WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.720 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are turning 00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:06.740 our attention to something that honestly feels 00:00:06.740 --> 00:00:08.919 like it sort of shifted the tectonic plates of 00:00:08.919 --> 00:00:11.220 sports media in North America. Yeah, it really 00:00:11.220 --> 00:00:13.119 did. It's not often we get to talk about a show 00:00:13.119 --> 00:00:15.259 that didn't just cover a sport, but actually 00:00:15.259 --> 00:00:17.679 changed the way the industry and the fans, for 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:20.079 that matter, think about it. We are talking about 00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:22.539 Football Americas. It's a fascinating case study 00:00:22.539 --> 00:00:26.519 because on the surface, sure, it's a soccer show 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:29.059 on a streaming platform, right? But if you look 00:00:29.059 --> 00:00:32.240 closer at the sources we have today, specifically 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:35.420 the show's Wikipedia history, the casting changes 00:00:35.420 --> 00:00:37.679 and the critical reception that's been documented 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:40.719 since about 2021, it's really a story about culture. 00:00:40.859 --> 00:00:43.479 It's about demographics and finally admitting 00:00:43.479 --> 00:00:45.259 that the old way of doing things just wasn't 00:00:45.259 --> 00:00:47.460 working anymore. Exactly. It's not just highlights 00:00:47.460 --> 00:00:49.920 and goals. It's a cultural touchstone. And for 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:52.179 this deep dive, we are working off a really comprehensive 00:00:52.179 --> 00:00:54.719 stack of notes centered on the show's entry and 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:57.340 related coverage, which tracks its journey from 00:00:57.340 --> 00:01:00.460 the launch back in March 2021 all the way up 00:01:00.460 --> 00:01:04.260 to where we are now in early 2026. And, you know, 00:01:04.340 --> 00:01:06.879 the timing of this deep dive is perfect because 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:10.280 we are looking at a media property that essentially 00:01:10.280 --> 00:01:13.760 filled a massive vacuum. I mean, think back to, 00:01:13.819 --> 00:01:18.000 say, 2018 or 2019. If you watch soccer coverage 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:20.879 in the States. What did you actually see? Oh, 00:01:20.920 --> 00:01:24.319 I can answer that. Yeah. It was very, very Eurocentric. 00:01:24.420 --> 00:01:26.739 Yeah. You're waking up at 7 a .m. to watch the 00:01:26.739 --> 00:01:28.799 English Premier League. Maybe you're catching 00:01:28.799 --> 00:01:31.420 some Champions League in the afternoon. The narrative 00:01:31.420 --> 00:01:33.840 was always that the real soccer, quote unquote, 00:01:34.040 --> 00:01:36.840 happens across the Atlantic. Precisely. The underlying 00:01:36.840 --> 00:01:38.939 message was basically Europe is the best and 00:01:38.939 --> 00:01:41.480 everything else is second tier. But football 00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:44.170 Americas. Their mission was radically different 00:01:44.170 --> 00:01:46.090 right from the start. It was looking at the actual 00:01:46.090 --> 00:01:48.069 map of North America and saying, hey, we live 00:01:48.069 --> 00:01:49.510 here. Why aren't we talking about us? Right. 00:01:49.569 --> 00:01:51.849 It was a total rejection of the Euro snob mentality. 00:01:52.209 --> 00:01:54.430 Exactly. It challenged that Eurocentric view 00:01:54.430 --> 00:01:58.310 by focusing strictly on CONCACAF. Now, for those 00:01:58.310 --> 00:02:00.829 who might just be casual fans, CONCACAF is the 00:02:00.829 --> 00:02:03.250 Confederation of North Central American and Caribbean 00:02:03.250 --> 00:02:05.590 Association Football. It's our region. Right. 00:02:05.689 --> 00:02:08.759 It's our region. And historically. mainstream 00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:11.159 sports media treated it like it was the minor 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:14.340 leagues. But this show leaned into the specific. 00:02:15.090 --> 00:02:18.169 intense and often chaotic, but incredibly passionate 00:02:18.169 --> 00:02:20.430 relationship between the United States and Mexico. 