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<v Speaker 1>Hello, everyone, Welcome to another SDH network one v one.

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<v Speaker 1>I had the opportunity to catch up with former Atlanta

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<v Speaker 1>United player and MLS legend in Dax McCarty. We talked

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<v Speaker 1>everything about him starting out in his new job with

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<v Speaker 1>MLS season past this season, as well as the transition

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<v Speaker 1>from going from being a player to then being a

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<v Speaker 1>part of the media and what that transition is like.

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<v Speaker 1>And then we also talked a little bit about this

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<v Speaker 1>upcoming thirtieth season for MLS.

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<v Speaker 2>Without further ado, here's Dax McCarty.

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<v Speaker 1>Dax, I think my first question is, you know, how's

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<v Speaker 1>retirement life been for you.

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<v Speaker 3>It's been great. Retirement life is awesome. You don't have

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<v Speaker 3>to run fitness with the other guys. You don't have

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<v Speaker 3>to chase around a bunch of teenagers. You know, the

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<v Speaker 3>aches and pains are more muted. I'll say, you know

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<v Speaker 3>how aging is. You still wake up with a sore

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<v Speaker 3>back every now and then, but now you don't have

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<v Speaker 3>to to put that sore back and those sore legs

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<v Speaker 3>through like rigorous workouts every day. I'll still try my

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<v Speaker 3>best to stay in good shape, but it's been really nice.

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<v Speaker 3>Been able to spend a lot of time with the family.

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<v Speaker 3>Just got back from a quick little ski trip where

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<v Speaker 3>I was teaching my five year old how to ski.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, just little things like that where you can't

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<v Speaker 3>you can't ever really do that, you know, in preseason

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<v Speaker 3>or during the season. Definitely things that I'm very grateful for.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think my next one is, so, how did

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<v Speaker 1>the offer come up for you to do Apple and

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<v Speaker 1>MLS season pass?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I mean that's a long winding road with how

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<v Speaker 3>we got there, but I'll try to give you the

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<v Speaker 3>cliff notes version. It's essentially just I started thinking about

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<v Speaker 3>post what post retirement life looks like, you know, years ago.

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<v Speaker 3>And it wasn't ever because I thought I would have

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<v Speaker 3>to retire in my early thirties. It was just because

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<v Speaker 3>I didn't want to be one of those athletes who,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, older age and retirement sneaks up on you

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<v Speaker 3>and then you're kind of just left not knowing exactly

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<v Speaker 3>what direction you want to go. So towards the latter

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<v Speaker 3>stages of my career, when I was in Nashville and Atlanta,

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<v Speaker 3>I really started to be intentional about the different things

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<v Speaker 3>that I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to

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<v Speaker 3>stay involved in the game. That was always priority number

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<v Speaker 3>one for me. I mean, I love soccer and I

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<v Speaker 3>love being involved with it, so I knew that it

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<v Speaker 3>would be something in the game. And I explored both,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, coaching media, potentially you know, joining a front office.

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<v Speaker 3>And when I added everything up, the media stuff really

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<v Speaker 3>called to me more in terms of what my heart

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<v Speaker 3>was telling me to do. Coaching. The coaching life is

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<v Speaker 3>a difficult life. And if you're a player and you

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<v Speaker 3>do become a coach, then you know, your schedule it

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<v Speaker 3>pretty much doesn't change, and then it actually gets significantly

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<v Speaker 3>worse with the time commitment that you have to be

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<v Speaker 3>prepared for. And that's not for everybody. And you know,

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<v Speaker 3>I just decided, with a young family with two boys,

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<v Speaker 3>my wife being super supportive and following me everywhere I went,

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<v Speaker 3>that instead of living that nomadic coaching lifestyle that sometimes

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<v Speaker 3>coaches have to live, I wanted to have a home base.

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<v Speaker 3>I wanted to be settled. I wanted to be able

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<v Speaker 3>to say that my kids can grow up in one

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<v Speaker 3>house for the most part. And so that's what I

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<v Speaker 3>decided to commit to the media because you have a

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<v Speaker 3>little bit more flexibility in terms of, you know, how

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<v Speaker 3>you work where you work, the travel schedule, and so yeah,

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<v Speaker 3>the conversations with MLS went pretty fast. You know, I'd

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<v Speaker 3>been in contact with them a few times throughout the

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<v Speaker 3>last couple of years, just kind of picking. They were

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<v Speaker 3>picking my brain. I was telling them my interests and

