Christen Press & Tobin Heath: THE OLYMPICS! THE SOCCER!

You've probably heard Abby teasing this out on recent episodes, and now it's finally here.

Our special Olympics episode with Kristen Press and Tobin Heath.

We just freaking love them, and we're so excited.

And this episode is brought to you without interruptions, thanks to our partner, Airbnb.

Because what do you want to do without interruption?

You want to listen to Kristen Press and Tobin Heath.

That's what you want to do without interruption.

And what I want to do without interruption is visit beautiful places that have couches and spices and where I can bring my dog.

And that is why Airbnb is the perfect partner for us because they, like the Olympic Games, bring people together.

Let's get into the episode.

Welcome to We Can Do Hard Things COD Squad.

Welcome.

You know who does hard things?

We do.

Olympians do hard hard things.

Yes.

Olympians do very hard things.

Today we have three Olympians and also me.

And not only are they three Olympians, but they're the three most precious, amazing Olympians in all the land.

Okay.

Okay.

And they are you.

Yep.

Congrats on all the situations.

I know, but honey,

Kristen might appreciate this the most out of the three of us, I think.

But like,

I like to be like

powerful and strong Olympian.

Okay.

I don't want to be young and brave.

I don't want to be precious, Olympian.

You're not precious and cute.

You are strong and very tough.

Yeah.

Olympian.

That's what I want.

I don't know what

Toby guys prefer.

And Abby Wambach.

Let's talk about Kristen Press first.

Okay.

Kristen Press is a two-time World Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and an equal pay pioneer.

She is one of the all-time top 10 goal scorers on the U.S.

women's national team and currently played for Angel City FC.

Kristen led the U.S.

women's national team's historic achievement of equal pay and served as the leader of the U.S.

Women's National Team Players Association for two years.

Kristen is co-founder and co-CEO of...

Our favorite, Re-Inc, a values-led brand.

I mean, let's just start with that.

What's that?

That is a thing.

They're starting it.

They're starting a thing

called a values-led brand that exists to reimagine the way women are seen and experienced in sports.

Thank you, baby Jesus.

Tobin Heath is a two-time World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, known as one of the most skillful and entertaining players in the game.

You will know her as the the one who appears that her feet are disconnected from her legs.

Just

you know this.

Oh, I know that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

Throughout her club career, Heath has played for PSG, the Portland Thorns, Manchester United, and Arsenal.

Tobin has taken her vision, leadership, and creativity off the pitch and into her roles as co-founder and co-CEO of Re-Inc and host of the critically acclaimed The Recap Show, which everyone is watching.

Tobin will be going live directly following each U.S.

Women's Soccer Olympic Games to debrief with the community.

And so if you want to watch and then wait to know what you think,

you can find out what to think after the game.

That's right.

Right.

And then you wait to talk to anyone until after you watch, and then you just say Tobin's ideas as yours.

And then you sound amazing.

Yeah, you'll be smarter for it.

That's exactly what I do.

Hi, you all.

Yes.

That's what it's for.

We're so excited that you are here because we cannot wait to talk about this team and the last two games.

Yes, it was, it's been, so let's just, let's just set the scene for the folks listening.

They'll be listening to this.

We're recording this on a Monday.

They'll be listening on a Tuesday.

The women's national team has gone through two games.

They beat Zambia 3-0.

And then on Sunday afternoon, they beat Germany 4-1.

Big games, putting us through to the quarterfinals.

We don't know if we're going to go out one or two from our group, but we have a third game to play.

But we're talking about the second game now.

Well, no, I was talking about all of the games.

Oh, okay.

I want to talk about the second game because that was the most fun thing that's ever happened.

Okay.

Can I ask a question?

Yeah.

the jerseys, yeah, you Abby's wearing her 20 jersey, I get that, and you're wearing 2024.

Is this also a political campaign?

Oh, that's interesting.

You do know that everything for me is a political campaign.

I know, so I'm wondering: is this your actual number, Glendon, or is this a statement?

So that is hilarious.

The team,

somebody from the team, beethy, beethe sent us these sent us these jerseys.

Mine has my actual name on the back

i believe

that they understand what a crucial role that i play

in explaining soccer to the people okay that's what i am accepting this honor as they will only believe you if you're wearing a u.s women's national team jersey that's right yeah that's right for sure yeah beety he sent them to us and we were wearing them yesterday for the game and and we're wearing them right now for the taping of this podcast.

Well, look at you, Glennon.

You just fit in.

You look like one of the gals.

Thanks so much, Tobin.

We're going to use that as the clip.

Do you understand what a big compliment Tobin just gave you?

I do.

That's why I'm going to use it as the clip.

One of the gals.

It's like a huge compliment.

I know.

Okay.

I really, really am feeling it deeply in my bones.

Okay.

Enough about us.

You are both here to answer our questions.

So, what are your thoughts about the Germany game that we just watched yesterday?

And

I don't know.

Glennon also wants to know what your feelings are

about the team.

That's how we like to take it.

A little bit of, you know, football and a little bit of feelings.

Well, thank you for having us back on my favorite podcast.

I'm so happy to be here.

