The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - GOOD FOLLOW - What's Happening in the WNBA? Stories from the College Softball World Series, & More

Episode Date: June 7, 2024

Welcome to Good Follow, your new favorite show dedicated to all things Women's sports! This week, we are joined by award-winning sports broadcaster and New York Liberty analyst Ros Gold-Onwude and WNBA superfan Lucy Rohden to discuss stand out players and storylines, an influx of questionable media coverage and, of course, Ellie the Elephant. Then Christian Polanco from The Cooligans joins us from North Carolina at The Soccer Tournament, where he and a number of soccer legends are competing on men’s and women’s teams for a million dollar prize. In Oklahoma, our Good Follow correspondent Logan Hackett has been covering the Women's College World Series amid crazy weather and even crazier fans and fills us in on the latest from the tournament. The softball conversation continues as professional softball player AJ Andrews joins Megan and co-host Katie Novotny to discuss her career, being coined, “The Beyonce of Softball,” how to build a successful pro league in the US, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My good follow nominee will be undoubtedly Ari Chambers. So it's like at Ari Ivory. She is just someone that is such a voice and such a powerful person and when it comes to uplifting women in sports. I met Ari back in 2017 and she was helping me with my runway walk. I was running, walking in the fashion show for the Red Cross

and she was someone that came up, supported me, helped me. I mean, she's helped me not just as a softball player, but also any other endeavor. And I think that she's done that with so many other people. I know she started Highlight Her, which is another platform that helps uplift and elevate the voices and just the athleticism and the talent of women in sports.

And she was a big part of that. And she goes on, I think most people know her from the WNBA and how vocal she's been about how the WNBA is so important, why it's so important, all the things that these women are doing to help elevate the next generation. But she's also someone that I feel like is helping elevate the next generation, not only with her voice and what she's doing for basketball, but women in sports,

but also those that like to also talk about women in sports and just talk to women or talk about sports in general. She's someone that's been a true inspiration to me and I know she's been to so many others. And if you follow her page, you'll see all the different sports that she's speaking about, all the different women that she's uplifting because it exceeds beyond just basketball. It also exceeds beyond just sport. So that's why Ari Chambers is my good follow. Good follow episode one brought to you by draft Kings. We are so excited to bring you the best of all things women's sports.

So what is good follow? We are a women's sports show for everyone will take you behind the scenes. Talk to your favorite sports personalities dive into the games and athletes. is Good Follow. We are a women's sports show for everyone. We'll take you behind the scenes, talk to your favorite sports personalities, dive into the games and athletes we love, and introduce voices we think you should hear from our Good Follows. And most importantly, we want to create a space where every level of fan is seen, respected, and reflected. But first, I want to welcome in my co-host, Katie Navati. Hello, I am so happy to be here!

Do you remember how we first met? I remember. Do you remember? You know, we actually have video footage. Hey everyone, I'm Megan Reyes and we are here in Santa Monica. We're on the boardwalk. I'm going to find some of the biggest women's sports fans and ask them some trivia questions. Let's go. Hi.

Hey! Hey. Hey. Hey. Can I ask you, are you good? Uh, yeah. Okay. Can I ask you a quick question? Yeah, sure, what's up? Do you like women's sports? I love women's sports.

I freaking love women's sports. I'm a woman, I've played sports my whole life. I like to keep everything on me. So like, I got these volleyball knee pads I'm gonna do a walk-on tryout for for the upcoming Summer Olympics. I feel like I could be honest and do it World Cups coming up. Are you a fan of soccer? I am. Yeah soccer's f***ing sick. I think like I have a chance I'm gonna DM Alex Morgan in a couple days see if she would like accept It's just hat, you know, just like I just want one opportunity

And then I always have my cleats because like I played in high school I got cut from varsity, but I did play in high school I got in here Well, I don't have anything for balance beams. I'm working on my balance beam routine You know, I think it's good to be athletic and get into a lot of different stuff You can do whatever you want to sorry. I didn't mean to swear in front of your beautiful face. I love being active I love being out. I love being out. I love like hanging out with my friends

in the dugouts, you know, or on the sidelines, you know, wherever you want, wherever you're at. I can't do that though. And now here we are talking women's sports. The best of both worlds. Who would have thought? But what's good, what's happening? There's a lot of momentum, a lot of buzz going on

in the world of women's sports. Today, we are going to talk all things soccer with Christian Planko of the Coolyans, sit down with the first woman to ever win a Rawlings Gold Glove, AJ Andrews, and all things WNBA with Roz Golden-Widde and Lucy Rodin. Are you a fan of the W, Kitty? I've been a fan of the WNBA since I Golden Wedding and Lucy Rodin. Are you a fan of the W Kitty? I've been a fan of the WNBA since I could wear rollerblades.

When I was younger, me and my neighborhood kid friends would blade to Dean's dugout and get all of our basketball cards. And then I would wait when the boys left to go to Dairy Queen and I would get my WNBA cards. And I was actually home back in Chicago the last weekend. And I was looking for my WNBA cards and I found my Cheryl Schwoops, my Lisa Leslie, my Rebecca Lobo. I mean, the trifecta right there. And they were all in the case. Like, I loved them. Collectors. Uh huh. They're collectors items. I will be paying my credit card off with them if I need to.