00:02:20.490 --> 00:02:22.530 Which is the heartbeat of the reason. So whether 00:02:22.530 --> 00:02:25.310 you are a diehard fan of the U .S. men's national 00:02:25.310 --> 00:02:27.870 team or a supporter of El Tri, that's the Mexican 00:02:27.870 --> 00:02:30.270 national team, or maybe you just noticed that 00:02:30.270 --> 00:02:32.389 soccer seems to be taking over your social media 00:02:32.389 --> 00:02:35.770 feeds lately. This is the story of the vehicle 00:02:35.770 --> 00:02:38.270 that helped drive that culture into the mainstream. 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:41.240 So let's get into the nuts and bolts of what 00:02:41.240 --> 00:02:43.639 this show actually is. Let's unpack it. Because 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:46.840 soccer show feels a bit generic. We are talking 00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:49.060 about a program that streams on ESPN Plus and 00:02:49.060 --> 00:02:51.919 ESPN Caribbean. It's become a twice -a -week 00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:54.240 habit for a lot of people on Mondays and Thursdays. 00:02:54.259 --> 00:02:56.259 But the schedule is key, but the scope is what 00:02:56.259 --> 00:02:58.879 defined the niche. Most general sports shows 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:00.680 try to cover everything. They'll do five minutes 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:03.280 on the NFL, two minutes on the NBA, maybe 30 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:05.460 seconds on a soccer goal if it's spectacular. 00:03:05.860 --> 00:03:08.020 Yeah, usually a bicycle kick or something. Exactly. 00:03:08.430 --> 00:03:11.479 But... Football Americas drew a circle around 00:03:11.479 --> 00:03:15.240 a very specific set of topics, specifically the 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:17.560 men's and women's national teams for both the 00:03:17.560 --> 00:03:20.400 U .S. and Mexico. Which is already a huge amount 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:22.340 of ground to cover when you think about the player 00:03:22.340 --> 00:03:24.699 pools. It is. But they didn't start with the 00:03:24.699 --> 00:03:26.659 national teams. They committed to the domestic 00:03:26.659 --> 00:03:29.259 leagues that feed those teams. So you have MLS, 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:32.039 obviously. You have the NWSL, which is the top 00:03:32.039 --> 00:03:34.159 women's league. You have the USL, the second 00:03:34.159 --> 00:03:37.539 division here. And crucially, you have Liga MX. 00:03:37.860 --> 00:03:39.919 And that last one. one is the kicker, right? 00:03:40.219 --> 00:03:42.620 Because I think a lot of mainstream sports media 00:03:42.620 --> 00:03:44.740 in the U .S. used to ignore the Mexican league 00:03:44.740 --> 00:03:47.360 entirely. But looking at our notes here, there 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:50.500 is a quote from The Athletic, a very reputable 00:03:50.500 --> 00:03:52.620 sports journalism outlet that really spells it 00:03:52.620 --> 00:03:55.439 out. They noted that the show places equal focus 00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:58.020 on Mexico's top players alongside the Americans. 00:03:58.259 --> 00:04:00.379 That decision was revolutionary in its own way. 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:03.000 It was. And The Athletic acknowledged the fact 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:04.819 that honestly still surprises a lot of people. 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:07.500 League MX is the most watched soccer league in 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:10.319 the States. That is the aha moment for the industry 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:12.840 right there. For years, executives just assumed 00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:15.379 the English Premier League was the king. But 00:04:15.379 --> 00:04:18.040 the data shows that more people in the U .S. 00:04:18.040 --> 00:04:20.399 are tuning in to watch teams like Club America 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:23.680 or Chivas than the English Giants on many weekends. 00:04:23.939 --> 00:04:26.759 Right. By ignoring League MX, previous networks 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:29.000 were ignoring the biggest audience. So Football 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:31.120 Americas didn't just acknowledge it. They built 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:34.480 the entire show around that binational reality. 