And we are full swing Olympic mode.

So much joy.

Our team is energizing and exciting us in a way that we haven't, honestly, since we were on it, which is a lot.

But they really are, they're making us all so proud, right?

They're so fun to watch, so dynamic.

A little bit of humility

with people, you know, being good teammates, making unselfish runs.

That's really exciting.

And you know what?

I'll say.

When you play a top opponent, you can sometimes get in early in a tournament, you get this like paralysis where like it's always like zero, zero or like just like a stale game so for us to come out against germany and just play like we were just having fun i just feel like inspired the whole country and made us all believe that we could do this again i agree

i agree it felt like oh there they are there they are oh there they are and i haven't said that since 19.

I haven't said that since 19.

And that, and I, and I mean this in the most,

you know, this has happened throughout my career.

There were many spells that we couldn't figure out who the hell we were.

What do you guys think is the difference?

What do you think that the real, like if we get it, what are some of the factors that you believe is to why this is happening for our team?

Well, Glennon, you're a writer.

And, you know, there's many words on the page.

So think of it as 11 players or 11 words on the page.

And you can get those 11 words perfectly right.

And you're like, oh my gosh, I'm a genius.

And you can get the 11 words completely wrong.

And you're like, this makes no sense.

And that's exactly what it's like when you put 11 players on the field.

And not only do you have to put like the right combination of words on the page, but then you have to make them like all kind of like orchestrate and collaborate and like make the reader feel something and do something.

And I think that's like what Emma Hayes has gotten right.

Like these players have been here.

Like it wasn't like we just like lifted up a rock and we're like, oh my gosh, players.

These players have been here.

They're very good.

We've seen them be very good.

We just haven't really seen them collectively be good together.

And I think.

like and and i say this over and over again i think we are just scratching the surface on how good this group and for us as attacking players i think that's where our mind always goes to for this group and especially the attacking players, how good they could can actually be.

That was so poetic.

That was so poetic.

Glenna just pulled it out of me.

I know.

You must be inspired.

That was amazing.

I mean, talk about metaphors.

Like we live, I like walk into a room and then she's like, you know what that walking into the room is like?

I'm like, I don't care.

And Abby's like, it's just a kitchen table.

Damn it.

It's a table.

That was special though.

And I think like what you're saying, though, Tobin, and I want to get into like the front three because,

you know, we all love Alex Morgan, but her being left off the roster, in a way, it's been like given these three players permission to go for it.

Like your mom would say.

You know what I'm saying?

Like that for me is like, oh, wow, like there's a stability.

that I am seeing, like a sense of confidence in the three of them that they're not fighting for their life out there, that they're playing free and confident.

And, you know, making the Olympic roster is so difficult.

It's so much more competitive with it being only 18, 16 outfield players.

Like it's unreal how difficult it is.

But to watch them connect and like Tobin, I was watching some of your stuff and you're so right.

Like you pointed out some stuff in your podcast or on the on the recap show that I thought of when I was watching.

So's first goal, number one, I want you to talk us through that.

And then Mal's goal.

I think that those are two.

Who is your player of the match?

Who is your player of the match?

I know who Tobin's player of the match is.

Oh, they watched the debrief.

Yeah, yeah.

They did.

What was, was yours the same as mine for the player of the match?

I think you kind of plus one, did I?

I plus one, yeah.

Yeah.

I think that's like something that we're like very passionate about when we give like kind of our analysis of the game is to kind of think of it through like our eyes and our lens.

And very much behind the scenes, we always kind of applaud the little things that nobody really sees, but that makes the biggest difference.

And I think on the best teams, the teams that applaud the little things more

are the more successful teams.

And, you know, Mal's a big player.

She's going to get praise regardless, but I want to give her praise for the little things because those are what are making this team have these big decisions and these big outcomes.

And the first goal, like you mentioned, Abby, which Soph scored, which looked like an easy goal for Soph to score, was made possible by a super selfless run

by Mal.

And listen, Abby has benefited from a lot of these super selfish runs.

And honestly, I will run every time selflessly for Abby because there's 99% chance if I run selfish,

selflessly for Abby, that like I trust that she will score.

And what Mal did was she made a run, a super dynamic run, knowing that she wouldn't score because that would help her teammate score.

And that's the difference between the team.

And then on the second goal that then Mal scored,

like when you talk about how you're going to score goals, like when you're dreaming about them in your mind, they don't look like this.

Nope.

They don't look like you following up a shot when everybody else is sleeping.

Nope.

No, they don't.

But guess what?

Counts the same.

Yep.

Counts the same.

Same points.

Counts counts the same.

I love that.

That's such an Abby saying,

doesn't matter how, matters how many.

That's exactly right.

Doesn't matter how, it's how many.

Four times a day, it doesn't even matter if we're talking about

still goes.

I just think that that's so important because

to me, not only the pointing out of that kind of selfish run, selfless run

by Mal,

it's like

that's the aha.

Like, we are now,

even as experiencing as fans, as viewers,

we're looking for the good

instead of like looking for like the thing to critique or looking for like the bad.

It's just the nature of it, right?