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<v Speaker 3>that I wanted to keep playing. But everything kind of

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<v Speaker 3>came together in Atlanta when I knew in the summer

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<v Speaker 3>that it was going to be my last year. You know,

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<v Speaker 3>we didn't speak officially until after the season ended, but

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<v Speaker 3>we got a deal done pretty quickly because they knew

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<v Speaker 3>it was what I wanted and I think they wanted

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<v Speaker 3>the same thing. And then, you know, I'm on a

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<v Speaker 3>flight out to MLS Cup as my first official gig,

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<v Speaker 3>which is pretty cool if you really think about it.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, being able to say that your first official

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<v Speaker 3>job as a member of the media is covering the

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<v Speaker 3>final game of the season you just retired from. So

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<v Speaker 3>definitely a surreal experience and I'm just very grateful for

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<v Speaker 3>the opportunity and i feel like a rookie all over again.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm really excited.

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<v Speaker 1>I was actually going to ask you about the MLS Cup,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, just how quickly it was. What was that experience,

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<v Speaker 1>like you know, getting your first taste of being on

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<v Speaker 1>camera with MLS Season pass.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, it was a wonderful experience, if not a little

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<v Speaker 3>bit stressful. I literally agreed to my deal with MLS

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<v Speaker 3>and my contract on the Friday before MLS Cup on

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<v Speaker 3>the Saturday, and so I flew out on the last

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<v Speaker 3>flight out of Atlanta. I got into LA at about midnight,

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<v Speaker 3>and it was all a whirlwind from there. You know,

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<v Speaker 3>I woke up at seven in the morning, get to

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<v Speaker 3>the stadium to prepare for the game and meet everyone.

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<v Speaker 3>And there's probably I mean, I don't know if people

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<v Speaker 3>actually realize this. I certainly didn't, but putting together a

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<v Speaker 3>big production is a lot more than just a couple

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<v Speaker 3>of camera operators and some talent and one producer. There's

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<v Speaker 3>like fifty sixty people involved in a big production, maybe

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<v Speaker 3>even more, maybe one hundred, And you know, just meeting everyone,

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<v Speaker 3>trying to remember names, going over the show and the

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<v Speaker 3>rundown of how you know everything is going to go,

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<v Speaker 3>just coming up with storylines and for the game, and

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<v Speaker 3>you know, being available, and it was just a and

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<v Speaker 3>it was a really great experience, and it was kind

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<v Speaker 3>of like something I've been hearing a lot is you

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<v Speaker 3>know on this in this job, you kind of drink

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<v Speaker 3>out of a fire hose, and that's kind of what

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<v Speaker 3>it's like. You just take on board all this information

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<v Speaker 3>and you try to articulate that to the viewer, to

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<v Speaker 3>the audience as quickly and succinctly as you possibly can.

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<v Speaker 3>So really cool experience and definitely one I'll never forget.

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<v Speaker 1>That's something I'm gonna have to use because that's really

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<v Speaker 1>really accurate with what you have to.

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<v Speaker 2>Do, especially being on air and stuff like.

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<v Speaker 1>It's it's crazy, like the stuff you have to know

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<v Speaker 1>and like what you have to see you out and

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<v Speaker 1>it's nuts.

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<v Speaker 2>I've never heard that one before.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm mighty, it's a good one.

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<v Speaker 2>Take that one for me, Take it, steal it.

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<v Speaker 1>When looking back, I mean being a player and now

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<v Speaker 1>being on air, what were some of the biggest challenges

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<v Speaker 1>for you when you made that transition or for you.

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<v Speaker 2>Was it a little bit easier because it's different for everyone.

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<v Speaker 3>Right, I'd say that the transition hasn't been too bad

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<v Speaker 3>at all. I was, like I said before, I was

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<v Speaker 3>very intentional in the way I went about preparing to

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<v Speaker 3>go into the media world. I said yes to almost

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<v Speaker 3>every media obligation that was offered me to myself when

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<v Speaker 3>I was in Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, even New York. Going

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<v Speaker 3>back to my New York days, I just really wanted

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<v Speaker 3>to make good relationships and show my personality a little bit,

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<v Speaker 3>because I feel like in this day and age, especially,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, when you're a player, you can get your

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<v Speaker 3>voice out there in a number of different ways. You

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<v Speaker 3>can show people who you are off the field in

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<v Speaker 3>a number of different ways, and so I wanted to

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<v Speaker 3>make sure that, you know, my face was out there,

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<v Speaker 3>my voice was out there. How I spoke about the

