What It Really Takes to Build a Pro Sports League with Jayna Hefford

Summary

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Welcome to the Party: "What It Really Takes To Build a Pro Sports League with Jayna Hefford"

Podcast: Welcome to the Party
Date: November 18, 2025
Host: Treat Media (Julie Foudy, Abby Wambach, Billie Jean King)
Guest: Jayna Hefford, Executive VP of Hockey Operations, PWHL

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into what it actually takes to build a fully professional women’s sports league, featuring hockey legend and executive Jayna Hefford. Co-hosted by soccer icons Julie Foudy and Abby Wambach, along with eternal sports trailblazer Billie Jean King, the discussion explores the challenges, lessons, innovations, and unsung heroes behind the rapid ascent of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). Jayna, credited as a critical builder and visionary, shares behind-the-scenes stories of persistence, teamwork, setbacks, and the joy of seeing the league take off—with Billie Jean and her wife Alana Kloss as pivotal allies.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jayna Hefford’s Olympic & Hockey Journey

• Background:
  • Five-time Olympian for Team Canada (four golds, one silver).
  • Played in four different pro leagues considered “professional” in name but not in structure ([19:10]).
• Quote:
  • “We called them professional because they were the best players, but...far from professional as it related to no salaries, no resources, poor ice times, volunteer coaches. So it really was a glorified sort of minor league system, but it was the best players in the world.” — Jayna Hefford [19:10]

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2. A Tangled History: Building Towards the PWHL

• Multiple Leagues, One Goal:

  • Before the PWHL, women’s hockey cycled through several leagues, each ultimately folding due to lack of resources.
  • Billie Jean emphasizes the importance of respecting and remembering that challenging history ([20:36], [21:23]).

• The Call for a True Pro League:

  • Billie Jean tells the story of Kendall Coyne reaching out in frustration (“help, help. Can you help us?”), leading her and Alana to get involved ([21:23]).
  • Key connection: Mark Walter (Dodgers/Lakers owner) is pitched as an investor; BJK’s main job is keeping top players unified ([22:50]).

• Notable Quote:

  • “We have the dream, but we don’t have the resources.” — Billie Jean King [22:52]

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3. Player Power, Sacrifice & the Role of Allyship

• Jayna’s Reluctant Leadership:

  • After shutting down the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL), Jayna initially hesitated to return (“I don't know if I want to do this again...”), but she did at the players' request ([25:11]).
  • Four and a half years without salaries, building from scratch, relying only on belief, each other, and allies like Billie Jean, Alana, and lawyer John Langel ([25:11], [29:11]).

• Quote:

  • “When you read history, it’s fast and when you live it, it’s slow.” — Billie Jean King, as shared by Jayna Hefford [25:11]

• Sacrifice and Trust:

  • Players passed up money, contracts, and even prime years to stay unified for a better league.
  • “They didn’t stray...they gave up the prime of their career because they believed and trusted that we were going to build something better.” — Jayna Hefford [25:11]

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4. The Business Plan & Investing in Themselves

• Players: Owners in Spirit:
  • Players reinvested all sponsorship/ticket funds into operational costs, not personal income ([30:04]).
  • Collaborated with Deloitte on market analysis and business plans.
  • “Most powerful was that the women were investing in themselves...it was going towards ice time, reinvesting in themselves and what this could be.” — Jayna Hefford [30:04]
• Foundational Work:
  • Billie Jean and Alana’s network brought in Mark and Kimbra Walter, ultimately providing funding and leadership to make the PWHL possible ([31:42]).
  • Mark Walter’s insight: “He really should own everything”—focusing on league stability via single-entity structure ([32:33]).

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5. Innovations & Expansion

• Single-Entity Model:

  • Mark Walter owns all teams initially, ensuring league stability and quality across clubs ([34:46]).
  • Plans to eventually branch towards more independent ownership and perhaps, as suggested by hosts, player equity ([44:03]).
  • “It’s one of the ideas for sure.” — Billie Jean King [44:03]

• Trophy Recognition:

  • The Walter Cup (league title) weighs more than the Stanley Cup; other awards honor BJK and Alana ([35:06]).

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6. Accessibility, Fan Growth, and the Takeover Tour

• Broadcast and Digital Access:

  • Every game streamed free on YouTube; broadcast partners in US and Canada ([44:31]).
  • Over 100 countries tuned in to games.
  • “We knew we had to make ourselves accessible. And in year one, every single game was available for free in YouTube.” — Jayna Hefford [44:31]

• Neutral Site Games:

  • Takeover Tour: neutral-site games in non-team cities bring in mostly new fans (up to 80% are first-time arena visitors) ([45:44]).
  • “We are not just bringing in the NHL fans...we’re bringing in new fans to women’s sport.” — Jayna Hefford [45:44]
  • Seattle and Vancouver (Takeover markets) become new expansion teams.

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7. Growth Mindset: Rules, Culture, and Experimentation

• Innovative Rules:
  • “Jailbreak” rule: if a team scores shorthanded, they get their penalized player back ([47:45]).
  • “No Escape” rule: teams can't freely substitute after a penalty, increasing power play impact.
  • Playoff “Pick Your Opponent” rule: top seed chooses their rival ([49:32]).
  • Gold Plan: teams out of playoff contention earn the first draft pick via wins, not losses ([50:01]).
  • “The culture is: don’t be afraid to make mistakes, but make sure they’re mistakes you can fix.” — Jayna Hefford [47:45]
• Rapid Change & Feedback:
  • Unlike legacy leagues, PWHL willing to iterate yearly.
  • “We can do whatever we want in this league. We make our own rules.” — Jayna Hefford [50:54]

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8. The Right People, Sustainability, and Looking Forward

• Leadership & Team:

  • Stan Kasten (Dodgers exec) built infrastructure, hired 150+ employees fast ([34:46], [52:49]).
  • Jayna credits colleagues like Amy Scheer, Alexis Miller, Chelsea Purcell ([52:49]).

• Sustainability:

  • Long-term plan is transitioning from a single-entity model to potential future franchise or player ownership.
  • Emphasis on sustained growth and continued aggressive expansion.