So you like the old school players. Do you have any current favorite players? Yes. Thank you so much for asking. I thought you would never get to it. I know. Sometimes I'm just stuck in the 90s, you know? But Jewel, Lloyd, Stewie, Alia Boston, Camila Cardoso. I'm a Chicago Sky fan because I love all things Chicago. Anyways. Your necklace says Midwest. Mm-hmm, but also, but also, Tarasi.

You gotta love Tarasi. A goat for a reason. 100%. And speaking of, happy Pride month, everyone, did you know that Phoenix has like six out players? Let's go Phoenix. It's pretty great to see all the leagues celebrating Pride and actually I'm a soccer girlie so to caveat NWSL US Women's National Team that's my thing and all 14 NWSL teams are having a Pride night. Oh, that's amazing. Yes, we're making moves, people.

We're making moves, it's 2024, it is not 1991. Yeah. But I was actually at the US Women's National Team friendly in Denver recently, and it was so exciting. First, at that point, the first win in the new Emma Hayes era, the new women's national team head coach came over from Chelsea, goaded one of the best. And it was a monumental game for so many reasons.

First it was a doubleheader with the US women's deaf national team who won 11-0 against Australia. Sophia Smith, Lindsey Horan, Mallory Swanson playing at home in Colorado. Mal had her first goal in 465 days since she had a season-ending knee injury before the World Cup. I will die on this hill. The World Cup would have gone down differently last year if Mallory Swanson had been there. And you're familiar with Denver. I used to live there. 19,000 people were in attendance. Holy, that's almost all of Denver.

And so I think it was the perfect testament. Denver needs a pro women's team. Absolutely. I mean, when I was there, there was really nothing to do. That's why I left. Well, up next, we welcome in Razgold Anwude and Lucy Rodin to talk WNBA rookies and league momentum. Then Christian Polanco from the Cooligans is joining us from the soccer tournament in Cary, North Carolina where a million dollars is on the

line. Razgold Anwude is an award-winning sports broadcaster covering men's and women's basketball at every level. As a member of the Stanford women's basketball team, she played in three Final Fours and two national championship games, helping the Cardinal win four conference titles as starting guard. Over the course of her career, Raz has covered basketball on the most elite stages from the Rio 2016 Olympics, NBA and WNBA Finals to the NCAA Tournament. She is a sideline reporter and current color analyst for the New York Liberty. Welcome, Roz. Hey, good to be here. What's up, y'all? We also welcome in Lucy Rodin from the MetalArc media and DraftKings family. Lucy is a correspondent for the Dan

LeBotard show with StuGots. Welcome, Roz and Lucy. Your bio is so much better than mine. Roz, Lucy, welcome to the show. We are going to talk all things WNBA. So Roz, I'm going to start with you. What and who are you loving to watch right now? I'm just excited that the season is starting back up and I want to see how it can pick up off of an epic WNBA finals that was electric, that was huge, that was capacity. It was a savvy ticket. All the cool kids were in the building.

The games delivered. The star power was there between the Aces and the Liberty, the drama, the pain of defeat for the Liberty who created this incredible team and a repeat for the Aces who have so much chemistry and became personalities that we all loved. The other thing is I'm excited to see how the WNBA builds off of all of the eyeballs and attention that came out of college hoops and the NCAA tournament. And certainly this rookie class that has all eyeballs on them for sure. Lucy, what are you most looking forward to?

Well, I love the rookie class. I'm a huge college hoops girlie. So to see everyone really translate well so far in the beginning of the season to the next level has been thrilling. But what I'm loving right now is the top is so good. The top is so good. The sun. Oh my God, girls, you are amazing. Just the chemistry between DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas and Dijonay Carrington.

Like the way that that team has played, it's hard to see anyone beating them right now. But you know that you always have the competition with the Liberty and the Aces. I just think the level of play, especially at the top of the league, has been so good and I'm excited to see that continue. So, Roz, you mentioned the rookie class. Besides Caitlin Clark, why do you feel viewership and attendance is up in the W right now? Well, I think in general, the WNBA has been seeing a true understanding of who it is, especially coming out of the pandemic.

And I think that was a time where the WNBA really shined as difference makers, as places where they could make big shifts in public opinion. And I think the WNBA started to get really authentic and double down on what makes the league unique and different. The fact that the league is predominantly black women and telling more black stories and also that there are different types of expressions of femininity in the WNBA or different types of sexualities. And I feel like in the past, the WNBA perhaps was, or the marketing plan around it may have masked some of that or been more quiet about it or hid some of what makes it special. And I certainly think I saw a shift in

the way we discussed players in the W coming out of the pandemic and that authenticity. Also, I feel like we used to tell the stories like these are the good girls of the WNBA, they're nice girls. And now we got villains, we got people of all sorts of personalities, we got shit talkers. Can I say shit?

We got trash talkers, we got physical players. We do have players that pull up from anywhere. We got the fashion girlies, we got, as Natasha Cloud said, they got the poppies. We got the walk-in. It's all of that, that I feel like is being embraced and it's making the league much more compelling to watch. The game itself also has absolutely elevated. The product is great, but I also think these women, these players on the court are captivating. And that's actually being focused on a story told around now.

