's going to be a bunch of teams that used to be the top two teams to get through. Now there's going to be three teams that get through in certain groups. And I just sort of thought, well, that's boring. And they said, yeah, but there's still going to be drama in that last group game, no matter. Like, like. So the drama is created if there's only two teams that go through or three teams that go through the eight. Between the 80th and 90th minute of the last game, there's still going to be drama. And it sort of changed my mind and thought, okay, yeah, there's going to be, you know, even though there's more teams and it feels a little bit oversaturated and diluted. There's still going to. The idea that it means something is still there. And so I sort of changed my mind.
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B
Couldn't you argue there's going to be more drama because third place is available?
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A
Yeah, sure. Definitely.
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B
Right. So like. So I think that's. We'll see. This is all novel for us. So we don't know. Once we get to the last group stage game, we'll see how it pans out. But you can make that argument too. I'm just excited for the new countries because if you think about concacaf, there are teams here. I think maybe El Salvador went once, Guatemala, Honduras, all the Caribbean island, Curacao now, or Caracco, as Wayne Gretzky called it, has the ability now to qualify for a World cup. And that was never possible, like zero chance. And now they have the opportunity. It was Pakistan, Jordan, Cape Verde. So these teams have the opportunity now and I think that's going to be exciting. Now look, there could be some. Some tough games like I'm doing. I think Germany, Curacao and Houston. That could be a tough one for Curacao.
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A
So.
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B
Yeah, and we'll see. But that could be a tough one.
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C
I met the Cape Verde coach at the draw, the World cup draw. And I hate that I don't remember his name right now, but he was so excited.
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B
Imagine.
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C
And it was just. It hit you, right? Because it was just, you know, he was meeting people that he was a fan of and just the joy to be there. And they were almost just in awe of the experience as well. So I feel like those are the stories at a World cup that we get to tell. And how lucky are we to see those stories unfold? You know, it's interesting, I think of our time in Qatar. So unique, so close. Qatar's the size of Connecticut, so we were always hanging out, which was actually really fun. I feel like that's how we all got to know each other so well. So we're. We're covering multiple matches, we're able to see multiple games. And that's so unique. It's so different now that it's so spread out. How does that impact the game for the fans? Good. Bad for the teams? Just the travel. How spread out it is.
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B
I actually care cuz Brazil was so how. Yeah, how was that? And you guys traveled is chaos.
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A
We had the.
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B
Yeah, I mean I played in South I. It wasn't the same.
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C
Wasn't the same.
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B
South Korea, not at all. Germany, not Too bad.
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A
No, yeah, it's, you know, I think it's. I think this is going to feel more normal. Qatar was, was novel in the sense that it was so small. You don't really get that unless you go like a. Two small European countries that, that joint host, that it's, this feels more normal, you know, in terms of the travel and hopefully they can regionalize some games. You might take a flight, a longer flight here or there. Nothing like we had in Brazil. We had three six hour flights. That's what I mean, four or six hour flights.
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B
That's why.
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A
Which was crazy.
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B
And you were telling me too, just to get to the airport.
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A
So I like to say that I'm very well traveled. But we flew into Sao Paulo in the evening, went up and had a meal. It was dark next morning upstairs for breakfast and we were in this beautiful hotel that had like 360 views of Sao Paulo so you could see forever. And I thought, wow, this place is big. And I think one of our security guards said, yeah, it's like the fourth largest city in the world. I'm like, okay, I didn't know that. And so on our bus journeys to the airport, even with a escort, it took like two hours to get to the airport because there just was nowhere to go. So. But, but again, but again I say, I say all that to you and I go back to being in a bubble. We didn't care. We were going to play Portugal, we were going to play Germany and none of this stuff mattered. We were sitting there, gave us six more hours to dream. And that's what you do.
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B
FIFA's done a good job actually of, of regionalizing all of it even for us as broadcast. Like we'd be on the east coast most of the time, but I can't imagine going Seattle, Miami, Louisiana, Vancouver, you know, like that's a nightmare.
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C
And I'll obviously be with the US team throughout. So it's really all west coast to start pretty easy. Laguna beach is not a hang out for a month. It's not too bad. Can't tell my bosses I'm having too much fun. The weather last summer was a big talking point. I'm just curious your thoughts and obviously different playing conditions, different pitches. Everyone always talks about the pitch, the conditions. I feel like I do way too many stories about that. But do you think the weather is a factor, Tim?
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A
No, it's not.
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B
Do me a favor.
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A
Yeah, it's, you know this. There was a World cup here in 94. Teams play here all the time.
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C
Yeah.
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A
It's, it's the same for both teams. I can remember. You probably remember more, but, like, didn't. Didn't England in South Korea try out, like heat suits or something? Like, it was hot there too. Like this whole, this whole concept of like, it's gonna be hot. Yeah, it's gonna be hot. Like, it's, it's, it's not an issue. It's just not.