• Acknowledgement:

  • Host gratitude for Jayna’s tireless, often unsung, work ([53:28])
  • “I just appreciate all your work. I know a lot of the time it goes thankless, but it matters.” — Abby Wambach [53:28]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Billie Jean King (on getting “the right people on the bus”):

  • “So important, get the right people on the bus, okay? … Any idea is a good idea. Just throw it out there, because then, like Jaina said, you change it.” [52:20]

• Julie Foudy (on sacrifice):

  • “Lost in the conversation of the current iteration is what you did to roll up your sleeves… tell those stories, because that’s fascinating to me.” [29:11]

• Jayna Hefford (on growth and resilience):

  • “We knew we had to launch January 1, 2024...there were people that said, why don’t you wait a year? We said, we can’t. We’ve got to do this for the players.” [35:06]

• Billie Jean King (on innovation):

  • “You change it. But Jaina is a huge part of the success.” [52:20]

• On the Power of the Community:

  • “Players sacrificed the prime of their career...because they believed and they trusted that we were going to build something better.” — Jayna Hefford [25:11]

• End of Episode – USA Cheer:

  • “We take great pleasure in bringing a Canadian into the circle and having to do the USA cheer at the end.” — Julie Foudy [55:10]
  • [Closing chant with Jayna Hefford gamely joining in as a Canadian guest.]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• The State of Women’s Hockey Leagues & CWHL Closure: [19:10] – [21:23]
• How Billie Jean & Alana Got Involved: [21:23] – [24:55]
• Jayna’s Reluctant Return & Player Unity: [25:11] – [29:11]
• Building a Business Plan & Players Investing in the League: [30:04] – [31:42]
• Mark Walter’s Involvement & Single-Entity Structure: [32:33] – [36:30]
• Innovative Rules & Takeover Tour: [44:31] – [50:54]
• Lessons Learned, Culture & Expansion: [47:29] – [53:28]
• Closing & USA Cheer: [55:10] – [56:06]

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Conclusion

This episode is an essential listen for anyone passionate about the growth of women’s sports and the realities of starting a professional league from scratch. Jayna Hefford, with immense clarity and candor, details the grit, teamwork, and innovation that brought the PWHL to life. Backed by the wisdom and advocacy of Billie Jean King and Alana Kloss, the league represents not just a culmination of decades of effort—but a platform for future generations of women athletes to build upon. The party isn’t just starting—it’s surging.

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For more:

• Watch PWHL games on YouTube or local broadcasts ([44:31])
• Follow the league and the podcast on social for updates and community events
• Go to the PWHL website for more info & game schedules

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Transcript

[Julie Foudy]

Jaina Hefford. Welcome to the party.

[Billie Jean King]

So important to get the right people on the bus.

[Jaina Hefford]

Okay, we're bringing in new fans to the game. New fans to women's sport. First place team gets to pick who they play in the first round.

[Billie Jean King]

Whoa.

[Julie Foudy]

We take great pleasure in bringing a Canadian into the circle and having to do the USA cheer at the end.

[Jaina Hefford]

I'm gonna hear about this from someone.

[Julie Foudy]

Attention, the party is about to comm.

[Jaina Hefford]

Welcome to the party.

[Julie Foudy]

What's up, party people? I'm Julie Foudy.

[Abby Wambach]

And I'm Abby Wambach.

[Billie Jean King]

And I'm Billy Jean King.

[Julie Foudy]

King.

[Billie Jean King]

I don't like my hair today. Wait a minute.

[Abby Wambach]

Today we're so happy you're here. We just. These are my favorite days to record.

[Julie Foudy]

Look at. Look at this swag too. Look at.

[Billie Jean King]

Oh, look at your swag.

[Julie Foudy]

I know, I know.

[Abby Wambach]

I love my.

[Billie Jean King]

I love this.

[Julie Foudy]

This is one of most comfortable sp. Wait. Show off your jacket though. Cuz that's. That's next level pwhl.

[Billie Jean King]

You better be on. Sorry.

[Julie Foudy]

So those are the original six teams?

[Jaina Hefford]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

Three there, three there.

[Billie Jean King]

And then now we have two new ones.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Billie Jean King]

Vancouver and Seattle.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Billie Jean King]

Now we're up to eight.

[Julie Foudy]

That's really cool. That is so cool. I want that jacket.

[Billie Jean King]

I want that jacket. Okay, I'll see what I can do. If there's any left.

[Abby Wambach]

I don't know.

[Julie Foudy]

Hey, Kinger, we also did a lookalike contest for you at the Watch Me women's sports bar in Long beach. Since wow, it is. It is your hometown. Your birthday is coming up. So, you know, we just thought we'd do a little look like it was so fun.

[Billie Jean King]

We're gonna drop some.

[Julie Foudy]

Some photos in here to show Watch.

[Billie Jean King]

Me Sports with Jacks.

[Julie Foudy]

Also, as we know, coming up, we're going to chat with Canadian hockey superstar. And when I'm saying superstar, we're talking four time Olympic gold medalist, stratosphere superstar and pro women's hockey league executive, Jayna Heord. And if you're a woman's sports fan, you don't want to miss this because Jayna shares what it takes to. To build a women's sports league from literally the ground up. And she's taking us inside that climb and how we're going to discuss how BJK helped give them a leg up. But before we get to that, we're going to let BJK go change the world in probably about seven different ways. Before lunch, of course. And we'll be right back with the Kinger and Jayna Hefford. Okay, party people. Now onto the highlights and headlines. You'll want to celebrate this this week in women's sports. Our party starter is brought to you by Ally the Bank. That's your Ally, Abs. You know where I'm going to start.

[Abby Wambach]

Let's go.

[Julie Foudy]

The party starter, NWSL playoffs. So on Saturday, we're in the semifinals, party people. On Saturday, Washington spirit beat Portland 2 nil to head back to the NWSL final. They'll take on Gotham next week in San Jose. Uh, Abby and I will be bringing the party there too. But more on that later. Um, and the Spirits win had an extra jolt of emotion thanks to the long awaited return of Trinity Rodman. She had been out for a month with a knee injury and she was an unused substitute in last week's quarterfinal. But Rodman in the semifinal came off the bench in the 90th minute to a thunderous ovation from the sellout crowd of 19,365. And at Audi Field, Rowdy Audi. And here's the twist though. Could this moment have been a goodbye for Trinity Rodman? I don't want to create some panic within the NWSL community, but Rodman's contract is up next month and the offers are coming in party people. We know that and they're coming in from Europe, which we know doesn't have a salary cap. So they're large. And it's the kind of money I fear that NWSL teams just can't match because of the league salary cap. So she's been open as well about wanting to play abroad at some point. But those conversations, I'm sure are very real right now. So as incredible as it was to see her back on the field, I think it also underscored the very real possibility that this could be her final home appearance for the Spirit.

[Abby Wambach]

Don't go. Don't go.

