Welcome to the "Best of the GP Soccer Podcast!" (S2 E9)

                  Welcome to the Best of the GP Soccer Podcast!

While the show takes its seasonal hiatus, you can still enjoy some of the best episodes of the GP Soccer Podcast! Host Giovanni Pacini has dug deep into the show archives to bring his worldwide audience some great interviews, coaching tips, and opinions. The GP Soccer Podcast is proud to be a member of the Sports History Network, and the show has earned some outstanding accolades such as-

* #1 on Top Podcast's "independently produced soccer podcasts".

* #2 on Feedspot Media's list of "Best Soccer Coaching Podcasts".

* #5 on Feedspot Media's list "Top 20 Soccer Podcasts" that are a "must listen".

* #6 on Skill Shark's "Top 10 Soccer Coaching Podcasts".

* Million Podcast's "Top 30 Soccer Coaching Podcasts"

* Million Podcast's "Top 10 Goalkeeper Podcasts".

* Noted as one of the "Best Soccer Coaching Podcasts of 2025" on Player FM.

The GP Soccer Podcast will return for Season 15 on September 9th with new shows airing every Wednesday. Those interested in advertising on the show can contact host Giovanni Pacini at gp4soccer@yahoo.com. Every episode of the show from Season 1 to 14 can be found wherever you tune into your podcasts!

Enoy this "Best of the GP Soccer Podcast" episode!  

Be sure to pick up Giovanni Pacini's new book- "The Importance of Unstructured Free Play: Coaching with a Street Soccer Mentality" available now on Amazon!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:12

You're listening to the JP Stalker podcast with your host, Giovanni Picini. Hey there everyone, Giovanni Picini here, host of the GP Soccer Podcast. Welcome to all of you once again to listening into the show. As I always say, I deeply appreciate all of you listening, whether you're a first-time listener or a regular listener, which I know I have uh quite a few out there, which is always always nice to hear. Um we've got a terrific guest today. I'm I'm I'm really kind of excited about this. Not that I'm not excited about past guests, I don't want to insult anybody in my you know previous interviews, but this guy in particular, uh, I'm really excited to talk to, not only about soccer, but his background in uh in broadcasting. As you all know, because I've talked about it in the past here in the show, that my original career intent was radio and TV broadcasting. And uh everything changed when I found out that I could uh I could coach soccer and I could teach physical education, and uh the rest of this, as they say, is history. I had a brief uh a brief bout uh in the industry back uh a number of years ago, WJDA uh here in Quincy, Massachusetts on terrestrial AM radio, and did that for a few years. Um and then when the money ran out, so did the show. But uh with the advent of technology, here we are, here I am in a studio with my laptop and my equipment, and uh able to uh satisfy both passions, that being uh obviously the sport of soccer and as a broadcaster as well. So uh with all that said, my guest today is Brad Fellman. Brad Fellman is the veteran New England Revolution play-by-play announcer who has called more than 550 Revs matches, and he returns for his 20th season in the booth. The 2020 season marks his 16th as the play-by-play announcer for the club's broadcasts, both on television and radio. He's also the executive producer for all revolution telecasts, heading content, operations, and production. Brad joined the Revs organization in 2001 as a TV and radio announcer. He broadcast all five of the Revs' MLS Cup appearances and was the announcer for the club's 2007 U.S. Open Cup, Superliga 2008 championship winning matches, and the 2016 U.S. Open Cup final. Fellman's resume includes play-by-play commentary for top European competitions on ES International, Citanta Sports, and announcing MLS, USL, and college matches on Fox Soccer. He began his MLS broadcasting career as a sideline reporter for the then Kansas City Wizards way back in 1999. Brad Fellman, it is an absolute honor to have you on the GP Soccer Podcast. Welcome, welcome.

SPEAKER_02 3:01

Thank you, Giovanni. It's uh that's a nice introduction, and it's good to like hear my uh my whole resume compressed into uh uh uh you know an elevator pitch there. I like it. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

A lot of practice there, my friend. A lot of practice, you know, gonna make sure I get it in in a certain amount of time. Uh so here you are. So you know, one of the things I I didn't uh bring up there in the setup and in your introduction is that you're you know you you'll be joined uh this year uh by US former U.S. national team uh forward Charlie Davies. Uh how did that all come about with Charlie? And um is Paul Mariner still involved? And how how is how did that all transpire with the with the new broadcast team?

SPEAKER_02 3:37

Yeah, so the first thing I should say is that uh, you know, Paul uh left being the main guy on his own volition. He was not removed or fired or anything like that. Uh he's been spending more time back in England. You also haven't seen him on ESPN uh uh FC as often in recent months, and uh it just sort of dovetailed with Charlie's uh sort of increasing ambition and experience in the broadcast realm. He filled in for Paul for one match uh a couple years ago. That went well since then. He was the lead, he became a lead color analyst on the ACC ESPN um channel for those uh college games and was doing a lot of stuff for MLSsoccer.com, Sirius XMFC, etc. So he went from being pretty uh green a couple years ago to now being a really reasonably experienced uh broadcaster with a lot of ambition in that area. So with Paul sort of trying to wind down or you know, be less available, uh, and Charlie looking for games as a former Rev and uh New England soccer uh star and uh well-liked and very visible guy who also now has uh gotten his uh broadcasting chops. It's it was a natural transition. And uh you know, I'm in regular touch with Paul. You know, we speak or text you know several times a week. He will still quite likely be available for a handful of games this year and going forward when you know Charlie has the occasional conflict. But Charlie's the lead guy. I'm very happy about it. It's only frustrating that we only got to do uh uh two games before things uh screech to a halt, but he's still very active. Um, you know, he did for the first two uh classic matches that we did during the uh the suspension of play of live games, he's doing uh you know live Twitter feeds on the Revs uh and NBC uh sports Boston uh Twitter accounts. And uh he's hosting this week a reunion zoom for all the members of the 2014 Eastern Conference Championship team. Uh as part of our uh rebroadcast you know encore presentation of that game, which will be on NBC Sports Boston uh at four o'clock on Saturday. Uh, but look on the Revs and NBC Sports uh uh social feeds for Charlie, sort of leading the pack with you know the likes of Jermaine Jones, Lee Wynne, uh Chris Tierney, and more from those teams. So Charlie was a club ambassador for the revs last year, very familiar with the club culture, and uh he's just a good fit for it.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