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B
You act like these are pro athletes, these are elite pro athletes. So you acclimate really fast. It's not by, you know, time they're here for a week. It's. It'll be a non issue.
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C
They'll be fine. So no concern.
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B
And if they complain, just shut up.
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C
People love to find little things to, to complain about. So. All right, no concern there. I mean, I'm trying to think the direction I want to go. Ticket prices have been criticized as well. If we're talking about weather conditions, I don't know the solution to that. I think it's always been expensive to attend a World cup match, but how does that kind of fall into your concern?
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B
So here's my take. So couple years when I was doing the Euros in 2024, my wife thought about bringing my daughter over to see a Taylor Swift concert in. Somewhere in Germany. And she looked up the ticket prices and she was like, nope, not doing that. And so my point in that is that this is the biggest sporting event the planet will have ever seen. Okay. As a starting point, Tim talks about this a lot. Like, we are accustomed to paying a lot of money for events in America. Maybe it's different in the rest of the world, and I think that's why the rest of the world is freaking out. But if I'm going to the super bowl on Sunday, I know I'm going to pay an arm and a leg. And you don't want to do it, don't do it.
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C
Right.
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B
Don't go. But that if you believe in a free market, that is what the free market is dictating. And I don't like it. I want to pay less. You know, I'm gonna have to pay for tickets to go to games or my kids to go to. I am. And I don't like it. I don't, I don't think it's. It's the best for the sport, but, like, that's what the market is dictating.
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A
Yeah. And I'm sort of sensitive to obviously where I came from. Right. And we didn't, you know, my family didn't have a lot of Money, So we weren't going to big events. I fortunately, can take my kids to big events. And so the tide has turned. But I appreciate the fact that not everybody can afford it and it's difficult. But again, the caveat is big sporting events cost a lot of money. They do. They really, really do. And what I would say in America, big sporting events cost a lot of money. I live in New York, so to go see the Knicks, good luck to you. You know, like, buying two tickets to see the Knicks is a lot of money. To your point. When I played in England, with respect, there was a lot of complaints about season ticket prices. And I tell Landon this story all the time and we'd get berated. And the season tickets are going up by 30%. So how much is a season ticket? Like a thousand pounds for a season ticket. I was like, £1,000 for the whole season. It's like, yeah, I can't go watch the New York Knicks for $1,000 one game. So I think in the rest of the world, it's. They can't wrap their head around it simply. And that's not the discounting Americans. There's Americans who are going to miss out economically. The rest of the world consume soccer and they get on a train and they can walk, and that's how the stadium was built and made. So it's a different experience. And I understand the sticker shock. Well, you know, when, when you take the global economy.
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C
Yeah. There's one report that came out with tickets for parking. Excuse me, $300 just parking alone. So I think the sad part is that's, that's obnoxious. 300.
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B
That's obnoxious.
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C
You're gonna walk to the games.
- [25:10]
B
I can even admit that's bad.
- [25:11]
C
It is bad. But you know, people are going to be going, yes, but I also think what's so special about a World Cup? It is such that community atmosphere. So the bar atmosphere of watching games, the viewing parties, like there will be a way to enjoy every city that's hosting no matter what. So it's expensive, but it's part of it.
- [25:28]
A
It is part of it. And look and land. And I continue to sort of bang this drum. I, I think the beauty of the, of the World cup is, yes, there's going to be 80, 000 butts in this, in the, in the seats, in the stadium. There's gonna be hundreds of thousands of people sharing the passion around in the fan fest, on the streets, in the bars, in the pubs, right next to the stadium, right around that city. So, like, there's still this amazing buzz and excitement to be around. Of course, the game is the Holy Grail, no doubt, but you can experience a World cup in so many different ways.
- [25:59]
C
So we know that the World cup is going to bring in a new fan base, a new audience in so many ways. How do we keep that going? Right? We know it's changed every year after World cup, but the fact that it's here, how do we keep those fans engaged and here for the long haul?
- [26:13]
B
It's a great question. It's a tough question to answer. After 94, there's the data that will tell you X, Y and Z were achieved, right? And Major League Soccer was created, and now the franchises are worth this, and now the players are making this and. But there's also the anecdotal that we don't really know. So we're gonna create millions of new fans. I cannot tell you, jt, how many times people come up to me and say, I started watching soccer because of the Algeria game. That's literally the comment they say. And so that's why I say success for this team, in my opinion, is one of two things. It's a deep run into the tournament because we know this through viewership. Every step you go, the audience gets exponentially greater. So the first round is probably going to, I don't know, 10 or 15 or 20 million viewers, and then it goes to like 30, and then it goes to like 70, and then the whole country's watching if you're in the quarters of the semis. So it gets exponentially bigger every step of the way. So that, that is one way that you quantify it and anecdotally create more fans. And the other is just iconic moments. I mean, that's why we're sitting here, right? Iconic game against Belgium, the iconic moment against Algeria, and that changed our lives forever and created a lot of new fans.
