The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - GOOD FOLLOW - MMA Fighter Julianna Pena on Growth of Women’s MMA + The Return of the WNBA & More.

Episode Date: August 19, 2024

This week on Good Follow: Megan, Katie, and Logan discuss the USWNT gold medal celebrations and react to the best social media moments of the week. Then Megan sits down with UFC fighter Julianna Pena to discuss the growth of women’s MMA and her return to the octagon. Finally, Megan shares her WNBA DraftKings picks of the week and Logan makes predictions for the second half of the WNBA season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Benefits vary by card, other conditions apply. Welcome to Good Follow presented by DraftKings. I'm Megan Reyes and alongside me as always are Logan Hackett and Katie Novotny. Ladies, how are we doing today? Doing amazing. How are you? Coming off the Olympic high and finally getting a little bit of normalcy in my life now that we don't have sports on at four in the morning.

I miss it. I'm just waking up to do my own sports at four in the morning. I miss it. I'm just waking up to do my own sports at four in the morning, you know, and just just giving it my all. As we're talking about the Olympics, we know the U.S. women's national team took home their fifth gold medal last weekend. And prior to the gold medal match, their fans were speculating and coming up with names for the trio of Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, and Sophia Smith. People came up with the Trident, but then they came out and said that they wanted to

be called Triple Espresso. So let's check out a video of this guy at a coffee shop. What are you going to get? I'm going to get the Rodman, Swanson, Smith. A what? Triple Espresso. Triple espresso. I love a man who loves women's soccer. Me too. If Starbucks was smart, they would put that as a promo drink immediately on the menu.

That would be so sick. I would love to see that. Imagine you're just like with him like first date and he goes up with that. I think I would actually drop to a knee and be like, I don't care about anything else. Marry me, please. We're getting married. I saw actually that Washington Spirit

are doing this really cool promo with local coffee shops in the DC area where they're having like a triple espresso menu item at different coffee shops. Yeah, it's a really smart marketing move. You're right. The Starbucks of the world have missed out on this. That is what we want to see.

Bring these women to every menu board across the United States. Give them something. So Katie, as an advertising professional, what name do you like for this trio? And what name would you give them? I feel like Triple Espresso might be the smartest thing I've ever heard. It's so well done and they're so happy together. Like every time I see them, all three of them are together, which brings out, you know,

it really ties into the caffeine. It gives you so much happiness and the coffee and the expertise and the craft with the red espresso beans. It's brilliant. It's absolutely brilliant. They knocked it out of the park. I don't think I could beat it to be honest. And well, the U.S. Women's National Team post win gold medal party looked absolutely lit. If there's one thing women soccer players know how to do, they know how to party. Let's see this video from their celebrations. You know what my favorite thing about this is, especially respectfully, a lot of the roster skews younger, that at their

gold medal party somebody said, we need to put on Cheetah Girls. Out of all things, I cannot believe I was a Cheetah Girl for Halloween one year and the fact that they, this has come full circle. I cannot believe I am in awe. It makes me love them even more. Also, the fire? What? Like, what an after party!

What do these, I wanna hang out with them so bad! You're not a 90s baby if you didn't want to get a pink fleece zip-up from Gaffer Old Navy with a matching fleece cheetah headband. Oh yeah. And matching gloves and matching everything. fleece zip up from gaffer old lady with a matching fleece cheetah headband. Matching gloves and matching everything and be Raven Simone. Yeah. Uh, I had a cheetah belt, so that was pretty sick. Um, one of my friends had a long sleeve cheetah shirt that like,

it was like a blouse. Like it was so ugly but it was so cool. Logan, tell me you've seen Cheetah Girls. Oh of course I'm pretty sure there's something like significant with Cheetah Girls in my life and I can't fully remember what because I was pretty young but I know the full like sweatsuit tracksuit that you're talking about. I loved every single one of them and then one of them started dating Rob Kardashian when I was like obsessed with the Kardashians. So just everything came full circle, but I'm calling it now. These three are going to go as the cheetah girls for Halloween. Oh my God. Oh my God. You should put a bet on this. Hello. We need to open up lines on Halloween costumes because that's a good one. I mean, I like that. Well, it's

time for another round of is Katie to online and the answer is always yes. Katie is going to share the top moments from her algorithms this week. So Katie, what do you have for us? That's the drum roll. Okay, first up, I'm going to talk about the bronze clock necklace that flavorfully had made for Jordan Charles after she was stripped from her bronze floor metal. It's hard for me to say that out loud. Let's check it out. Here's the thing, I think I'd rather have that than the bronze medal. I would love for him to come out with a grandfather clock that looks like that. And I would put it in my home and then every hour it just dongs with his with that song instead.

I'm not gonna lie, I've watched the video multiple times and actually made a different video on it yesterday where it was just like on loop, but without sound. So that was the first time I heard it was sound and I had no clue he had that song over it. It's so good. It's iconic. It's so good. Let's talk about it for a minute though.

