Your Winter Games Watch Guide Starts Here

Summary

Podcast Summary

Welcome to the Party

Episode: Your Winter Games Watch Guide Starts Here
Date: January 27, 2026
Hosts: Julie Foudy, Abby Wambach, with guest Billie Jean King and featured guest Marisa Kumari Tandon
Produced by: Treat Media

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Episode Overview

This vibrant and candid episode kicks off with a heartfelt conversation about the urgent need for empathy and action in the socio-political climate before shifting into high gear as a spirited preview of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. The hosts, joined by sports writer and Olympics aficionado Marisa Kumari Tandon, deliver an energetic “Winter Games Watch Guide” packed with key storylines, athletes to follow, and the inside scoop on women’s sports at the Olympics. Sprinkled throughout are party vibes, notable moments in women’s sports, and playful behind-the-scenes banter—classic “Welcome to the Party” style.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Opening: On Empathy, Action, and Athlete Advocacy

• Julie opens with a passionate statement on the need for humanity and resistance in the face of recent tragic events (esp. in Minneapolis), highlighting the responsibility athletes have to use their platforms for social change (00:11–02:23).
  • “Silence means that we accept this cruelty and this chaos and this craziness... Courage is contagious.” – Julie (01:07)
• Abby lists resources and actionable steps (donation sites, calling senators) for listeners wanting to get involved (02:23–04:25).
  • Provides practical instructions (e.g., call 202-224-3121 to contact senators).
  • Shoutout to athletes like Paige Bueckers and Breanna Stewart for reaction and activism.

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2. Party Starter: Weekly Women's Sports Highlights (07:11–14:39)

• USWNT vs Paraguay: Recap of the game where Raelyn Turner scored on her debut and Trinity Rodman flourished, marking her second game back since the 2024 Olympics. Fun sideline moment: Trinity tries to get coach Emma Hayes to join her goal celebration dance (the "sexy dexy").
  • “Emma said F-U to me. She said it from the sideline!” – Trinity Rodman via Julie (08:56)
• Player Movement & Pay: Trinity Rodman re-signs with Washington Spirit for a landmark deal (reportedly over $2 million/year).
• NCAA Hoops: South Carolina crushes undefeated Vanderbilt—standout performances by Tania Latson and Tessa Johnson.
• Australian Open Drama:
  • Naomi Osaka’s viral jellyfish-inspired pre-match outfit and on-court drama with opponent Serana Cirstea over fair play.
  • “[Osaka] could have just said, shut up!” – Julie, on Osaka’s post-match quote (13:21)
  • Osaka later withdraws due to injury, and Venus Williams makes history as the oldest woman to compete at the tournament.
  • Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys' matchup—"cruel draw" for American tennis fans.

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3. Segment Launch: Youth Athlete Spotlight (17:18–18:32)

• Call for nominations of remarkable youth athletes who embody the heart and spirit of sport.
• "We want to make room for every age in the conversation." – Julie (17:50)
• Audience invited to help name the new segment; working title: Fountain of Youth.

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4. Main Feature: Winter Olympic Games Watch Guide

With Marisa Kumari Tandon (Olympic mega-nerd, TikTok creator, soon-to-be on-the-ground reporter in Milan and Cortina)

4.1. Olympic Structure & Logistics (24:46–26:29)

• Most spread out Winter Olympics in history: Over 8,000 square miles across Milan, Cortina, and additional venues; 25 in total.
  • "One of my favorite things about this Olympics is that it's actually the most spread out Olympics in history." – Marisa (24:46)
• Sustainability efforts: Heavy reuse of existing venues, multiple Olympic Villages to ease athlete travel.

4.2. Storylines & Athletes to Watch (28:50–56:14)

Women’s Participation

• Highest ever female athlete participation in a Winter Games (49%).
  • "We're getting closer every year [to gender parity]." – Marisa (29:04)

Alpine Skiing: Lindsey Vonn & Mikaela Shiffrin (29:35–31:29)

• Vonn's comeback post-knee replacement ("titanium woman") and inspirational ad campaigns.
• Shiffrin’s return post-serious injury; both poised for high-level competition, potentially head-to-head.

Snowboarding: Chloe Kim (33:04–35:42)

• Injury update: Dislocated shoulder, but expected to compete; aiming for her historic three-peat.
  • "Chloe Kim is one of those athletes that is just so much better than everyone around her." – Marisa (33:13)
• Backstory: From SoCal, dad’s sacrifice, overcoming age limits to reach the Olympics.

Figure Skating (36:04–41:48; 54:41–56:22)

• US men's medal favorite: Ilya Malinin—“the quad god.”
• US women's: Amber Glenn (oldest US singles competitor at 26), Lissa Liu (alt/punk personality, self-pierced, championing athlete autonomy).
  • “No one is going to starve me.” – Lissa Liu’s bold quote in 60 Minutes (39:48)
• US team coping with recent tragedy (plane crash affecting skaters and their families).
• Emotional highlight: American pair skater Max Naumov competes in honor of his late coach-parents.
• Bonus comeback story: Diana Stellato-Dudek (Team Canada), 42, returning to pairs, landed the first assisted backflip in competition, wears Oscar de la Renta. (54:48–56:22)

Bobsled & Speedskating (46:47–48:19)

• Erin Jackson: poised for speed skating gold.
• Alana Myers Taylor: questing for elusive bobsled gold in her fifth Olympics.
• Jamaica returns to Olympic bobsled.

Hockey — USA vs. Canada Rivalry (48:19–51:11)

• Epic ongoing rivalry: “They have literally won every single gold medal since the tournament started in 1998.”
  • "Not for nothing, there have been two marriages between Team Canada and Team USA hockey team members." – Marisa (48:41)
• Spotlight: Layla Edwards, first Black woman to represent Team USA in Winter Olympics hockey; changed from forward to defense for the good of the team.
  • "She'll be the first Black woman to ever represent Team USA in winter Olympics." – Marisa (50:46)
• Notable difference: More NCAA college players on Team USA than Canada.