[Julie Foudy]

Podcast tip. Listen to our Haley Carter episode to stave off any panic. If. If you want to hear about salary caps and and how maybe the NWSL can can fight this non salary cap issue on the global market. Okay. In the other semifinal, Gotham took down Orlando Pride 10 with a Jaden Shaw goal in the seventh minute of stop. Another late winner for Gotham following their 120th minute goal from Katie Stengel against Kansas City Current the week before to knock off the number one team. And it's worth reminding people Gotham was the eighth seed, Party people. The last seed in this playoffs. And as Jaden Shaw said, last game in the quarterfinal and is clearly proving underdogs my ass.

[Abby Wambach]

So Good.

[Julie Foudy]

So it's Washington spirit versus Gotham on Saturday with an NWSL title on the line.

[Abby Wambach]

Jules, you know what else is happening at the NWSL championship weekend? What? Welcome to the party is happening.

[Julie Foudy]

We're happening. We're happening.

[Abby Wambach]

The NWSL championship weekend. Yep. We are packing all of our mics up because welcome to the party is going live at the ally house in San Jose, y'. All. You've heard us talk about it already, but, you know, we'll be there this weekend hosting a live recording of welcome to the party surrounded by the best fans in the game. And our friends at ally are building the ally house to celebrate women's soccer, our community, the energy, the progress. Right? And we can't wait to share that space with you all. So join us this Friday, November 21st, as we kick off the weekend the only way we know how, by throwing a party. Okay. It's going to be the ultimate pregame celebration of women's sports. You'll get access to live podcast taping, meet and greets and NWSL players, exclusive access to special merch collaboration with domo Wells and so much more. Also, our guest, Jules. Is it so exciting? One of our guests. It's so exciting. Our bestie, Andrea Brimmer. We are very excited. Okay.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

So if you want to come.

[Julie Foudy]

Chief marketing officer of ally, who is a total disruptor.

[Abby Wambach]

Total disruptor. Badass in the best of ways. All in on women's sports. And as. As the party people know, Ally is a big sponsor of ours, and. And Andrea is a big reason for that. So we're so excited to talk to her about all of that. And. And for those who want to. Want to come and attend, make sure that you rsop at the link in our description. Just if you want to come and see, welcome to the party live, which I know you do, and you want to enjoy everything at ally house. Let's kick off championship. We got weekend together. Ally. Do it right.

[Julie Foudy]

Right on. Okay. We'd also like to welcome U. S. Women's National Team icons Tobin Heath and Heather O'Reilly to the hall of fame parte. They headline the national soccer hall of Fame's Class of 2026. Both, no surprise here, were selected as first ballot inductees. Tobin and Hayo retired as world cup champions, Olympic medalists, winning two Olympic golds and one world. The Class of 2026 induction ceremony will take place May 1 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. I texted the two of them, and I'm like, I'm so happy that you Guys get to go in together. I know I got to go in with Mia, which was so fun. But like, having a teammate, a dear friend by your side. You get to go in is so cool.

[Abby Wambach]

So congratulations, both of them. I texted both of them to Jules on the same thread congratulating them and it was so sweet because. Heyo. She wrote back this beautiful long thing in Tobin in perfect Tobin fashion. She just you. Thank you.

[Billie Jean King]

Same.

[Abby Wambach]

I'm like, tobin, I love you so much. All right, so also party people, super cool news. The women's pro baseball league draft is officially about to happen on November 20th at 8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific. And it can be watched live on the WPBL's Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube channels. This is the first women's pro baseball league in any 80 years. Doesn't this make you feel like a league of their own? You know, Jules, like I want to start singing. What is that song? The All American team goes for cities far and wide. Okay. The season starts in 2026 with four teams. The Boston team, the San Francisco team, Los Angeles and New York. Players will come. I know, so great. From a global pool with participants in recent tryouts representing over 10 countries. Folks, the league has already registered over 700 players from the United States, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom. And a draft will select the initial players from those who attend the summer tryouts. And finally.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

Also worth noting, Jules, we had Danny Busboom Kelly join our party last week. Okay. Nebraska volleyball's head coach. This team, they're undefeated this season. And we were pumping. Exactly. We were pumping up the fact that they had not lost a set in the Big Ten.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, we really pumped it up too, which is amazing. We were like, oh my, you haven't even lost a set.

[Abby Wambach]

Well, just a few days after that, folks, Nebraska's incredible 48 set winning streak fell in in. In its Friday night game against ucla where UCLA took one set off of Nebraska. I think that we jinxed them, Jules. And we're going to take the blame here. It's going to be us.

[Julie Foudy]

Feel terrible.

[Abby Wambach]

Let's just take the blame.

[Julie Foudy]

I'm sorry, Nebraska Husker fans, that's on us. We're taking it.

[Abby Wambach]

But the Huskers were not phased. Two days later, they beat USC from start to finish, beating them in three straight sets. So they're still undefeated Jewels. But the 48 sit. The. The 48 set winning streak is no longer. That is your party starter. And thanks to Ally for sponsoring this segment. And as we know Ally is more than a bank. And their do it right approach helps customers unlock their economic potential and guides their efforts as a leading sponsor in women's sports. Just like us, Ally believes that when women in sports win, we all have a reason to party. Ally Bank. Member, fdic.

[Julie Foudy]

Abigail, you know, as, you know, finding time to work out in the busiest time of the year as the holidays get around is really hard. But I have the breakthrough of the busiest time of the year. Do you know what it is?

[Abby Wambach]

I have an idea. But what are you gonna say?

[Julie Foudy]

Uh huh. Brand new peloton cross training tread plus.

[Abby Wambach]

Yes.

[Julie Foudy]

Powered by peloton iq.

[Abby Wambach]

Yes. Yes.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay.

[Abby Wambach]

Yes.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay. Can we just talk about how obsessed we are with this? And yes. We did a whole podcast on one. Well, almost the whole podcast on one. And then I proceeded to lose to Abby in the minute to win it race. But I've been training on my peloton cross training tread plus so that the next time I'm not losing it. And I love this for so many reasons. You can get off well, you can run on it, of course. Right. You can take classes. And then when you're doing the classes, you can do that cross training stuff. Because I'm not just a runner. I want to do other things. I want to get off it. I want to do body strength stuff. I want to do boot camp stuff. I want to do some plyometrics. So you swivel your screen and then it tracks you in the box to like, it'll actually say to you, you need to get your butt lower, people. Get your butt. You're not squatting low enough.

[Abby Wambach]

It's a little judgy. It's a little judgy for a retired pro athlete, if I'm not going to lie.