Like when we have this like feeling of joy and structure and commitment and selflessness.

We then get to just like look for the good things, right?

And then when it's the opposite, when it feels like individual and clenchy and ball hoggy and not fluid then we're just looking for all of that right so it's like it's like this interesting energy shift that it's like that's all i saw and it wasn't just because they were playing well because look there were a couple players that i thought didn't play as well just wasn't as obvious because the scoreline um

there are a couple players that i thought should get subbed off a little bit sooner, maybe have a little bit more sub happening throughout the game.

That's fine.

But still, I was like vibing with the team for the first time in years.

And I was like, Yes, go, go, Trinity.

Like, just keep going.

You know, like every time that Tobin or Kristen or Heyo, you guys would get like faced up with a defender on the sideline.

It was just like, we knew it was going to happen.

And it was going to be a 1v1 battle out wide.

And she's going to figure something out.

And then it leads to a goal.

I get, I get so excited about it.

Well, I actually love what you said about the impact of Alex not being on the roster.

It's something that we talked about a lot.

And it's like, you know, we'll only time we'll tell if that was the right decision.

It's pretty much if they win, then fine.

That's just how every decision goes on the USON's national team.

Exactly.

But we had talked about at the prior World Cup, there was like a shadow over, you know, a SOAF or, you know, a player like Trinity who could emerge as what we've talked a lot about as the face of the team.

Like Abby, you had this like beautiful handoff as the face of the team to Alex and you mentored her.

And then, you know, you had times where you both were like the top players and you competed and you pushed each other.

And then there was a time where you rolled off the team.

And that's like the natural transition of this.

And you never know when the right time is going to be.

But what?

I was going to say, but there's nothing natural about the US1 special team.

Like, as much as we have this, like, beautiful picture of like Abby, like passing this torch off to Alex, like it's complicated.

There are complicated feelings in this.

There's big egos.

There's like generational talent.

There's, you know, there's the winning.

And I don't think like the passing of the baton is as romanticized as we make it seem.

And I also think that maybe a passing of the baton is easier between two people than it is between others.

It's true, but also it's fake.

It's not real.

Yeah, it's not.

I, Abby, having been in a position where I felt like Mia passed the baton to me

and then I passed the baton to like Alex, that's just in our heads.

Yeah.

The truth is statistics prove everything.

And the truth is, Mia went out and scored a shit ton of goals.

I went out and scored a shit ton of goals.

Alex went out and scored a shit ton of goals.

You know what I'm saying?

Like, it's this thing.

It's like media, beauty, full, like storyline.

But at the end of the day, it's cutthroat.

You're either good,

enough, young enough, fast enough, scoring enough to be on the squad, or you're not.

And then when a new coach comes in and they just want to, you know, start fresh, I totally understand.

Totally get it.

Totally get why Emma would want to go this way.

And I'm fucking heartbroken for Alex

because I know what it's like to be in that position.

I understand it's a business.

And I know Alex is going to be fine, but I know that she would have probably preferred to walk off on her own two feet and with her own choice, you know?

Yep.

But that's it.

You know, I feel like all of the team dynamics are in that tension between this beautiful thing that is real and there for me there was a handoff and also the reality that it's not as pretty as it always looks on ESPN.

And, you know, fighting for your spot and your role is what makes you great.

Like without that competition, without that healthy dose of.

kind of like the other side, the dark side of it, like you would never be pushed to your limits.

And so I think what makes me excited is there is a kind of a vacancy.

And there hasn't been a vacancy in when I talk about the face of the team, I really mean who's doing all of the media and like kind of has that responsibility to represent and symbolize the team.

And that's where there's a little bit of a gap.

And we haven't seen who that player is emerging.

And I think it's an interesting dynamic to your frontline going into a tournament when you have multiple people that could fill that role that are great players, super dynamic, fun to watch, cute, marketable, all the things.

And what I see is

an amount of humility and teamwork that I wasn't sure we were going to get with this vacancy.

Is there something to the discipline that they keep talking about?

Because I'm sensing the discipline.

Let me just explain something to you guys about the soccer.

Okay.

It feels to me like the discipline with which they're now playing on the field.

You mean the structure and the discipline that Rose Lavelle talked about Emma bringing.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Like she said they're bringing us a so my favorite thing about creativity in the world that is the only way that I can survive is the idea that structure liberates, that I can be wildly creative from 7 a.m.

to 830.

Like I need pockets to be in then, right?

So it feels to me like the structure and the discipline that they're playing with on the field is translating into the way they are talking about each other and the game off the field.

Like they are being

so humble and like every time one of them talks, they're talking about the other one so quickly and they're putting team above individual in every interview just like they are on the field.

Yeah.

Right?

Like, doesn't it seem like maybe it's purposeful that nobody's coming forward as the star right now because they're all kind of sharing.

And it's not our normal playbook.

Yeah.

Normally we go into that, like go into world championships and we're like, we win or we die.

Like we, we, like anything's a failure except for gold.

And they're going in and they're sort of like, you know, we have a respect for all of our opponents and we have respect for, and it's a different playbook.

And it's surprising to me.

Yeah, me too.

But I kind of like it.