Athlete Challenges & Courage (51:11–53:36)

• Winter athletes’ resource challenges: Many must pay their own way or rely on endorsements.
  • “It really is a testament to these people's courage and grit and resilience…” – Abby (51:09)
• Athlete support examples: Flavor Flav’s creative fundraising for bobsled and water polo.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Julie (01:07): “Silence means that we accept this cruelty and this chaos and this craziness... Courage is contagious.”
• Abby (04:25): “If you want ICE to get out of our cities, call your senators... call twice daily, once per senator.”
• Julie on Trinity Rodman (08:56): “Emma said F-U to me. She said it from the sideline!”
• Naomi Osaka drama (13:21): “She could have just said, shut up!”
• Marisa, on Olympic spread (24:46): “It's actually the most spread out Olympics in history… over 8,000 square miles.”
• Marisa, on Chloe Kim (33:13): “Chloe is just so much better than everyone around her in a way that is so shocking.”
• Abby, on Olympic Villages (26:29): “It’s a lot. It’s like going back to college.”
• Marisa, on US women’s figure skating (39:48): “No one is going to starve me.” – Lissa Liu, describing her return on her own terms.
• Marisa, on hockey rivalry (48:41): “There have been two marriages between Team Canada and Team USA hockey team members.”
• On Layla Edwards (50:46): “She’ll be the first Black woman to ever represent Team USA in winter Olympics.”
• Marisa, on comeback story (55:14): “She completed the first assisted backflip in history on ice skating last season.”

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Timestamps for Major Segments

| Topic | Timestamps | |----------------------------------|---------------------| | Opening: On empathy & action | 00:11 – 04:25 | | Party Starter: Highlights | 07:11 – 14:39 | | Youth Athlete Spotlight launch | 17:18 – 18:32 | | Main: Olympics Watch Guide | 24:46 – 56:22 | | Olympic venues, logistics | 24:46 – 26:29 | | Women’s participation stats | 28:50 – 29:35 | | Alpine skiing key stories | 29:35 – 31:29 | | Chloe Kim & snowboarding | 33:04 – 35:42 | | Figure skating US preview | 36:04 – 41:48 | | Figure skating comeback/CAN | 54:48 – 56:22 | | Bobsled and speedskating | 46:47 – 48:19 | | Hockey: USA vs Canada | 48:19 – 51:11 | | Winter athlete challenges | 51:11 – 53:36 | | Support from allies (Flavor Flav)| 52:20 – 53:36 | | Closing fun and party pose | 56:41 – 57:14 |

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Final Thoughts and Takeaways

• Empathy and Advocacy Come First: The hosts set a serious tone, urging listeners to get involved and use their voices for justice—reinforcing that sports platforms demand responsible action.
• Women’s Sports are Surging: Women are nearing 50% participation at the Winter Olympics, breaking barriers, and rewriting the script in traditionally male-dominated spaces.
• Inspiring Athlete Stories: Comebacks, identity, activism, and team-first mentality are woven through every narrative—listeners leave with names and stories to root for.
• The Olympic Party is Inclusive: The "Welcome to the Party" spirit ensures every age, background, and sport is welcome—whether you’re watching for the first time or a superfan.

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For Your Olympics Watch

Follow Marisa Kumari Tandon across socials for on-the-ground reporting from Milan & Cortina
Don’t miss: Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin (alpine skiing showdown), Chloe Kim’s three-peat attempt, Layla Edwards making history, the epic USA-Canada hockey rivalry, and Diana Stellato-Dudek’s generational comeback in skating (Team Canada).

“Bring it in, USA on three!” – The Party Crew (58:23)

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Listen for: Candid athlete insight, activist calls, and a celebration that makes women’s sports feel like the party everyone deserves to be at.

Transcript

[Julie]

Attention.

[Abby]

The party is about to commence.

[Julie]

Welcome to the party, Abs. Before we talk women's sports, we felt there was an urgent need to start with some basic humanity in honor of Renee Goode and Alex Preddy. I do feel this country is desperate for some humanity. And personally, I have consciously tried to avoid the news this past year for my own sanity, because everything. Yeah, everything about the lack of empathy and so much narcissistic behavior in the news every night, it just literally sickened me. But what I realized this weekend is that only makes me part of the problem, because that's exactly what they want. They want us to turn away. They want us to not see or comment on the cruelty because we're not paying attention. And I realized that burying my head in the sand to avoid the inhumanity of it all only amplifies the inhumanity of it all. That silence only feeds the problem. I'm going to speak up because what's happening in Minneapolis and what is happening all over this country, we just. We cannot live like this. We cannot. And silence means that we accept this cruelty and this chaos and this craziness. So I'm going to speak up, going to let our neighbors know. I'm going to let the world know, this administration know that we're not going anywhere. We're not turning our head. We will make noise. We will resist. We will prioritize kindness and empathy and love and helping one another over losing our collective soul. And I think one of the privileges we have as an athlete is we have a platform. So we'll start to amplify the resistance to what is happening on this platform and others and. And a reminder to all of us that courage is contagious.

[Abby]

Yeah, I mean, I think that that's. You know, I'm. I'm so grateful to some of the athletes who are starting to speak up, because I also know how scary this feels and why people are outraged. It's so. It's so upsetting to me. And we're going to be talking about this more on we can do Hard Things with Brittany Packnet Cunningham coming on Wednesday. And. And so if you want to learn more about what is going on, we're going to get into the depths of it with. With Brittany. She's offered some suggestions. You can go to our Instagram feeds and see different places. You can donate to the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action committee, Mirac, Unidos, MN, ACLU of Minnesota, Isaiah, Minneapolis Mutual Aid, and then Professor Tracy McMillan Cotton recommends POW wow Grounds, Joyce Uptown Food Shelter, Ouserun, Twin cities leather or find out more. You can just go to standwithminnesota.com for links and to get more information. And really, I think the biggest thing that I'm going to be doing over the next few days before January 30, when the deadline is for the vote that is going to be taking place, is I'm going to be calling my senators. If you want ice to get out of our cities, call your senators. The number to call is 202-224-3121. The Capitol Switchboard will come on. Then you ask to be connected with your senator of the state that you live in. And if you don't know who the senator is, Google it. I also didn't know call twice daily, once once per senator. And if no one answers, leave a voicemail.

[Julie]

Yeah, this will all be in the show notes as well. There are athletes obviously who have reacted to this and I love to see it. Paige Beckers, after winning the unrivaled free throw challenge in which she won $50,000, she signed over that check to the Hopkins Strong Relief Fund benefiting her hometown near Minneapolis and and said aiming to help families with heightened stress and uncertainty in the area.

[Abby]

Yep. And then Stewart.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yep.

[Abby]

Go ahead.

[Julie]

Came out with an abolish I signed before her unrival game on Sunday. Unrivaled also put out a statement later on Sunday saying in part in this moment of grief, we choose compassion and unity. We saw the Timberwolves and Golden State warriors cancel their game, played it on Sunday night instead held a moment of silence for Alex Preddy before the game.

[Abby]

Yeah. The NBA Players association put out a statement as well. Tyrese Halliburton, I saw that Stephen Curry, you know, and I think one of the things that Julie and I will always trend toward is the hope. Right. Though I'm horrified and disgusted at what is happening, I am also filled with hope in the Minnesotans who are stepping out in freezing cold weather and trying to support and take care of their city and take care of their own.

