What It Takes to Win - On and Off the Field | 2x World Cup Winner, Julie Foudy

Julie Foudy (0:00)

Success comes when you just are a great teammate and work your ass off.

And people want to be around you, and they know that you got their back. Like, you're in the foxhole with them. That's the greatest place they could be because you're going to take care of them.

Michael Gervais (0:23)

OK, welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade and training, a high performance psychologist. I'm honored to welcome back to the podcast, a living legend of women's soccer.

This week's conversation is with none other than the Julie Foudy.

Julie is a favorite here at Finding Mastery, and her impact here and beyond stems from so much more than her accolades, and they are legit. She is a two time FIFA World Cup champion. She is a three time Olympic medalist, two gold and one silver. She is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, and she is also an energizing voice in the world of women's sports, on camera as an ESPN analyst and commentator, and off as former president of the Women's Sports Foundation. Her voice extends to the page, screen, and airwaves as well. Julie has her own podcast, Laughter Permitted with Julie Foudy. She's authored two incredible books, she's produced several documentaries, and these days, she can also be seen in the newly released HBO docu-series, Angel City, and that's about the Los Angeles-based women's soccer team, Angel City Football Club, of which she is a proud owner and investor. And if you don't know, this organization has an incredible story that you will hear about in the conversation. So Julie and I cover a lot of important ground here. We talk about the cultural shift that's happening in women's sport, how to be a great parent for young athletes, the importance of bringing joy to everything we do, and why we is always greater than me.

She is a winner. She is a champion of other women winning too. And it's clear that her commitment to women in sports will reverberate for generations to come. So with that, I am thrilled to dive into this week's conversation with the one, the only, Julie Foudy. Julie, it is great to see you. And it's hard to believe it's been four years since we last met.

Four years.

Julie Foudy (2:35)

You're like 7,000 episodes in. Come on, Michael.

Michael Gervais (2:40)

And you're plus 100 It's awesome.

Julie Foudy (2:42)

What are you at? How many?

Michael Gervais (2:44)

I think we're over 500 at this point. Somewhere in that range.

Julie Foudy (2:48)

Do you get like a watch, a gold watch at 500?

Do you get a medal? You should be given an Olympic gold medal.

Michael Gervais (2:55)

I'm getting in line. I formed a line, but I'm not sure who's actually giving them out.

Julie Foudy (2:59)

I'm in line. I'm waiting.

Michael Gervais (3:03)

Yeah, that's right. So obviously there's so much that's happened in the world around us.

And one of the things that's been really fun is to see your involvement with Angel City FC.

Julie Foudy (3:14)

No, I should have worn my Angel City hat instead of my Be Here Now hat.

Michael Gervais (3:18)

That's a good hat. The Be Here Now is a good hat.

Julie Foudy (3:20)

Yeah, it is a good hat. Angel City has been so fun. Yeah, that's right. So four years ago, it was just like a twinkle in the eye by Natalie Portman, who is amazing, as we all know. I mean, she is Thor.

So of course she's amazing.

But yeah, that's been really fun. I'm part of that ownership group. There's actually 14 of us players on that ownership group, Michael.

Michael Gervais (3:44)

That is amazing.

Julie Foudy (3:46)

Yeah. So it literally, full disclosure, is a big party. Every home game, it's like, Reunion! Let's go!

How did it come about? So she had an idea.

Michael Gervais (3:59)

What was the origin story of ownership?

Julie Foudy (4:08)

So the origin story, and there is that new HBO Max documentary out on it, which is fantastic. Three part series that Natalie did with her production group. But the origin story is that she was listening to Abby Wambach, former stud women's soccer player, give a speech about her retirement. And Abby was talking at a Time's Up, Me Too, Time's Up kind of meeting that Natalie was a part of.

And Abby was talking about how when she retired, and she's accepting this award from at the ESPYs from ESPN, and she's alongside Peyton Manning and Kobe Bryant. And she's like, you know, the three of us are getting honored for our careers. And it just hit me, Abby's telling the story. It just hit me that, oh my gosh, the three of us are being honored in the same way, but we have very different realities. Like I'm worried about what my next job is so I can have health insurance. And they're thinking about the millions of dollars they have invested and where they're going to spend it.