- [27:36]
C
That's so true.
- [27:37]
A
And I think you have to bear this in mind. And I don't know how many people here sort of consumed the 1994 World Cup. I did as a 15 year old and I was lucky enough to play on the youth national team, and they gave us some tickets behind the goal and the Rose bowl, and it was an amazing experience. But what you have to remember was we're starting from nothing, right? So in 94, I'm watching the game, not even dreaming of a path. I'm not even watching this game and going, oh, I can be them and play in the mls, because remember, The MLS did not even exist.
- [28:03]
B
That's true.
- [28:04]
A
So our baseline for soccer in America was nothing. And not to poo poo on our pioneers. There were small indoor leagues and small professional leagues, but there was nothing of substance. And so now that catapults us into another stratosphere. The great thing about 2026 is football is amazing and healthy and thriving, and the MLS and US Soccer is amazing. And so I don't know if the next jump is going to be this quantum leap. It's going to be smaller, but I think there's going to be so many new fans, there's going to be so many new corporations and people putting money into the game from my end. And this isn't a soapbox I would like for us, because I think what we did from 94 till now, we figured out the big thing. We figured out the big conglomerate of what a professional league needs to look like. What we haven't figured out yet is youth soccer and academies. And we've tried. We've tried so many variations of it. I was a part of a program which none of you will even remember. It's called Project 40. They took the 40 best. It was an MLS thing, and it was generation something. And. And so if we can get the money into the infrastructure of creating youth, a youth system for our clubs, which we tried to do sort of in vain, then I think we can still sort of elevate the league. But we'll see.
- [29:17]
C
It's the youth programs. Is there anything else, Landon, with mls, with Don Garber that you want to see? How does MLS really capitalize on the moment? What do they need to be doing to help spread?
- [29:27]
B
I think Don's aware of this. He said it. They know now that they need to loosen the purse strings. And I always say this to people, and I think Tim can account for this, too. Attest to this. If the money is close and the competition is close, every player wants to play in America. Like, they want to live here. They want to be here. This is, in my opinion, the best country on the planet. They want to be here. So part. The first part of that is you got to loosen the purse strings so you can get not just Lionel Messi, but like real players in their prime coming and playing, which is getting better and better and better. And then the competition increases, therefore, and next thing you know, you've got a top three or five league in the world.
- [30:10]
A
And I think to that point, and what I just said before about mls, this is. Remember, this is the first time really that MLS gets to showcase mls. What do I mean by that? European clubs come to America in the summer for sure. They use MLS facilities for sure. But it's short lived and it's an exhibition game and the crowd, depending on who's playing, might be full. That's it. You're going to get the world's biggest superstars here in packed stadiums in cities where the bus can't get to the streets because there's so many people. And you're now hoping that that sets the table for. It's a great point for European stars who have a decision to make to go. No, I had an amazing time. We had our base camp in California or Kansas City or this place and I really liked it. And I'd never been to that place. I've never been to Kansas City. I knew nothing about it. And you're hoping that that opens the door and sort of the floodgates for these players to like again. They've been to America before for preseason. This ain't the same thing. And so hopefully MLS will benefit from that because there were, you know, even with my ownership, ownership stake in the Houston Dynamo, these teams are going to be using our facilities for training and, and to be able to see the pitch and all the facilities in the hotels. It's going to make a difference, I think.
- [31:25]
C
Do we worry that when Messi leaves us that those fans leave too? Or have we established.
- [31:31]
B
Well, he's. Yeah, he's Lionel Messi, right? But when David Beckham came to the Galaxy in 07. Yes. When he leaves, of course there's going to be a downtick in David Beckham fans in la, Galaxy fans to some extent. But over six years, those fans that were David Beckham fans became fans of the Galaxy and all these people who are now Messi fans. Look, my son's a great example. Three out of seven days a week he walks out of his room every morning with the Lionel Messi in her Miami shirt on, right? And he's eight years old.
- [32:03]
A
He loves blasphemy. There's only one number ten in that house. There's only one.
- [32:07]
B
Not anymore.
- [32:09]
C
Three days.
- [32:10]
B
No. He didn't even know I played. Doesn't care.
- [32:13]
C
That's when it really hits you.
- [32:14]
B
Your kids are like, so he's going to be an inner Miami fan because of that forever. And it's, it's might just be by osmosis. He doesn't even know what's happening. But that is going to happen. Nobody's going to replace Lionel Messi like that. Doesn't happen. But there will be the next and the next, and it won't be messy, but it'll be close. And that's my point to loosening the purse strings, loosening the rules around MLS so that it's teams are more capable of improving their roster and improving the competition.