00:04:35.319 --> 00:04:39.939 It's seeing the world as it actually is not how 00:04:39.939 --> 00:04:41.560 traditional executives thought it should be. 00:04:41.660 --> 00:04:43.259 And it wasn't just about viewership numbers either. 00:04:43.379 --> 00:04:45.899 It was about the tone. The Athletic praised the 00:04:45.899 --> 00:04:47.819 show for holding power to account. What does 00:04:47.819 --> 00:04:50.079 that actually mean in this context? Well, usually 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:52.579 if a network pays millions of dollars for broadcast 00:04:52.579 --> 00:04:54.879 rights, their studio shows tend to be cheerleaders. 00:04:54.920 --> 00:04:56.579 They want to sell the product. They say everything 00:04:56.579 --> 00:04:59.240 is great. Look at this amazing goal. Football 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:01.660 Americas took a completely different approach. 00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:04.920 They tapped into an underserved audience, but 00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:06.800 they didn't treat them with kid gloves. They 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:09.459 offered critical analysis. So if the U .S. Federation 00:05:09.459 --> 00:05:12.560 made a baffling coaching hire or if the Mexican 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:14.560 Federation was mishandling a player situation, 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:17.939 they called it out. Exactly. It's not just look 00:05:17.939 --> 00:05:20.439 at this game. It's why is the Federation making 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:23.459 this decision or why is this player being left 00:05:23.459 --> 00:05:26.959 out? It's that blend of passion and actual journalism. 00:05:26.980 --> 00:05:29.779 That builds trust. You know, they aren't just 00:05:29.779 --> 00:05:31.639 selling you a ticket. They are analyzing the 00:05:31.639 --> 00:05:33.620 ecosystem. Yeah. Now, I want to talk about the 00:05:33.620 --> 00:05:35.620 timeline here because the show has evolved significantly. 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:38.259 But before we get to the current cast, we have 00:05:38.259 --> 00:05:40.639 to talk about the original duo. Oh, you absolutely 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:42.860 can't tell this story without them. When the 00:05:42.860 --> 00:05:46.100 show launched on March 8, 2021, it was anchored 00:05:46.100 --> 00:05:49.120 by Hercules Gomez and Sebastian Salazar. It was 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:51.420 such a specific dynamic. You had Hercules Gomez, 00:05:51.540 --> 00:05:53.639 the former player. And not just any player. He's 00:05:53.639 --> 00:05:54.939 a guy who played for the U .S. national team, 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:57.240 but played his club soccer in Mexico. He lived 00:05:57.240 --> 00:05:59.459 the rivalry. And then you had Sebastian Salazar, 00:05:59.560 --> 00:06:02.500 the journalist and host who brought this incredible 00:06:02.500 --> 00:06:05.319 energy and passion. He wasn't the calm anchor 00:06:05.319 --> 00:06:07.399 type at all. He was in the trenches with the 00:06:07.399 --> 00:06:10.000 fans. They built the identity of the show together. 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:12.680 But as anyone following the show knows, and as 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:14.620 our source material documents quite clearly, 00:06:14.779 --> 00:06:18.399 we had a major shift recently. On December 19, 00:06:18.779 --> 00:06:22.180 2024. Sebastian Salazar dropped a bombshell. 00:06:22.300 --> 00:06:25.120 He did. After nearly four years, he announced 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:27.079 he was stepping away from full -time hosting 00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:29.779 duties. And the quote he gave, it's in a YouTube 00:06:29.779 --> 00:06:31.980 video referenced in the notes, was really touching. 