I would love to know people's opinions on the Jordan Child situation. We can try and keep this condensed because I think this could be a whole other episode. Starting with you, Logan, what are your thoughts on it all? I don't even know how to best summarize this, but what are your thoughts on the discourse? I hate it. I really feel like she shouldn't be giving it back, especially given that Romania was like, we'll just split it. Give me a bronze. And she could keep hers. And they said, no, I think that's stupid. She worked hard for it. And there's other proof apparently that

it was done in like 46 seconds. I'm not a fan of the whole situation at all. Katie, what are your thoughts? Do not like a challenge that is brought after an entire event. Like, if it feels like it should be, it's on everybody, I think. Like, to your point, I think it's like the IOC messed up. But like all these extra challenges that are coming out is because they messed up in the moment. And like, we've moved on. Like, you don't get to argue a ball that went out

of bounds like after the match was over. Like there should be like, like I think in, um, like there's a pitch clock for a reason, right? Like you have a countdown. This is the amount of time you got to get the thing out the door. And if it's over, let it happen. And it just is annoying. It's like one of those little nitpicky things. I don't like it. I'm not into it. And it just ruins the entire, it's a little, it's a little gnat in the entire wonderfulness of the entire Olympics.

What do you have next for us on your top moments of the week? See, speaking of things that are completely unhinged, Tom Cruise just casually dropping down into the closing ceremonies, which makes me so embarrassed already for 2028. Let's watch this. Like he looks like he's about to do Peter Pan, a Peter Pan song. Like, what are you doing?

I'm like, stay in your lane pal. Like, I don't know. Like, I cannot believe believe I am so I'm speechless because I just know Hollywood and LA are going to do this across the board in four years and like I want to just like pull my hat down and be like it's not I don't live here this isn't it this isn't it I and I know a lot of people felt strongly about how often he was being shown on the broadcast during the gold medal match.

And I get why I can understand why he was the person to receive the flag, Hollywood, all of that. But what I don't understand is the most obvious thing was right there at the Olympics. Snoop Dogg is is literally from Long Beach. Why wasn't he receiving the flag? Because he's not a white man. He's not a white rich famous man. And it's driving we obviously know that. But it was right there for everybody. Imagine him on stage, Crip Locking. Yeah.

That stunt was so lame. Like he literally just like, I could have done it. That's not doing your own stunts. That's like going for a ride at the fair. Yeah. Like ride at the fair. Like to be on a BMX bike and ramp up and dive through a ring of fire.

And then I'm in. Do a flip. Yeah. And then like go in through the ring of fire into a swimming pool. Like I want to see that whole thing. Okay. What else do you have for us, Katie? The WNBA is back. And you know what that means?

Ellie the elephant is back in our feeds, baby. She freaking came back with a vengeance and Sierra brought her out on her stage at her concert in Brooklyn. Let's watch. Hey, you like this, we're doing a drop. Hey, what you got, daddy? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Everybody just, hey, hey, hey, hey, come on, come on.

Hey! Hey! Hey! Come on! Come on! Here he is! This is actually what I look like when I get a piece of chocolate cake for myself to eat at night. I am, it is so, she's amazing.

She's absolutely, what a move. I still hold onto my theory that Sierra is Ellie the Elephant, or has been Ellie the Elephant. And perhaps she was just in two places at once. This doesn't debunk what I think could be possible. She was doing a Hannah Montana somehow. Okay. All right, close us out, Katie. What's your last moment? Our last one?

Our last one is it's a it's a it's a emotional piece. It's a great one to end on because we're talking about Paralympics a little bit later. But I am obsessed. I am writing the script. I am creating the pitch deck for the Olympic and Paralympic love story that is Tara and Hunter Whittle. Watch this video of him reacting to her becoming a gold medalist. And bring the tissues. Let's go baby! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, baby you're the Olympic champion! You're the Olympic champion! Oh my god you did it. Yeah! Yeah!

Yeah! You're the Olympic champion! Woo! Woo! Woo! I have full body chills. I'm gonna cry. I know! I saw this. I was walking, like, like Saturday night and I saw I was walking at this bar I was walking past this bar and all the TVs had this

moment just the biggest screen TVs of her jumping into his arms and I like started sobbing it was like to have that support. Like, oh my God, I want it so bad. Well, coming up, I sit down with UFC fighter, Juliana Pena, we'll be right back. Welcome back to Good Follow. Joining me today is UFC fighter, Juliana Pena. Juliana, it's so great to have you on the show. How are you today?