You know, you and Paul were together for such a long period of time. It's almost like a marriage. Um it's almost like a marriage. I mean, you're on the road together, you're traveling together, you're you're spending time in the in the booth, you're spending time in, you know, for show prep and all that kind of stuff. And and now you've got a new person. Um how long, in your experience, how long does it take that that that gel, so to speak, or that relationship uh, you know, uh works out that that you're a seamless duo, or is it automatic? Is it is it right away? How does it how does that work?

SPEAKER_02 6:51

I don't think uh Giovanni that there's uh a universal law for that. For example, in the case of uh Jay Heaps, who's my uh my partner in the booth for two seasons, we already were very familiar with each other from when he was a player and I as a broadcaster and director of communications for the Revs. But he was uh especially in his first year, uh but for both both seasons, very involved in his training and starting uh with uh Morgan Stanley, which was his uh career path before he got back into the game uh through coaching. So Jay and I, like Jay was available for all the conference calls, all the meetings and everything, but other than you know, he the official sort of appointed times, we very rarely travel together. There were a few times, you know, we drive to and from the away stadiums together, be in the same hotel. But you know, the first year he was in the training program in New York City. Uh, then when he was in the Morgan Stanley Boston offices, he very often had his own uh work stuff where he would have to fly in later on Friday than than I would. But once we got into the booth, there was a very good sympathical, and we were able to play off each other very well. But we didn't we had limited contact away from the games and and the meetings. Uh, but with uh broadcast partners like Adrian Healy, Greg Lawless, and especially Mariner, we were kind of joined at the hip. And you know, uh it wasn't like sometimes uh Paul and I would fight like a couple of old women, you know. But uh like I I don't know really what to say. Like, I the really the the the main thing about Paul not being there for me isn't even the games. Like I didn't just spend six years on the road with him as uh broadcast partners, uh but also when Steve Nichol was coaching, uh Paul and Stevie and I spent a lot of time together on the road in those years from 2004 to 2009 when Paul was assisting uh Nichols. So the upshot of his being away is it I feel the absence more than if it were just a strictly professional relationship. Um, I think it's probably the right time for Paul to transition, but it I expected to have a couple more years. You know, this sort of came upon us more suddenly than I expected. And so yeah, like it's a little it's bittersweet. I Charlie's a great guy, and we we've always got on great, and that that's off that partnership is off to a good start, uh, away from the booth. But you know, Paul, you know, Paul's almost been like a family member, so I'm gonna miss him a lot.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Yeah, it's a no-brainer. I mean, you spend that amount of time with it with anyone for that that period of time and you know, uh and close, you know, you know, you know, close uh with that person. Yeah, it's it's it's a difficult transition. Um, well, you know, uh I wish you guys the the absolute best. I'm sure it's gonna be uh, you know, as you say, very sympathetico as you move forward. Um so let's, you know, as we tape this show, Brad, as everyone you know knows when they listen to this, that we are still in the midst of the uh coronavirus uh pandemic, the coronavirus crisis. It's uh something that at least in my lifetime that I I I have never seen or witnessed or experienced. I think that's the case for most people. Um how are you doing personally? How is your how is your family doing? How are you doing throughout all of this?

SPEAKER_02 10:22

Listen, when I see what's going on out there, I have very little cause for complaint. And thank you for asking, Giovanni. Um, I hope you and yours are keeping well. Uh also uh we in short, you know, my immediate circle. Um, my wife and daughter doing well. We actually moved homes for the first time in nearly 20 years just before the lockdown went into effect. So we got that in just under the wire. Um, it was pretty hectic because things were starting to shut down. Like we were literally listening to the governor's speeches as we were moving uh to make sure that we can get everything done legally. Um, but uh that all came off and we're in a good spot. My daughter, who's at uh University Overseas, was gonna ride it out, but then things started to change. She uh uh decided to come home at least for a stretch of time. So uh Miriam is back with us, and we feel better about that. Um, and my my parents are well, and you know, so we count our blessings. I I did actually lose a great aunt uh to coronavirus, she's 93, uh somewhat of a distant relative, somebody I was more closer with when I was younger, and I'm still in touch with with uh one of her sons. So it was a very sad thing, and she's buried in the same plot as as uh two of my grandparents. So that was an emotional thing. It wasn't somebody who I saw or had a lot to do with these days, but it still brought it home. Uh, she was in New York City where a lot of bad stuff is happening, and she was in that age demographic where people are more vulnerable. Uh, but it made it all seem a lot more real, you know. Uh two other people who I knew in other phases of my life, again, not people who I had any contact with, um one a 42-year-old guy and one a 71-year-old guy, also passed uh in the last couple weeks for uh from coronavirus-related symptoms. So, you know, this thing is very real, and I'm taking it very seriously. But so far, uh, quite fortunately, I've yet to be uh touched uh or anybody in my inner circle.