00:06:32.199 --> 00:06:35.019 He simply said, this was my dream. That feels 00:06:35.019 --> 00:06:38.120 heavy. This was my dream. You build this thing 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:40.399 from the ground up, you define the culture, and 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:43.100 then you step back. It implies he felt he'd accomplished 00:06:43.100 --> 00:06:45.360 the mission. Exactly. It wasn't a failure, it 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:47.959 was a graduation. But the show didn't stop. It 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:50.649 evolved. And this brings us to the new era we 00:06:50.649 --> 00:06:53.490 are in now. Following Salazar's departure, Christina 00:06:53.490 --> 00:06:56.069 Alexander stepped into that main role. And she 00:06:56.069 --> 00:06:58.449 wasn't exactly a stranger to the audience? No, 00:06:58.470 --> 00:07:00.870 she had been part of the network's soccer coverage 00:07:00.870 --> 00:07:03.290 specifically regarding Mexican soccer for a long 00:07:03.290 --> 00:07:05.949 time. But taking over the main chair is a... 00:07:06.170 --> 00:07:08.930 Big move. We have a note here from ESPN Front 00:07:08.930 --> 00:07:13.470 Row dated March 14, 2025, so roughly a year ago 00:07:13.470 --> 00:07:15.769 from where we sit today, discussing Alexander 00:07:15.769 --> 00:07:19.430 preparing for the NWSL 2025 season. It really 00:07:19.430 --> 00:07:21.870 solidified her as the face of the franchise alongside 00:07:21.870 --> 00:07:25.449 Hercules Gomez. It's a smart pivot. You keep 00:07:25.449 --> 00:07:27.730 the credibility of Gomez, but you bring in Alexander, 00:07:27.970 --> 00:07:31.569 who is fully bilingual and has deep roots in 00:07:31.569 --> 00:07:33.879 the Mexican game as well. And we should mention 00:07:33.879 --> 00:07:35.420 the show has a deep bench. You have Mauricio 00:07:35.420 --> 00:07:38.079 Pedroza and Alexis Nunez, who have historically 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:40.860 filled in. It's a robust ecosystem of talent 00:07:40.860 --> 00:07:43.019 now. It's not just two guys in a room anymore. 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:45.379 It's a rotating cast of experts who all speak 00:07:45.379 --> 00:07:48.000 that same binational soccer language. But I want 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:49.459 to go back to something you hinted at earlier. 00:07:49.540 --> 00:07:51.160 We talked about the launch and the host shift. 00:07:51.259 --> 00:07:53.579 But in between, there were some production moments 00:07:53.579 --> 00:07:55.560 that made me go, OK, these guys are crazy, but 00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:57.060 in the best way possible. You were definitely 00:07:57.060 --> 00:07:58.699 thinking of the whip around, aren't you? I am 00:07:58.699 --> 00:08:00.379 absolutely thinking of the whip around. OK, let 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:01.899 me set the scene for the listener, because this 00:08:01.899 --> 00:08:03.540 is probably my favorite detail in the research. 00:08:04.040 --> 00:08:07.889 It's May 2022. It's the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. 00:08:08.050 --> 00:08:10.649 For those who don't know, this is a tournament 00:08:10.649 --> 00:08:13.649 that can get, well, messy. Messy is a very polite 00:08:13.649 --> 00:08:16.310 way to put it. It's the oldest ongoing national 00:08:16.310 --> 00:08:20.009 soccer competition in the US. It involves everyone 00:08:20.009 --> 00:08:24.110 from amateur pub teams to the top MLS pros. You 00:08:24.110 --> 00:08:27.589 have games happening in pristine NFL stadiums 00:08:27.589 --> 00:08:30.310 and games happening on high school fields with 00:08:30.310 --> 00:08:32.990 questionable lighting. Usually covering that 00:08:32.990 --> 00:08:35.200 is a logistical nightmare. The fees are different 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:37.759 qualities. The timing is unpredictable. But Football 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:39.860 Americas decides, let's do a whip around show. 00:08:39.980 --> 00:08:42.320 Just jumping live from game to game to game, 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:44.980 catching goals as they happen. Which from a production 00:08:44.980 --> 00:08:47.100 standpoint is like trying to juggle chainsaws 00:08:47.100 --> 00:08:49.820 while riding a unicycle. Right. But the reaction, 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:52.539 we have a quote here from USA Today. They said 00:08:52.539 --> 00:08:54.519 the show achieved something bordering on the 00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:57.440 impossible. That is high praise. Bordering on 00:08:57.440 --> 00:08:58.899 the impossible. And the best part of the quote 00:08:58.899 --> 00:09:00.679 is everyone loved it. It captured the chaotic 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:02.600 spirit of the sport in this region perfectly. 