[Julie]

Absolutely. Okay. Now we're going back to women's sports because abs we are only we're under actually two weeks away from the Olympics and opening ceremony as we know, is on February 6th. Very excited to cheer those athletes on. And today we've got an extended party buzz to get you ready with everything you need to know about the Winter Olympic Games. Marisa Kumari Tanden, she has been all over the Olympic stories. We've actually been following her on TikTok and it's so good she's been doing a series called Olympic Winter is Coming. She shares behind the scenes details and storylines that got me so excited for these games. And so we can't wait to talk to her and she'll break it all down for us later in the show. Before we get to that, let's get this party started with the highlights and headlines you'll want to celebrate this week in women's sports. Our party starter is brought to you by ally the bank. That is your ally. Okay, first up, Abigail, U.S. women's National Team. You were there.

[Abby]

Yes, I was. So were you.

[Julie]

First half. I was there. I was calling it. Abby was. Was soaking it in. And the U.S. even though it was barely 10 at halftime against a outmatched Paraguay, they did get. Raelyn Turner got her first ever international goal in her debut at the very end of the first half. And then the US Put in five in the second half. Trinity Rodman got a goal. She was also captain. Kristen Press was honored, which was really cool to have her on the desk. We had her on in pregame and she was great. Ali Sentner got a brace, so. And that was only Trinity's. This is crazy. Second game back with the U.S. women's National Team since that Olympic gold medal match in 2024. Yeah. And hey, and Emma Hayes, the coach of course had said to us the day before the game, she's only going to. She's only gonna play probably 45 minutes. Cause she's just getting back into form and healthy again and all of these things. And then Trinity said, I told her at halftime, you can't take me off. I have a goal celebration and I need to score. So she did what my 17 year old calls the sexy dexy dance, I guess it's called. It's the one Corey Close did with Megan with ucla. And so she went to running to the sidelines to try and get Emma Hayes to do it. And disappointingly, Emma Hayes did not do it. I can't believe it. I thought for sure she'd get in on that.

[Abby]

Well, I think that she was even quoted as saying, I'm in my mid-40s, there's no chance I'm gonna be seen doing that. No, no, no.

[Julie]

Trinity actually said we had her on post game. She said, actually Emma said FU to me. And she goes, you better bleep that. She said it as fu. She didn't say the. Okay, okay, that's good from the sideline. Okay. Other great news, Trinity Rodman re signs three year deal with Washington Spirit and reportedly more than 2 million per year, including bonuses, which makes her the highest paid player in NWSL history.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yeah.

[Abby]

2 million a year. How did that work out?

[Julie]

Yeah.

[Abby]

Calculus wise. Yes.

[Julie]

With bonuses. Yeah.

[Abby]

Wow.

[Julie]

And. And reportedly the highest paid women's soccer player in the world. The deal, as we know, was enabled to your question by their new high impact player rule, which allows up to another $1 million to be added to the salary cap. Yet it is to be approved or even negotiated with the Players Association. So there will be more on that for sure because of the criteria required to get that money. The Players association is. Megan Burke, the executive director was telling us they do not like all the stipulations that come with that $1 million.

[Abby]

Sure.

[Julie]

But of course, everyone ecstatic that Trinity has re signed Rose Lavelle won U.S. soccer Player of the year. Let's go, Rosie.

[Abby]

Let's go, Rose. Let's switch gears. We're going to go to NCAA hoops update number two. South Carolina Cruises past unbeaten number five Vanderbilt. 103, 274 Vandy.

[Julie]

And can we just say that score again?

[Abby]

1032 74. It was a routing. Yeah. Yeah. Vandy and Yukon were the only undefeated teams left. And Tania Latson scored 21 points for South Carolina. Tessa Johnson added 20. Vanderbilt had won a school record 20 straight games to start the season, but had no answer for South Carolina, who have won 19 straight over Vanderbilt.

[Julie]

Okay, drama for our last topic, Australian Open. You know, we love some good drama. So I was like, we got to get this in. Naomi Osaka, I don't know if you saw it, but her jellyfish inspired look. Did you see that as she came into her game? No, you didn't.

[Abby]

No. Match. I think they say match in tennis. She came into her match.

[Julie]

Oh, sorry. Match. Thank you. You have to see it. I don't even. We'll show it on the YouTube. Of course you'll see it in this B roll. But it's. It's like she had this veil on and it was very flowy and she had Nike and her team and they designed it. It's so cool. Off of a character in a book that her daughter was reading in like a children's book.

[Abby]

Door. Okay.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yeah.

[Julie]

Jellyfish.

[Abby]

I gotta look on my computer. It's.

[Julie]

It's crazy. And obviously she didn't play in it. She just came it to the game in it.

[Abby]

What in the world? And she's got a full on. Like a full on big hat.

[Julie]

No, no. Billie Jean Bling Labubu. That I'm aware of.

[Abby]

She's got an umbrella.

[Julie]

Like, she brought it open.

[Abby]

A butterfly on, like, a big bucket cowboy hat. That's so good. Wow, Naomi, you're doing something.

[Julie]

So she beat Serana Keerstea. And in the handshake at the net, Abs Keerstay offered kind of this, like, frosty, weird, like, quick, you know, like, she was pissed. And it turns out, yeah, really quick. It turns out she was. She was upset over Osaka's audible. She was kind of slapping her thigh and trying to get herself pumped up, saying, come on. During play. She even complained to the Empire.

[Abby]

Serana did.

[Julie]

So I guess. Yeah. And Naomi was like, what's wrong? Why are you so frosty at the net? And Kirstea said, you don't understand fair play, apparently. So, yeah, it got a little. Got a little frost.

[Abby]

Wow. I mean, what are you supposed to do? Like, that's what I don't understand, like, in tennis.

[Julie]

That's what she said in her post game. Like, what are you got? Osaka was like, she could. She goes.

[Abby]

She.

[Julie]

She got feisty in the post game. She was like. She could have just said, shut up. You know, like, she could have turned to me and been like, yeah, apparently she said something to the. To the. The encore umpire, but the umpire said, like, it's fine. It's not against the rules of play. Osaka later apologized and said, like, I'm sorry if you felt that was disrespectful. It's what I always do. And then Osaka abruptly withdrew from the third round due to a left abdominal injury. She says that she had experienced this before and felt the need to be cautious, particularly as her body has changed following her return from pregnancy in 2023.

[Abby]

Okay.

[Julie]

And more Australian Open news. Venus Williams became the oldest woman ever to compete in the Australian Open. 45. Abby, there is hope for you to get back out there. Let's go. Falling in the first round to Olga Danilovich, and she fell 6, 3, 6, 4. And for context and to inspire Abby, Venus first played in the Australian Open at 17 years old in 1998. That's 28 years since she had debuted.