I'm great, Megan. Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here. Well, I am very excited to learn from you and to start I would love to know what initially drew you to MMA and how you got into the sport. Okay it was actually by an accident. My sister had invited me to a woman's cardio kickboxing class to lose some weight because she's very like she's painfully shy and I went with her to join because I needed to lose some weight and I's very like she's painfully shy. And I went with her to join because I needed to lose some weight. And I threw my first punch and my trainer asked

me where I learned how to box and I said I had never boxed before. And he said, well, where did you learn how to punch? And I said, well, you just taught me. And so I threw my first punch at 19 years old and I haven't looked back since it was it was all by accident. That is so cool. Boxing is actually one of my favorite workouts. I will admit, I don't go often, and I haven't been in a while, like pre-COVID, but it is one of my favorite workouts. And similar, I went to a class for fun with a friend

and I fell in love with it. It's such an underrated, good workout and a great way to get some aggression out. Absolutely, I think that it is an underrated workout because every time I leave the boxing gym, I'm like dripping in sweat. It's a great workout and it's always good if you have one of those classes.

I think people are intimidated, right? Because they think boxing, I'm gonna get hit in the face. But any good boxing gym is just basically like you're holding and then you punch and then you're holding and then I punch. That way, you know, no one gets hit in the face. I think the professional fighters are in the back and they're the ones that take all the punches. But initially, I think that most people don't join the boxing gym because they think they're going to get punched in the face.

And that's not really the case at most gyms. Right. If anything, I learned that most of the boxing classes I went to is way more abs and legs and not even that much punching that I wanted. So people that aren't neutral realize it's a lot more conditioning. Yeah, yeah. The old school calisthenics. Yes. I think, I think that maybe you should also find another gym that has a little bit more punching than the old school calisthenics.

We'll have to go together. Oh, I would love to. So being in MMA, excuse me, as long as you have, is there a particular hobby or skill that you've picked up throughout your career that may have surprised you? I'm from Spokane, Washington, but now I'm based in Chicago. And last week I came back from Spokane. I did my first ever keynote speaking engagement and I spoke in front of 350 supervisors from this company called AG West.

And I would never brag and say, oh, I nailed it. I hit it out of the park. But my sister was there and she was like, you killed it. And then the response that I got back from all of the people there was also very, very positive. And then I got an email from the guy that had hired me and he said, you were an absolute hit. You were the favorite keynote speaker.

Everybody loved you. Like you're great at this. And so I think that if I can share my story, which is all I did is just kind of tell people about my story in a way that motivates them or inspires them in some way, that that's just another great thing for me to segue into after fighting and is something that now that I've tapped into, I realized that I might have a niche for it a little bit. So it's one of those hobbies or skill sets that's kind of just has developed over the years, but it's something that I enjoy very much.

And that's a good skill set. Speaking in front of people and being able to deliver a solid keynote speech is a very rare skill and especially one that maybe you weren't, it wasn't a space you thought you were going to get into. But yeah, that's what sets you up for success well later in your life. Yes, thank you. It was so scary. I had taken months of preparation and I still didn't feel ready. I felt like the pre-fight jitters I still didn't feel ready. I felt like the

pre fight jitters where I didn't sleep the night before. And then when you're about to go on, like when you're about to fight, you go through this fight or flight response in your body, your body knows and senses danger. So your body will shut down on you and it will be like, go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep. And all of a sudden you'll like yawn a million times. And you're like, why am I so tired? I'm about to go fight in front of all these people. And like, you're about to go get into this dangerous thing and the body can sense it.

So it tries to, you know, flight and shut down on you and make you very tired. And so I was just yawning so much right before I went on and I was like panicking and like my heart was kind of racing, but at the same time I was like, I thought I was gonna choke, you know. And then 45 minutes minutes that's longer than a TED talk I was freaking out I was literally freaking out but I just went up there and and read my script and I had practiced so much and I nailed it and so I was like actually that wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be

I think I could do this later on. Well you kind of of touched on it, that feeling pre-fight. I would love to know, how do you manage those pre-fight jitters? And I never thought of the body going into fight or flight and body actually wanting to shut down before. But how do you prepare for a fight? What is that mental preparation? So I would say that that months of preparation that I did for this keynote speaking is also what helps me when I'm fighting. It's like mat time. I wrote out the speech. I practice it over and over. And then I would just like

whatever ear I could find, I would just rant for 45 minutes. I couldn't even make 45 minutes. I was only making like 20 minutes at the most. And then it would be 25. And then I would get to 30. And then when I got up on the stage, it was like I blew past the 45 minutes and added seven minutes. So I think that the thing that helps me in fighting get ready mentally is just mat time and preparing and making sure that I'm showing up to my practices and giving it my all.

That way, when I get inside the cage, I'm like happy that I didn't go out on that Saturday night and that I didn't miss a practice. I'm like thanking my lucky stars that like I made sure that I stayed focused and what I had to do, which was no fun time. Focus right now on making sure that you're the best possible fighter that you could be and optimizing all of your time and all of your practices on the mat. That way when that cage door closes, you know that you did everything that you could to

prepare for that. And closes, you know that you did everything that you could to prepare for that. And that gives you confidence. That gives you the reassurance that you could literally put the Hulk in front of me right now and I'm going to smash him. I love that. So if I'm understanding, if you're in that moment, you have pre-fight jitters, anxiety, maybe your body is going into that flight mode and internally you want to shut down. So you're then shifting your focus to everything that you have done to prepare to then divert yourself from wanting to get nervous and anxious.