- [32:40]
A
And no one can speak better to this than you, Landon, because I. And we talked about it off camera. Like you've seen the David Beckham effect. You saw before, you saw during and you saw after. And I. I think the answer, Jenny, to your question is there was a time. There was a time period between Beckham and Messi, and in that time period, because of David Beckham, the league grew.
- [33:00]
B
Yeah.
- [33:01]
A
So Messi's comes and will there be another Messi? No, but there's going to be another somebody. There's going to be a Mbappe, there's going to be a Holland, there's going to be another world star who we clamor for. And someone might get them in the MLS in three years, five years, seven years. But that doesn't mean the league's gonna dip, because it didn't dip after David Beckham. It only got better. And so I. I have to imagine Messi's not gonna be here forever, but the league is still going to be strong and still going to thrive. And yes, there can only be one world great. So will the MLS chase that one world great, whatever it is? Sure. And they should. But in between time and in the meantime, I do hope that more players come and want to play here because the success of these top, these top global athletes has been amazing. So, you know, thank God Messi came because he proved it. Not only did he want to be here, but he's a winner.
- [33:52]
C
Yeah. I wonder, sticking to the MLS theme, too, maybe we could get into some players from the MLS that you feel confident about for this US Roster. Some guys that are playing really well. I just would love to kind of break down the state of this US team right now. Little over 100 days out from a World Cup. Who stands out to you, Landon?
- [34:12]
B
Well, first, as an overall theme, I'm as optimistic as I've. As I've been about this team.
- [34:17]
C
That's great.
- [34:17]
B
And I've been critical of this team for sure in the past. I think they're in a good way. They have really good games leading into the World cup that will test them and push them. Tim says this a lot. They still don't have a signature win against a big team. They have in Atlanta, Germany and Belgium, they have. Before the tournament. I forget the two teams they're playing, but they have big games against big teams, and that will be an opportunity for them. They don't have to win the game, but they need to really compete where they can go into a round of 32, into a round of 16. Maybe Belgium is standing there and they can go, oh, we know this team. We can beat this team. And then the belief grows, and the belief grows as far as players go. And I don't say this just because of my eyeballs, but also because of how Pochettino feels about him. Alex Freeman is on this meteoric rise that happens almost every World cup cycle, where somebody comes out of nowhere and all of a sudden you're like, wow, kid's a star. And this kid went from Orlando City B, then got pushed to the next step with Orlando, the first team, and passed every test, then got brought into the national team, has passed every test and excelled. And now he's going off to Villareal in Spain. And he's one of those guys like Tim. You know this. You give people the next challenge, and if they meet it, then you see the next challenge he's meeting and exceeding. So you're going, okay, maybe we'll give him more. Maybe we'll give him more. Now he's going to a Champions League team with Villarreal. Maybe he's going to start every World cup game. He's met it every step of the way. So now you're like, why can't he? And then some people hit their limit and they hit their. And you know, that's where they are, and that's still a good player and whatever, but he's young and he just keeps meeting every challenge, and so I think he's got the chance to be a star.
- [36:08]
A
Yeah, I mean, for. For. For me, I look at the young, you know, sort of the young kids and. And one vet, you know, Christian Roll Dan is a. Is a player. He's going to have a role on this team. He reminds me of Kyle Beckerman, you know, in terms of. He's an MLS guy. He's an mls. MLS lifer. He's a leader. He's a guy who. Pochettino seems that. And that was Kyle. That was Kyle Beckerman for us, you know, is there a place for Sebastian Berhalter on the team? I think so. You know, Diego Luna, again, he's had flashes. He's a player who's got flair on the biggest stage, the brightest lights. Is that somewhere he can perform? Look, for me, I would argue this till the cows come home. The. The spotlight because of the position and because of what's going to be asked of Matt Freese when all is said and done and the dust settles and we know what Christian's going to do and we know what West McKinney's going to do. All. If Matt, If Matt Frees is able to elevate his game, the US will do very well. And if the, if. If the pot is too hot for him and the lights are too bright, they won't. It's. It. The position is too unforgiving. And what we just don't know. And I love, I love Matt Fries. And he knows that. What we don't know is every time Land and I talk about this, every time you look at a goalkeeper going into World cup, you have been able to say whether this is Tony Mueller in 1990, whether it's again, 90, 94, whether it's Casey Keller and Brad Friedel combined over those years or myself. You're able to get into a World cup and go, we've seen that goalkeeper when this team was at its worst or when this team needed them to step up. And they have moments and we're okay if things go awry, we know they can save us. Because of the lack of experience with Matt, we just don't have that. And so I think when all is said and done, he's the one MLS guy that. I just think that's the person I'm looking at the most.
- [38:04]
C
Tell me what you love about Matt Fries, because I think you saying that says a lot. I got to know him a little bit last summer. I obviously know Matt Turner really well from the last couple years. But why is Freeze the right guy? What about his style stands out to you?