[Julie Foudy]

But it so helps you because all of a sudden I'm like, you're right. Okay, okay. O. I know on crash training tread plus, I'm gonna get my butt down a little further.

[Abby Wambach]

The weather is starting to change too. And so once it starts to get a little bit colder outside, I feel like I wanna be indoors more. And this is like the perfect machine to do everything that you need, honestly. If you wanna walk, you can walk. If you wanna do sprints, you can do sprints. If you wanna lift weights, if you wanna do yoga, if you wanna meditate, it has everything.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. And you know what? When I'm like doing the stuff where you're having to count, I don't know if you have this problem, but I can't keep track of stuff. So, because I like to talk with my friends, and so I'm talking never, never tracking. And it tracks for me, which is brilliant because I don't have to worry. I'm like, oh, I've done my 15 push ups, thank you very much. I've gotten my bum down. So I'm just telling you party people, let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push, and go. You can do it all. Explore the new peloton cross training tread [e-mail] Jules.

[Abby Wambach]

Okay. You know that feeling when you find something so fundamentally amazing, you immediately text five of your best friends about it? Yeah. That is exactly what happened when I put on Vuor's Dream Knit Performance Joggers.

[Julie Foudy]

I know, I know.

[Abby Wambach]

I also am donning this sweatshirt that.

[Julie Foudy]

I'm just going to pull. It's on the bed right behind me. I was just going to pull it over. I travel it.

[Abby Wambach]

My children are like, I love that. Where's that from? And I'm like, it's Vuri and it's mine. Hands off. Do not touch.

[Julie Foudy]

No, literally, I was wearing my Vuori big hoodie sweatshirt.

[Abby Wambach]

I'm gonna.

[Julie Foudy]

I'm gonna pull it for you a second. Hold on.

[Abby Wambach]

Stay. Oh, my God.

[Julie Foudy]

Stay there, party people. This is worth it. I was wearing my big hooded sweatshirt. I can't put it on because I have my headphones in. But everyone was like, what is that? And I was like, not yours, it's mine.

[Abby Wambach]

It's Yori.

[Julie Foudy]

And they're like, of course it's Yuri.

[Abby Wambach]

All of Yuri clothes are just unbelievably soft. Like, I can't even believe that these soft. These sweatshirts and these performance joggers are as soft as they are. And by the way, I've had some of these for four years. Still soft, folks. And also they still look like they're. I'm put together enough that I can even go outside and run errands or hop on a zoom or head to a workout without ever changing. I literally live in these performance joggers. Vuori gets it. And we really want clothes that feel good and move with us and also still look great. Because I just want to wear the same thing all day. I don't want to have to, like, change in and out of stuff. And I'm working out and I'm recording podcasts and I'm going for a walk and I'm doing things and I get to wear the Dream Knit fabric all day long because it's lightweight, it's breathable, it's seriously the Smoothest material that I've ever worn, y'.

[Jaina Hefford]

All.

[Abby Wambach]

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[Julie Foudy]

Get it?

[Abby Wambach]

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[Julie Foudy]

This is what I look like on the plane, FYI. Okay, party people. Now to the partiest part of our party. Jana Hefford has literally done everything in the sport of hockey. Five Olympics. The first won silver in 1998. And then all the rest, gold. Four of them gold. And I'm sure most of them, if not all of them against the United States of America in terms of winning that gold. A spot in the Hockey hall of Fame. And now she's a force of nature leading the way in a new era of women's hockey. Jaina helped lay the groundwork for the new women's professional hockey league, the pwhl. She is the current executive vice president of hockey operations along with our very own Billie Jean KE King and her wife Alana Kloss, who helped with the PWHL and looked what's happened since. Record breaking crowds, sold out takeover tour stops. A tidal wave of new fans and expansion teams lighting up the west coast. Jaina is a legend. A builder will forgive her for being a USA soul crusher. And one of the biggest reasons women's hockey is having itself a moment. Jaina Hefford, welcome to the party.

[Jaina Hefford]

Thank you. That's an amazing intro and a huge fan of all of you guys.

[Abby Wambach]

Appreciate it.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay, how many of those initial Olympics, all of those Olympics were they against United states? Right.

[Jaina Hefford]

In 2006 we actually played Sweden in the gold medal game.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay.

[Jaina Hefford]

But the other four were against the Americans. They were, you know, you guys would appreciate this. You know, our biggest rivals but. But our favorite team to play against.

[Billie Jean King]

Can you tell us? Sometimes it's confusing. Could you just tell us a little bit about the history before the pwl. Like the other leagues. I think you played in all of them.

[Jaina Hefford]

Well, I played in a lot of them. I think I played in four different leagues while I was playing. And we called them professional because they were the best players, but they were far from professional as it related to no salaries, no resources, poor ice times, you know, maybe a couple practices a week, volunteer coaches. So it really was a glorified sort of minor league system, but it was the best players in the world. So we, you know, wanting to prop this up and build it up and tell people how great it was, but it just didn't have anything behind it. So, you know, I played in a league called the Central Ontario Women's Hockey League, the original National Women's Hockey League, then the Canadian Women's Hockey League. There was also a second version of the nwhl. There was the professional, the PHF league. So the PWHPA was a big part of that. So it's a very clustered past, but it was all part of the journey to get here and I think a necessary part of the history. And I know, Billy, we talk all the time, importance of history and understanding where we came from and where we had to get to. And so I don't think any of them were mistakes or, you know, failures even. It was really just a part of getting us to where we are today and, you know, proud to have been in a part of that as well as a player. And. But now we've. We've gotten to this point where, you know, we can really elevate the women and the players and the sport.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

And.

[Julie Foudy]

And as Kinger always mentions, like, the importance of understanding that history, because I think people see this current league and they think, oh, this is amazing. And. Right. It just, like, happened like that. But actually, no, it was a slog. Right.

[Jaina Hefford]

It was a slog.

[Julie Foudy]

As you just laid out a lot of acronyms that. I'm not completely all familiar with all those acronyms, but, like, you know, going back to years and years of trying to get to where you are today, which is really cool to see. But take us back to. To the moment that Billie Jean King was involved with women's hockey. And it can be either or both of you in terms of King or when you got involved, what happened, if.

[Billie Jean King]

You really want to know the story as far as Ilana and me, is that Kendall Coyne had talked to Angela Ruggiero about. She was so frustrated and she was speaking for everyone when she spoke. And Kendall said, I don't know what to do.

[Julie Foudy]

And Angela Ruggiero, Just for context.