Yeah. And then there just becomes a point in time where it's like, you got to jump off the diving board. You know what I mean? Like you fall off the horse, you get back on, or it's just one of those things where there's nothing left to do but to just do it. And at that point you're like, can everybody get out of the cage? Get this camera out of my face, shut the door. Like I'm ready to wreck this girl in the hallway during fight week because I've been waiting so long to get this done. Like I can't take it anymore. Just let's go. Let's just do it, you know, and see what happens when the chips will fall where they fall. And so there just becomes a point where you just got to take that step. And as soon as you get punched in the face one time, you're like, I got this.

I'm here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, okay, I woke up. Let's do this. You realize that you have built it up inside your head to be this giant problem. And then as soon as you get into the clinch with this person or feel them, you're like, I've been doing this for months. This is no big deal.

Like I made it into this big gigantic thing and it really wasn't. So athletes are known for having superstitions. A lot of great athletes have their little superstitions or rituals before they compete. Do you have any superstitions or rituals of your own before a fight? I can tell you that I grew up very superstitious. You know, if I saw a black cat, you know,

or like in a ladder, you know, underneath the cat in the ladder, like I used to be extremely superstitious. I had a bag of rubies and horses and pennies and butterflies. And if I didn't have this bag of, you know, trinkets, these like tchotchkes, I would lose my mind. I would be like, oh no, you know, if I didn't have a particular pair of underwear that I wore every single fight when I was on the Ultimate Fighter. I would lose it. It was one particular fight with Kat Zingano that I didn't have this bag of tchotchkes and that the signs weren't lining up.

I was waiting to see the butterflies. I was waiting to see the rubies and I wasn't seeing them. And then the referee came in that had reffed one of these fights in Salt Lake City that I had lost and I lost a hometown decision. And I was like, I can't have him as my ref. If I have him as my ref, I'm going to lose. You know? And so all of these things were like, none of my superstitions were lining up and I was like, oh no, what am I going to do?

And then I went out there and I won the fight. And so it kind of just debunked all of these myths and superstitions that I had been building up in my head. And I just thought it's not real. None of it's real. You just can't think like that. These superstitions are ridiculous. I remember one particular time I used to think that if they had the better hair or if I had

the better hair, the one that had the better braided hair was going to win. And again, I had to, that got debunked when I fought Amanda Nunes because I hated my hair. I thought it looked awful. And then I went in and I took out the goat and I slayed the dragon. And I was like, man, you did that with the wackest hair ever. And so I just, again, it just goes back to these things. It was like superstitions aren't real. You can't tie your values or your goals to these superstitions

because you're going to just find out that it really doesn't matter. You and I grew up in similar, I think, households where we also grew up very superstitious. And sometimes I still lean on it a little bit, but I think to your point, once you realize you can do these things without it, then it's more just like a security blanket. Right. It makes you stronger, actually, it makes you stronger actually. It makes you stronger.

Well, so let's shift gears a little bit. And I would love to talk about the growth of MMA. How do you see the sport evolving overall for women? And how would you like to play a role in its growth? So the way that I have seen the sport evolve is the fact that I just got done sparring a 16 year old girl who tried to whip my tail up and down that octagon, and I'm like, oh my gosh, these kids are this like, they're getting better, faster, they're starting younger,

and the sport is not so rare anymore for women to the point that like, parents are wanting their kids to be involved in mixed martial arts, they're begging them to fight and to pursue this type of career because they can see how lucrative it could be. And also what a great way to get out that aggression or just be able to do something positive with your life. And so MMA has completely changed my life and I feel like people have seen, you know, these women prior to me and with me going through this evolution of it not being such a rare thing. It's just a job just like any anything else.

And so where I see it evolving is they're starting younger. There's little kids that are like trying to whoop my tail at 16 years old, whereas I didn't have that when I was growing up. I was the young buck and now I'm like all these young bucks are coming up in the ranks, and I'm just like, they're scary. And so I think that it's definitely a lot more common for women or girls to start in mixed martial arts at a younger age.

And where it's evolving is, you know, Ronda Rousey back in the day was this type of person who could go in there, throw you on your back, and arm bar you in 30 seconds. And then the sport started to evolve, where it was like, once you shut that arm bar down, what else do you got? And the sport started to evolve in terms of striking

and being able to shut down the one-trick ponies. And it's just evolving to the point where you better be versed everywhere, because if you're not, you're going to lose. And so I think that I see that evolving, too, where it's like these girls are just not doing just only one specific martial art. They're learning it everywhere. I just hope to be an inspiration. You know, I just hope to be an inspiration to the point where they see that if I did it, they could do it too. You know, I think that the more eyes that we have on the sport,

the more women that we have joining the sport is only a great thing. So if I could be that inspiration, that role model to these young girls, great. I just want them to know that, you know, of course, if I can do it, this girl from like little Spokane, Washington can can make her dreams come true. You can too. So Juliana, you haven't fought since 2022, but you're next up for a title fight to reclaim your belt. So how do you feel about your first fight back possibly being won to reclaim your title? I am jonesing at the opportunity to get inside that octagon.