- [38:18]
A
Yeah, I think probably what I said a little bit about the young superstar, 18, 19 year old. They don't know enough. Matt doesn't know enough. Not at this level. And that's probably a good thing.
- [38:29]
C
Interesting.
- [38:30]
A
It's a good thing. He's calm. You know, he's sort of this. He was in, in his words, he wasn't like. He wasn't the prodigy. You know, he went to Harvard and he. It was kind of wasn't his path. He wanted to be a goalkeeper, but it wasn't like his path and, and you know, to be a star. And so I don't think I. I don't think these moments are sort of like wasted on him. I know he knows who he is, and I think that's A good thing. It's a really good. Because I've seen a lot of brash goalkeepers, me being one of them, but. And a lot of them failed. But he. He's got a. He's got a really balanced way, and I think he plays that way. Doesn't play electrifying. He doesn't. He's not brash. He makes the saves he's supposed to make. He does the things he plays within himself. So I. I do. I think there's good things to come.
- [39:10]
C
That's so interesting you bring up Freeman, too, because he was so young last summer, almost deer in headlights at times. And the evolution he has had in just these last couple months, I mean, it's pretty remarkable.
- [39:20]
B
It's incredible. But you don't know until you know. And Matt Fries is a good example. We just don't know until we know. With Alex Freeman now we're like, kind of know.
- [39:28]
C
Now we know.
- [39:29]
B
Like, we know he can do it. And with. What I always say about Tim is. So there's the goalkeepers in. In my experience, work this way. Unless you're elite. Elite. Elite. And I'll talk about guys like Tim in a minute. But you either have really solid, safe, secure goalkeepers who can do everything you need them to do. That's not extraordinary. They do and they do well. And then you get guys who. They're a little dicey with that stuff, but they can pull off a save that wins you the game. And then when you get to the elite level, you have both. Right? And so what Matt feels like he has. I'm not in the locker room. You'll have a better sense of this than I would. It feels like when the guys go out, they look back and go, I feel good with him there and that. I cannot tell you how many times walking out with him, I would look back and be like, let's go. Like, he's. If we mess up, we have a terrible day. He's got us. Right? And that feeling as a player, and I wasn't even a defender, is everything. Everything. And he feels like he has that demeanor. I'm not in the locker room, but I do feel like he has that about him. In presence for a goalkeeper is so important, so important, so interesting.
- [40:44]
C
Any other players that stand out to
- [40:46]
B
you that Max Arston.
- [40:47]
A
Oh, yeah, yeah.
- [40:49]
B
Because. So Anthony Robinson now is back and playing well, and it feels like Pochettino wants to play in a back three. So you assume that Anthony Robinson is the guy, but Max Arston's another guy who Every step of the way has just performed. And so does he get in the team somehow? Maybe. Anthony Robinson, Jedi plays as a left center back maybe if they need him to, or if he's not healthy. Max Arston's a guy, I think, who could have a really big impact.
- [41:17]
C
Unfortunately, Jedi's had so many injuries that you have to be prepared for the idea of depth. And I love that you bring up Max too, because you think back on last summer and just the roster choices and there were so many questions about Mauricio Pochettino and the decisions he made. But now you see these, the Freeman's, the arsons just evolve and it kind of makes more sense. So Mauricio Pochettino, have you liked what he's been doing? You said you feel like the team is in a good place from the outside looking in, are you liking it?
- [41:44]
B
I can't tell you if this was intentional or not. I'm starting to think the more I spend time around him, I'm like, this guy's really smart. Early on, there was a stretch through last summer where and last spring where this team was in a bad place, really bad place. And from the outside, I'm watching it and I'm thinking we're on the verge of like really bad here. And felt like Pochettino needed to get a grasp of this. And from spending time around him now, he was almost like when there's a big scrum and there's like people are pushing in a game and fighting, whatever, and the referee kind of just sits back and they just watch. They're just kind of observing like, oh, if he does something, I'll give him a red car. But they're not flying in there and being like, no, no, get out of there. Just kind of like, okay, you guys figure it out. I'm just going to watch and observe here. And it feels like for like six or eight months he was just sitting back going, okay, I'm watching that, I'm watching that, I'm watching that. And then he was like, okay, time to act. And through last summer, he made a bunch of decisions that were unpopular, that put some players on edge, and he put his faith and he backed up what he was saying publicly behind some other guys. And then everything switched. And now I saw it in Austin when the US Was playing Ecuador. The night before the game, I was sitting with Pochettino and he said, it looks like Christian's not going to play tomorrow. I was like, really? He's been training all week. And he said, yeah, he hurt his ankle or something. I was like, oh, that sucks. And in like the 78th minute, I'm sitting in the, like the Volkswagen box, chumming it up. I look down and I'm like, is that Christian warming up? And they're like, yeah, that's Christian. Next thing I know, he's in the game. And that was the moment I was like, okay, now the mentality has shift, has shifted. Those guys are like, I need to be healthy and get on the field. I'm not deciding when I play or how I play. Like, I better get on the team or else. It's not going to happen. And it's all shifted now. And now every time they come in, it is a big battle for starting spots and they're fully committed.