Me too.

As long as they they win.

Remember, Emma said, I don't like it.

Somebody asked her

about how it was going to go.

And she goes, well, I don't know.

I have to see.

And I was like, did a leader just say, I don't know?

Yeah.

Because that is amazing.

Like, that's a posture.

I think that the posture is she's so new right now.

It's hard for her to make a clear assessment of the totality of.

her team and what the expectations are.

And it's good.

It's working for them right now.

That won't be the way that it lives forever with Emma.

She's going to have to be able to stand in her own opinion.

But I think what she's trying to do is earn a championship first and then talk about, let's talk about expectations later.

Cause at the end of the day, this team hasn't won anything in a while.

And I would also say the posturing is also to the rest of the world, right?

And managers and managers tell their team and everyone sort of speaks, knowing that everybody's listening.

So there's a little bit of a flex, I feel, in being like, oh, you know, like, we don't think we're the best anymore.

Like, we're going to have to earn it.

That's a little bit like coming in and beating Germany for one.

Cool.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I actually think the what I've noticed in Emma and just like her time with the U.S.

team is, you know, she's a very psychological coach.

She does it with the media.

She does it with how she identifies and speaks about her players.

Yes, like I do think that she has like so far, like tactically, she had her clear priorities.

Look, she hasn't done anything extraordinary with the tactics.

She has not.

We're playing like the simplest form of football out there.

And that's on purpose.

She's like, how can I just get this 11 like on the field as much as possible, like with one another, just speaking the same language?

Like let's just do soccer 101 together.

And then all of a sudden, like, and to your point, like creativity comes after that.

It's like this team just needed needed to do soccer 101 together right and it's like amazing how much then they're able to like be confident and to be able to show their individual personalities and be able to be brave on a world stage and like i think she's almost dumbed down the football and like upped up the ability to like psychoanalyze what's needed for this team.

Yes.

Yes.

And it's the leader that we've been needing.

So to me, she feels like kind of a psychological guru.

Like that's what what I called her this morning.

I was like, she feels a little bit like she's gotten her mind into the hearts and minds of the players.

Have you heard of the story about when she was coaching at Chelsea that early days, Arsenal would beat them a lot.

And she noticed that her players were like really

nervous whenever that they would play Arsenal, like outsized nerves.

Like this is, she's like, this doesn't make sense.

So she made her team wear Arsenal jerseys during practices for a long enough period of time so that the red wouldn't

upset them.

You know what I'm saying?

So like, to me, I think her psychology game is on point.

Glenn and I are talking about how she speaks of her players in the media, how she's almost like giving them each little brands of who they are.

She's branding them.

To like live, to like live within.

And I, I mean, you might think that that's right or wrong, but as a coach, when you're coming in, you want somebody to know what they can bring, right?

And you want somebody to live fully in that little self of theirs that they, that she's trying to build.

Cause she's like, here's how I see you.

And if you bring this, you're going to get minutes.

If you bring this, then you're going to give us the very best.

And that's what I need from you.

Doesn't mean you can't

grow and make gains, but I just think that the psychology of it has freed the players up to just be themselves.

Absolutely.

And I think like this is a time where these players, they're so defined by outside noise.

Like this is a generation that is a social media generation.

You know, they don't even know who they are unless

their comment section is telling them.

And I truly believe this is a way to like coach this next generation, you know, to have the leader, to have the person that then is going to give the brand to the media to tell them what to say about their players that they're then going to receive onto themselves i think it's it's super smart um and i think i think it's working

yeah you mentioned um in in the debrief or the recap do you guys call it the debrief and recap or is it two separate things oh so the debrief is like right after the game our reaction got it Live.

Live.

Got it.

So it's really scary for us.

Yeah.

And then obviously Turr S is like our, you know, nice polished show, sit down with an amazing guest like yourselves and, you know, really get to be a little bit more thoughtful about the things we're saying.

Okay, well, on one of the shows, you had mentioned that our women's national team, the way that the cycle works is World Cup, then Olympics, World Cup, then Olympics, right?

And the U.S.

women's national team has always won one of them.

That blew my mind.

Isn't that so wild?

But never both, right?

And never both in the same cycle.

Never both in the same cycle.

So, yeah, the team has actually won an Olympics, and then in the next cycle, the World Cup.

So they kind of were back to back, but not in the same cycle.

Yeah.

So essentially, folks who are listening, what that means is like the World Cup is one summer, and then the following summer is often the Olympics minus the COVID summer, which it was two summers later.

So we have the 95 Women's World Cup.

We lost.

Then we won the Olympics in 96.

Won, this is a couple years later, won the 99 World Cup, lost the Olympics.

Then we won the World Cup 03, won the Olympics 04, then we lost the World Cup 07, won the Olympics of 08.

We lost the World Cup of 11.

Okay.

So what's supposed to happen this year?

Wait, you didn't get to the best.

And then in 1918.

And then in 19.

And then in 1919.

Okay.

So all y'all are assholes.

What happened is, is we didn't win the World Cup in 2023.

And we find ourselves in the Olympics in 2024.

Right.

What do you think is going to happen?