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<v Speaker 3>game with my teammates, was how I spoke about the

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<v Speaker 3>game with the media, because I think there's too many

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<v Speaker 3>athletes who, you know, and this is not a slight

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<v Speaker 3>on these athletes, but there are a lot of athletes

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<v Speaker 3>out there that just don't really care and they just

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<v Speaker 3>don't really want to give, you know, media members the

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<v Speaker 3>time of day when it comes to trying to answer

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<v Speaker 3>questions or you know, break games down. And so that's fine,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, some people are like that. That's that's some

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<v Speaker 3>people's personality, But that was never mine. I was always

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<v Speaker 3>an open book for better or worse, and I think

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<v Speaker 3>that really, you know, translates well when you're trying to

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<v Speaker 3>transition from playing to then talking about the game. And

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<v Speaker 3>so I started my own podcast. Obviously that's been a

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<v Speaker 3>great help with trying to get me prepared for what's

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<v Speaker 3>to come. And so just being in front of the

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<v Speaker 3>camera as much as possible, speaking about the game as

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<v Speaker 3>much as I can and having fun. I feel like, honestly,

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<v Speaker 3>like I'm not just saying this, I feel like, other

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<v Speaker 3>than playing the game, being able to talk about the

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<v Speaker 3>game with smart, like minded people is the second best

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<v Speaker 3>job in sports. And so I'm just, like I said before,

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<v Speaker 3>really grateful. I know I'm gonna make mistakes. I know

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<v Speaker 3>it's not going to be you know, smooth sailing the

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<v Speaker 3>whole time. Like I said, I'm a rookie all over again,

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<v Speaker 3>and so I've got to ask questions, I've got to learn,

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<v Speaker 3>I've got to be open minded, and I'm just going

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<v Speaker 3>to do my best to make sure that I'm authentic.

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<v Speaker 3>That's the one thing that I think keeps popping up

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<v Speaker 3>in conversations I have is just be yourself, be authentic,

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<v Speaker 3>and I think that'll translate to the viewer.

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<v Speaker 1>And you got some good good names to help you

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<v Speaker 1>out with that. You got Kevin Egan, you got Sasha Question,

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<v Speaker 1>you got all of them. We've been doing it for

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh yeah, great.

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<v Speaker 3>We know Kevin.

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<v Speaker 2>He's a friend of the network.

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<v Speaker 1>He helped me actually in my early years of doing this.

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<v Speaker 1>I met him in twenty twenty one.

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<v Speaker 3>So I'm not just saying this, but they the entire

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<v Speaker 3>MLS three sixty crew is brilliant. Obviously, I know Sasha

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<v Speaker 3>Question and Bradley Wright Phillips very well, so that transition

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<v Speaker 3>has been pretty seamless. Obviously, we you know, we have

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<v Speaker 3>a great rapport right off the bat. I think k

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<v Speaker 3>and Kyle is one of the best in the business.

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<v Speaker 3>She can host, she can be an analyst, She's very

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<v Speaker 3>knowledgeable about the game. And then Kevin, like you said,

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<v Speaker 3>for me, I knew Kevin just because we cross paths

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<v Speaker 3>before and randomly in the soccer world, but also, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>living in Atlanta and being able to see him and

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<v Speaker 3>be around him a little bit. I didn't realize how

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<v Speaker 3>great at his job he actually is until you see

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<v Speaker 3>how he prepares, you see how he treats everyone. He

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<v Speaker 3>treats everyone with the utmost respect, whether it's the top

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<v Speaker 3>producer or his coworkers or a showrunner or you know,

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<v Speaker 3>the person who's setting up our mics. Like he's just

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<v Speaker 3>he's a great He's been a great influence for me

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<v Speaker 3>for the last two months and just asking questions, helping

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<v Speaker 3>me through with different things, picking his brain on different

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<v Speaker 3>ways to you know, articulate things. He's just been wonderful.

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<v Speaker 3>So I truly feel like I couldn't be a part

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<v Speaker 3>of a better crew, in a better cast. I'm just,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, gonna try my best to keep up with

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<v Speaker 3>all of them, because they're all really really good at

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<v Speaker 3>their jobs.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, everything that they do over there up in MLS

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<v Speaker 1>three sixty and Apple, they've done a phenomenal job, and

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<v Speaker 1>especially with promoting the game and everything.

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<v Speaker 2>And this season's going to be fun.