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Well, sorry here to hear about those family members passing. That is uh yeah, that that's always heart-wrenching, uh, even under normal circumstances, but uh even more so given the given what we're facing with this uh this terrible.

SPEAKER_02 12:36

Yeah, a Zoom funeral for people who haven't been through it, it's a lousy thing for the immediate family. That was the thing that really hit home for me, is I fell awful for her kids having to do it that way.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

Yeah, yeah, it is. In one respect, it's great that you can have a connection, but it's terrible that it's a technological connection, that you are you are literally somewhere else.

SPEAKER_02 13:00

It's just the first time like you sort of feel like if in another era where we didn't have Zoom, we also wouldn't have had the uh information about social distancing. So people probably would have been going to these things en masse and and infecting each other. So like it's it just it's just a weird thing. And I did like you said at the top of the show, like we just haven't seen anything like this in our lifetimes.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

No, and I hope we never see it again. But uh, you know, um you never know. You you just you just don't know. Um, now what was the you know, you obviously you broadcasted for the revs and you've been with them for a great period of time, and obviously with MLS. What has been uh the official stance um for the revs and MLS? And uh I I know you're there's some constraints there on how much you can talk about, but if if whatever is you know you you're able to talk about, what would what were the you know the thought processes going into the uh the final uh you know decision to to shut everything down with with the revs and in MLS as a whole?

SPEAKER_02 13:58

Yeah, I think we we saw things headed that way in the days leading up to it. And that night before when when the NBA uh pulled those those uh players off the court um just before the game, a lot of tech started going around where everybody in my world was saying, wait for it. Like it won't be 24 hours before MLS and the other leagues do the same thing. Um, and indeed they were right. I think it was around noon the following day that MLS and I think it was MLB were the next two. Um, and then you know the first date was what was it, April 11th restart, and now they've pushed it out to May 10th. Uh and really the constraints are just that I don't have any more information than what than what you're seeing online. Would I be surprised if games were starting again May 10th? Yeah, probably, the way things are going. But you know, until then, you know, the league really is uh the voice of all the teams in MLS. And so it's not even the Revs or or the Kraft organization or anybody uh who I you know I'm taking any sort of cues from there. It's just we're all looking to headquarters in New York. And as of now, you know, they push the training date for players out, I think to April 27th, as of today. Um, I wouldn't be surprised if that slid forward again, but there there does have to be a certain amount of time between when the teams can start a training and when games can be played. And with a lot of states um that are you know home to or uh uh adjacent to MLS clubs, still not hitting their projected peak in terms of uh COVID-19 cases. Let me let me say you know, early mid-May, now that we're in early mid-April, seems pretty soon. But right now the date's May 10th. But you know, by the time this podcast gets posted, that may slide. I just don't know from any official angle.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Yeah, it's one big state of limbo. One big state of limbo. Now, to the best of your knowledge, uh what what is Bruce um and his staff doing to maintain connections with the team? Uh I'm I'm sure that he's got some, you know, some some some things he's expecting that the team to be doing on their own. Can you have any questions?

SPEAKER_02 16:23

Players are training on their own. You know, I have pretty regular contact with uh Kurt and Alfo through this. Uh Bruce has been really great about making himself available for media and community stuff uh virtually, you know, um during this shutdown. I think he recognizes the importance of the club uh sort of you know keeping a you know encouraging and engaged public face. And uh, you know, he's been around for a while. And I know people sometimes think of Bruce as sort of an old school, crusty guy, but he really since he showed up last year, he's been exemplary in the way he's handled these things. And on an operational level, I I think it's a lot of it is the training staff, you know, the fitness uh coaching staff led by Jared Phillips and then uh Evan Allen, the the the trainer, uh the head athletic trainer. I think they have a lot of virtual contact with the players. And um, you know, every one of these guys wants to come back and hit the ground running and be as fit as they can be. Uh, from a competitive standpoint, there are a couple of injuries that you know the revs are dealing with, not having Carlos Heel in the field is was bad, but he's fit now. He'd be ready to go right now. So at least up to now, the break has has uh put the revs in a in a better spot. But it's obviously not optimal. But with the same kind of tools that you and I are using right now, they're able to uh keep track of players' fitnesses fitness and put them on programs. And uh, you know, whenever they get the green light, everybody wants to be in the best shape possible so that they can be 90 minutes match match fit.

SPEAKER_01 17:53

Yeah, and the number of coaches I I've interviewed in the last few days that they've all done the same thing, using using technology, using Zoom, using WhatsApp, using whatever mechanism uh is available to make sure that the players are engaged and you know uh you know doing things um to maintain fitness and that type of stuff. So let's kind of shift gears but stay with the revs since we we we were just chatting about them. So you you you've been you know covering them for a number of years now, it's from from 50,000 feet, you know, looking down. What are some of the highlights? What are some of the most significant, what are the some of the most dramatic things that you you have seen, experienced, um, come to know um from the revolution, for both from the on-field product and the off-field product? What can you share with my audience?