[Billie Jean King]

Yeah, it was great. Okay. She was a superstar in the 98. That's where I knew about her. And I'd met her through the Women's Sports foundation and all that. And so Angela said, well, you should call Ilana and Billie Jean. Are you kidding? So we get. We're at a Lakers game, and we get this call from Kendall. So Ilana steps out to talk to her in the hall, and she says, help, help. Can you help us? So we met in New York, and she said, I'll never forget that moment. I know exactly where Kendall was standing. She was at our apartment. And she said, would you help us? We have to have a proper professional league. Of course, Ilana and I know zippity doo dah about ice hockey, but we thought we'd try to help. And this is what happens to us a lot. And it took years and years and years, but we spent a lot of time talking to Mark Walter. Mark Walter about. And he owns the Dodgers. He now owns the Lakers. He owns a lot. He's involved in a lot of different things. But my job was to help the top players stick together. Lana would call me and say, I need you to Pep talk.

[Julie Foudy]

Bring in the Billie Jean King pep talk.

[Billie Jean King]

No, but it was in Chicago, when we're at that dream situation, dream tour, that everybody was. We promised we'd get them good hotels, which we did. They were at a nice hotel. They couldn't believe it. Then we had really good food for them. Just basic things that Jane had discussed before that they didn't have. So they loved that. But then the magic question was, I said to them, can you. Can the top players, every one of the top players, can you stick together through thick and thin, and we'll try to help you get this lead? And they said, yes. They stepped up right away. They were amazing. And Jana was amazingly helpful throughout this process. But we went. They said they would do it. So they talked about beating an association. So they got on the same page. But what was really, really hard is where are we going to find the money? Because we have the dream, but we have. We don't have the resources. You can't have the dream. And that's what happened. So Jana, the reason she's so visible, too, is that we asked the players, well, who should be ahead of the association? And Kendall, without even taking a beat, said, oh, that's easy. Jana Hefford. Oh, okay. And so everybody went to Jana, and she became a head of the association. But then they became employees Because Mark said, no, they cannot be individual contract people. I got to have them together. They got to be employees. So within about a month, they were. And then we went to Jana, and she headed up. She's still doing everything now. She's an amazing person on and off the ice. And one of the biggest privileges I ever had was dropping the puck with her at the very, very first inaugural game. And. And I'll never forget that. So that, for me, that's just a personal thing. And. And Jana, of course, should be there. She was so instrumental in making all this happen.

[Abby Wambach]

And. And Jayna, I just want to ask, like, what was it like when you got the phone call from either Kendall or Billie Jean or Alana that was like, you're getting the call up? Like, what. Like, what must that feel like?

[Jaina Hefford]

Yeah, I think, you know, more. Billy made it seem pretty easy, you know, But I had. I had been leading the interim commissioner of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. That league shut down, decided it could no longer function. The business structure wasn't right. There was no money. That was one of the hardest things I had to do at that time was tell the players, who many of them were my teammates, ex teammates, friends, that this league was done. It was over. There was nowhere for them to play. So we had to go through that process of shutting down a league, which for me personally, was a crash course in business that I couldn't have paid to get. So looking back on it when it happened, I truly believed that there was something better that was going to come. But, you know, you say that to people, and it doesn't help the hurt that happened to the players. So that happened in March. The league shut down. And I got a call in August from Alana and Kendall. And I had played against Kendall, but, you know, had met her once or twice, didn't know her that well. And they called me out of the blue and asked if I would do this. And my first thought was, I don't know if I want to do this again. Like, I just went through this process and this hurtful thing that happened to the game, but the first thing I said is, is this what the players want? They want me to do it. Because that's the only reason I ever got involved anyways, was because I wanted to make it better for the players after I retired. And when Kendall said, yes, the players want you to do it, then that was it. I was like, okay, I'll do it then. So we spent four and a half years with the pwhpa. We Started with no money, no equipment, no ice time. We had Billy and Alana as our leaders, and that was about it. We had a friend of yours, John Langel, Ballard, Spahr, who offered to help out, but that's all we had. We had to figure it all out from there. And over the course of the four years, we got to a point where we had a tour that was sponsored, we had broadcast opportunities, the players had some prize money. So there were some successes along the way, but. And certainly progress, but it was hard. You know, one of the things people ask me all the time, like your favorite lesson or, you know, something that someone told you, and it always comes back to Billy. And I don't know if you remember this Billy, but you said to me at one point when things were, you know, dragging on, we. We thought it was going to be a year or two, and now we're four and a half years later. And you said to me, you know, when you read history, it's fast and when you live it, it's slow. And that like, just resonated so deeply because that, you know, 20 years, 50 years from now, someone's going to read about how the PWHL started and it's going to be like, oh, isn't that nice? You know, the players stepped up and they asked for a league and they got it and Billy helped out. But they'll never know, you know, that struggle and the moments of where we thought maybe it would all fall apart or could we keep these players together? They were being enticed by contracts elsewhere, money elsewhere, and, you know, I'll always give credit to that group of players who stood together. They didn't stray, you know, I hate to say sacrifice, but they did, you know, the prime of their career, gave up some of those opportunities because they believed and they trusted that we were going to build something better. So such a powerful thing to be a part of. But there were certainly moments where we didn't know. We didn't know if it would happen or not. And, you know, so having Billy and Alana and you know, Alana never gets enough credit, as you guys probably know. Yeah, I remember spending every single day, you know, five days a week on a call with Alana every morning at 9:30 and a few others. And, you know, this never would have happened without Billy and Alana. Lots of other people, but it's incredible. And I know you guys talk about it all the time, but, you know, Billy and Alana have done so much for so many different sports, and it's just it's amazing. We wouldn't have happened without them.

[Julie Foudy]

And I remember during that four or five year gap, right. I remember Johnny Langel, as you mentioned, who was our lawyer with the national team for so many years. We called him our little tadpole angel from Power of One, this, this book, because he just did so many great things. And Billy and Alana telling me about the work that you, Janet, and the players did. And I mean, so much so, like doing market analysis of, you know, what would be the best markets. And I think lost again in the conversation of current iteration is what you did to roll up your sleeves and sitting with Deloitte and figuring out, okay, if we went to this market, what would it look like if we went to this? That is what the players did, tell those stories, because that's fascinating to me.