[Abby]

28 years.

[Julie]

I know I could be wrong on this, but I did read something that if Venus had won, she would have been matched with Coco in the second game.

[Abby]

Oh, wow.

[Julie]

Which would have been really cool.

[Abby]

That would have been fun.

[Julie]

I could be wrong on that. Okay. Meanwhile, Madison Keys, defending Australian Open champ, was eliminated in the fourth round by her close friend Jessica Pula. And. And Madison beat her 6 3, 64 to reach the quarterfinals. And I love this so much. First of all, it was cruel. It was a cruel draw for the United States because it was basically the number six versus the number nine meeting before the quarterfinals, basically guaranteeing that one American would exit. But Keys and Pegula do. They're very close friends. They do a podcast together called the Players Box.

[Abby]

Oh, my God.

[Julie]

And they had just recorded a podcast the night before. I cannot wait to hear the one after the match. But this is gonna be us after our next peloton minute to win it. When you have to deal with the pain of losing to Julie for the.

[Abby]

First time, oh, that means they're fighting words.

[Julie]

Okay. Finally, top ranked Irina Sabalenka will take on 18 year old American Eva Jovich. She's from torrance. She's a SoCal kid. I love her. She's adorable. If you don't know about her, you should I go down. I went down this rabbit hole this morning of watching her. And so Eva Jovic, 18 year old, playing Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. That is your party starter. And thanks to Ally for sponsoring this segment. 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 ABS we often talk about youth sports on the show and we often give it from a parent's perspective, of course, as parents of kids who play sports. But I do think we remember well that every woman who played or plays was once a little girl. That was like figuring it out on a field or a court or a track. And in our never ending quest to keep growing our party, the women's sports party, we want to stay connected to those young, youthful beginnings to make us feel younger in large part. And we want to make room for every age in the conversation. So we're starting a new segment, Party People, where we shine our party spotlight on you youngins. So that means we want to hear from the party people. Do you know a youth athlete who brings something? It's not just like, oh, this person's a star, right? Bring something special with them every time they show up. So they lead with their heart or they lift others or they play with joy or they understand that showing up and the way you show up matters just as much as the results. Or maybe an athlete who has had to overcome some challenges and deserves to be recognized. So if you know a Young athlete like this. We'd love to hear their story and shine a spotlight on them. Email party people, questions gmail.com and just give us a short description. Keep it tight. It doesn't need to be like a book. Bless you. Just a few bullets and hopefully we can talk about them on an upcoming segment and give you credit for finding them. Also, we need a name for the segment. I said Fountain of Youth and everyone.

[Abby]

Was like, yeah, give us some, give us some suggestions. Suggestions. We will take them. It is not coming up.

[Julie]

Everything you. No coming up. Everything you need to know about the Olympics, you do not want to miss this party. People. Do not move. I'm wondering how this would float with the new women's national team, because I have a thought, right? All these Olympics and World Cups that we stayed and we stayed in hotel rooms, right? And you, you absolutely have to get locked in. And that was always the issue at, at World Cups and Olympics is like, where do you go meet your family? How do you meet your family? You had to book out a whole nother venue to do such. And wouldn't it be cool if you had that built in with the friends and families? They would absolutely. I think this is brilliant. They would absolutely love that. Because then you have a built in party, not that like at an Olympics and a World cup that you're going to go and party in the middle of it, but you're going to, you want to, you want time in a cozy place that's not a hotel room with your family. And this would have been a game changer for us. You don't want to go to another hotel.

[Abby]

Well, and you have huge families. You and I have these huge families that like, yeah, four hotel rooms starts to really add up. So it's like if you book on Airbnb that you're going to save some money and it's going to be, it'll feel more like home. Like, come on, it's. There's a no brainer.

[Julie]

I think that's brilliant. Yeah, I'm going to pitch it. And the other piece of the equation that is amazing as while you're away on vacation, your own home, you can actually host on Airbnb. And, and that's where, I mean, with all these big sporting events coming up, right, you have fans coming to Los Angeles, for example, for World Cups and Olympics and all those things you can put up, like local sports memorabilia that you want to, you know, decorate your.

[Abby]

House with while you go spend money. You can make money. You can, you can be net Net. Net positive.

[Julie]

Yeah. And your home might be worth more than you think. So find out how [e-mail] host abs here's what I've learned the hard way. When you run a business, I mean, and you know this well, doing it yourself quietly turns into doing absolutely everything yourself.

[Abby]

Yes.

[Julie]

And eventually that stops feeling brave and scrappy and it starts feeling exhausting, as you know. And that's why QuickBooks has been such a relief, because QuickBooks gives you an actual team, AI agents and trusted experts. So doing it yourself no longer means doing it alone. I am such a fan of that. Accepting the support you and your business so critically need and deserve. And there's a reason so many people trust QuickBooks, right? Everything works together. It's all in one place. The data is connected. Your books stay accurate. You actually get real insights you can use in real time. So instead of just juggling a million tools and kind of guessing your way through things, you get to make smart, confident decisions about your business. Outdo it with Intuit QuickBooks. Learn more about Intuit [e-mail] this show.

[Abby]

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[Julie]

Same.

[Abby]

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[Julie]

Yeah, so green. They're like. Or so bright.

[Abby]

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[Julie]

And now to the partiest part of our party, the Party Buzz with Marisa Kumari Tandon. Marisa is a writer, she's a creator, she's a podcaster, she's Known for breaking down sports in a way. Excuse me. That's smart, welcoming, fun, all the things we love. We could not wait to invite her to the party. She's covered everything from Formula One to, to wnba, NFL, pwhl, NHL. And she's been deep in Winter Olympics coverage with her Olympic Winner is Coming series. She'll be on the ground in Milan and Cortina. Are you going to both at the Winter Olympics? Bring us along every step of the way. Marissa, welcome to the party.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Welcome to the party, Marissa. Thank you guys so much for having me. What a welcome.

[Abby]

Hey, we try to do things right here.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

I love that.

[Julie]

That's right. That's right. Abby and I were just saying we are beyond excited for this because there's so much to get to and I don't even know where to begin. But let's start with the, like, a vibe check of, like, Milan, Cortina. Give us that.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yeah, absolutely. Well, one of my favorite things about this Olympics is that it's actually the most spread out Olympics in history, logistically. So the.

[Abby]

No way. Yeah.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

The Olympics are going to take place across 8,000 square miles, like more than 8,000 square miles this year. So there's split between Milan and Cortina, and then they'll also be in a number of other venues. So we have 25 venues this year, hugely spread out. And a lot of that is because of an attempt to have a little bit more sustainability in these Games. So usually when the Olympics come to a city, we have to build a ton of venues, we have to build a lot of infrastructure. It can be pretty tough on the city.