- [43:50]
A
Yeah. And I think you all out there that are fans and, and us who are fans, we're very lucky. Pochettino is a, Pochettino is a top world class manager. And what I could say to you all is I've had interactions with him both previously and, and, and as a US coach, you have as well. He gets it, he gets it. Now. The difference is you can get it and really know what's going on and go, yeah, but whatever, I'll collect my paycheck and be done. Or you can get it, dissect it. And as Landon said, really figure it out. And he started to really figure it out. And I think last summer, as you know, Jenny, that was a, that was a pivotal turning point because he, he, he lent into the players that he had. The mentality shifted within that group. There were leaders who had to emerge and now they're in a really, what I think, balanced place across the squad.
- [44:39]
C
I think so much what I've learned from Mauricio Pochettino, it's all about trust, even from a reporter standpoint. Remember last summer there were reports about he was taking interviews or wanted to leave and wanted other jobs. And I reported on a story just saying that it was false and that he wasn't interested and there was nothing more to say. But he watched my report. He told me, I watched exactly how you presented it and you did it exactly how I wanted you to. It was on the record and I was very not strategic, but I was accurate. Right. I mean, so many times reporters maybe say something a little bit the wrong way. And he was like, thank you for doing that. I now trust you.
- [45:16]
A
That's great.
- [45:16]
C
And it was just like a moment of trust. And I've seen that with the players too, where they have had to earn it A little bit. Remember Diego Luna and you know, the crazy moments where he had a bloody nose and he was like, keep me in the match. And so he likes to see that from the players, and it's a trust. So for me, watching this from the last couple months to now, I do feel like the team is in a good place.
- [45:36]
A
Definitely, definitely a great spot.
- [45:38]
C
Other players we should be excited about. Anyone else stand out from MLS overseas?
- [45:43]
B
I. I mean, just watching Weston McKenna right now, and I've also been critical of him for whatever reason, like the. The switch has flipped with him. And he's always been a great player, a talented player, but he's a consistent performer.
- [45:58]
A
Yeah.
- [45:58]
B
And what coaches want more than anything, they will take seven out of ten every day of the week over nine out of ten, four out of ten, nine out of ten, four out of ten. And right now, he's not a seven. Right now, he's a nine and a half out of ten every single week. And if that carries into the World cup, we talk about all the time, not many players, if any, as talented as him. And if he performs at this level, his life will change forever.
- [46:23]
C
This summer, when he's on, he's on.
- [46:26]
A
He's great. I mean, he's super talented. You know, we always think of Christian Pulisic as sort of the golden child, and he is. He's proved that he's earned that. But Weston has that ability. And the more it comes out and the more consistently it comes out, you're reminded of, oh, yeah, he has that in his locker. So if. If that continues through the spring and into the summer, it puts the US In a really good spot.
- [46:47]
C
Look, I know people compare you often to Pulisic, and I just. I just thought of this right now, right? Does he even know what's about to happen for him this World cup at home? Is he prepared to be the face of this team? I mean, any advice that you would want to give him. And I know you guys have a relationship, but I just was curious. Your perspective, Landon.
- [47:08]
B
Well, again, I didn't plan a World cup at home, but. And Tim can speak to this, too. The power of these four to six weeks cannot be overstated. I mean, they are so powerful for your life. And I know he has an amazing life. He's in Milan doing well. He's, you know, got everything he needs in life. But this can change your life dramatically. And it's exacerbated by the fact that it's on our shores.
- [47:39]
A
It really is.
- [47:40]
B
And so my only advice is for all of them, understand that and take advantage of it, because it will. It will never happen again for them, not in our country. And it won't happen for anybody for another 20 or 30 years. So just take advantage.
- [47:57]
A
And it's really interesting, I think, with. With Christian Pulisic, is he. He's measured by a different sort of standard. Right. And so when you ask about, like, what this is for him, he can. And I don't know this. Right. Only he knows this. Ultimately, when you're in his shoes and you. He has everything he's. And he. He's playing at the top level and all the rest of it, he can either want to do that or he can want to chase greatness. And in U. S. Soccer. On, on and on. You want to be on Mount Rushmore. You're chasing Landon, you're chasing Clint. So he has to decide which he may have already done. I want to. I want to be better than those two, and if I want to be better than those two, then I've got to be a 10 out of 10 in this tournament at home, cement myself. Now, that won't cement it, but that will allow him to sort of continue to chase that. And if that's his mentality, then he'll look at this tournament and say, yeah, come on, give me more. Because this is. This is where I can sort of catapult myself into that sphere. That's an. And to some people, that's very important. Yeah.