I am literally ready for them to say go. I am so excited and I literally, I can't wait. I've been waiting for so long. I think that there's been so many ups and downs in terms of getting to this point. And I've been working so hard in order to get back inside that octagon. So it's all systems go for me. All gas, no breaks, and I'm going to be ready when that time comes. And I'm very excited.

Are there any fights other than your own that you're really looking forward to? Actually, yes. I have a training partner. His name is Ignacio Bahamondes. We call him Nacho, and he's fighting at the spear. And I am like, okay, I don't get jealous quite often, but I'm jealous in this particular instance because he is fighting at a place that no one else is gonna ever be able to fight at.

And it's gonna be so epic and it's gonna be so cool. And so I, and I know he's gonna smash his opponent. And so it's just to be so epic and it's going to be so cool. And so I, and I know he's going to smash his opponent. And so it's just going to be so awesome to see him fighting at that venue. And I can't wait for it to happen because I know that that entire card is going to be absolutely epic. This is completely, I know. Have you been to the sphere yet? No, I've only seen it. And I saw somebody like posting like videos at a YouTube concert and I'm like, oh, I would give anything to see a UFC card at this year. I don't think I can make it though. I know that I like, I know that I could probably go. But I quite frankly, I'm

so focused on what I have to do that I'm gonna have to miss it. And so I'm sad about that because I think Dana has said that it's like the one and only card that they're going to do there. And I'm like, and I begged to get on that card. And they were like, no. And so it's just, it just sucks all around for me because I can't fight there and I can't watch the fight. So, but I'm, but I'm excited. Well, to me, that means there is a bigger, more exciting venue waiting for you is what

I, is what I get from this. I agree. I agree. There is. So what are some common misconceptions people have about being a professional fighter? Like some myths you want to debunk when it comes to new people learning about sport? Okay. This is a great question. I am not this person that wants to fight people all the time and just, you know, start socking people in the face. You know, there's a difference between a fighter and a professional athlete.

I'm a professional athlete. I am not this, you know, street fighter or bar fighter that's going to be, you know, knocking people in the head. In fact, I am like the complete opposite. I see that stuff and I run as fast as I can because I don't want anything to do with that kind of stuff. I'm not this aggressive person who's ready to bite somebody's head off and just wanting to fight all the time. And I think that that's a common misconception.

People think, oh, she's a fighter. It's like, no, I get paid to fight. I don't fight for free. I am a professional athlete. And I think that that's the difference. One of the things that people always think is that I want to fight all the time or that I'm just this like monster and I'm actually like a big, cuddly teddy bear. I just want to be like loved and like love and peace and everything. You know,

this is just what I do. Everybody's got to have a job. This is just my job. And so I think that that's one big misconception that people think. I would also love to know because I think some people may assume older fighters, they go into the octagon and they fight for however many times a year. But you already touched on this, but there's what year-round training that probably goes into this that a lot of people may think that it's just prepping for a fight, going and fighting, and then you'll train again for the next one or you'll fight again in the next one and not understanding to your point, it's a professional sport and you're a professional athlete who does this as a job, day in and day out year round.

I agree. I think that most people think like, well, how many times do you fight a year? And I'm like, I'll be lucky if I can fight one time a year. As it being a violent sport and a combat sport, it's very difficult to stay healthy throughout the year, because there's so many injuries that can occur. And if you check the laundry list of injuries that I've had, I've done it all. And so it's unfortunate that I can't fight as often as I would like, or that I can't always stay healthy, or even, you know, the opponents are always like, she has to wait, you know, eight months to fight, you know, because I was ready to go in January when they were telling me that

it was going to be in October. And so I've been waiting this entire time to fight. And it's not one of those things where it's like, I can reel off five fights in one year. That's not the way it works. Plus, I doubt that they're going to be wanting to pay out that much cash for a fighter over and over and over again. I mean, I'm sure that they would if the person was healthy, the other person was healthy, and the fight lined up to the point where we could fight five times a year, but I can't fight that often. And that is another misconception. Well, Juliana, it has been so great having you on Good Follow. Thank you so much for joining the show and I cannot wait to watch your next fight. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. I'm so excited. I hope that they announce it soon. I wonder