Statistically, we're supposed to win then, right?

Statistically.

That is true.

Do you all think that we can win this whole thing?

Do I think we can?

Absolutely.

I don't think we can.

Well, you don't think we can or you don't think we will?

Oh, I don't think we will.

Of course, of course, the football gods, you never know what they're up to up there.

But

the only reason is just time.

It's just time and

the depth.

It's the problem and the depth of this team in a tournament like the Olympics.

I want you to know that our producer has never done this in the history of the show.

Just texted us fact check tobin is wrong oh it's oh no it's amanda sister tobin is wrong that's even better

she fact checked you she said you are wrong they are what way no no

it's not a fact it's an oh she's prophetic she's opinion checking you

opinion checking you're right you're right let's cut um

we're all just we're all just gonna

do i want the team to win absolutely yeah what would you have done differently like who do you think could come off the bench nothing i wouldn't have done anything differently different

no in the germany game oh in the germany yeah no no i mean 4-1 germany you'd be a fool to try to go back and do it again right right and can we just talk about sweet win williams oh my god getting on the field getting her goal and the oh one cool thing is who is that woman that always writes the amazing things about the soccer meg Oh, Linehan.

Linehand.

Meg.

Yeah.

Yes.

She said that she thought that that was a moment that showed such a switch and

intensity because just keeping up the intensity for that long that that goal happened near the end of the game was just like such a shining moment of like, oh my God, they're just like going to be fierce the whole time.

Yeah.

I mean, look, I think that Lynn has, she has given her life to this game.

She's been committed to the national team for a long time.

And honestly, she, based on an injury prior to the Olympics, that's why she's there.

She replaced an injured player.

And then it just speaks to her character, to like maintaining her readiness and staying ready.

And when she's called upon, she shows up and scores.

And, you know, she had the leg, the red brace, the whatever the heck that thing was.

Big old red sleeve.

Yeah, I was like, is she okay?

Do we need to see a doctor here, Lynn?

But she went out there.

I'm just thinking that's hot.

I know.

Like, she went out there and she scores a goal.

And, like, for somebody who, you know, has kind of struggled to find themselves in the starting lineup and to get the goal in the national team world.

Like, she kills it in the NWSL.

She's like, I think the leading goal scorer of the NWSL, right?

Really?

Yeah.

So, I don't know.

I just felt really happy for her.

She did great.

Our front three, I don't know if our front three can be stopped.

Alyssa Nair coming up with like three massive saves, keeping it a game, like truly.

And you need that.

So to me, if the team can show up on that top podium at the end of this tournament, it will be a lot due to Alyssa making big time saves because other teams are so good.

It's impossible not to allow shots, you know?

It's impossible to not, like, let's say we play France or Spain.

They're going to get through.

They're going to have have chances so it's like our goalkeeper has to show up and then our front three also have to show up what do you guys think about our midfield

so i think the midfield the like biggest problem was just like trust

you know um i think the midfield is completely dependent on

balance and trust and if you try to do too much sometimes it doesn't work.

Like there has to be like a very talk about like rigidity.

Like I believe, especially in build-up play, there has to be so much rigidity.

Sorry, this is so soccer junkie-ish when I go a little too deep.

But basically, what I'm trying to say is, I feel like why the midfield has been,

why the whole team, because the midfield really is the engine of the team.

Like why the team is performing is because there's more trust in the midfield.

And I think that came with like a lot of work, but to the psycho-analyzing of people and

getting the right mixture.

Well, what someone wise told me yesterday was when you don't notice the midfield, it means they're doing their job.

And that's actually what I think it was a little bit like in the Germany game.

Overall, I don't know if our performance was a 4-1 win, just being honest.

Like I felt like the whole time Germany was going to get a goal and make it a game.

And I think, you know, we all know how important it is to win even like by a lot or to kind of out

your result to like outperform like actually how you did on the field.

That's actually a really good sign of mentality and chemistry, and also a little bit of luck, which is absolutely required in a moment like this.

That's right.

But I think when it comes to how we go up against the rest of the world, like, I don't think we are going to be able to consistently outperform every team.

But that does not mean I don't think we can win.

Same.

Same.

I don't think that.

I don't.

I think people people are going to crush you for saying that.

Well,

if people are going to crush Tobin, then I'm cutting it.

Yeah, we're cutting it if necessary.

But like, at the end of the day, like, I get it.

Like, I, I kind of like, yeah, they can win.

And also, guess what's happened to my little fragile heart

over the last four years.

I know.

It's gotten a little bit hard.

Yes, you've hardened your heart.

And I also had hardened my heart for different reasons because I thought that I

see here's the thing about the sports when I was little my dad was a football coach okay so he coached our high school team and then

we were massive fans of the Washington football team okay commanders the commanders now right

I was like

my whole heart was with them okay it was like when Joe Theisman and John Riggins and Joe Jacoby and we were like, our family was obsessed.

And then this thing called free agency started happening.

And

you guys, I don't mean this in a shallow way.

I mean, I

was betrayed.

I was.

betrayed.

I used to sit and talk to my parents at the kitchen table about it.

I used to like, what do you mean?