- [49:02]
C
Give me some predictions. How far is this US Team going? I'm going. I want to go there. Where are we going? How far are we going to get? Yeah, everyone here wants to know, too.
- [49:11]
B
I would say, there you go, all the way.
- [49:15]
C
Actually, I have a funny story about that. When we were with Mauricio Pochettino in New York, he came up to me and he goes, jenny, have you seen this, this movie Miracle? Have you heard of this movie? And I was like, oh, yes, I have. I've lived it. And I'm a hockey girl. I know hockey well. I'm like. He goes, did the speeches. Like, it was amazing. It was, why can't we be miracle? I'm like, why not? So if you're curious, Mauricio has miracle on mine. But. Yeah.
- [49:42]
B
So this is what I say. The. The. The reason why only, what, seven or seven or eight teams have won a world Cup.
- [49:50]
A
Yeah.
- [49:51]
B
Is because they consistently have teams in the tournament who are capable of winning a world Cup. It's not about, can you beat a top team. It's, can you Beat four or five in a row.
- [50:08]
A
Right.
- [50:09]
B
And that's the challenge of a World Cup. We talked earlier about. This team does not have a signature win yet against a top, top team. So if they can, let's say in March in the friendlies, do that and believe that, beat Portugal, beat Belgium back to back, now you have the belief that you can do that, and that changes everything. I'm not saying that they can't do that if they don't beat those teams, but they need to prove to themselves that they can do that. And then the boost Tim talks about, about being in a home World cup becomes very real. You get to the round of 32 and you play whoever and you win round of 16, you play Belgium and you're like, we can beat him and you win. Now all of a sudden, everything's behind you. The whole swell is behind you. And maybe you play Portugal at that point, you're like, let's go. We can do it. And they are capable of that from a talent perspective. Absolutely. We just don't know because they haven't done it yet. Right.
- [51:09]
A
Yeah. For me, look, I think they'll win the group if they do that and come. Come as group winners. The game, the round of 32, I think they get through. Round of 16 will be much, much harder. And then for me, that's sort of the tipping point. That's sort of where I think if they bow out in the round of 16 and they do it admirably, we give them a ton of credit and we'll give them a ton of credit anyway because they're a really good team. But that's where then. And you've been through this in 2002. That's where then you start to, like, really think. Can. Can miracles happen?
- [51:45]
B
Sure.
- [51:45]
A
Can magic happen? So I think the round of 16 is a tipping point for them. But again, they're going to have to beat what you. What will likely be a sort of a world power, a top 10 team. And they haven't shown it. And even though they haven't shown it, I don't necessarily doubt this group. I think they can.
- [52:01]
C
I think they can. I want some fun World cup stories. The fun ones, the. The bubble stories, the hotel stories, the stories that no one's heard yet. Like, give me the good stuff. It's your podcast, but I want the good.
- [52:15]
B
Give you a good one. So, Stuart Holden.
- [52:21]
A
I knew it.
- [52:22]
C
Yes.
- [52:22]
B
You know Stu.
- [52:23]
A
I was gonna start with Stu.
- [52:24]
C
They all have sue involved.
- [52:27]
B
Let me start you back. So in South Africa, we stayed in this lodge. And it was literally backed up to like a nature reserve. It was like a. Literally elephants and rhinos in the morning hanging out and whatever. So Jada Merritt and Stu Holden, the two biggest clowns on the team, started like, just started making up songs about players. Idiots started making up songs about players. So almost every day they'd be in the back of the bus on the way to training, and all of a sudden they're making up this dumb song about some player and whatever. And you're just like, these guys are such idiots. And they're chuckling back there. So after the Slovenia. After the Slovenia game, I don't even know you remember this, but maybe. So the Slovenia game, we. We tie our first game. We're down 20 at halftime of the Slovenia game, and we come back and tie the game two, two, which kept us alive in the tournament. If we lost that game, it's over. And after the game, I was. I don't know, I was in a weird place, but I was pissed. And I remember I took my shoe off and I like chucked it across the room. And do you remember this? And a few of the guys, I remember looking at me like, the hell's wrong with you? We just came back from two down and like, I was just. I was in a bath, just grumpy and like being a punk and whatever. So next thing I know, we're like going to training the next day and I just hear them in the back and I remember this. I think. I think I'll get it. All right. But they were like, he lost his temper. He threw his shoe. But that's okay because we drew two.
- [54:04]
A
Two. He's laying it.
- [54:08]
B
Get this stupid. And they sang it non stop till our next game. All right.
- [54:13]
C
It's pretty good.
- [54:15]
B
They were such.
- [54:16]
A
That was the best thing about. That's the best thing about South Africa was we, for some reason we trained at night like every. Every. Every. Or we trained at like 2 o' clock or 6 o'.