SPEAKER_02 18:41

Yeah, that's an interesting question. I think the main thing now that I'm you know not the wide-eyed Johnny cum lately is that I've come to realize that this is a long, you know, it's a long game. It's not, you know, use the cliche, it's a marathon, not a sprint. I think it's always good for clubs and leagues to maintain a very uh close ear on the feedback from their supporters, uh, both the most passionate supporters who are the you know the sort of bedrock and foundation of the culture. And then also uh with the kind of data that that uh that the league and the teams have been employing and analyzing the last few years, where they get sort of cross-sections of the of the consumer uh base, so more sort of general sports fans, even fair weather fans, who can augment those hardcore supporters and really provide more breadth as well as depth in terms of your your fan base. Um but what I would say is that you know, people get disgruntled or they want growth to be faster. And you have every right to do that. Life is short, you're a paying customer, you love your team, you want them to win. Um what I'm getting at is I've seen some real a real sort of almost roller coaster ride, a real ebb and flow over the years in terms of enthusiasm, in terms of people, you know, sort of either recognizing the uh commitment and and uh both financial and and sort of bandwidth-wise from ownership and management. And other times our team where fans have been very critical. Um I think the bottom line is we're in the 25th year of the league now, Giovanni, and and the club is still here, they're very well positioned. They've had some uh several brushes with greatness where they, you know, in terms of winning the MLS Cup rest fell just short. But when you're within an overtime uh goal or penalty shootout of winning a championship, that means the team's uh you know has achieved a level of success in the competitive environment they're in. And the fan engagement has followed suit. But then there have been some lean years where maybe the revs uh you know certainly weren't market leaders and they weren't even first followers anymore. They were sort of, you know, I think a couple times, and and the their upper management's uh admitted to this, like after the making the final in 2014 and that peak, and then the you know having Jermaine Jones, and then even the following year, 2016, making the US Open Cup final. Um I think that maybe it lulled the Rebs into a false sense of security. And then all of a sudden they realized that that era, the sort of the early mid 2000s, that was changing in terms of player acquisition. A lot of you know expansion teams coming in and pushing the envelope in terms of their facilities and uh you know marketing efforts, and most of all their their player acquisition strategy. Uh, but you know, the revs now with three DPs have sort of Caught up. So what I would say is like to me, there are different eras. The launch back in the mid-90s was something I wasn't living in New England then, but there was obviously a lot of enthusiasm around that. And then MLS really hit sort of a dark ages period. You know, around the time, honestly, that I came into the league, like 99 to 02 was a very strange period where there's contraction. You know, we later found out they're talking about folding up the whole league. Um, but you got to give credit to the founding families, the crafts, the hunts, and the Philip Anschutz, for hanging in there. Not necessarily everybody's uh satisfaction, but the fact is they kept the thing alive. And that, you know, so for me, you know, if you want to talk about high points, it's the launch. Stevie Nickel taking over during the 2002 season. Um, that was a watershed for the team. Um, you know, you could say he rode his luck, or you could say there's magic in his act, uh, but it wasn't by accident that his teams made it to four MLS Cup finals, won a U.S. Open Cup in the Superliga. You know, like it's it like, you know, he especially once Mariner joined the staff. But you can also give a lot of credit to some of the personnel decisions. The guy who introduced us, John Murphy, was a big part of those early years in terms of his scouting. Uh, and even Fernando Clavillo, who definitely lost a group as a coach before he was fired, but was a good, a great uh you know, personnel assessor and helped with that, you know, the the the what are they called the dispersal draft in 02 before Stevie Nickel came in, uh, where they brought in guys like Steve Ralston. You know, that was really uh sort of a foundational moment for the for the next decade. So, you know, the I so I would say like that 2002 year, and it is a long answer, but and then I would say, you know, this latest you know, sort of run of the league has been really remarkable to see. You know, it kind of started to percolate when Seattle and Portland came in and when uh Kansas City relaunched with their stadium, but it's just gone from strength to strength with these markets that uh you know I left out the Beckham signing. The Beckham signing for the league was obviously that was a game changer in terms of international profile. But I don't really think that Beckham signings, even as Latan and Chichorito signings, are really the future of the league. I think it's a lot more um, you know, the Carlos Hill, Gustavo Boe, Adam Buxa type signings that are gonna be what may, you know, you look at Joseph Martinez um and some of the other uh international players that Atlanta signed. I think those are the kinds of things that are gonna make this league really compelling. And that's where we're gonna be able to eventually, sooner rather than later, punch on an equal footing with the Mexican League. And then we can worry in 20, 30 years about whether we're on par with you know La Liga and the Premier League. But uh in the meantime, I'm to take it back to the beginning of my my point. I think that there's been you know an arc to the both the league and the revolution as a club, that if you look at the snapshots over longer periods of time, and it's a little bit like the stock market, you know what I mean? If you're reactive and you're a day trader, every little uh change in fortune can you know both be an opportunity for loss and gain. But if you you know, if you track the index fund that is MLS and the res, they've both grown exponentially, and it's it's still poised for, even with the economic bump that we're we're obviously in for in the in the short to medium term, this country still, I think it's still very much poised for for growth over the long haul as a sport in the league. So uh I I I'd be bullish on MLS, and I I feel like the high points have outweighed the low points.