Period. I don't have extra thoughts on that except, yeah, period. So, Roz, with, and we're pivoting subjects here a little bit, you mentioned your work with the New York Liberty. Obviously, that includes covering and knowing Stewie. So I want to know your thoughts on the new Unrivaled League. Oh, the Unrivaled League is very exciting. I'm not surprised. Very brilliant entrepreneurial minds in the Fisa Collier and Brianna Stewart coming together and creating this league, an incredible investment opportunity.

I'm like, how did I miss getting in on this? But I feel like, you know, as more eyeballs and attention are on the WNBA, there's more people who are grabbing out of the pie and wanting to invest and wanting to make a play. And I'm like, why not the players themselves? Why not it be Brianna Stewart and Nafisa Collier leading the way and also making sure that not only are they padding the pockets of the players in there, but also giving them a piece of the future. Giving them equity. I mean, they made

headlines for a three on three league. They'll be playing in Miami, which I love. I love Miami. What do you think about Miami, Lucy? No comment. More shaman lynching the situation. I didn't mean to put you on the spot. Lucy had revealed earlier, she's not crazy about Miami, but I'm a Miami girl. It's the worst in the world. I hate Miami. I am on the other side. I'm a Miami girlie.

I love it. I'm at art's puzzle. You can switch. I am loving it all. I'm like, how far can the heat go? So I'm so excited. There's some women's basketball excuses for me to be in Miami now and or hopefully. And, um, so not only are the players getting the most, the highest paycheck

of a pro league, um, women's pro league, uh, so far, they're also getting equity. Um, there's an incredible list of investors in it. They get to be in Miami. It's, it's during the off season. It's very exciting. And I'm happy that the power is in the hands of the players. The other thing that's exciting too, is it's another opportunity for storytelling and brand building. A lot of times this WNBA season is going to end in three, four months, like four months. And then a lot of players go overseas or it's kind of over. That's the last we hear of them, hear from them. And here's another

opportunity to brand build, to storytell, to have something to hold on to. And of course, to work on your game as well during the off season and be able to stay in the US and stay home. Lucy, what is, what are your thoughts on Unrivaled? Well, I'm excited for this. I think any opportunity where players can make more money in the off season without having to go overseas is an excellent opportunity. I think it just shows sort of like the turning point in women's sports specifically where you're seeing a lot of big name investors involved in this. It's starting to be really seen as this lucrative opportunity. I think it's awesome that it's just, I'm sorry they have to go to Miami, but they'll probably like it in January. They'll probably like it more than I do. But I think it

really shows like a turning of the tides type of moment where you're really starting to see money get invested into women's sports. And that's just going to pay dividends, you know, for future players, for people who are investing, media rights holders, just so on and so forth. So at Good Follow, we define a good follow as someone who pushes forward women, sport, lifestyle in the context of our WNBA conversation. And I'll start with you, Lucy, who is your WNBA good follow? It's got to be Jordan Robinson. I always want to call her by her maiden name, Jordan Liggins every single time, but she is Jordan Robinson now and she is amazing at HeyJordanR

on Twitter. She doesn't love to work outside of the WNBA, but her WNBA content was where I first started to get to know her. And she's such a great entry point, where right now we're at a moment in the sport where a lot of people are trying to learn about the WNBA or think they know about it and need to learn about it. And Jordan is a perfect place to start off with that. She has like a great way of just, her content is applicable to people

who aren't really familiar with the sport, to people who are diehard fans. She makes great video content. She's amazing on Twitter. You got to give her a follow, Jordan Robinson. What about you, Roz? If you're not able to catch it in person, so that would be my first. I know what you're going to say.

You already do? Yeah. If you can't get to Barclays Center, do you know? Okay, if you can't get to Barclays Center to catch this personality in person, then follow on all the socials. It's Ellie the Elephant. Ellie the Elephant outside of the players. So players and then Ellie

is the next most popping thing happening in the WNBA. Sis was just at the Liberty game. So this is the mascot of the New York Liberty and she's incredible. She's well known and liked and retweeted. I think like by Cardi by Missy Elliott and was just dancing with Tyla at the Liberty game. She does the pregame walk-in fits and I'm it's giving high budget. It's a braid the braid. She has a telfer I'm, it's giving high budget. The braid. The braid.

She has a telfer bag. Like, she walked in with hoops. The hoops were so good. No, no, no. It's so good. And I'm like, first of all, who's your stylist? Are the Liberty giving you a budget for this? Because sis looks good.