when they're going to do that. But it has been such a pleasure to be here with you, Megan. Thank you so much for the time. Coming up, Katie, Logan and I discuss the Paralympics and the debut of the USL Super League. It's been a three-year wait, but the Olympics are back and the CBS Sports Podcast Network has you covered with everything happening in Paris. It's a new era for the U.S. Women's National Team. An attacking third will tackle all the women's soccer action. First cut will keep close tabs on golf. While Beyond the Arc will follow the U.S. men's basketball team on a quest for another gold. And We Need to Talk Now will provide comprehensive coverage of women's athletes at the Olympic Games. Follow and listen to all CBS Sports podcasts for free on the Odyssey app and wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome back to Good Follow. The Olympics, as most people know, are over, but we cannot and should not overlook that the Paralympics start in less than two weeks. Let's check out this PSA from rugby Paralympian Chuck Aoki. The Olympics just ended. Everyone is kind of sad. Rightfully so.

These games were incredible for just so many amazing reasons. Some of the best games in my lifetime as far as I can recall. I think what's so interesting about this is the last time I remember us being like this collectively sad or just bummed out as a country, as a world. So Game of Thrones was on TV. But Game of Thrones is good. Sorry, I'm not sorry. It was all people could talk about. Everyone was watching it. It was massive.

It was everywhere. And when the season would end, it was like, oh, man, we got to wait so long for another season. It's forever to get here. It was just a big bummer. The difference this time, of course, is you don't have to wait long for season two in Paris. Olympics are coming on August 28th. Two weeks away to have all new characters, a lot of the same sports, some new ones.

What's the rugby? Check it out. For me, the most exciting part is me and all my friends are in season two. Like make sure you turn in to watch us. The sequel's coming, let's go. I love this analogy so much. Season two is coming and it's hot. It's hot, you guys.

I think we need to be so tuned into this. I am a big proponent of Paralympics and anything that helps elevate people with disabilities. My mom has a neurological disorder called transverse myelitis. And so she went from like walking with a cane to walking with a scooter or to walking with a walker and then walking to a scooter. And it is so hard to get visibility for her and her community. And this is a amazing way to remind the world. These people can really show us what inner strength really means. It is amazing to watch. During the Olympics, I always have like, you're watching somebody and

you're like, oh my gosh, that's amazing. Oh my gosh, how did they do that? But in the Paralympics, especially because there's so many different categories and like levels with every single sport, I'm always watching it just like in awe and absolutely amazed. But then it also has the other perspective. Like there's some people who think just because someone is a little bit different, they can't do the same things or anything. And that really takes me to a place where I'm like, they are better than me at probably literally everything. And I think, oh, they're always so special.

And like, cool things happen, and there's drama in everything. It's just like the Olympics. So I'm so excited. Just the everyday stuff that tires my mom out. I'm like, I don't know how you even get up to shower every day. You know, so watching these people, I actually just watched Watershed, which is a documentary on Peacock about Mallory Wegman,

who is a Olympic swimmer and what she has done with her career. And she has a line that she says I've done more on four wheels than I could ever do on two legs and I was like and I hate saying inspiring because like they're just living their lives like they are living their lives like everybody else but it is amazing to watch and it's very exciting and I want to give the same energy to the Paralympics as I did to the Olympics this year. Such a important reminder for everybody, myself included, to tune in and support the 2024

Paris Paralympics and I think to close this conversation out what is really cool is a lot of the Paralympic athletes put out posts on social media saying that they're not participating in the Paralympics. And I'm not going to lie, they got me in the first half because I was scrolling. I was like, oh, wait, they're not what? But then if you scroll on their second side, they say we're competing because just like any other athlete, just like the Olympic athletes, they are competing in the games and it's not necessarily a participation or something out of, it shouldn't be treated any less or differently than we would treat the Olympics. Yeah, they're not letting any of that define them, right? They're just doing what they love

with all of these extra things in the way, which is what a freaking, it's just, I want to hang out, I want to watch. I just get so emotional about it, I'm so I want to I want to hang out. I want to watch. I just get so emotional about it. I got to going to lock it up. Well, let's shift to soccer a little bit. The NWSL doesn't return from the Olympic break for another week. But the USL Super League makes its inaugural season debut on Saturday.

And all right. I'm going to guess a lot of people don't know what the USL Super League is. And that's okay. And I'm going to try and do a little one on one breakdown. So how do I do this? How do I condense this in the most concise way possible? In the in the United States, when it comes to the soccer pyramid, what comes to women's soccer, NWSL is first division top tier league for women to play. USL Super League has now received sanctioning to be a first division league. So essentially not rivaling NWSL, but sitting alongside it, we have a new league with eight different clubs providing professional playing opportunities for women in the US. And so it's a little bit confusing. I'm not going to get into the nuance of all the other USL leagues that exist, but for the purpose of