[Jaina Hefford]

You know, the association launched and, you know, I think we were all hopeful that someone would just come in and, you know, make this league happen. And we waited and we hoped and it was, I think it was probably around Covid when, you know, everything went a bit crazy, but I think we realized somebody else wasn't going to do this. And we decided through a mutual friend of mine, I got connected with someone at Deloitte here in Canada and said, I think maybe they can help you guys. So that started a conversation. They pulled some folks together and said, yeah, let's do this. Let's build a business plan. And what I think was the most powerful was that the women were investing in themselves. These women were not making any money. Anything we brought in from sponsorships or ticket sales, they weren't getting any money. It was going towards ice time, it was going towards this, reinvesting in themselves and what this could be in the future. And we actually had to really dive into what were our aspirations. What would a league look like that we could be proud of? What would need to be true for this to happen? And again, another sort of powerful experience to have the players at the forefront of that and work towards that. And because we did that work, I thought that gave people confidence that we were for real, we weren't going to wait around for someone else to step in again. Billy and Alana, through their relationships, bringing Mark and Kimber Walter to the table, we never could have predicted that. But at the end of the day, knowing that these players cared so much to reinvest in themselves and reinvest in the future, and what could be true was something that was, that was incredibly important to this league, even launching.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

How did you get Mark and Kimbra Walter to the table. Kinger.

[Billie Jean King]

We just kept talking to him and this would be a great investment. We have to figure out how it's going to be a great investment for people. When you talk to them. It can't just be a charity. This is not a charity anymore. We used to have to do the charity stuff. No more. It's investment that they have to be able to someday see their money back. And Mark is absolutely brilliant, you know, just telling him what we want and all that. He finally came up with the idea that he really should own everything. Because one thing we find with franchises is that one franchise will be great. The players love them and the others aren't run as well. It's a real difference in each one. And because you want to start, you do, right?

[Julie Foudy]

Yes.

[Billie Jean King]

You know.

[Abby Wambach]

Exactly.

[Julie Foudy]

Soccer knows that very well. Yes.

[Billie Jean King]

Wnba, everyone. NBA. I mean, the men's sports too. So it's not just women. And it is so difficult. People behind the, you know, the people don't know what's going on. But the important thing was because Mark has such a supply of wonderful people and he'd been through so much and he has a brilliant mind. He's the one that came up with the one. He says I should own everything. We should. He says we actually. But I'm thinking, you know, without him, nothing would have happened. And he got Stan Caston, who runs the Dodgers, who's built different. He's done hockey teams, he's done baseball teams, he's done, I think, basketball. This guy is brilliant and he knows how to put things together. So he went out and got 150 employees quickly. Within a month and a half, these things were happening. And so Mark said, let's do it. But there was another league. Remember, there was another league going on. And Mark said, we cannot have another league. We cannot have any competition. I don't want anyone to be confused what the league is. Well, that's easy to say, right? So Mark bought the league, the other league, and then let it go. So now we're the only league. Now he's ready. And that's when we got started and we had the 150. And then he wanted them to be employees and have a cva. So that happened. That's giving up a lot too, for the players because they don't make a lot of money. And it was, I think, a seven or eight year contract with them to have seven or eight years as a cba. And so these players were raring to go, though. And like Jane has said, they talk about these future generations. They have teed it up. We have to. I just keep thinking we have to do something for this first generation because it's just amazing what they've done. So anyway, Mark said, let's go. I'll own everyone. Stan got all the employees. Stan runs a lot of, has taken enormous amount of work. And then we got Tiffany to do the Walter Cup. And the Walter cup weighs a little bit more than the Stanley Cup. We love that. We have more fun with that.

[Julie Foudy]

So the trophy the women raise is in honor of Mark and Kimber Walter, the Walter Cup. And say again, it weighs a little bit more. I don't know.

[Billie Jean King]

It's. Is it an ounce or is it.

[Abby Wambach]

How much is it?

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, it's about.0.1 ounce.

[Abby Wambach]

It's more.

[Billie Jean King]

It doesn't matter a pound. That's a lot.

[Jaina Hefford]

Yeah, it's.

[Abby Wambach]

It's.

[Jaina Hefford]

It's a little bit more. And the other thing important, like, there was nobody else that we wanted to name the cup after, but our league MVP is also the Billie Jean King Award winner. The playoff MVP is the Ilana Klaus Award winner. And it was really important to us to recognize and appreciate everything. It's not lost on us that this never would have happened. And going back to the structure, I think we couldn't have done what we've done without the single entity structure. And so Mark knowing that that needed to happen, we didn't think we could hold the players together much longer. They had, you know, we had to launch January 1, 2023. And so when we announced the league in August of 20. Sorry, 2024. In August of 2023, we had five months to launch a 16 league. And there was people that said, why don't you just wait a year? We said, we can't. Can't happen. We've got to do this for the players. Yeah. And. And so the only way we could do it was a single entity structure where we can move quickly, make decisions quickly, ensure that the foundation of the league is strong across all six and now all eight teams. So, you know, brilliant how this league, you know, decided that was the structure.

[Julie Foudy]

Abigail's. Yeah, Mary, you know, you know very well that we spent a lot of time on the road while we were there. A lot, a lot of time. And yes, it was a gift for sure, because we got to see all these amazing places and go to all these places I would have never gone to, which was so fun. But I learned quickly, like, where you stay makes a big difference. Huge difference. Right. So when I was playing with the national team and. And well beyond college. But our college friends would all get together still all the time, and they'd want to go to Tahoe all the time, because Tahoe was, of course, who doesn't love Tahoe, right? And they would pick all these different hotels. And I was like, I can't do that anymore. So we got this Airbnb. And instead of a hotel. And it's amazing because one you all gather, it's all cozy. It's a place where you can actually sit together and cook together and hang out together, and then you. These huge windows overlooking the mountains, and it just feels like home. It doesn't feel like you're on the road, which is the gift of Airbnb. And it's what I love most about booking homes through them is that just there's more space, there's more comfort, there's more rooms for Abby so she can quote loudly.

[Abby Wambach]

There's more connection with your friends that you're there with. There's more connection. Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

And more rooms for you so you can sleep loudly with snore. And here's what I know while. Here's what I also learned while I was traveling non stop, I could have been hosting my own home on Airbnb.

[Abby Wambach]

We should have been doing this all along.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. And now it's easier than ever. Thanks to the co host network, you can literally hire a local co host to help manage everything. Your listing, your reservations, your guest messages. And if you wanted, they'll even give you design and styling tips. I mean, they handle everything so that you don't have to. So I highly recommend it. Find a co [e-mail] host.

[Abby Wambach]

Go do it, Jules. Okay, so this is wild. The holidays are basically already here, right? Yeah, it's.