[Julie]

So expensive.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Exactly. So instead they wanted to use as many venues that were already in existence so that we can be a little bit more sustainable, which is pretty cool.

[Julie]

That's good. Yeah.

[Abby]

Like, for once, that was not a. That's like, not a difficult thing to figure out, you know?

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Right, right. Pretty cool. I think it will logistically be a little tough if you're attending the Games. So if you want to see ice hockey and you want to see, like half pipe, you'll have to go between pretty, pretty far areas as opposed to staying in one location. But I think it's a pretty good handoff to have as well. We'll also have six different Olympic villages for athletes, so athletes will be spread out closer to their physical event instead of having to travel as far.

[Julie]

Oh, crazy.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yeah.

[Julie]

That's interesting. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Right, because you don't want to be traveling two hours to get to your venue.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yeah, I don't know. You guys can probably speak to the Olympic Village experience more than I can, obviously. So I don't know if it changes the experience for the athletes itself, themselves. It is a lot of space.

[Abby]

It's a lot. It's a lot. It's like going back to college.

[Julie]

We could do a whole episode on the Olympic Village.

[Abby]

And here's the thing. Like, we have a very. Like, what you're saying that the Winter Olympics is now setting up is very common for the women's soccer experience, because our games actually are played all around the country of that Olympic hosting city, because there aren't a ton of, you know, soccer stadiums. So we would be all over that country, meaning we weren't literally staying in the. The Village until we got, like, to the semis in the finals. And I'm telling you, like, my.

[Julie]

And that's when everyone was done and partying, by the way, and you're, like, gone wild. Beautiful people everywhere partying. I've gotta lock in. You're not helping.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Oh, man.

[Abby]

But I will say this. The McDonald's in the cafeteria. So in. In the Olympic Village cafeteria, they have food for every single country that participates so that every person who comes to the Olympics will have something of their country. So they're not feeling like they're too far away from home. Right. And McDonald's was a huge Olympic sponsor. I don't know if they're still an Olympic sponsor, but you got McDonald's for free. You could just go order whatever you wanted, and it was free. So we would go. After we won the gold medal, we would go to McDonald's, because now we're able to, like, just go ahead and eat whatever the hell we want. We'd get, like, 100 fries, 100 chicken nuggets, 100 cheeseburgers, 100 milkshakes.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

It was incredible.

[Abby]

Like, give everything you've got sponsorship. This is not an ad buy from McDonald's.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

This is the truth.

[Abby]

Yeah.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Oh, man. That sounds like a dream come true, actually. So all you're saying, all I have to do is win a gold medal and then I can have whatever I want from McDonald's. That's all.

[Abby]

Exactly.

[Julie]

And then don't lose that gold medal.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Absolutely.

[Julie]

Okay. That's for another day. Like me. Okay. What are the big storylines you are most excited about with the women?

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yeah, we have a ton. Well, in general, the biggest thing that I'm very excited about is this year is the highest amount of women's athletes participation that we've had in the Winter Olympics.

[Abby]

Let's go. Yeah.

[Julie]

So what's the percentage?

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

I believe we're at 49%. It takes longer for a Winter Olympic game to come with both men's and women's events. So a lot of the women's events, for example, like hockey, has been a sport since the very beginning of the Winter Olympics, but the women's tournament didn't start until 1998. So a lot of it is bringing in new events. A lot of it is changing. Some of those events in bobsled, we have monobob, which is only women. So just trying to find that ability to bring it to parity. And we're getting closer every year, so very exciting.

[Julie]

I'm very excited about the whole Lindsey Vaughn and Michaela Shifrin, what's happening skiing. Oh, my gosh.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

I think.

[Julie]

I don't know about you, but yeah.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

No, I'm super hyped for both of them. I think they both also have these really interesting comebacks because you have Lindsey Vonn coming back with her knee surgery. She has an incredible commercial running right now where they have footage of her saying, you know, this is my last Olympics. I'm not gonna be able to keep going. I wish I could. And then, of course, flash forward to now, where she is just back in such an incredible way with her replacement knee surgery and being able to just to actually be at the top of her game in a way that, personally, I can't imagine what it would be like to think that Lindsey Vonn was out and then find out you have to compete against her. I would be done. And then, of course, Mikayla also has.

[Julie]

This titanium replacement stuff.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

You're like, okay, so we're done, right? I'm good. I can compete without the goat here. Oh, no. Oh, right.

[Julie]

Adam wants it. Abby wants to get some titanium in her. Or you already have some, don't you?

[Abby]

I got titanium. Yeah. But here's the thing. Michaela is no slouch. Michaela is, like, the world champion, too. So, like, how are they competing against each other?

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

They are. Yeah. So they'll be competing directly against each other, which I think will be really interesting. Michaela also had a pretty bad injury a little over a year ago where she was essentially stabbed by one of the polls. She had a really bad crash, and she had essentially, like, a stab wound that she had to. To come back from. And the way the, like world.

[Julie]

That was really close to, like, her lung or something, right?

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

It was very close. It was very close to her colon, I believe it was a Like a centimeter off. Yeah, it was. It could have been a really disastrous injury. She just got very, very lucky in terms of where it went through.

[Abby]

So that's. That's like a big difference between winter sports and summer sports is that I don't know if there are any summer sports that you could die doing.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

I guess. I'm sure you could die every time they, like. Yeah, I don't know, maybe pole vault. I guess something could go wrong. Yeah.

[Abby]

Yeah. I have a question.

[Julie]

What sport?

[Abby]

With the skiing bit, like, can you walk me through all the events? Because I know there are a few and I do get a little confused at what is what.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Sure. So alpine skiing is what Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vaughn both compete in. So the two differences, we've got slalom and we have giant slalom. So the giant slalom is going to be sort of the faster event. These are like, absolutely. Going down the downhill ski as fast as possible. And then the slalom is going to be a more technical event. So everyone's trying to get through these gates and any sort of space where they would accidentally go through the wrong side or miss a gate would be points deducted from that. So the best way to think about is regardless of which event it is, they're going very, very, very fast. But if. If you're competing in giant slalom, you're going faster. If you're competing in just regular slalom, you're going much more about the sort of technical side of it, making sure you hit all of those gates. And then we also have a team event which is combined, and that is just one athlete who's a slalom athlete and one athlete who is a giant slalom athlete. That is going to be a combined score of the two athletes going down.

[Julie]

Okay, Chloe Kim, I need to hear about her injury. Is she going to get back? Because I'm a little worried. I mean, I know she's saying she's going to be back, but how is she going to train?