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<v Speaker 1>And speaking of this season, we'll go ahead and talk

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<v Speaker 1>about kind of what you're expecting from this season.

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<v Speaker 3>What are some of the.

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<v Speaker 1>Biggest things that you're excited to see about from this

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<v Speaker 1>season from all over MLS.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh Man, there's too much to talk about. I will

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<v Speaker 3>I will try to keep it fairly brief for me.

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<v Speaker 3>The biggest this might be slightly biased, and I admit

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<v Speaker 3>that The biggest storyline for me is easily a Landa United,

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<v Speaker 3>the amount of money that they've spent in this transfer window.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, Garth Loggerway is putting his money where his

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<v Speaker 3>mouth is or Arthur's money where their mouth is, and

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<v Speaker 3>so they said they would spend and they did. Obviously,

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<v Speaker 3>Miguel al Maron's return is a major major talking point

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<v Speaker 3>for me. I'm absolutely fascinated to see how he does

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<v Speaker 3>in the sequel because obviously the original with him and

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<v Speaker 3>Joseph was it was must ce TV, and so at

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<v Speaker 3>Lanti and Nighted's attack obviously adding Emmanuel Latte lot as

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<v Speaker 3>the number nine, the most expensive transfer fee and MLS history,

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<v Speaker 3>it's gonna be box office stuff, and there's gonna be pressure,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, Landy and Night it always comes with pressure,

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<v Speaker 3>But now I think that's ramped up and the expectations

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<v Speaker 3>are high with a new coach and some very very

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<v Speaker 3>good players, and so I think at Lanti and Night

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<v Speaker 3>it's going to be a fascinating watch in the you know,

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<v Speaker 3>in the season into Miami, how do they how do

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<v Speaker 3>they recover from a very disappointing end to their year.

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<v Speaker 3>Obviously the best team at Regular Sea team in MLS history,

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<v Speaker 3>setting the points record and then you know, kind of

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<v Speaker 3>floundering in the playoffs and losing to an Atlanta United

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<v Speaker 3>team that was quite frankly, probably overmatched in a lot

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<v Speaker 3>of ways, but managed to get the upset. And so

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<v Speaker 3>I think that they have a bitter taste in their

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<v Speaker 3>mouth with how the season ended. Be fascinated to see

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<v Speaker 3>if the new players that they brought in, some younger

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<v Speaker 3>players that maybe are a little bit less experienced, can

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<v Speaker 3>come in and make a big difference for them. And

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<v Speaker 3>then how do Messi, Suarez and Busquetes hold up. You know,

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<v Speaker 3>they're all a little bit older. You know, Messi had

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<v Speaker 3>a pretty bad injury last year with Argentina and he

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<v Speaker 3>missed a significant amount of time. If Messi stays healthy

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<v Speaker 3>for twenty five to thirty games, I think it's realistic

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<v Speaker 3>to imagine him winning MVP again and setting lots and

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<v Speaker 3>lots of records in the league. That's how good I

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<v Speaker 3>think he still is so fascinated to watch inter Miami

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<v Speaker 3>and then out West. I'm fascinated with with with two

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<v Speaker 3>teams that were very bad last year, San Jose Earthquakes

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<v Speaker 3>and Austin FC. I think both of those teams are

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<v Speaker 3>going to make the playoffs and be much much better

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<v Speaker 3>than they were. Obviously, Bruce Arena coming back int MLS.

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<v Speaker 3>I think it's a great thing for the league. I

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<v Speaker 3>think that he will want to end his career on

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<v Speaker 3>a high note, and so I'm fascinated to see how

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<v Speaker 3>San Jose does. And then Austin spending ten million dollars

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<v Speaker 3>on Brandon Vasquez to be your number nine. I think

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<v Speaker 3>that's a great acquisition. But the transfer fee, again, it

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<v Speaker 3>comes with a lot of pressure, and so I think

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<v Speaker 3>Austin will be better. I expect them to be better,

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<v Speaker 3>but there's a lot of pressure on Brandon Vasquez the shoulders.