And it's just hilarious and incredible. And she, oh, and an incredible dancer. So I would just I would follow if you can't be there in person. That's a really good one. Yeah, I knew that's where there was going. I you don't have to reveal but I would love to know the person behind Ellie. It can't be revealed. I know. I don't want to know. It literally can't but it's a it this person is very deserving. I hope whoever's inside of Ellie. Knows they are getting their flowers. Getting their flowers to you, flowers to Ellie, flowers to the marketing people and geniuses, Shayna Stevenson at the New York Liberty. And I don't just say that because I cover them. Lucy, thank you so much for joining us,

Talking All Things Women Hoops. Roz, your thoughts are always appreciated. And our first in-studio guest. Hey, am I? Wow. How cool. What do I get? A hug. Thank you both so much for joining us. We could talk WNBA all day, but folks, there is a million dollars on the line. Two million dollars actually in Cary, North Carolina, where the soccer tournament is happening. This is the second edition of TST and is the first featuring an all women's tournament. For more we welcome in Christian Polanco. Christian, welcome. How's it going in North Carolina? It is popping right now. I am here at Wake Med Soccer Park, the

home of the North Carolina Courage. And we did our media day. And so I'm getting to connect with all these legendary soccer folks. It's been dope. TST, it's been a great start. So for those who aren't familiar with TST and the structure, can you give us a quick one-on-one on how it's set up, how it's going to go? Like explain this to me like I'm explaining it to my Filipino immigrant mother. Okay, I will happy to. So it is a 77 tournament. There are 48 teams on the men's side.

There are eight on the women's or 12? Eight on 12. Okay. So the and each each division the prize is one million dollars and yeah it is a tournament where so it's 77 the games are very very fast the main sort of hook and very exciting aspect that's different from a traditional match of soccer is the the target score. So essentially every game has to end on a goal. So as soon as time runs out, they say that you need the team that is leading, needs one more goal to win, or the team that is losing needs to reach that one other goal that their opponent is trying to reach. So if you're down five to three, you can win six to five.

So you always have an opportunity to win. So the games are really quick, very exciting, a lot of substitutions. And yeah, the games are... it's unique, it's different, and you get to see some legends of the game that have won Champions League, that have won Premier League, that have won MLS Cups, and the VSL Championships. You can see them all play in this tournament. Well, it's awesome that there is equal prize money, like you mentioned, both on the men's side

and the women's side, a million dollars on the line. So if your team, Summer of Soccer, if I'm correct, where to win slash when you win it all. Christian, what are you doing with your piece of the pie? You're welcome. We made it faster. Thank you, I was going to correct you, but I'm glad that you did it. It was just instinct there because you're like, I don't want to disrespect the guest. He is a professional athlete and making his debut. Why would I suggest that he's not going to play on ESPN? We can't disrespect him. Correct. Correct. So the yeah, it's exciting that there are so much money that's there. This is the thing is that I play in like,

you know, I play my Sunday league, my co-ed league, and we have a good time. I play against, you know, the Warby Parker team. So, some people take it a little bit more serious than others and that's what's, that's what the level of competition and intensity is going to be much, much higher. But I've been training. I've been training with a former MLS Cup MVP, Edson Buddle. He played with David Beckham on the LA Galaxy. I've been training. I've been really working on my game. And I the main thing is I don't I don't think I'm going to be as bad as people may think. And that is the bar I'm trying to reach. Well, okay, so as we mentioned,

there is a women's tournament, eight teams. Who at TST, specifically on the women's side, are you most excited to see? Who are you fangirling over? Well, look, obviously, I think a lot of people and a lot of people are gonna be here to see the US women take the stage because obviously World Cup winners on the roster. My homie Ali Krieger is playing in the tournament

as well and there's a lot of strong teams. I think they have a very strong advantage given that they were here last year and they played against the men and they had tough matches. So I think given that they have the experience of just being here, just being at the Athletes Village, you know, just knowing how to prepare themselves, I think they have the advantage. It also helps that the resume is crazy. So I think most people are probably going to go get tickets and see them. Well Christian, thank you so much. Good luck. We're super excited to watch you and I have confidence in you.

You're going to be most valuable, most improved. You're going to win all the awards. Comedian. Class clown, best dressed. All the superlatives, okay? No trophies, but superlatives, I gotcha. Meg, always a pleasure, thank you. Thank you. After the break, Goodfellow correspondent Logan Hackett

joins from the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. And we'll ask AJ Andrews, the first woman to win the gold glove, how softball has grown in the US, and what it might take for a pro women's league to succeed. Now we're welcoming in our Goodfellow correspondent Logan Hackett, who is on the ground at Women's College World Series. Logan, how's it going in OKC?

It's going so well. It has been so much fun so far, except for Mother Nature. The weather has been quite the battle to deal with and quite scary, but the softball part has honestly been amazing. So for those that don't know about the College World series, can you give us a little history about it, how it began, all that fun stuff? Yeah, so it's actually been played in Oklahoma City

since 1990. Oklahoma City is the softball capital, for those who didn't know, but it's ironic because the past few years, Oklahoma has been doing so well. They went back to back to back three times, which is crazy to begin with, but they've won five since 2016 and they're essentially the powerhouse. They're dominating the sport.

So it's really cool that every single year the stadium keeps on growing and the tournament just keeps on getting bigger and it's all happening in the same spot, which is, I mean, you don't really see that very often. So speaking of atmosphere, you like that? Yeah, I do. Tell us more about the buzz that's going on. What are the audiences like? How's the stands? How's the dugouts?

How are the players feeling? It's unlike anything I've ever experienced. These fans are, might be the best fans in sport. UCLA has the craziest fans. I mean, they're dressing up. They're going up and down aisles chanting. They're obviously tailgating before, but their tailgate is a party. I mean, and what are the chance?