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

So she's going to be. I'm going to be honest with you, I think Chloe Kim is going to surprise everybody and still do. Well, Chloe Kim is one of those athletes that is just so much better than everyone around her in a way that is so shocking. So if she were to win the gold medal this year, she will become the first woman to repeat in this event. Chloe also, I think, has one of the best stories because of the fact that she comes from a place where there's. Snowboarding is so, so odd that that's the sport that she picked up. She's from Southern California, like me. So her parents took her when she was a kid. They were like, let's go to Mammoth. Let's try snowboarding one time as a family. Turns out she's amazing at it. So her dad actually ends up quitting his job and bringing her back and forth and becoming sort of her chaperone for all of her competitions, taking her back and forth so she can compete throughout the year. And then, of course, she actually qualified for the Olympics the year, but the, you know, winter cycle before she first went, but she was too young to be able to go. So with that, she ends up missing the first Olympics. She's too young. Next Olympics, busts onto the screen, onto the scene, wins her first gold medal. Following, wins another gold medal. And this is her chance to three peat. The big issue is that in a practice run, she dislocated her shoulder. So with that, there was a concern that there wouldn't be an ability for her to kind of make it to the Olympics. So close. But she, in fact, will be okay. She will be able to compete, but her training is going to be pretty up to the minute. So normally she would be sort of training consistently up until the Olympics. Now she'll have to rest, heal, and she'll be able to train about a week or two before, is what she's saying. That might change based off of, you know, doctor recommendations, but I do think we'll see her compete. And I do think she sort of is one of those athletes that has it in her to be able to go even though she's.

[Abby]

I'm no doctor. I'm no doctor, but I also separated my shoulder two weeks before the 2012 Olympics and. What? Yeah, I separated my shoulder two weeks before the 2012 olympics. I still have my AC joint popped over here to prove it. She's gonna be just fine. Yeah, she'll. She might be sore and she'll wrap it up, but, like, she'll be fine. Okay. I think.

[Julie]

Okay.

[Abby]

And I know I. I do not know Chloe. I've never spoken to her before, but this is just my feeling.

[Julie]

Go on. Chloe, I love you.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

I feel 100 certain now that we. We vlogged a bit. I think she's getting the gold. I really just want to see her have the golden and of another photo with her dad. He's just the cutest. He called her the first year that she won the gold. He called her his American dream, which I thought was very beautiful. Yeah. So.

[Abby]

All right, Marissa, I gotta ask. I think that I've told the party people this, but figure skating is my favorite Olympic sport.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yes.

[Abby]

I love this, and I need to know all of the things about it and all of the athletes who will be competing. And will the US Be able to bring home a gold in figure skating in any of the events?

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

So I will say, I know we're a women's sports show here, but we're definitely bringing home gold with the. The men's figure skating individual DEI segment. Nice.

[Julie]

Okay. You gotta.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

You gotta let him live, you know? But Ilya Malinin is truly unlike anybody else who's ever stepped on the ice. He calls himself the quad God, and that's because he does more quad jumps than anyone ever has. He also loves a good backflip, which is. It was illegal until last season, and so now he's backflipping all over the place. You get no points for it, but you don't really need the points when you're landing quads and doing what you're doing. What that man is doing, very crazy.

[Abby]

Quad is four rotations, correct?

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yeah. So he has more quads in his competition than anyone's ever managed to do. Um, he's comparable to sort of Nathan Chen. Um, but he actually is landing more technical quads than. Than Nathan was.

[Julie]

Wow.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

So that's definitely a gold medal coming home with the U. S. Um, but on the women's side, we do have a better shot at winning a gold medal on the women's side than we've had in a very, very, very long time. So the three women who are going for our individual side are, first of all, very adorable. They are, like, very cute friends. I think they're breaking a lot of that toxicity that we know from figure skating culture.

[Julie]

That's what I was like when I watch them. I'm like, oh, my. This makes me so happy because I do feel there is a lot of toxicity.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

There is. Yeah.

[Julie]

Pettiness and.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yeah. And so now we've got. So Amber Glenn is the. She was the champion at the US kind of national competition. She, at 26 years old, will be the oldest woman that we've sent to individual figure skating. So, you know, so hard to be so youthful and old at the same time. And then we also have Lissa Liu, who is this really cool, like, punk rock, alt kind of girl who's really breaking that mold. She's got these bleach chunks in her hair. She adds a new stripe every year, I think she said, which is very fun. So she's. She's sort of got, like, A little chunky bleach, chunk going on. It's very fun. She also pierced her inside lip like herself right before competition season.

[Abby]

Herself.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yes. Which is so very hardcore. And if you know anything about figure skating, you know, all of that flies in the face of what those judges want to see. So she's very cool. She also was someone who stepped away from figure skating due to sort of mental health reasons and feeling like she just didn't love the sport anymore. So she was this childhood prodigy. And then she said, you know what? I don't want to be here anymore. I want to go to school. I want to find something else to do with my life. Took some time away and then found herself back on skates and decided that she did want to, you know, actually compete again. So she called her coach and she said, I want to come back, but I want to be the one picking my music. I want to have control over my choreography. And specifically, she said this in a 60 Minutes interview. She said, no one is going to starve me, so no one's going to tell me what I can and can't eat. Which I thought was very strong. Wow.

[Abby]

This girl needs to be on the Wheaties boxes.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Literally. Yeah.

[Abby]

That is awesome.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

So those are our kind of big potentials in figure skating, which, again, is a very big shift from what we've had on the women's side for a long time. So this will be fun. Yeah, I think this year is going to be great for the program. I do. Also, I would say one of the other big things about figure skating that is pretty important for Team USA is we did just have, a year ago a very, very big tragedy in the figure skating world. There was a plane crash where a number of young athletes coming home and their parents passed away. And so that was. That was in the Figure Skating Club of Boston is where most of those skaters were competing. And so we've sort of lost not only a number of parents, but a generation of young skaters that would have been sort of on their way to the Olympics as well. Oh, my gosh. And I think that's a really heavy thing that a lot of these US skaters are dealing with. And on the men's side as well, Maxim. Maxim, he goes by Max, but Max Naumov, his parents were actually coaches and they were on that flight. So he got the third spot he's going to the Olympics with to complete his parents dreams. But they skated in pairs in the Olympics back in the 90s. And so Max lost not only a number of the young skaters in his skating club, but also both of his parents in that crash. He's also one to watch on the emotional side, I think. And I also think a number of these USA skaters are coming into the Olympics knowing that that is something that is, you know, a big thing that they'd like to be able to represent and. And cover. And also, it's going to be weighing on everyone's mind, I think, going in.