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:04.899 That moment really proved they understood the 00:09:04.899 --> 00:09:06.759 assignment. They weren't trying to make the U 00:09:06.759 --> 00:09:09.080 .S. Open Cup look like the Polish Champions League 00:09:09.080 --> 00:09:11.700 in Europe. They embraced the chaos. They said, 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:15.299 this is American soccer. It's wild. It's unpredictable. 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:17.860 And we are going to show you all of it. That 00:09:17.860 --> 00:09:20.440 builds immense trust with the hardcore audience. 00:09:20.679 --> 00:09:23.399 It does. And they took that trust and went global. 00:09:23.620 --> 00:09:26.360 The notes mentioned they broadcast a live daily 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:30.059 show from Qatar during the 2022 World Cup. Which 00:09:30.059 --> 00:09:32.580 is a massive scaling up from a twice a week streaming 00:09:32.580 --> 00:09:35.299 show. Think about the resources that takes. It 00:09:35.299 --> 00:09:37.679 showed the network had total confidence in them 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:39.799 to be the voice of that tournament for the American 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:42.259 audience. And the industry noticed, too. It wasn't 00:09:42.259 --> 00:09:44.899 just fans on Twitter. In 2023, they picked up 00:09:44.899 --> 00:09:47.639 some hardware, a silver telly award in the general 00:09:47.639 --> 00:09:50.830 sports category. That validation matters. Awards 00:09:50.830 --> 00:09:53.370 like the tellies move the show from cult favorite 00:09:53.370 --> 00:09:56.309 to industry standard. It signals to advertisers 00:09:56.309 --> 00:09:58.850 and executives that this quality is real. And 00:09:58.850 --> 00:10:01.169 by the time they hit the 300th episode, which 00:10:01.169 --> 00:10:04.309 was November 9, 2023, they were an institution. 00:10:04.669 --> 00:10:06.669 Now, they filmed that one at the NWSL Championship 00:10:06.669 --> 00:10:10.850 Media Day in San Diego. And 300 episodes is no 00:10:10.850 --> 00:10:13.490 joke in the streaming world where shows get canceled 00:10:13.490 --> 00:10:15.659 after one season. It speaks to the hunger of 00:10:15.659 --> 00:10:17.720 the audience. We often hear that attention spans 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:20.080 are shrinking, that people only want 15 -second 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:22.820 clips on TikTok. But if you give people deep, 00:10:22.860 --> 00:10:25.559 nuanced coverage of the thing they love, they 00:10:25.559 --> 00:10:28.179 will show up 300 times. Speaking of showing up, 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:30.539 let's talk about the expansion. Because apparently 00:10:30.539 --> 00:10:33.000 one show wasn't enough to contain all this content. 00:10:33.179 --> 00:10:35.799 This is a crucial part of the story. You can't 00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:37.980 talk about Football Americas today without talking 00:10:37.980 --> 00:10:40.840 about the spinoff Football W. This launched back 00:10:40.840 --> 00:10:44.269 in July 2024. Right. And again, look at the strategy. 00:10:44.690 --> 00:10:47.350 They identified that while the main show covered 00:10:47.350 --> 00:10:49.929 women's soccer, the women's game, specifically 00:10:49.929 --> 00:10:52.330 the NWSL and the U .S. Women's National Team, 00:10:52.370 --> 00:10:54.909 had grown so much it needed its own dedicated 00:10:54.909 --> 00:10:57.450 real estate. You can't cram it into a segment 00:10:57.450 --> 00:10:59.690 anymore. It needs its own hour. So Football W 00:10:59.690 --> 00:11:03.669 airs Tuesdays on ESPN Plus Space Game. So now 00:11:03.669 --> 00:11:06.409 the schedule is Monday, Football Americas, Tuesday, 00:11:06.610 --> 00:11:10.269 Football W, Thursday, Football Americas. They're 00:11:10.269 --> 00:11:12.850 blanketing the week. And the talent acquisition 00:11:12.850 --> 00:11:15.730 here was massive. They brought in Ali Krieger. 