What are some of the chance? Are there some of the classics of the G.O.O.D.E.Y.E. Good eye, good eye, good eye. Way to watch that ball. way to watch that ball. Way to watch it, way to, way to, I'll keep going. And something like that or, uh. Stop her. She's speechless. You left her speechless. Logan's like. I haven't heard any of those chants. It's made them like, go UCLA. No, that's not unique enough for me. I gotta get down there. The dugouts do have really cool chants though.

Like one of them, I think her name is Kendra and they'll be like, hey, go Kendra, go. And they're all like, oh heck yeah. A sexy red walk-up song. And they're all singing it like bow bow bow. That's a way that's like rated R. I am love. That's amazing. I mean, I'm used to like my grade school, like high school days of, you know, or we want a single, just a little single S.A.N.

G.L.E. single, single, single. And then it goes all the way up to we want a want to single just a little single S.A.N.G.L.E. single, single, single. And then it goes all the way up to we want a home run, just a little home run. And then every parent is like, can you guys please just play the game? Well, it is 2024. And instead of that, we get sexy red. Yeah, we get sexy red. I'm going to start singing sexy red just for just for when I get into the shower. It's so cool. I feel like all the fans know the walk-up songs and especially the Oklahoma ones because there's so many Oklahoma fans and they're doing like jazz fingers and everything.

Not the jazz fingers. Yeah, it's really cool. But actually a cool part with the fans is that the team that wins, the fan section is right behind the dugout. So when the team wins, they go and interact with the- How fun. And there's like, the Gators do like a Gator chomp.

Oklahoma goes, boomer, sooner. And like, I just love to see that interactive part because I feel like you don't really get that in any other sport. Well, I know you're focused on softball, but you also cover a lot of other sports for us and there's a lot going on right now. Starting with, can you tell us a little bit

about what's going on at the French Open? We're in one of like the most exciting and chaotic times. There's a kind of want to say a big three right now. Let's consider them the big three, Ega, Irina and Alina. And they are pretty much in every single final or quarterfinal going up against each other. It's guaranteed at this point. And they're just going back and forth like trading wins here and there.

A lot of the times in their speech afterwards, they'll be like, thanks for another loss or thanks for handing me this win. And Coco Golf is right on the brink of that. She's starting to kind of come more into the mix. But to kind of see a new winner and the same faces in the finals every single year is really fun and the French Open has pretty much just been a great display of that.

I also saw Cocoa Golf has been critical of the match times. Do you have any latest news on those? Yeah, so I believe another one, Ollens-Driver came out and pretty much said the same thing as Cocoa, that these matches are running way too late. And when you look at it face value, I mean, it looks like they finish at 3am. But when you take into consideration they have to shower,

they have to get ready, do media, then recover, get something to eat and then somehow wind down and go to bed. You're not getting to bed in the morning. Yeah, like it is so incredibly late and I completely understand that. And we've been seeing tournament after tournament, these late endings. And I think it's so good of Coco to speak up

and use her platform, especially protecting mental health. I love that she's doing that. And now you're starting to see more people follow suit. So I think it's a great way to make a change and I think a change is coming. I am well into my REM sleep at that point. The PWHL just ended, can you give us a quick recap? I, the season has almost left me speechless

considering it's the first season. There is so much talk, it might just be cause I'm Canadian and we kind of revolve around hockey but there's been so many young girls like going to games, they've been selling out arenas, they broke a world record. And then to have the finish that they had on top of that was insane. And if you don't know, the first place team, which was Toronto gets to pick who they play in playoffs, and they pick Minnesota, who was the last team in, then Minnesota proceeded to upset them, and then upset Boston to become the first team to win the trophy. So it was a show.

They really put on that performance and with everything else in the first year, like I cannot wait for the next year to come. That is a true David and Goliath moment. That is amazing. That is amazing. What was the world record that they broke? It was an attendance record. So they would have like their generic stadiums that they play in or arenas.

And then depending on the NHL schedules, they'll go to bigger arenas. So I think Montreal and Toronto, it was either in Montreal or in Toronto, but it was the largest women's hockey attendance in the world. All right. We love to hear it. We love to hear it.

We love to hear it. Well, so also there's a there's just a lot going on in women's sports, especially in Canada. As you said, you're Canadian, you know, I'm a soccer girlie. That's what I mainly cover. Also yourself. There's now a northern super league, Canada's first pro women's soccer league. What are your thoughts on this?

We've never seen a woman and like we've had we won Olympic gold a few years ago and you have Christine Sinclair. I'm sorry and you don't have a women's soccer league. It is it's so weird and to only be like to only look up to the national team is quite odd, especially concerning how many girls grow up playing soccer. So to have that team there is going to be very special and it's really exciting. And I'm also excited for the younger generation who now gets to go to games on the weekend and just kind of look up to different players from different countries

and have that and the national team to look forward to. Well, we know you have to get back. Thank you so much for joining us. Enjoy the rest of the World Series. Thank you so much. Speaking of Women's College World Series, our next guest participated in two of them with LSU. She has continued her career as a professional softball player, TV host and analyst, and host of her own podcast, Barrier Breaking Women. Welcome AJ Andrews. Hello. Thank you for having me. women. Welcome AJ Andrews. Hello, thank you for having me. AJ, you were the first woman to win the Rawlings Gold Glove in 2016. What did that mean to you and the sport? Yeah, well, when I first announced that they were going to be giving the Gold Glove to one of the players in professional