- [54:26]
B
Clock.
- [54:27]
A
So we never slept. We lit. Like guys would just go to sleep at like 3, 3am Because. Because Bob Bradley was like, well, breakfast is optional.
- [54:36]
C
Yeah.
- [54:36]
A
So guys would just like go to bed at 3, 4am, sleep until 11, go for lunch and then go train. And it was just like it for a month. We just never slept. It was wild. But. And then because of that, other stories happened. But all I remember was Clint Dempsey with his bucket hat, sitting by the lake fishing. That's all he did. We were on. We were on a nature Reserve or safari. And. And you just go onto your back. Back balcony and you just see Clint fishing all day and all night when we weren't training.
- [55:06]
C
So that's a real thing.
- [55:09]
A
That's all he did.
- [55:10]
B
He'd much rather fish than play soccer. He really loved it.
- [55:14]
A
I don't know.
- [55:14]
C
Does he know that? He probably does.
- [55:15]
A
Yeah. We're glad. We're glad he played soccer. Yeah.
- [55:18]
C
All of our. Stu, what a great colleague. Funny guy. I need to talk about this song with him.
- [55:23]
B
Oh, you gotta ask him.
- [55:25]
A
Don't. If you ask him, he'll sing all of them for you. It's fine.
- [55:27]
B
It's great.
- [55:28]
C
Yeah. He's so fun. I'm so grateful to work with Stu. He's like. He and I have gotten in one fight, though.
- [55:33]
B
You did?
- [55:33]
C
We got. We. He's the nicest guy in the world. I. I'd like to think I'm a pretty nice person. I don't fight with anyone. It was in Russia, and we hadn't slept in days, and I had paid for a window seat because I was going to sleep on this plane, because in Russia, it was crazy. You'd fly to. You'd have to go through Moscow to go everywhere else. It made no sense. And we always say, it's Russia. It's just. Nothing makes sense. And I paid for the seat. I got on the plane, and. And Stu was like, oh, no. I'm just gonna sit here. Like, we have the whole row. I'm like, that is my seat. And he was like, no. Like, I'm like. And I. It was emotional.
- [56:05]
A
We thought about it.
- [56:06]
B
Wow. I love this.
- [56:07]
C
And this is the thought about it. And I got off the plane, I didn't want to talk to him. He's like, I'm really sorry about that. And that was it.
- [56:12]
A
No, I'm gonna give Stu stick for that.
- [56:13]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [56:14]
C
Stole my seat. Yeah. But we've since recovered, thankfully. Look, I feel like we've hit so much stuff, but I want to give you guys the floor for last thoughts. I mean, one, thank you for letting me join the convo. It just gets me excited, really. We're so close to the World Cup. But what's on your mind about it right now? Or any last words you want to share before we wrap this up?
- [56:36]
B
I'm really grateful, to be honest, to be a part of just this whole journey, because a lot of people have worked really, really, really hard for decades to get soccer in this country, to this place, and we get to be a massive part of it. And you know, our. We started this podcast last year, and it was kind of like, sure, whatever. And next thing you know, it's like, taking off. And so there's an obligation there, a responsibility, but we have so much fun doing it. And then we get to, I think, help educate people, engage with people, answer questions, learn things about the game. It's been really fun. So I'm grateful we get to be a part of it. I'm grateful where the sport is now that it has space for a podcast or for us to do things like this. It's been awesome, and this summer is just gonna be electric, and I would encourage everyone to soak it up as much as you can. Like, really just take in six weeks of what's gonna be an amazing summer.
- [57:39]
A
Yeah. And thank you all. Thank you all for being here. Yeah, of course. For being here. And you could be anywhere, and you're here. You can listen to any podcast you want, and you listen to ours. And I can assure you it's not lost on us. We go into every production meeting, and the first thing we say is, what do our fans want to hear? What are they talking about? Because it doesn't matter what we're talking about. It's not what you want to hear. So we appreciate the support. We appreciate your honesty because we think that's important, and that's why we're unfiltered. So long. May that continue on the journey together. And, Jenny, thank you for hosting us. This has been brilliant. Thank you so much.
- [58:17]
C
This is fun. This is fun. Well, thank you guys so much. What I love about their podcast, I can tell how much you guys won, like each other, love the game, and just, you know, you're being open. So I love the pod. Thank you. One more for these guys.
- [58:37]
B
All right. Thanks as always to you guys for being with us today. Please remember to subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, anywhere you get your podcasts. And as always, you can follow us at Social media at Unfiltered Soccer for lots of bonus content. And thanks for sure to today's presenting sponsor, Walmart.
- [58:54]
A
Walmart plays on Saturday. Who knew? Thanks, everyone, for tuning in. Have an amazing week. We'll be back on Tuesday with another edition of Unfiltered Soccer.