[Abby]

Sure. This was the hell. This was the helicopter and the plane crash over the Potomac river, correct? Correct.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yeah. Yeah. So it was a very, very, very big tragedy, obviously. And I think. I think Max is going to be one that I know I'll be turning on his. His competition just to watch him and see how he does and. And kind of, I think, very beautifully watch him step back onto the ice.

[Abby]

He.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

He wasn't sure he would ever be able to because his parents were also his coaches, but he has also taken over their program for young skaters in Boston. So while he competes in the Olympics himself, he's trying to make sure that their legacy stays.

[Julie]

Wait, party people, are y' all still paying your rent without bilt? Because rent is expensive, so. And ABS Bilt is the loyalty program for renters that rewards you for it. With bilt, every rent payment earns you points that can be used towards flights, maybe hotels, Lyft rides, Amazon.com purchases, and so much more. And here's something I'm super excited about. Starting in February, Built members can earn points on mortgage payments for the first time. Soon, you'll be able to get rewarded wherever you live and unlock exclusive benefits with more than 45, 000 restaurants, fitness studios, pharmacies, and other neighborhood partners. And personally, I'd redeem my points for restaurants. Yes, and maybe some fitness classes, Lyft rides, basically everything where it feels like a treat otherwise. So join the loyalty program for renters@join built.com welcome to the party. That's J O I N B I L t dot com. Welcome to the party. So make sure you use our URL so they know that we sent you. Abby. OCD is one of those conditions people think they understand, but most really don't. About 1 in 50 people in the US live with OCD. And because it's so misunderstood and stigmatized, many go 10 to 15 years before getting the right diagnosis. And that's a decade or more of unnecessary suffering. And that's especially heartbreaking because OCD is actually very treatable. When you get the right kind of care, it has to be specialized, traditional Talk therapy isn't recommended for OCD and in some cases can even make symptoms worse. And that's why I want to tell you all about nocd. NOCD is the leading provider of evidence based treatment for ocd. Sessions are fully virtual and they're covered by insurance for more than 155 million Americans.

[Abby]

That's incredible.

[Julie]

Visit nocd.com and book a free 15 minute call with their team to learn more about how NOCD can help. That's nocd.com okay Abs, I have to admit something. I was late to the skims party. I don't know if you're late to the skims party, but I was definitely late because my daughter Izzy has been a huge fan. I have heard about skims over and over again and I didn't understand it and now I'm starting to realize how incredible their products are and I love that they're a sponsor of our show and we're getting these products and it's incredible. The fabric is unreal. It's soft, it stretches, it molds to your body without squeezing you. I understand what Izzy was all about now and it actually feels like it was made for your body. And you know, I want something that's comfortable and feels good and that's everything to me. So the Fits Everybody triangle bralette. I don't know if you've gotten it yet.

[Abby]

I've gotten it. I got it.

[Julie]

It's. Here's the key. It's a game changer yet not suffocating. And my pro tip is just stock up so you can skip laundry days as long as possible. Shop Skims Fits everybody [e-mail] after you place your order be sure to let them know we sent you select podcast in the survey and be sure to select our show in the drop down menu that follows. And if you are looking for the perfect gift for your valentine or for yourself, the Skims Valentine's shop is now open. We also Marissa are having on the pod we got them before they left for the Winter Games. Kendall Coyne Schofield, Olympic ice hockey player. As you know, Aaron Jackson and Alana Myers Taylor and so what, what what do you think of about those three and their storylines? Like yeah, tell us good things. Yes, I want I so badly in Alana's fifth Olympics for her to walk away with with that gold.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yeah, I think it's going to be really interesting to see how she does. I think bobsled is genuinely one of the coolest competitions in the Winter Olympics. I think a lot of People don't follow it as much just because they're not necessarily aware of the sport. I don't know about you guys, this will be a very specific reference, but I was a big fan of cool runnings growing up, so very great mov. And relevant in that kind of reference is that Jamaica is also returning to bobs that they have had a number of years where they didn't qualify. So they'll be taking. Yeah. So they'll be back on the competition cycle as well. And then I think with short track speed skating with Erin Jackson, I think I'm super hyped to see this as well. I think she'll pull it out. I think it's possible that she can kind of win a gold or stand on that top. And I think, again, short track. One of my favorite things about the Olympics in general is that it really highlights, you know, sports that athletes are working on year round that we generally aren't watching. Right. These are not necessarily major North American leagues, but these athletes have been working their entire lives to do this. And it is genuinely one of the coolest sports that you can watch. They. They are moving so fast. And I think it's kind of similar if you're a track and field fan during the Summer Olympics, this is. That's your event to watch. And then obviously with the ice hockey of it all, I will say I do know you guys are heated rivalry fans from watching earlier on.

[Abby]

Yes.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

So I'm not sure if you saw, but Connor and Hudson actually got to carry the Olympic flame, which is very exciting. So I'm hopeful that the heated rivalry effect is coming over because if you liked heated rivalry, if you're not watching women's hockey, you're missing out on like, like actual real life heated rivalry.

[Abby]

That's right.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Team USA and Team Canada have literally won every single gold medal since the tournament started in 1998. And not for nothing, there have been two marriages between Team Canada and Team USA hockey team members. It's a great point, right? I'm like, guys, if you want to watch, if you liked heated rivalry, it. It happens all the time in women's hockey.

[Abby]

Literally true. Just the truth.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

So I think that tournament is going to be very incredible. Team USA is kind of going in with a little bit of a lead. In general, we have something called the rivalry series that happens every year. And that's where we just have the Team USA and Team Canada national teams play a round robin tournament. There's just the two of them playing, but they play four different games. Across both the US And Canada and. And Team USA absolutely obliterated Team Canada. We had four, zero, crushed. Wonderful.

[Julie]

I love that.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

It was beautiful. So we're going in with that bigger thing. And one of the unique differences between Team USA and Team Canada is actually the way that our youth, of our team works. So on Team usa, we actually have a number of college players. We have a higher number of college players than Team Canada has versus PWHL players. And so Layla Edwards is actually a really big person on that team. She'll be the first black woman to ever represent Team USA in winter in Olympics. Yeah. So she currently plays for Wisconsin. For the Wisconsin Badgers. And I think her story is pretty cool because she's very young. Obviously, she's still in college, and she is one of the best forwards in women's hockey in the world. She ultimately ended up retraining to play as a defense woman. And so she'll be playing as a. As defense in the Olympics, which is not her typical. Her actual typical slot. And it's because we have so many forwards that she was one of the few players who was able to say, I have the size to play defense. I'm willing to change my position to a position that I've actually barely played. And she's doing it well. So she can play both sides of the ice, basically.