softball, I initially thought it was going to be just some subset of the Gold Glove. I didn't think it was actually like a woman's version of the Gold Glove. I didn't thought it was going to be just some subset of the goal glove. I didn't think it was actually like a woman's version of the goal glove. I didn't think it was going to be the actual goal glove they give to major league baseball players. And for those that don't, aren't really familiar, major league baseball gives a goal glove to essentially the best defensive player for each position. And so nine players will get a goal glove, right? And it's in each division. So when it comes to, you know, you can be the best shortstop, you have a center fielder, best right fielder,

but in professional softball, they're only giving it to one person. So you have to be the best defender period. Like nobody is touching you, no matter what position it is, you got it sis. And so that year was really interesting because as we're getting down to the wire, I came down to three finalists.

So it was myself and two other women. And I remember sitting down right before they're about to announce the winner. It was at our end of the year banquet where we're all getting our awards, kind of our award show. And they saved who received the gold glove last. And I remember sitting there at the table and I'm like going through the other two nominees. I'm just saying their name, right? So that I don't get disappointed when if it's not my name that gets called.

And so I'm not really anticipating it's gonna be me. And then they said, AJ Andrews. And I kid you not, it felt like I was just living in a daze. I didn't even know where I was. I didn't even get up immediately. Like it was one of my teammates that had to kind of shake me like, AJ, it's you. I kind of woke me up from whatever it was

that I was thinking. And I got up, I remember walking to the stage. I was very emotional because it was this moment when I really realized that I made history and I made history, not just for the sport of softball, but for women in sports in general, because when it comes down to women in sports, we have this, a lot of time to be successful. And for most of us, right, that career, that success, a lot of times ends in college, if not before that in high school. And it always comes down to

believe it. You have to see it to believe it to achieve it. And prior and year, I mean, when I was coming up, when I was growing up, we didn't really see, we didn't really see women in sports on television as much as we see them today. And so for me, when I won that award, I really realized that knocking down that glass ceiling was the ability to where like I walked through this one door and now led to so many other doors and not just softball players can enter, but other women and other sports can enter because when one of us wins and it comes to women in sports, when one of us makes history, it gives the power to so many other of us to do the same. And so for me, it was this amazing moment to realize

that dreams were now going to be getting bigger for softball players. Softball players would now dream to win a gold glove. Softball players will now dream to be professional softball players. It goes beyond and bigger than just being a college athlete. And I felt really proud to be the spark for that. I felt really proud to be one of the people that were really pushing that

initiative and really pushing dreams to be bigger and to know that nothing is impossible. Um, possible, simply just a dare, not a declaration. And what isn't achieved today can be achieved tomorrow. So to me, that was the power of it. I feel like I'm going to cry. That was so inspiring. I could have killed to have someone like you to watch growing up. Holy smokes.

I played when I was younger in high school and like, I didn't see, we didn't see women on TV ever. Except for like, Jenny Finch was like the one, right? She was the one. And it would be to have more people and women getting, paving the way. Oh, I'm gonna have a kid just so I hope it's a daughter, you know, like so she can start watching women softball. Yeah, and just get fired up.

I say the same thing. I just want my little girl to just know that she can just knock, she can achieve anything She wants and kick all the boys out of the field do whatever she wants to do and she's capable of all these things I just want to raise a I don't know if it can cut but a BA is what I want. Yes Can you tell us how you got into softball Sure. Yeah, so I played a lot of different sports when I was younger.

I was an avid soccer player. I ran track. I was a cheerleader. I still got my toe touch to this day and my back flip. But I think softball was like one of the last sports that I picked up. It was just so interesting because it's the one that stuck. But I'm from Florida.

And so the grass gets really dewy in the springtime in the morning. It's just a lot of the humidity and the mixture of the air and the heat. And so I remember going out and playing and the one of the balls that I dove for the first time ever dying for a ball, I slid like a really long ways if I was on a slip and slide. I mean, at this point, I'm like 12 years old. And so I, you know, I thought, oh, wow, this is fun. You know, I'm not going to go out and play slip and slide all day. Okay, I'm sold.

And you know, I mean, soccer, you're running back and forth all the time. Track running all the time. Cheerleading, you're always moving, always standing around. You know, in softball, there was all these different lulls. There's ebbs and flows of the game. And to me, that was just really beautiful. And there was no other sports where I could scream

at the top of my lungs, all these different cheers and just like tell people what to do, and like, pictures gonna walk, or just like daddy taught, or like, you know, you don't have things like that in any other sport, right? So to me, it's all of that mixed together that really made softball a sport that I really loved. And I don't know, softball was just the one

that went the long haul, going in and playing high school, and then I got a scholarship to go play at LSU and you know, the rest is history. I need to know what your favorite cheer was. Cause I have one. Me, my favorite? I want to hear yours first. I have a few, but I would say in college,

I really liked the cheer where we did. Did you see that? No, just missed it. Or then it was like, can we help you? No. Just looking like on a ball that was a strike. Or if you swung and missed the ball. But then definitely, pictures going to walk or just like daddy totters up there.