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<v Speaker 3>And then the La Galaxy are the defending champions. They

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<v Speaker 3>have so many question marks going into the season. I mean,

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<v Speaker 3>I think they lost four or five starters. They lost

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<v Speaker 3>the MLS Cup MVP. You know, obviously Ricky Pooge one

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<v Speaker 3>of the best players in the league. He's not going

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<v Speaker 3>to be back for a number of months. So there's

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<v Speaker 3>a lot of questions surrounding the Galaxy at this moment

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<v Speaker 3>in time. And they were the rightful champions of MLS

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<v Speaker 3>last year. They were brilliant pretty much all season, played

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<v Speaker 3>a really exciting, aesthetically pleasing brand of soccer. I think

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<v Speaker 3>it's going to be a challenging year for Greg Vanny

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<v Speaker 3>to try to make the pieces fit together and navigate

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<v Speaker 3>through these injuries. Joseph painTill is out for the beginning

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<v Speaker 3>of the season, and so I think Greg Vanny is

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<v Speaker 3>one of the top three coaches in MLS, so I

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<v Speaker 3>think he will be able to navigate that. I still

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<v Speaker 3>think the Galaxy are going to be one of the

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<v Speaker 3>top five or six teams in the West. But again,

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<v Speaker 3>you know there's a lot of question marks surrounding that team,

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<v Speaker 3>so those for me are the big storylines. And of

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<v Speaker 3>course season thirty in MLS, San Diego thirtieth team coming

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<v Speaker 3>into the league. How do they fare. I, obviously as

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<v Speaker 3>an expansion team, know what it's like. I have San

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<v Speaker 3>Diego last in the West. I hope they proved me wrong.

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<v Speaker 3>It's just hard to know with expansion teams, it's just

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<v Speaker 3>hard to know how they're going to do because these

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<v Speaker 3>are a group of players that have never been together.

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<v Speaker 3>So I'd love nothing more for them to prove me

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<v Speaker 3>wrong and make the playoffs and make a big splash.

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<v Speaker 3>But that remains to be seen.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the biggest question mark for me too, is definitely

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<v Speaker 1>what San Diego is going to bring, because you know,

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<v Speaker 1>they brought in these players and you look at it

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<v Speaker 1>and you say, oh, well, this is this seems like

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<v Speaker 1>it could work. But expansion teams, it's so all over

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<v Speaker 1>the place, because you know, we've had experiences where expansion

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<v Speaker 1>teams are bottom of the table. Then we have expansion

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<v Speaker 1>teams who make it all the way to the top

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<v Speaker 1>and they win MLS Cup and like they're able to

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<v Speaker 1>do it in their second year. Like it's very, very

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<v Speaker 1>It could be interesting to see how it fares.

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<v Speaker 3>Anyone who says that they can accurately predict an MLS

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<v Speaker 3>season before it starts is a fool. It's not possible.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't care what anyone says. You can come up with,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, a couple of teams who you think are

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<v Speaker 3>going to be great, the usual suspects that have great

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<v Speaker 3>coaches and that spend a lot of money typically are

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<v Speaker 3>very good. And then the rest of the conferences it's

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<v Speaker 3>a crapshoot. I mean, every team I think feels like

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<v Speaker 3>they can the playoffs, right, and when you feel that way,

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<v Speaker 3>that is what MLS wants. It's parody, and it's just

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<v Speaker 3>a very difficult thing to do to ask people to

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<v Speaker 3>accurately predict in the preseason where things are going to

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<v Speaker 3>shake out. So fascinated to see how San Diego does.

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<v Speaker 3>Like I said, I would be I would be the

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<v Speaker 3>happiest guy in the room if they prove me wrong.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, Dax, I wanted to say thank you so much

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<v Speaker 1>again for coming on to the network to chat about

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<v Speaker 1>the thirty season. You making your first ever appearance, not

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<v Speaker 1>ever you did MLS Cup, but sure.

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<v Speaker 3>Started this MLS three sixty.

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<v Speaker 2>Sixty first run.

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<v Speaker 1>I know that everyone here in Atlanta's looking forward to

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<v Speaker 1>seeing you on there and looking forward to seeing your

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<v Speaker 1>journey with it, and it's going to be a ton

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<v Speaker 1>of fun.

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<v Speaker 3>Thank you. I really appreciate it. Thanks for having me.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm actually kind of bummed that I'm not going to

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<v Speaker 3>be in Atlanta for that. For that first game, it's

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<v Speaker 3>going to be electric. I mean, someone need I mean,

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<v Speaker 3>I'm sure I'll see it on Twitter, but someone needs

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<v Speaker 3>to record, you know, when they introduce Miguel al Moron

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<v Speaker 3>to the crowd again and just hear the roar, it's

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<v Speaker 3>going to be an electric atmosphere. I'm excited to watch

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<v Speaker 3>that game.

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<v Speaker 2>Don't worry, I'll send a video to you.

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<v Speaker 3>Don't worry.