[Julie Foudy]

How did we get to that, by the way?

[Abby Wambach]

I know. It sneaks on me. Up on me every single time. Feels like it's Halloween and then, bam. I'm trying to figure out what chairs I can grab to put around my dining room table so it can have an entire family. Right. That is why I am very excited about this year, because I have readied my space with Wayfair. I found.

[Julie Foudy]

Look at you.

[Abby Wambach]

I know. I found the perfect dining chairs. They're actually comfortable ones. They're not like the fold. The foldy ones that you have to bring in from the garage.

[Julie Foudy]

And also tell my mom, because she uses those.

[Abby Wambach]

Also, guess what else I found these really cozy flannel sheets. Because let's be honest, it's officially blanket Season. And even I grabbed some fun server wear for all of the holiday meals where we somehow end up hosting. It feels like every single night when you have teenagers, they're like, can I have friends over? And you have to say yes, but you're just always hosting.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. My house is like the central one of all the kids, the siblings.

[Abby Wambach]

And so it's like we.

[Julie Foudy]

I'm like, come on, bring it in. Let's go. I. I feel you.

[Abby Wambach]

If you find that you are hosting, Wayfair is the place to shop for everything. Home sofas, spatulas, and everything in between. And during their Black Friday sale, you can score up to 70 off. That is so many percent. I love that they have pieces that you don't see everywhere. And so my home actually feels like. Like me.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

The best part, though, Fast.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

Shipping.

[Julie Foudy]

Yes.

[Abby Wambach]

Give me.

[Julie Foudy]

You don't have to wait six months for the couch to come. You don't.

[Abby Wambach]

You don't give me a fast and easy shipping process. And I will be your best friend for. And I will shop with you forever. And it's also, it's for the big stuff, too. Everything showed up right on time and it was just ready to go. And starting on October 30th, those Black Friday deals run all month long, so don't miss out on early Black Friday deals. Head to Wayfair.com now to shop Wayfairs Black Friday deals for up to 70 off. That's W A Y F A I R dot com. Sale ends December 7th. Okay, so Jules, you know when you, you just don't feel like yourself.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

So for me, it's not fun. It's been this kind of stretch of like low energy in the afternoon when my brain feels foggy. But the day's only half over and I still have a lot more to do. I've got to get dinner started. I've got to finish my work stuff.

[Julie Foudy]

Get to the emails, watch Love Island.

[Abby Wambach]

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[Billie Jean King]

It's one of the ideas for. Absolutely one of the ideas for sure.

[Abby Wambach]

Because also I want to be a part of it. Like I want, I want, I want to know more like how to get involved and where can we find not just the games themselves, but can we watch them on TV or stream it somewhere? Like what, how can the party people, the folks who are listening to this, how can they get involved to help support the pwhl?

[Jaina Hefford]

Yeah, we're on broadcast. So in Canada here we've got multiple broadcasters with cbc, tsn, sportsnet. In the United States we have a lot of regional networks. We have nessen, we have MSG, we have our games on YouTube. One of the things we knew we had to make ourselves accessible. And in year one, every single game was available for free in YouTube. We had over 100 countries tune into our games. So people around the world and that was really important because for too many years it was too hard to find. And so we know that that's really critical to our success. And so we're kind of trying to constantly find new ways to make sure people can find us easily. Obviously directing people to the website, everything is there, easy to find. But yeah, love to get you Guys out to a game for sure.

[Abby Wambach]

And there's also. Which I think is so really it's fascinating and something that I think the NWSL probably should have done early days, but they didn't. And it's like the neutral site games that you all do in different cities that aren't the team home cities. Can you tell us a little bit about that? I think that that's really, really cool.

[Julie Foudy]

Smart.

[Jaina Hefford]

Yeah, I think it's one of the smartest things we've done. And we launched it in our second season called the Takeover Tour. So we have six teams in the first two years. So we had Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, we had New York, Boston, Minnesota. We've since expanded to Seattle and Vancouver. But in season two, we played nine neutral site games. We had over 123,000 people attend those games. And what was really interesting in my mind was that we found in those TAKEOVER games some venues up to 80% of people who came to our game and we were selling out many of these games. So 18, 19,000 up to 80% had never been in that building before. So what that means is that we are not just bringing in the NHL fans that already go and watch hockey. We're bringing in new fans to the game, new fans to women's sport. And, and that's what's, you know, really important about this tour. So going into season three now we have Seattle and Vancouver who happened to be Takeover tour markets. They were our first two in season two.

[Julie Foudy]

That crushed it. Right?

[Jaina Hefford]

With the takeover, they crushed it. It's a great opportunity for us to lear market to understand what the fan engagement is there to get to know partners, infrastructure, facilities. All that is really important as we consider expansion. So this year now we have 16 takeover tour games. So significant increase across North America. And we've been pretty public that you know, this is intentional, this expansion. It's aggressive and we're looking to continue to grow in this phase and so really excited to get to some new markets this year and, and let people see and feel the PWHL many times for the first time and we know they're going to love what they. They get to be a part of.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. When you think about you're going into this third season, you slogged it for so many years to have this league happen. When you think about the lessons learned in those first two years, what are some of the top things that come to mind?

[Jaina Hefford]

Oh, gosh, yeah. It's in some ways it seemed like it's so long. In other ways it's It's. I can't believe, you know, we're not even two calendar years old from when Billy and I dropped the puck that first game. It's. It's amazing. You know, one of the first things I think that we built our culture around and tribute Stan cast into this, he said, you know, think differently. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. We're going to make lots of mistakes because we are going so fast. We're doing something that hasn't been done. So, you know, don't be afraid to make mistakes, but make sure they're mistakes you can fix. And so, you know, that's kind of been a part of our culture as we continue to grow. And we, we brought in some innovative rules to try to make the game more engaging for fans. We certainly didn't want to change hockey and what hockey is to people, but we wanted to think differently. We wanted to make it more fun. And so we have a rule called the jailbreak rule, where if a team scores a goal shorthanded, meaning they have a penalty, they only have four players on the ice. They actually get their player back on the ice. So you think about the momentum that happens in a building when you score shorthanded and then you also get your player back. We have something called the no escape rule. Well, the next one was the no escape rule. So there's a real jail theme to this. But, you know, when you take a penalty, you have to keep the same players who were on the ice when it happened until play resumes. So you may have three forwards and one defenseman instead of two forwards and two defensemen. You may not have your best penalty killers. So it actually gives an advantage to the power play team. Every sport wants to increase scoring, so that's been significant. And the data showed that it's worked to do that. We have a pick your own opponent rule in the playoffs. So the first place team gets to pick who they play in the first draft.