They're, holy cow, that was foul up move it up there's you know there's a lot in the in the bucket did you guys do the g double o d e y e good I get I get I get I eat EYEE double g I do god you got to I mean just like what were? You know, it was just making up stuff. They hit, they hit, man. Did you play? I did. I played. I was going to say, you know the good one. I know the good ones.

I played, my sister played, my dad wanted us to be all stars. She was, I was not. But it was so fun. I still play every Sunday. I do a pickup game with all my friends on Sundays. And it's like it makes me so happy. Like just the smell of the outfield just makes me so excited. It's so true.

I smell the outfield, the fresh fertilizer, the dirt. I know you would have thought you would miss things like that. You know? And then it's, but it really is special. Like all of the elements that go into playing the sport that you love that, you know, most people kind of think it's nuanced. I don't even think about it all that really become a part

of an integral part of why you love the game. What would it take to have a successful pro league in the US? Yeah. I think that it's just so, it's crazy because softball is huge. People love watching college softball. It is one of the biggest highlights towards this part of the year that people are really tuned into.

The ratings for college softball only continue to scale up, even sometimes bigger and beyond what the men's world series looks like, even beyond Major League Baseball. Like more people sometimes are watching college softball than they're watching Major League Baseball and college men's college baseball. But I think where it tails off were professionally, it was for many years, you just didn't know where to watch women's softball. There was just the marketing wasn't there. You weren't able to really see professional softball on television.

And so I remember a lot of times when I would tell someone I'm a professional softball player, like, oh, I didn't know that was a thing. And, you know, as much as you want to be like, well, why didn't you know that was a thing? I can't blame you. Like, where would you find that? How would you know it's a thing, right?

Again, see it, to believe it, to achieve it goes beyond just young softball players. It goes, it goes, extends to the people that want to watch softball, that like softball, but have no idea where they can. And, you know, I think now there's, there's different leagues. So there's athletes unlimited. And that's a league that primarily plays in Chicago. And so they're more televised, but then there's also a league called the WPF, women's pro fast pitch, that's not as televised. And I think what it really is gonna take is everyone coming together, right?

It's already when you have a league or leagues that are very hard to find or people don't really know exist or they're learning about their existence, it's very hard to keep up when you're like, oh, there's two? Okay, so then where do I watch this one? Okay, so then when do I watch that one, right?

Versus if everything was all together and there was one league and people could really follow every athlete, their favorite softball players from college onto professional softball, it just makes it easier. And when it comes to, I mean, nowadays things have to be easy. I think it's going to be accessible for people to do it. Right. We have short attention spans when things get a little overstimulation and stimulating. It's kind of like, okay, I don't know, I don't know what to do. And so, you know, I think just softball, we can move to a place where we have one major league and really elevate and amplify the athletes that are in it. I think that that's what's needed

to continue to push it forward. Cause it's growing, it continues to grow and it's getting bigger and bigger. And I think we can all come together. It can be just as big as college. Can softball learn from the WNBA and the WCBB to increase attendance and viewership? Yeah, I think that I mean, I think the WNBA is doing an insanely amazing job of making sure that the voices of these athletes are heard.

And I think right now the rookie class that has come in, they have been doing a really good job of keeping the stories. I feel like when it comes to women in sports, storylines are very important. The stories and the marketing, I think a lot of the athletes are doing their own marketing and building their own stories. And right now, regardless of what story it is

that you've latched onto, you are attentive to it. You are intrigued by it. You are following it. And so whether it is Caitlin Carr, whether it is Angel Reese, whether it is Cameron, whether it is Diana Tarassi, whoever it is that you're following, you know, I think that people are really latching on to the fact that the story is there and they want to know more about it, but they also want to watch these talented women because the stories from college have now moved into the WNBA. And I think if we can have the same, those same stories are in softball, they just don't transfer over to professional ball. And so I think we just have to transfer those same stories,

but also continue to be unapologetic. I just love the way that women in the WNBA are so unapologetic about who they are, what they stand for, what they're doing, how they play, the way that they are really pushing for equality, equity for women in sports. They are the voices, I feel like they're the leading voices for change when it comes to women's sports,

also US Women's National Team. But I really feel like the WNBA is at the forefront of so many issues that happen in this country, whether it be in sport or beyond. And because of that, there are people that are just extremely inspirational, and they've really moved the needle forward in really any category that they touch. And to me, that's extremely empowering. And I hope that softball can be in a space where we want to also do the same and have the confidence and the feel the empowerment to do the same. So I think the WBA is inspirational

on so many levels beyond just sport. And I think all leagues, not just women leagues, men as well really can do well following suit. Yeah, I think it's a really good role model as a league for other leagues and people like us to start sharing stories like this, right? So we can make people care about the athletes that are doing these amazing things. And we can't expect people to care about things that they don't know, right? So the more that we elevate people

and the more that we elevate these women and we elevate these athletes, the more we can get people excited about softball. We know people are excited about softball. We've been around forever, but it's time and we have a great example of how to do that. And I think it's just really coming together like you're saying and raising everybody up at the same time.