[Abby]

That would be like.

[Julie]

That was Brandy Chastain in soccer.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yeah.

[Abby]

Like us.

[Julie]

Julia Joy Fawcett.

[Abby]

Like, I could never go play on the back line.

[Julie]

Yeah, you could. Good outside back.

[Abby]

No. No.

[Julie]

Good center back.

[Abby]

No.

[Julie]

No.

[Abby]

Defending was not. My running backwards is not my thing. Running towards the goal. Okay. So, Layla Edwards. That's exciting, and.

[Julie]

Yeah, that's great story.

[Abby]

One of the things I think I want our folks to remember is that, you know, these sports, these winter sports are often kind of niche. You know, they're not necessarily in the top big five major league sports of the world. Right. And so so many of these, Almost all of these athletes have to either pay their own way or rely only on endorsement, sponsorship dollars in order to be able to literally compete and go to the Olympic Games. Some people need it to actually have other jobs. And so that's one of the big reasons why I love watching the Winter Olympics, is because it really is a testament to these people's courage and grit and resilience in the face of it not being just handed to them on a platter. Right. Like, they are working for the opportunity to stand on that podium. And I just love that resilience inside of these Folks who are willing to take the. Take the sacrifice and make the sacrifice.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Yeah, absolutely. I will say one of the more heartwarming stories and something I would actually love to see more celebrities doing Flavor Flav last year or last cycle, did the water polo. This cycle he's doing the bobsled. And he also, not only that, he got raising canes to work with them as well. So if you go and buy, they're selling like a. This is again, not sponsored, just a fact. But they're. They're doing these dog plushies that are in bobsleds for the. The USA team. And a portion of the funding from those actually go to the team as part of their funding as well. So smart. Yeah. So it's cool. I think there's this element of sort of like Flavor Flav doing the. The best thing you can do when you have that type of platform and say, like, I know you want me in the commercial, but let's also, let's bring that kind of aspect to the athletes, which is pretty cool.

[Abby]

That's awesome.

[Julie]

And you know what's so great about Flavor Flav is the water polo gals said he is so wonderful. Like everything you would hope when you meet someone like that. He's doing it for all the right reasons. They said he cares so deeply. And so when I saw that he got on with the bobsledding team as well, I was like, look at this guy. This is fantastic.

[Abby]

So awesome.

[Julie]

To Abby, to your point, like, this is a moment of visibility that can be game changing for their sport. I mean, I look at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, the first one we were at, and that was what created the motivation for U.S. soccer to go big in the 99 World Cup. And had they not seen 96 and the success of that, they would have never gone to big stadiums, which then everything would have been slowed down in terms of the development of the sport. Like the importance of this moment and this window for these under resourced programs is huge.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Absolutely.

[Julie]

Marissa, you are a rock star. And for all the party people, you can follow her journey as she's out in Milan, Cortina, across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube is arisacumari. And we'll link to all of this in the show notes and the socials as well. But have the best of time. Thank you so much for coming out and hanging with us as well and sharing all your wisdom.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Absolutely. I actually, I do we have one figure skating story that I have to tell you before we go. Yes.

[Julie]

Oh, good. I love it.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

You're like, no, like, wait, there's one more. I'm not leaving. So just because I know you guys are big figure skating fans. She's not on Team usa. She'll be on Team Canada. But Diana Stellato Dudek is the biggest comeback story that we're seeing in figure skating. She is 42 years old. She's competing in pairs. She took a huge break, and not only is she competing in pairs, but she's doing really well. She has a real shot at actually meddling in this space.

[Julie]

She's 42 years old.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

She's 42 years old. Not only is she 42 years old, she completed the first assisted backflip, which is where your teammate helps you actually do the flip on the ice. Competed the first assisted backflip in history on ice skating last season. So she is huge. And not only that, I think she's going to have some really fun sort of fashion moments in these Olympics, because this is something I normally personally don't really watch, but Oscar de la Renta actually made their very first custom figure skating outfit for her in a recent competition. So she's going to be not only a star in terms of this crazy comeback, but also, I think, going to be one to watch in terms of how much flash she brings to these Olympics. So I just wanted to make sure that you knew about that before we wrapped up.

[Julie]

Wow.

[Abby]

I can't wait to watch. That's so good. And, you know, I wish her all the best, but, you know, she's Team Canada and we're Team usa, so we.

[Julie]

Are, in fact, suddenly, we really love Team Canada.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Like, it's all right.

[Abby]

It's okay.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Never heard about it, but now I'm into it, so.

[Julie]

Except in hockey. I don't love him in hockey. Oh, my gosh. Can you start? Can you start finding some stories of 50 year olds returning to the Olympics?

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

I'm working on it. Yeah, you're ready to.

[Abby]

We just got to get you a.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Little titanium in your knee, too.

[Julie]

I can still do it.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Beautiful.

[Julie]

Awesome. Thanks, Marissa.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Thank you guys so much.

[Abby]

Do you guys want to do a party pose?

[Julie]

Your favorite party pose for the Olympics.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Like, so millennial, you know, so.

[Julie]

For the. For the Olympics.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

For the Olympics.

[Abby]

Come on, you guys. Just do something. Ready?

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Go do something Cool. Okay.

[Julie]

I was trying to do Olympic dreams around my glasses. That's so fun.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

I feel like I can't do that.

[Julie]

But with my glasses.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Very fun.

[Julie]

Okay.

[Abby]

Thank you so much.

[Marissa Kumari Tandon]

Of course. Thank you guys for having me. Thank you. This was fun.

[Julie]

Oh, that was fun. Cuz I now I'm excited to. I was already excited, but I'm really excited now.

[Abby]

I just like having a few stories in my back pocket to talk to Glennon about because then I can get her invested. And the fact that I think that the Peacock app and. And the NBC app called Peacock, I think that they will have all of the stuff kind of on demand. So it's not even like when the, when the competition is happening that day it'll go up and it'll live there so you'll be able to like find it, which is very smart and very cool. I'm very excited about the figure skating jewels. I can't wait.

[Julie]

I'm excited for you. All right, party people, don't forget to subscribe to the welcome to the party YouTube channel and if you can take.

[Abby]

Just one second, we would appreciate it. If you can rate, leave a comment and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And be sure to follow us on TikTok and Instagram welcome to the Party show where Julie, Billy and I will bring the party straight to your feed. Shout out to Kate Diaz for our theme music. We love it. We love you, Jules. Bring it in USA on three. Bring it in USA on three. One, two, three. Usa. Usa.

[Julie]

We had a delay. It's because I'm remote, damn it.

[Abby]

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. Initial Digital 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 Tick Tock. Thanks for listening.