SPEAKER_01 25:39

You know, I go back uh to year one with the Revs. I was uh when Brian O'Donovan was the general manager, um one of the great guys, yeah. Oh yeah, absolutely top-notch. Uh he they had put together, he had put together a revolution advisory board, which was made up of representatives from different uh factions of the soccer community here in Boston and the England area. I was a college coach and I represented kind of that college voice, if you will. And we met with regularity, with regularity. And it was um, and and they and they as you know, they still have that type of outreach and they still take that seriously. You have to. Um, but we we had some say. We we were encouraged to give honest feedback uh to Brian, to you know, uh the organization as to how this should get going. Um and then we had some great conversations, some some terrific conversations. So it was it was great to be a part of that. Uh and I remember sitting, I believe it was year one in that torrential rainstorm at uh at Foxboro. Um but it was history, but it it you know, it was history. Um you know, I you know, I I I'm as guilty as the next person because at the end of it all, uh I'm a soccer professional and um but I am a fan. We're all fans, and uh, you know, I have been guilty uh as you and I have conversed on a number of cases, uh, you know, with impatience with the Revs and just impatience, uh particularly with the with the stadium situation and the training facility, which now we can we can check check that box. But then I have to kind of slap myself in the face and say, I would say check that box, circle it, and underline it. It's not just a training facility, it's a really top-notch one. Oh, absolutely, yes, absolutely. I uh and uh I haven't seen it yet. Um, you know, maybe I might know somebody who can help me get in. Uh consider it uh consider an open invitation. You're the best. You're the best. Yeah, from everything uh from my all accounts, it is a world-class facility. And uh I've certainly read uh a number of Bruce Arena's comments about it. And if Bruce uh raves about the facility, uh he ain't just blowing smoke up at people as you know where it's it's it's the truth. So I look forward look forward to seeing that. Um you know, uh you can't talk about the revs without talking about the craft. You know, um the the argument out there, the the point out there, the issue out there, whatever you want to entitle it, is that the Patriots are their baby, and the revs are kind of this stepchild that they kind of pay attention to every so often, and every once in a while they'll they'll throw it a bone and um you know, and just because they kind of have to, because soccer is not going anywhere. Um you know, if if possible, can you debunk that? What what have been what has been the crafts mentality relative to this franchise from day one to now year 25?

SPEAKER_02 28:11

Well, I I think you have to look like look at it it through like I don't know, sort of two lenses. One is it's not like they came in and made a huge play to acquire the soccer team based on like two generations of passionate fandom. It was not the family dream to acquire the revolution coming in the way it was the Patriots. Like they go back to 1960 with the Patriots after they already owned the Pats and Foxboro Stadium and had staged, helped stage the 94 World Cup matches. And as Robert Kraft always uh tells, the apocryphal tale is you know, being at the World Cup with Lamar Hunt, who really sold him on soccer as a sport of the future, they made a very optimistic uh bet on MLS, put a lot into it, and then you know, MLS didn't get out of the gates the way people anticipated. Things changed a lot very quickly. I I don't think you know, because it's such a global sport, you couldn't really buy instant success in the business model they had with the single entity, you know, put some uh sort of stopgap, some some strictures on that kind of growth, precisely because they didn't want to be like the NASL and have uh teams get into bidding wars over players and get bankrupted in the in a short period of time like we saw in the mid-late 70s. Uh so what I've seen is like I I think it's sort of like we all want our favorite teams owners to spend with you know wanton, reckless abandon and just Bigfoot everybody else and win everything. And it's not unrealistic, like it's not, it's not, it's not you know, it's not wrong for fans to want that. But what I would say is there's much more engagement on the part of the crafts than what is always visible. Now, I wish it were more visible, but one of Jonathan's sons um interned with uh Mike Burns for I think two summers in a row, Jonathan and uh Robert are at a lot of the home games. Robert has expressed very publicly, and Bruce Arena's talked about it, you know, that he really sees MLS on an upward spike. But like Robert didn't, like a lot of men of his generation in this country didn't grow up with soccer as one of his, you know, sort of passions and sports. I think he respects it a lot. I think that what they didn't want to do after the mistakes of the first five years of MLS is sort of sort of throw good money after bad. And I think that they were conservative in that sort of second phase, MLS uh 2.0, if you will, which coincided with with uh the administration of of Steve Nickel. And I think that in some ways Stevie Nickel was hurt by his own success because he came so very, very, very close to producing MLS Cup champions with the resources he had. It didn't seem like now you could say, okay, well, if you go out then and and sign you know Ronaldinho in his prime, then that would put you over the edge. But the crafts weren't going to do that. Full stop. They just weren't gonna do it. And you know, the revolution were a crossbar away, a penalty kick away, you know, you know, pick you know, a 35-year-old goal from Pando Ramirez away from winning, from winning an MLS cup with the resources they're putting in after they scaled back in 01-02. So that was sort of, I think, in some ways, a false promise. I think if somebody less capable than Nickel was that were at the helm, first of all, you would have had four coaches in 10 years instead of one. And you probably wouldn't have made four or really total six, seven finals if you include both Super Leaguas. Um, but you would have maybe seen a little more questioning and desperation in the business model. Uh, as far as the stadium goes, like all I'm gonna say is if you know a way to get a stadium built in Boston in the current conditions, please let me know. Because like the the crafts have as much clout as any family in New England, and it's proven to be uh a huge challenge. They're making an earnest, ongoing effort to get it, and that's all I can really say. It's not that nobody is making false promises to try to keep string people along. That's not how they operate. They really want a stadium. When they say they want a stadium, they mean it. But as far as some of the other things go, I think that the crafts are committed. Um, I think that they want top-notch people running their outfit and doing all the important jobs. Um, and I think that, you know, I think Jonathan is very engaged, but he doesn't like to be very public-facing, even with the Patriot stuff. And Robert is more public-facing, but he wouldn't tell you he's a soccer expert. He loves a revolution, he wants them to win. But, you know, he sort of, you know, sort of operates from afar, whereas Jonathan's more more hands-on, but like leaves it to Bruce and Brian Ballelo to do the day-to-day. And that's how they do things. They're not going to be on Twitter commenting on MLS. It's never been their style. So that's what I got for you.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