Just talk your, can I cuss or no? Sure. Talk your ish. Pop your stuff. Like I just, I love, I love Sam Chow that came, she plays professional softball now and she played for Oklahoma State two, three-ish years ago. She got a lot of slack because she did a bat flip, right?

She would hit a home run, she did this big bat flip and people were like, oh, respect the game. Da da da da. All this nonsense. Like to me, I just think that's just the silliest thing. Express yourself and however it is that you want to express yourself as a player. Be big, be loud, be unapologetic. I think this notion of respect the game or this notion of a way, the way

the game should be played, all these different narratives that I think many people come up with when it comes to baseball, softball, but specifically softball, I think specifically women in sports, right? I think women in sports are critiqued a lot more about how we should perform on the field or on the court than men are, you know, when it comes to being emotional or when it comes to being passionate, we have a very strict line that we get to walk

or before we are over it and we're doing too much or we're too emotional or or we're too dramatic, or we should just shut up and play, whatever it may be. There's so many elements to it that I think that for me, Sam Chow was such a cool shift in that because she was being unapologetically herself. And she said it, she's like, I'm not gonna stop. She's like, I get really excited.

I'm gonna pump my team up. And if I hit a ball 500 feet, yeah, I'm gonna pop my bat. I'm going to pump my team up and I if I hit a ball 500 feet, yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna pop my bat. I'm going to bat flip. Like that is what the game is. And I think more people just need to come out and be like that. Like have that confidence, have that excitement. Don't be so careful and don't worry. And I think if we see more people and more of the personalities of the players, I think that that's also going to be another element that really helps people become fans. Because to be honest, if you're just now starting to watch a new sport, softball, right, you've just become privy to the game, you probably become a fan because there's a player that you really like, or there's a team that's

really dominant. And there's a reason why you latch on, a reason why you're attracted to that player and our team. And so I think that being able to have people be more flamboyant with who it is that they are and kind of go out and not be careful, I think that's another way. So I think just also being unapologetic. Yeah, and I think we need role models like that for, like women are kind of taught to be quiet

and to kind of sit back, right? And so we need to see that to let us know that it's okay. We can express ourselves, we can be excited. We can be all these things and also a amazing athlete. We need to see that full package. And so does everybody else. Yeah, there's so many different personalities in the game. Right, if you're not everyone's gonna be a Sam Schell, right, and everyone wants to bat Yeah, there's so many different personalities in the game. Right? Not everyone's going to be a Sam Schaal.

Right? Not everyone wants to bat flip. That's fine. But if you do, you should. Right? If you are someone that's loud and screams, you should be able to do that and not feel any heat for it. If you're someone's quiet that just

likes to put their head down and play the game, dope. You should do that. There's going to be somebody for everybody. Right? I remember at LSU, when the young players would be like, AJ, you're my favorite player. It wasn't always because I went three for three that day. It's because AJ, you have the same number as me.

AJ, you wear your hair like I do. AJ, you're fast like me, right? It's all these things that you don't even think about that these young players really feel like they identify with you with. And so I just think continue to, I remember I read this quote, it's like always be yourself

so that the people that are looking for you can find you. Because if you're pretending to be someone else, if you're not really living in your truth, your tribe or the people that wanna uplift you, the people that wanna celebrate you, or the people that are fans of you will never know. And they'll never be able to 100% support you the way that they could.

So yeah, I just think being unapologetic is so important. Well, AJ, I could listen to you give me like motivational high-blow speeches all day. While we have you though, I do want to know aside from your Barrier Breaking Women podcast, what other projects are you working on? Yeah, so outside of Barrier Breaking Women, which is a podcast that talks to women that have broken barriers in and out of sport really in any field that they are in achieving. And I was really sparked by that from winning the gold glove and just wanted to hear the

stories of other women that have knocked down glass ceilings and the barriers or the adversities that they had gone through in order to achieve that and what they're doing now. I'm also a TV host with MLB network. And so I host a show called Play Ball. It comes on the weekends with MLB Network. And so you really get to watch. It's a recap, essentially of all the things that happened in MLB that week.

We learned from so many different baseball players. It's definitely a show that's tailored towards the young athletes that are coming up in the game. So you really get to learn so much about the sport. And then I also host a show called Inside Stitch with MLB Network, which comes on like, it's only like once a month, but it's really cool learning about kind of

the history of the game and the uniforms and what went into the players that you see today. And then I also host a show called The Business of Sports, which is on Reach TV. So if you're having the airport, which is the TVs that come on in the airport. So if you're having the airport, just look up. You might see me.

Welcome back to Good Follow. There are a ton of great games coming up this week. Top of my list is Chicago Red Stars taking on Bay of Sea at Wrigley Field. The Red Stars will host the first ever NWSL match at Wrigley Field at 6.30 PM Central on June 8th against expansion team Bay of Sea. This is the first professional women's sporting event

held at the ballpark since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League played there in 1943, AKA the team from a league of their own. Okay, everyone, that's going to do it for episode one. You can find us on social media at Good Follow Show and remember to tag us so we can see you supporting the women's sports you love. GoodFollow is brought to you by DraftKings and Meadowlark Media. We'll see you next week.