00:11:15.850 --> 00:11:18.549 A two -time World Cup winner with the U .S. You 00:11:18.549 --> 00:11:20.509 don't get much more credible than that. If you 00:11:20.509 --> 00:11:24.169 want to understand how a defense works or the 00:11:24.169 --> 00:11:26.809 mentality of a champion having Ali Krieger break 00:11:26.809 --> 00:11:29.190 down the tape is the gold standard. And here 00:11:29.190 --> 00:11:31.070 is where the timeline intersects with the host 00:11:31.070 --> 00:11:33.419 changes we mentioned earlier. When Sebastian 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:36.000 Salazar left, it wasn't just the main show that 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:38.519 needed steering. Exactly. Christina Alexander 00:11:38.519 --> 00:11:41.299 took over hosting duties for both Football Americas 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:44.919 and Football W. So she really became the central 00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:47.580 hub for this entire soccer coverage universe 00:11:47.580 --> 00:11:50.570 on the network. That is a heavy workload, but 00:11:50.570 --> 00:11:52.750 it also creates a nice consistency. You have 00:11:52.750 --> 00:11:54.809 that familiar voice guiding you through the men's 00:11:54.809 --> 00:11:57.350 game on Mondays and Thursdays and the women's 00:11:57.350 --> 00:11:59.690 game on Tuesdays. It creates a cohesive brand. 00:11:59.970 --> 00:12:01.990 It says this is all part of the same conversation. 00:12:02.190 --> 00:12:04.230 It prevents the women's show from feeling like 00:12:04.230 --> 00:12:06.730 a side project. It's integrated into the main 00:12:06.730 --> 00:12:09.289 flow of the network's soccer identity. Now, we 00:12:09.289 --> 00:12:11.370 can't do a deep dive on a talk show without looking 00:12:11.370 --> 00:12:13.870 at the guest list, because ultimately a show 00:12:13.870 --> 00:12:15.830 is only as good as the people willing to come 00:12:15.830 --> 00:12:19.200 on it. If you claim to be the voice of the region, 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:22.759 the players need to respect you enough to show 00:12:22.759 --> 00:12:25.320 up. And this is where the power of the show reveals 00:12:25.320 --> 00:12:27.600 itself. If this were just a small niche blog, 00:12:27.980 --> 00:12:29.820 they wouldn't be getting the names they're getting. 00:12:30.059 --> 00:12:31.840 Let's run through the who's who here from our 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:35.039 notes. On the men's side, we have Christian Pulisic. 00:12:35.379 --> 00:12:38.120 Captain America himself. And Pulisic is known 00:12:38.120 --> 00:12:40.279 for being pretty reserved in interviews. The 00:12:40.279 --> 00:12:42.340 fact that he comes on the show suggests he feels 00:12:42.340 --> 00:12:44.399 comfortable that they get it. Then you have Guillermo 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:48.100 Ochoa. A Mexican legend. a goalkeeper who has 00:12:48.100 --> 00:12:50.840 played in five World Cups. Javier Chicharito 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:55.559 Hernandez, Alfonso Davies, Leon Bailey. These 00:12:55.559 --> 00:12:57.740 are the biggest names in CONCACAF. And what's 00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:00.440 fascinating is that list represents the exact 00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:03.700 binational or rather multinational struggle the 00:13:03.700 --> 00:13:07.200 show covers. You have the face of the U .S. men's 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:10.620 national team in Pulisic and the face of El Tri 00:13:10.620 --> 00:13:14.120 in Ochoa. Getting them both validates that the 00:13:14.120 --> 00:13:16.799 show is a neutral ground. It's the town square 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:19.340 where both sides of the rivalry meet and get 00:13:19.340 --> 00:13:21.860 treated with equal respect. And on the women's 00:13:21.860 --> 00:13:25.240 side, it's just as stacked. Alex Morgan, Megan 00:13:25.240 --> 00:13:28.259 Rapinoe, Lynn Williams, Rose Lavelle. These are 00:13:28.259 --> 00:13:30.480 global superstars. These are players who transcend 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:33.500 the sport entirely. And the notes also mention 00:13:33.500 --> 00:13:36.139 recurring insights from Julie Foudy. Having someone 00:13:36.139 --> 00:13:38.500 with her history, a pioneer of the women's game, 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:41.399 appearing numerous times elevates the discourse. 00:13:41.700 --> 00:13:43.919 It connects the current generation to the history 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:46.039 of the sport in this country. And we mentioned 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:47.799 Allie Krieger is the star of the spinoff now. 