You know, uh, speaking on behalf of the the of fandom out there, of which I will ins include myself, um, you you you you you used a uh a significant word that one of which never crossed my mind. That was the word visibility. Um I think to the to the fans out there who don't know the you know the the daily machinations of of of the operation um and the um you know the the interest, the strong interest the crafts have in their in their daily involvement. Um I I think you know if there was more visibility um of the crafts out there over the course of the years, particularly during those down years, uh, as we spoke about, I think it would have appeased some of the um the cynicism or the pessimism of the fan base out there. Um I think we've I think we've transcended that. I think um, you know, particularly over the last few years, and I think it's a direct result of as the league itself has has um you know catapulted itself forward into another level, and now having the training facility and Bruce Arena and you know top-level players that the Revs assigned, uh I think people now see maybe one, maybe for the first time, I don't know, um, that the crafts are indeed uh you know are indeed uh you know vested truly vested in this, not just financially, but um emotionally as well. You know, I I have been, and you and I have chatted about this, you know, I've I I've always been you know a bit of an attack mode to the crafts relative to the stadium. I I always, you know, I I say, you know, the this is a family that it's got the the financial capital being a bit redundant there, but also the political capital. You mean to tell me they can't put up get a stadium in Boston, they they can't wield their power. Uh and I think back of how they got you know Gillette Stadium and they took they took the show down to Hartford and hey, we're leaving, uh playing that political game.

SPEAKER_02 35:37

But they didn't get a stadium in Boston. I know the ready to build another Fenway park, they couldn't do it either. And when the when the Jacobs want to rebuild Boston Garden, they had to do it on the plot of land they already had. So show me somebody who's built a new stadium in Boston says like Braves Field, you know, like seriously.

SPEAKER_01 35:56

Like Yeah, you no, you're right. Uh it's it's uh first of all, just just getting a plot of dirt, just just getting a plot of the appropriate. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 36:04

And with that, with the you know, right now you've got housing issues, you've got all these tech companies and everything coming in. Uh that's what the last, you know, if you think it was hard to get the plot of land in 2007, you know, like tried in 2019, 2020. And I can tell you this, without, you know, without giving too much away, it's fallen at the final hurdle through things that were no fault of uh the craft organization. They've used all their clout and they're willing to put a lot of money into it, and they already have. And uh I would just say uh like without with all due respect, it's it's it's a mistake to say that they haven't put all their might behind it.

SPEAKER_01 36:46

Well, that's good to hear. And that that is good to hear.

SPEAKER_02 36:49

Um how's this? I've been in meetings where we're planning micro details with the thought that we're gonna break ground more than once. Like, like that's how close it's come, and that's all I can say.

SPEAKER_01 37:01

And I guess that that ties in with I'll go back to the word you used before, visibility, not visibility physically by any of the crafts, but visibility in the sense that um letting people know how close they can. And I, you know, I don't know what what the uh limitations are as to what you can and cannot say when you when you it's strategically a stupid thing to do.

SPEAKER_02 37:18

It's like with player signings. People say, well, what if you were scouting in Eastern Europe, why didn't you tell us? It's like, well, because what you do as soon as you tell it, then the agent is going to jack the price up and then you can't sign the player anymore. It's the same thing with these things. It's from a tactical perspective, it's a you know, if we were in one of these, you know, Western or Midwestern markets where there weren't nearly as many competing interests, maybe you say yeah, it's a risk worth taking because we're the only bidder for this plot of land or for this, you know, for this particular player or whatever. But it is such a competitive thing out there. Your opponents, whether it's political opponents or other developers, like you can't do it, Giovanni. It's not to where the idea isn't to starve the fans of information, it's just there are just other practical considerations. I don't mean to say that in an insulting way, it's just the strategic reality is that it's it's a bad play to do that.

SPEAKER_01 38:10

No, no, no, I understand fully. Um, so it begs the question: plan B? Is there a plan B? If Boston, if Boston is not an opportunity, there's not an opportunity to put a stadium in Boston, what's plan B? Or is there a plan B?