this conversation, USL Super League is a new pro women's league in the U.S. Eight teams, they're in Washington, Brooklyn, D.C., Florida. They're all over the U.S. We see a lot of NWSL players similar to the WNBA. While NWSL is a bigger league and has continued to expand and invest, similar to women's basketball, there are also only so many roster spots. So we've seen a lot of talented players, unfortunately, have to leave NWSL and either play overseas or not play at all because there aren't enough opportunities. And USL Super League now provides this. There's also been some conversation around what it means to have

another league and if it's going to benefit or be a little bit detrimental to have two competing leagues, especially DC has now a Super League team and an NWSL team. It's a big enough market where I think in theory one could say that they're not going to cannibalize each other. But I would love to know, Logan, I'll start with you, what your thoughts are on having another women's league in the States. I think with the growth that we're seeing in the NWSL, especially with so many European players coming over, as you said, like roster spots,

you're battling for a spot like 100% every single team you go to now. And I feel like there wasn't really a middle ground type of thing where you can like either work your way up or if you're like maybe either work your way up or if you're like, maybe not the best player on the team, like if you're not getting playing time, then that's so hard as a player because it's like you're only developing a practice that doesn't really make sense. And then also because coming out of college, there's only

one option and it's the NWSL. So I think it just provides so much more opportunity. But I can also see this developing the next level of, I guess, Americans to kind of keep up and come into the end of your cell. So I absolutely love it. I wish we had something like that here, but we don't. And there's more soccer to watch and soccer is always so much fun. And I think it's also important to remember that the way the format works is it's eight clubs and they play the other

clubs four times each. So each club has 28 games in a season. And the season runs from August to December. And then I think playoffs and championship happen right after the winter break. So for the most part, it's slightly overlaps with NWSL, but it also provides a playing opportunity that would typically be the off season for NWSL. And as I mentioned, and as you mentioned, there are a lot of former NWSL and some women's national team players and even some international players from other countries that have joined the Super League. And it's just really cool to see people getting more opportunities that currently don't exist. I'm excited to watch.

I agree with everything you guys said, because I think giving more opportunity to women across the board and giving them a way to play on the offseason is so important. And it's what we want. We want more women playing sports. We want more air time for women's sports. A part of me wishes the whoever is at the top of this was like, let's, what if we expanded the NWSL? What if we added another team? What if we want to expand it to a different market? What if we created a program right out of college for us to recruit and, and train and bring these women up to make it even bigger? So I'm just a little curious. I do think competition always makes each other person better. So I'm curious to see

like, what will come out of that if there's something else in the field now competing, right? Competing slightly, right? The bureaucracy of soccer in the US is so complex and confusing because yeah, USL actually like they have an academy and they have USL W league, which is their pre-professional where a lot of college players will play in the summer. It's like a three month season. And then the hope is that pathway goes from Academy to the W League and then hopefully the Super League, which provides a little

bit more of that growth and development system that NWSL currently doesn't have. But I think it'll be interesting as we come off last World Cup, as we look towards the next World Cups, where I hope that these leagues that currently exist continue to invest in themselves and grow and develop. And then we'll see also if other things start to pop up. But for now, women's soccer is growing in the States and I'm very thrilled. Coming up, it's time for some WNBA talk and my DraftKings picks of the week. Welcome back to Good Follow. It's now time for this week's DraftKings picks. Anybody want to take a guess on who was the second most bet

team of the entire 2024 Olympics by Handel on DraftKings Sportsbook? Anyone? No? Okay. It was the U.S. women's basketball team, which means we're all excited that the WNBA season is back on track. Looking at tonight's late game, the number two ranked Connecticut Sun will take on the Dallas Wings. I'm picking the Sun in this matchup. The lines are sitting at minus 218 for the Sun and plus 180 for the Wings on DraftKings Sportsbook, and it should be a close game. For player to watch, I'm looking at 14-year veteran Dawana Bonner to pull through for the Sun.

Last season, she moved to first on the list of 30 most 30 plus point performances in franchise history and actually recorded her 500th career three pointer and a win over Dallas. Logan, what do you think about Dallas's chances against the Sun? The betting lines are really, I was shocked by them, I'm not gonna lie, but I saw your face. You were like, uh, yeah, I thought it was gonna be a lot more. But to be honest, I think it's because Dallas has Satoos Sabli, Maddie Sigris, and Jalen Brown, who are all medically cleared and scheduled to make their return to the roster. So I think that's a huge component that's driving them,

especially with Satoo and Jalen being expected to play. With that being said, in doing that, they had to cut Odyssey Sims and Monique Billings, who were very important when they were kind of going into the break, especially Odyssey Sims. So I think with the rate that Connecticut was going at, and it is probably going to continue to go at being in second place, Connecticut's going to take that one. I would be very, I will be interested to see how Dallas kind of adjusts around and gets

everybody right back into play. But I'm going with Connecticut. Kitty, where are you at in the WNBA fandom? Have you picked a team yet? I'm really torn because everyone's talking about the Sparks, but I have to stay true to Chicago. I think you have to. The thing is with LA people, and I'm, I don't think anyone is going to say I'm wrong here.