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:50.039 But the notes say she was appearing on the main 00:13:50.039 --> 00:13:52.860 show multiple times even before Football W launched. 00:13:53.139 --> 00:13:54.980 Which shows they were testing the chemistry. 00:13:55.080 --> 00:13:56.980 They saw the audience reaction. They saw the 00:13:56.980 --> 00:13:59.080 insight she brought. And they organically grew 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:01.700 that spinoff. It wasn't forced by a marketing 00:14:01.700 --> 00:14:03.480 department. It came out of the existing fabric 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:05.779 of the show. So when we step back and look at 00:14:05.779 --> 00:14:08.580 this from the launch in 2021 as a bit of an experiment 00:14:08.580 --> 00:14:11.600 to the award wins, the casting shifts, and now 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:14.340 the spinoffs, it feels like. Football Americas 00:14:14.340 --> 00:14:17.620 did something rare. It didn't just cover a sport. 00:14:17.980 --> 00:14:20.460 It validated a fan base. That is the perfect 00:14:20.460 --> 00:14:22.580 way to put it. For decades, the American soccer 00:14:22.580 --> 00:14:26.019 fan and specifically the fan who loves the domestic 00:14:26.019 --> 00:14:29.080 game and the rivalry with Mexico was told you're 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:31.799 not important. The real soccer is in England 00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:34.220 or Spain. This show said, no, what is happening 00:14:34.220 --> 00:14:36.960 in Columbus, Ohio or Mexico City or San Diego 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:40.840 is just as vital, just as dramatic and just as 00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:43.179 worthy of primetime analysis. And the numbers 00:14:43.179 --> 00:14:45.940 and the longevity back that up. They do. It proved 00:14:45.940 --> 00:14:48.059 that the niche wasn't small. It was just ignored. 00:14:48.279 --> 00:14:50.100 There are millions of people who care about this 00:14:50.100 --> 00:14:52.340 region. Football America's just gave them a clubhouse. 00:14:52.460 --> 00:14:54.000 So here's where it gets really interesting for 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:56.399 you, the listener. We are now in a world where 00:14:56.399 --> 00:14:58.779 Christina Alexander is leading this massive franchise 00:14:58.779 --> 00:15:03.299 covering the NWSL, Liga, MLS, and the national 00:15:03.299 --> 00:15:06.000 teams. The ecosystem is growing. And with the 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:09.440 spinoff, Football W firmly established, the coverage 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:11.940 is deeper than ever. So here is the question 00:15:11.940 --> 00:15:14.259 I want to leave you with today. We often talk 00:15:14.259 --> 00:15:16.639 about mainstream sports media catching up to 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:19.399 reality. With Football America's finding this 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:21.980 level of success by ignoring the Eurocentric 00:15:21.980 --> 00:15:24.580 model and focusing intensely on our own backyard, 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:29.159 has this niche show actually become the model 00:15:29.159 --> 00:15:31.860 for the future of American sports media? It's 00:15:31.860 --> 00:15:34.220 a compelling thought. As audiences fragment, 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:36.960 the days of the generic one -size -fits -all 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:39.330 sports show might be numbered. Are we going to 00:15:39.330 --> 00:15:42.149 see more hyper -focused, culturally specific 00:15:42.149 --> 00:15:45.669 shows replacing the generic highlight reel programs? 00:15:45.970 --> 00:15:48.029 When you look at the engagement Football Americas 00:15:48.029 --> 00:15:50.850 gets, the model certainly seems to be working. 00:15:51.750 --> 00:15:53.990 Specificity wins. Something to think about the 00:15:53.990 --> 00:15:56.110 next time you stream a match. That's it for this 00:15:56.110 --> 00:15:58.210 deep dive into Football Americas. Thanks for 00:15:58.210 --> 00:16:00.350 listening. A pleasure as always. Keep exploring. 00:16:00.570 --> 00:16:01.350 We'll catch you next time.