SPEAKER_02 38:26

What I would say is that, you know, even though it's not optimal, in the meantime, Revolution have uh first-rate NFL facility to play in. The location obviously doesn't allow the club to take full advantage of some of the demographics uh and and fan interest that are really propelling some of the other MLS teams now. And it's the size of the stadium is obviously less than optimal. But it's a decent place to play soccer, not ideal, but decent place, and a loyal fan base. And you got your last two years, average crowds are you know in the 20 and 19,000 uh per game range. Um and so, you know, short term, I think you're it's a holding pattern. I don't think the revolution are married to boss the city of Boston. I think that other nearby urban areas are also, you know, always being considered. Um I think the key is you want to be near public transportation and you need to be close to the population epicenter. So, you know, I don't think it's been exclusively Boston that's been looked at all the way through. And I also would say that Boston is still not out of the question. I don't think they're ready to move to plan B, as it were. I think actually we're on plan F, but plan F is always like there's no reason to build anything near Foxboro, which I see some people say, and I also don't think you're really helping yourself to go to a smaller city, whether it's uh Providence or Brockton, Lowell Lawrence, you know, Worcester, people have thrown out all kinds of ideas because then you might as well be in Foxboro. Because the truth is the whole key is for people to be able to walk and take public transportation to the game. Is that and it's also where the young professionals and you know you know 20 and 30 somethings who are really driving MLS culture right now are located in numbers. Uh because the Revs do very well still with the uh group sales with uh soccer clubs and uh town associations and families, uh that you know that they've they're pros at that at this point. Um so what you need to do is get close, you know. Like that's why like people say, well, you shouldn't be at NFL Stadium, except that Seattle and Atlanta are killing it in NFL stadiums. The difference is those are downtown. If you dropped Gillette Stadium on top of uh Fenway Park, it would be a success from an MLS perspective. I can promise you that, even though it'd be better if it were 25,000, 22,000 seats. But you could put it an NFL stadium in Boston and people go to the soccer games. You know that as well as I do. Sure. It's all location. Sure. So the and but I can't give you any more intel or insight as to what other communities like you know be considered. I think it's pretty you can you can do the math pretty quickly just looking at a map, you know. Uh and you know, right now it's uh you know it's a seller's market, but that could change in the wake of this COVID-19 thing. We just don't know.

SPEAKER_01 41:35

Yeah. So let's talk about the not the last piece of the puzzle, but you know, arguably the the last most important piece of the puzzle um with Revs 2020, and that is um Bruce Arena. Um you know, I I think the the you know the answer is obvious um, you know, as to what he has he has brought to the to the franchise. But from what you've seen, you're there and on an intimate basis with the with the franchise and with the team. What what has he brought to the franchise, to the team that that Joe average uh fan maybe doesn't see on a regular basis?

SPEAKER_02 42:09

The thing that uh surprised me pleasantly the most, uh having known Bruce from a distance for you know 20 years, is that he really once you're on the same side of the wall as him, he's much more open, uh much more of a team builder. You know, when I was in the media, like he was always decent to me over the years. I dealt with him in a lot of ways, um, in a lot of different sort of environments, you know, from socializing him with him when it was uh Mariner andor nickel to covering him uh you know as a broadcaster for an opposing team. Also, that you know, I did sideline in that Beckham uh game, uh Red Bulls uh LA Galaxy in 07, where I covered the Red Bulls bench and he was coaching. Uh, I know several of his players from University of Virginia, and I met him through that. Um and also when he was the brief uh spell when he was a broadcaster, there are a couple times where we were sort of broadcasting the same game. But when you're uh ostensibly on the same side, now I'm not I don't work for the Revolution per se, but we both work for the Craft Organization. I'm around the stadium all the time. I'm you know in the same hotel as the team. And um it's different. I'm not even I don't even mean the way he treats me, but he is an incredible team builder, similar to what Steve Nichol was, uh but just a very different uh style of management, some similarities, but mostly different. But you can see when somebody's got that touch that in terms of leadership, and he is really masterful about knowing when and with whom to use the carrot versus. To stick when he has to be tough versus when he lets people do their own thing. I really I don't want to oversell it, but I think the results over the course of his career support this. He really is better than most at the sort of human management component. And he's seen every football, every soccer situation in his career. So tactically he knows his onions too. But the main thing I've seen is that he gets people to buy into his way of doing things just by sort of his charisma, his self-confidence. And he puts time, he invests time into relationships more than I thought he would. I thought he'd be more aloof and elusive. Now I'll give you one thing. Like, I've always called the manager on Saturday to try to get the lineup. He doesn't want me to do that. He will if if I don't have it, just before the game, share it with me by text or whatever, just so we don't get screwed up for TV. But he's just like, Brad, go to training. You always like I because other managers don't want me there, at least not while they're doing uh the starting team or or or set pieces. But he knows he can trust me, just like Stevie Nickel and Paul Mariner knew they could trust me. I'm not, you know, I'm not there to tank them or submarine them. So he's sort of like, if you're doing your homework, you're gonna go to practice and you're gonna see what we're doing. And then I don't need to talk to you. You know, if you if we're on the road and we want to talk tactics, he'll talk tactics with me. Um but you know, his whole thing is like, you're part of this. You should, you have access, you should go. I'm like, all right. So now it doesn't always, you know, it's not always ideal with my other, you know, production duties or travel schedule or whatever, but he's right. And so I start changing my schedule around to to do it his way. And you know what? His way is good, you know, it's just different. And I I think Bruce is really um you know, I I I look to him, you know. I'm a very per different personality type from Bruce Arena, but like there's something to be learned from him beyond soccer. He is a like a like in terms of management, he is he's a he's a master. I'll I'll say that.