They just leave and new people come in.

Like, what, what what do you mean?

Like, of what are we a fan then?

If I, if I am a big fan of Brandi Carlisle's band and I love them, and then I go to the concert and

Joe Schmoe's singing now,

what am I a fan of?

I'm serious.

Like, it's like a deep thing for me.

Like, I guess so.

Van Halen, okay.

David Levinoff.

No, you can't just put Sammy Hagar in.

Like, I'm,

right?

Yeah.

So I felt, I think it's a problem.

I don't understand of what we are fans if the people keep changing.

So I love that you said this.

Really?

I really do.

Because you're just a fan of a logo or a team color.

I have that too.

Like I, I really struggle with that.

But that's why I feel like.

teams that like have this winning mentality like the U.S.

Women Sash team that have like this identity.

I think that's the thing that breaks the heart, right, Abby?

When you don't see whatever version of the US Wim Sash team, like playing with that same spirit that makes you feel something.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's exactly right.

But I feel betrayed all the time and I don't understand sports anymore.

No.

I think contracts should have to be minimum five years.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Absolutely.

No, no, no, no, no.

I don't usually have a big say here, but free agency is extremely important from a like player safety and like respect thing.

And our NWSL, our league has been fighting for free agency so that we can leave.

This is such a different conversation

where we want to be respected as full humans.

Okay, and so I just think since we're on We Can Do Hard Things, it would be appropriate for me to mention to advocate for free agency.

Yes, you're right.

And I think that we are going to achieve it in an amended NWSL contract, and it's huge for those of us that have been traded behind our backs in our sleep.

It is huge.

Yes, amazing.

Hardest I've ever cried when I got traded.

When you got traded,

I forgot you did too.

I can be a fan of that.

If free agency is something that is important to the hearts and bodies and minds of the players, then I can be a fan of that.

Okay.

But what I'm saying is that yesterday I opened that game or whatever you do.

I started watching the game with a hardened heart.

I am not getting attached to these ones.

I will watch it.

I will cheer, but I am not getting attached to these love bugs because I know I'm just going to lose them in a couple years.

And guess what?

Nope, I'm totally attached.

I am absolutely emotionally connected to every single one of them.

Something about the game yesterday was heart.

Like there was something to connect to.

There was something to be a fan of there that was beyond the individual people.

It's almost like all of us have been holding our breath and we were able to finally like take a collective inhale for the first time in a while.

And I think that we saw glimmers.

Like, look, this is a very young team, number one, in actual age, very young with a very new coach.

So there's so much more to be seen.

There's so much, and they keep saying this in the media, which I love.

They're like, this is like the tip of the iceberg.

Like we have so much more to go.

We have so much more to prove.

And I love that.

But it's like, it's that thing that

I don't like holding my breath.

I like feeling like free when I'm watching the game.

And I think that it was like, oh, here we are again.

This is nice again.

I like this.

And also, it's not just like, again,

it's like also very new at the same time.

It feels old and exactly like, and new at the exact same time.

Because like the U.S.

Women's Ash team has always been modernizing the women's game.

And it feels like we're not the ones modernizing it anymore.

So that's why it like feels like a little weird because it's not like the U.S.

Women's Ash team was the same team in each cycle.

They were very, very different styles.

The game modernizes very quickly.

but like we were always the ones doing that part.

So it was like almost like seeing the new play for the first time and it being like award-winning every time.

But now it's like the world has changed.

Like other countries are modernizing the game and we're trying to figure out how where we fit into this new like world order.

So it is pretty crazy.

And a fun fact for Amanda, if you're listening,

this is the first team without a player with a gold medal on it.

What really?

There she is.

Oh my God.

Wait, Alyssa.

You have to know.

Pod squad, you have to know that Tobin said my sister's name and she's just desperate to be.

I was seeing if like the genie bottle worked.

And it did.

Did you have something to say?

And this is my moment.

I also have not had a gold medal.

So that means I could play on the team.

I'm just asking for a friend.

We are also on with Alex Cooper yesterday.

And I was thinking the whole time because she had referenced, you know, that she played college soccer.

And the whole time I was thinking, you've played more college soccer than some of the women on the field.

So true.

Oh my gosh, because none of them played college soccer.

That's cool.

Oh, because they went straight.

Yes.

Yeah.

So, yeah.

I think also played one here.

Tobin.

Those are good fun facts.

I'm just here for that.

She's coming from my job.

I need to ask Tobin and Kristen about something different.

Okay, here we go.

Okay.

We can can do hard things so we're just gonna get real quick into it somebody to real quick explain to the pod squad what canada has been up to

and then i want to hear all of your thoughts about it because abby and i have very different reactions to this situation oh my god i'm so happy we're talking about this they are rascals

they're rascals

that's one word for it so real quick i'm gonna describe it and then you yeah tell me what actually

Canada soccer scandal.

Recently, one team was practicing for the Olympic.

New Zealand.

Lo and behold, they're in a closed practice, practicing their little secret things as people do who are getting ready for a game with their coach and their people.

They look up in the air, they hear a bzzzzzz.

They look up in the air, and there is a what?