[Billie Jean King]

Whoa. Which rad.

[Abby Wambach]

That's.

[Jaina Hefford]

Yeah, really fun. So we had four teams make the playoffs and the first place team could pick either the third or the fourth place team. They couldn't pick the second place because they had earned home I, but they could pick three or four, and so that makes it really fun.

[Julie Foudy]

Wait, what'd they pick?

[Jaina Hefford]

They picked four both times.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay.

[Jaina Hefford]

But ironically, Minnesota has finished fourth both years and won. So the team that has had to pick their own opponent has.

[Abby Wambach]

You got to pick third now. You got to pick third.

[Billie Jean King]

No kidding.

[Jaina Hefford]

So that's been fun. And the Other one that's been really great is something called the Gold Plan. And so we all know that when teams don't make the playoffs, how do you keep their fans engaged? How do you keep them excited? Because the games become, you know, what someone consider meaningless. So our gold plan is the second you are eliminated for playoffs. Every point after that goes towards earning the first pick overall, so you don't lose your way to the first pick. You have to earn your way by winning after you're eliminated. So things like that, that make it more fun for fans, don't change the game itself, but just increase engagement. And so we've been given the luxury to be able to do this and think like this. And, you know, I think that's been really fun for me and everyone on my team that get to think about all these crazy hockey ideas.

[Billie Jean King]

Where do these ideas come from?

[Jaina Hefford]

Conversations, relationships. We look at data. You know, the jailbreak was someone that I talked to who was in the media, who was like, I'd always wish the NHL would do this. And I said, I like it. Why don't we try it? Because worst case is we change the rule the next year, right? It's not. We can do whatever we want in this league. We make our own rules. So that was one. The no escape rule was because we noticed our power play percentage was a little low comparatively to other leagues, and we wanted to give the power play a bit of an advantage. So that was driven by data, and it worked. Our power plays went from 16% to 19% the next year. So, you know, it's really. Another member of my team brought the Gold Plan as an idea. Somebody had done this as a thesis paper for men's sport, and no men's league would try it. And so we said, why not? Let's give it a shot. So it goes back to, you know, Stan saying, think differently about this and don't be afraid to make a mistake.

[Julie Foudy]

And that's the thing that it takes league sometimes decades to change rules, right? And I love that you're like, no, we're gonna try this, and why not? Like, let's make it more. Like, it's gonna be a more fun atmosphere, it's gonna be higher scoring, all these things that we want to see. I wish there were more leagues, honestly, that did that. And like, okay, let's not wait for decades before we actually make some real changes.

[Billie Jean King]

So important, get the right people on the bus, okay? We have the. It's the right people, the business people, the operations people, everyone's included. And any idea is a good idea. Just throw it out there because then, like Jaina said, you change it. But Jaina is a huge part of the success. Who else? I mean, you're really on the execution part, but the business side, we've got Stan and who else do we have?

[Jaina Hefford]

Well, Royce Cohen has been amazing. He was also with the Dodgers and somebody who just challenges us all the time in the way he thinks about things. I get to work with Amy Scheer, who leads the business operations for the league. I have a few people on my team that were with me and with Billy in the pwp, so women that were doing it back then in addition to their full time job because they just cared so much. And. And they both are, you know, Alexis Miller and Chelsea Purcell, who are just rock stars with the league. And so we've been able to build a culture of really great people. And, you know, it's that. That makes all the difference in the world.

[Julie Foudy]

Yep, exactly. Exactly.

[Abby Wambach]

I just appreciate all your work. I know that a lot of times it goes thankless, but you're. It matters. And in no time, it feels like that first CBA is going to be up for renegotiation and hopefully the league is even more successful that there's even more expansion teams, in large part due to you, Jaina. So thank you for coming on and help.

[Jaina Hefford]

Anytime.

[Julie Foudy]

Jayna.

[Abby Wambach]

We do.

[Julie Foudy]

We do a party pose to end interviews. Party pose on three. One, two, three. We do. @ the end of every show, we do a USA cheer that we want to do.

[Jaina Hefford]

I know what you do.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, you're gonna be part of it.

[Abby Wambach]

What are the hockey.

[Julie Foudy]

Wait a minute.

[Billie Jean King]

What are the hockey players do?

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. What is. What is your Canadian.

[Billie Jean King]

What do you guys do?

[Julie Foudy]

What is your Canadian.

[Billie Jean King]

What do you Canadians do?

[Jaina Hefford]

I don't know if we have a Canadian cheer. No, not like that.

[Abby Wambach]

No.

[Julie Foudy]

Oh, good. I love that you have to do the.

[Billie Jean King]

Yeah, but who started your cheer? Julie? It's a good story how you guys got started.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, we got started with. In Italy. They. They. When. When we were playing the 85ers, the 81st team, when they were playing over in Italy, they. The Italians, as you know, in Europe, instead of saying usa, they say usa. So they were chanting for usa. Usa. And the American players thought that was so amazing that that became and still is today our US Women's soccer national team cheer as we go out on the field.

[Jaina Hefford]

That's amazing that it still lives on.

[Julie Foudy]

I know. Still today. So it's really cool. So we take great pleasure in bringing a Canadian into the circle and having to do the USA cheer at the end.

[Jaina Hefford]

I'm going to hear about this from someone.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, you will. You will. Okay, party people, don't forget to subscribe to the welcome to the party YouTube channel. Click that little bell icon so you get updates when episodes go live.

[Abby Wambach]

And if you can just take a second, we would appreciate it if you could leave a comment rate and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And be sure to follow us on Tick Tock and Instagram at welcome to the Party show where Julie, Billy and I will bring the party straight to your feedback. Shout out to Kate Diaz for our theme music. Here we go. We gotta do. We gotta do this cheer. Can you actually call us in, Jaina? So it goes like this. One, two, three. Usa. Usa. Usa.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay, from the soul.

[Jaina Hefford]

Got it.

[Julie Foudy]

Put your paw. Yeah.

[Billie Jean King]

All right, pause.

[Jaina Hefford]

All right, pause in 1, 2, 3.

[Julie Foudy]

I love that so much.

[Abby Wambach]

Welcome to the Party is an independent production brought to you by Treat Media. Treat Media makes art for humans who want to stay human. Silvertribe is our production partner and you can also watch our full conversations on the welcome to the party YouTube channel and follow us at welcome to the Party show on Instagram and TikTok.