They're bandwagon people and they love a fad and Chicagoans stay true no matter what happens and I want to stay on that train. So that's where my heart is going to lie. That's where I'm going to pledge allegiance to. That is what, I mean, I have, I literally wear a Midwest necklace every single day. Like I would be a fraud. I think I would be a fraud. And I think people are going to spark staves

because it's cool and popular and trendy and they wanna be seen and they wanna post it on social media and they're not there for the actual like, okay, maybe some of them are. I don't wanna blanket statement, but I need to, I'm gonna double down on Sky. I think you have to. I think so too. I think it's only right. Honestly, with you saying like that people go to LA Sparks games just like to be seen

and to be trendy, that's honestly very impressive. Like that's showing how much progress there is because I feel like to make it a trendy thing to do. Yeah. Like you're saying that I'm like the gears are clicking. Like a woman's worth of going to be cool. This is so cool. And over the weekend, I was talking a lot about the Like you saying that I'm like the gears are clicking. I'm like, oh my God, this is a thing. Like a woman's worth of going to be cool.

This is so cool. And over the weekend, I was talking a lot about the Olympics, obviously, because I can't stop talking about them. And so many dudes were talking about how they were placing bets on the women's teams. Like, I got it, I got money on that. And I was like, yeah, you freaking do, dude.

And they were like so excited about it and talking to me about it. And I was watching these like, very dude like dudes go in on the women's Olympic team and the analytics of it. And I was really excited. So it is it is the wheels are clicking. They're clicking. Logan, as we go into the second half of the WNBA season, do you have any finals predictions? New York, for sure.

They started the season on a hot streak, but also, like, you have to think of the vengeance that they're kind of coming back for me, and especially after last year. And I feel like they've been building brick by brick by brick. And they're just kind of like at this moment. It would be really sad if they like completely lose everything that they had for the second half. I'm going with New York and hot take the Aces no will not be in the finals. Oh so then who do you have? Yeah that I haven't really figured out yet. I actually would love to

see Minnesota. I'm not too sure like if that would work out properly but Minnesota is having a heater of a year especially considering that they haven't been good for a pretty long time. So you have got Minnesota and the Liberty. Who do you have as a finals MVP? Stewie. I feel like, especially, I mean, I know the Olympics has nothing to do with it,

but like having that high wave, yeah, Stewie. She saved them. She saved that team in the gold game. I really liked watching her play. I'm going to back that based on the game I watched a lot because I was like, where we need it? We need something.

Okay, I like it. We got Liberty and the Lynx in the finals. Brianna Stewart finals MVP. Logan said it. If she's wrong. She said it. I didn't. Well, the foundation of this show, as you know, is that communities get built one good follow at a time. Each week, one of us will highlight a person page or brand as the good follow the week. And I am up this week and my good follow the week is my friend Tiara Williams, who goes by T. She's on social media as real talk with T. T is an incredible person with great energy. She is a former track and field athlete, a collegiate track and field athlete, and she

covers track year round. She goes to indoor, outdoor. She'll be in Budapest for world championships. She travels to all these meets and she interviews and interacts with all the athletes like they're her best friends. I was at pre-Fontaine Classic last September and coming off of an event, the way the media lounge was set up, the athletes had to come through the the mix zone. And then at the end was a content lounge where creators like ourselves can interview the athletes. And one of the athletes, she was coming through the mix zone and then at the end was a content lounge where creators like ourselves can interview the athletes and

One of the athletes as she was coming through the mix zone was like where's T Let me find T because these athletes know to go find her and she just has great rapport with them And so I actually want to watch this clip and I want you guys to see this clip of her with team USA's Messiah Russell You know it is what it is. Things happen. I work hard. I know I'm not done. We can make our plans, but the Lord determined our steps.

Sox right now, but I don't know what's down the road for me. Then I know I'll be very happy about it. So, some coming. It's Ma'Sai Russell! The Olympic debutante is an Olympic champion! The story is at World Championships last year, Ma'Sai, who is a 100-meter hurdler, she hit the hurdle and she fell. And then at Paris as an Olympic debutante, she got gold in the 100 meter hurdles.

And so the stories and the reactions and the authenticity that T gets out of these athletes and she's interviewed everyone from Sid McLaughlin, Sha'Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles, Anna Cocker, like all the big names that we have gotten to know and love during the Olympics. T interviews them a year round. So I would love for everyone to give her a follow and to support all the work that she's doing for Track and Field. I'm in. Immediate follow. Done.

Yes. So that's my Good Follow of the Week. Everyone go follow Tee on Instagram and TikTok at underscore real talk with Tee. And we want to hear from our fans. Who is your Good Follow? As always, send us your nominations at Good Follow Show. Tell us why we should follow them. Send us a clip, make us cry, make us cheer,

and we want to feature them on our show. Good Follow is brought to you by DraftKings. We'll see you next week. So So so So See you next time.