There is a drone.

A drone which is filming their secret moves

so that the drone can fly over to the Canadian coaches who we all thought were nice because of the whole Canada thing.

Not so much.

They are

downloading the practices so they can watch what the other team is doing, which is called cheating, very organized cheating, predetermined.

Premeditated.

Premeditated.

Cheating.

Then the boss of Canada comes out in a statement on Friday and says something like, we think this has actually been going on for a very long time.

I'm like, whoa, that's different than America.

America would be like, we don't know what you're talking about.

And also America would be like, if you don't cheat, you're losers.

Everybody cheats.

You pay taxes?

Loser.

So.

Well, here's what happened.

So the New Zealand team looks up, they notice a drone, and they call the police.

That's how this happened.

And in France, they have no drone flying laws.

And so they were able to figure out who this was because the New Zealand people were like, hold on a second, we're going to call the police.

So

far, the only consequences are that the staff, a bunch of the coaches have to go home.

The Canadian team gets docked six points.

Yeah, they're now,

but they're still in the

tournament.

And the New Zealand team who lost to the cheating Canadian team just is like, oh well,

they don't have anything.

Why don't they give them their six points?

They should get their six points.

I feel like that would be fair.

They just have no six points, but the other team doesn't get any of them.

I feel like there's like a parable in the Bible about this.

Yes.

And as it's like if someone takes $100 from me and it's like something about town recompenses, you have to give away $100.

It's like, wait, but it was from me.

Well, and as of today, the Canada Soccer Federation is appealing the six points more to be revealed there.

They want it to be more?

No, they want it to be less.

But listen, what are your guys's feelings about this?

How are you thinking about it?

Okay, we also have slightly differing opinions,

but it's very hard because

We kind of talked about it like similar to doping.

Like if you don't know that you are being slipped some sort of performance enhancer, and then you by your coach or by your trainer, and then you go out and you run faster than everybody, you still didn't win fairly, even though it's not your fault.

And even if you, you obviously trained really hard, you tried really hard, you cared a lot.

And you could still have won without it.

We will never know.

Yeah.

But you still get disqualified.

And for me, it doesn't make sense because

New Zealand, as you've implied, also had something taken from them, which were their secrets.

And we don't know if Canada did that to the other teams.

We don't know what happened.

So for me, it seems like it would have made more sense to just have them kind of default out of the tournament and give three points to every team that played them so that the other teams could do it out fairly.

And you just removed.

you know, the cheating.

But I will say it's a really hard thing to say to the players who, you know, even if you're like getting someone slipping you like drugs or performance enhancers, like it is your responsibility to know that.

But in this case, like there's really nothing they could have done.

And then the other thing that Tobin and I both kind of do agree on is the fact that when Canada women's soccer won gold, they won on penalties in the quarterfinals

and the finals.

And that is the

most

advantageous thing of like watching someone's closed training is that you can watch their penalties.

And in their quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals, as Tobin's like to say, they didn't score one goal in the run of play.

They only won on penalties, which could affect their strategy if they knew they were going to win in penalties.

And the goalkeeper gets told exactly which way each shooter shoots.

So it is a very suspicious set of circumstances.

Well, I have a question about that.

Does that mean, because the prior scenario was,

okay, so it's theoretically just the coaches are very bad coaches, bad, bad, bad, and the players don't know.

But

if

they were fed the information as specifically,

is there a world in which the players could not know?

Yes, but that

goalkeeper and you're preparing, you're going to watch hundreds of penalties of the team and you're going to study it.

And they're going to give you a water bottle and it's going to say which way they shoot.

And it's supposed to to be based on film that you could see publicly.

Okay.

And so you already get so much information that you're not going to be like, oh, how do you know?

Like you just, they just know and you would just trust that.

Yeah.

And I think it's really important to remember with penalty kicks that like Abby took a lot of her penalty kicks.

So most of her penalty kicks have been studied.

There's tons of film on it.

But with penalty kick shootouts, there will be a lot of players that take penalty kicks that don't have a lot of film on them.

So their coaches will be making educated guesses on what exactly that player will be doing.

Unless, unless drone footage of their trading, which I, I guess people don't see this on audio.

We're making the fingers, the quote fingers that are basically like chairs.

You know what?

I think this is really sad because we're talking about, you referred to the Tokyo Olympics where they won gold, but they also won bronze in the prior to Olympics.

And you just, and if this is a systematic thing, unfortunately, like my heart breaks for these players because I would be livid if I was a player that my medal or something, because these players work extremely hard to have these opportunities.

Like, and now not only am I being called a cheater for something I wasn't even in control of.

but now my

medals could be on the line for that.

I would be livid.

But I think it's really hard to separate the two things of like having an advantage.

And I think for other teams, other teams should be livid too.

Like I think about the teams in Tokyo, like if that is true,

everyone should be upset in some way, right?

Because those are other people working really hard to have the opportunity to win.

That's right.

To win a gold medal.

But it's like, that's why the buck stops somewhere.

Maybe this is the first time in history that a leader was doing some really shady shit for a lot of times and nobody else knew about it.

Of course people knew about it.

It is the top's responsibility to make sure that the coach and the leaders are operating with integrity.

And if they're not and if they cheat, everybody gets penalized.

But yeah, but in sport, Glennon, there's like this weird thing.

Like if you're not cheating, you're not trying.

It's like a very weird thing.

And there's a lot of gray area and sports always kind of pushing the boundaries of being like just too much.

But drones.

don't you think we've gone did they have a silent drone like you know how on guns you can kind of like make it not silencer

on your drone no it was a loud drone facts so stupid and it wasn't even a clever thing i mean if you're gonna cheat with drones at least do it in a country that doesn't have a no drone law i know when does the national team play next wednesday what time is the game 10 a.m pt and then after the game what are we all gonna do

to find out what we think about what just happened Debrief.

We're going to listen to Tobin.

We're going to the debrief.

Let's go to the debrief.

Where do we find the debrief, Tobin and Kristen?

In membership.

So you have to be a reimaginer.

I mean, you'll get the clips, you know, a few days after the hot clips, but to have the full reaction, you need to be a member.

To be the first ones to know.

Okay.

And you guys, just please, hot squad, just please listen to it and then don't tell your people you listen to it.

And then just sit down at dinner and just start dropping shit.

Like, this is like my friend who records Jeopardies.

Yeah.

And then she turns it on with her husband and like, like it's in real time.

And she just answers all the shit.

And she never tells him that she already memorized the whole thing.

This is what you're going to do.

My problem is I wouldn't be able to remember it.

I wouldn't be able to remember it.

And yes, no, I need to say one more thing.

Okay.

I need to just note.

the genius of Kristen and Tobin because what I want to say about the values-led brand that I have been thinking about this whole is that you are even looking at the game and analyzing it and picking your players of the match and looking at everything through the values of your brand.

Like choosing the player based on the selfless runs, choosing that, it's like such a gorgeous 360 approach to the whole thing.

And I see it and I love it.

Oh, thank you.

I want to end with this.

Kristen and Tobin, before we got on this, Amanda and Glennon were like, okay, can you like give us a little like thing to end on?

Something like, oh, and

they were both, they were both trying to tell me to give like the speech.

And Kristen and Tobin both know how terrible I was in the huddle prior to games.

I would fumble, I would stutter, and then we all knew we were going to have a good game.

But what I want to take our pod squad through is, can we do an Usa cheer with the pod pod squad and with Glennon and with sister so that they know what it is.

Okay, but what is it?

So before every game,

the U.S.

national team says Usa, Usa, Usa, ah.

You say Usa on three.

One, two, three.

Usa, Usa, Usa, ah.

Okay, that was, that was like a three out of a 10.

I gave you a three out of a 10.

Trying to ignore it.

The excitement and energy.

Love it.

This is the most patriotic I've ever been in public, and I'm kind of nervous it.

I'll just be over here.

Kristen won't even be on screen.

She's like, I was definitely kind of in the exterior of this huddle because I just don't really like all the people.

Yeah, yeah.

I think we should leave it at this, you guys.

Yeah, we're gonna leave it at this.

Usa, usa, usa on three.

One, two, three.

Usa, usa, usus, usa.

Thanks for coming, you guys.

We love you so much.

Thanks, Patrowie.

Love ya.

Bye.

If this podcast means something to you, it would mean so much to us if you'd be willing to take 30 seconds to do these three things.

First, can you please follow or subscribe to We Can Do Hard Things?

Following the pod helps you because you'll never miss an episode and it helps us because you'll never miss an episode.

To do this, just go to the We Can Do Hard Things show page on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Odyssey, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and then just tap the plus sign in the upper right-hand corner or click on follow.

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We appreciate you very much.

We Can Do Hard Things is created and hosted by Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle in partnership with Odyssey.

Our executive producer is Jenna Wise-Berman, and this show is produced by Lauren Lograsso, Allison Schott, Dina Kleiner, and Bill Schultz.

I give you Tish Milton and Brandy Carlisle.

I walked through fire, I came out the other side.

I chased desire, I made sure

I got what's mine

And I continue

to believe

That I'm the one for me

And because I'm mine

I walk the line

Cause we're adventurers and heartbreaks on map

A final destination.

We've stopped asking directions

to places they've never been.

And to be loved, we need to be known.

We'll finally find our way back home.

And through the joy and pain

that our lives

bring,

we can do a hard pain.

I hit rock bottom, it felt like a brand new start.

I'm not the problem,

sometimes things fall apart

and I continue

to believe

the best

people are free

and it took some time

but I'm finally fine

Cause we're adventurers and heartbreaks don't map

our final destination

we lack.

We've stopped asking directions

to places they've never been.

And to be loved, we need to be known.

We'll finally find our way back home.

And through the joy and pain

that our lives

bring

we can do hard again

Cause we're adventurers and heartbreaks on that

We might get lost, but we're okay.

We've stopped asking directions

in some places they've never been.

And to be loved, we need to be known.

We'll finally find our way back on.

And through the joy and pain

that our lives brings.

We can do hard

things.

Yeah, we can do hard things.

Yeah, we

can do

hard

things.