SPEAKER_01 46:25

And his record speaks for itself. Yeah everywhere he has gone from the very beginning of his career, you know, to you know, to now. Everywhere he has gone, he he has had that proverbial Midas touch and has been has been successful. Um, you know, arguably, um, you know, I I know U.S. soccer, and we're gonna I want to kind of dive in this a little bit with you in in a moment, um, you know, arguably U.S. soccer might have reconsidered, you know, unless he wasn't on board. Unless he was not on board, it was going to be a short-term interim thing with him with U.S. until they found the next guy and we found and Greg Berhalter. But my goodness, when you have someone of that track record and that capacity, that ability, uh, that name recognition, that profile, you know, uh, it would have been great to have seen. I I just like without going too deep into it, I think you I think the timing was not it was not good at that. Yeah, see, that's the part I would I want to, you know, kind of interject uh in in that kind of questionslash comment. So yeah, you don't I don't you don't I don't know, we don't know what was going through his mind, uh whether it was interim period or uh, you know, I'll stay on if they want me to, type of thing. But uh goodness, um, you know, someone of his capability, uh, given where we're at with it with the men's national the men's national team, you know, might might might be helpful. Um there they're there a losses are revolutions game. Indeed. Oh, absolutely positively, and good for us. Good for us. So I've stuck my toe into the current state of U.S. soccer. Uh we you and I could spend God knows how long getting into that, but uh I want to touch upon it. Your your expertise is is deeply appreciated. Um what's your take on the current state of U.S. soccer? When I say U.S. soccer, that is the game in general, from grassroots to the professional to to the national team. What is your take on how U.S. soccer, i.e. the federation, is now functioning and it's the issues that it's facing, the women's lawsuit, um, the the the you know the issue with the United States women's national team.

SPEAKER_02 48:16

Um, you know that's a third rail subject, and I you didn't tell me we were gonna talk about that. I'm gonna avoid that one like uh like like the plague? Well, I don't even like make plague jokes anymore. Yeah, this is true. No, like listen, uh Cordero had to fall on a sword for that one, and rightly so. And uh I think the optics to public relations were terrible. Um, and I think the women have a pretty strong case. Um, but let's talk about the men's game because I I would bring it back to what I said about the big picture view. I think expectations are in a completely different place. Uh I spent time thinking about this because I think you would agree that we have a broader pool of players in this country than we've ever had before with the academies, the um, you know, the development academy, and the and the and the the whole, you know, just the the way the game has exploded in the last 20 years. Kids grow up uh seeing the top leagues in the world, uh coaching facilities uh better than it's ever been. But you know, the criticism, and I think it's a valid one, is that we produce a lot of very good functional players, even professional level players, not a lot of special players, not a lot of, you know, like you know, where are the you know, the next Lannon Donovan, Tab Ramos, Clint Dempsey, even you know, make more Christian Polisic type players. Um, and I don't know how to answer that. When I talk to people who coach for a living, you know, they say, yes, U-12 coaches should have their licenses, but they also need to chill out, you know, like let the kids, you know, make mistakes in places like Spain and Holland and Argentina, where they do create creative good special players, they then you gotta let kids go a little bit. And there needs to be more, you know, there's too much structured play in our society, not enough street soccer. And I just don't know how you find the balance. Like, I I do think like a lot of the candidates who ran for the in the last USSF uh present election cycle who talked about pay-to-play, did so in a very different context than the way I understand it. Um, like there should be scholarships for club players who can't afford it, uh, for a bunch of good different reasons, including player development, uh, you know, access is all that's very important. But, you know, to me, what I would like to see, and I don't know how you do it given all the stakeholders who are making a living off the game, and I don't begrudge anybody who's making uh a living off of uh youth soccer, their their their earnings. But when I talk to my friends who became elite players in in foreign countries from England to Eastern Europe to South America, whether they were from a poor family, middle class, upper middle class, their family, other than than their soccer shoes, never paid a dime for them to play. And that's because of the pyramid that we're all you know aware of where you know the the you know the it trickles down from the top division professional clubs to the local professional clubs to the semi-pro teams and the academies. And you know, I don't need to describe that to the people who are listening to this uh podcast are pretty familiar with that, but we don't have that model. And part of it is the re you know, the regional disparities, the geographic distances. It's hard to have an academy league where it's all MLS teams. Uh, there's so many athletes, you know, there are gonna be kids, you know, who who sort of get missed out on at various age groups, but I really think that I'm more optimistic about the future, even though we missed the World Cup last time on the men's side. Um, I think that the foundation is there now, and we just need to, yeah, I don't know how you do it, or I'd run for president of the federation, right?

SPEAKER_01 51:59

It's got my vote.

SPEAKER_02 52:00

Yeah, well, thank you. No, I think they've got a good uh a good person doing it uh right now, but I don't know how much the focus will be on this component because I think that you know it is interesting to look at, look back at you know, the World Cup teams of 90 and 94 and 2002 and say, where did those players come from? Before we had, you know, Development Academy, ECNL, uh, US Club Soccer, and all the other places that are trying to develop these uh these good players, you know, there are these more sort of independent forces that that that you know and more rough-hewn players, but you know, to win a World Cup, do you just need 11, 14, 18 guys who are at that level? You know, and I I think that that just seems like you know, where somehow, and it's so like opposite the way the other team sports are because right, like look at how like top basketball players come through, you know what I mean? And it's more regimented now, but you know, the AU street thing is wilder and woolier and than anything we have in soccer, I think. I think AAU basketball, as much as they've tried to regulate it and people have been punished in recent years, that's more like the system that that produces great soccer players around the world, especially if you look at a Serbia or Croatia or Uruguay or Argentina. Um, although there, you know, the top pro clubs have a lot of input. So, you know, I'm I'm I'm sort of throwing a lot of stuff out there, but I guess what I'm saying is we've got now this broad base of good players who you can plug into a top division professional environment. But to get more of those guys who are gonna, you know, be able to make that leap to the super elite global elite level. Um I just feel like in some ways we've gotta get it back into the streets a little bit more somehow, and then get the kids into the academy. Once they have that sort of creative toolbox, the technical toolbox, keep having them play with you know, like coaches, but not all the time. There shouldn't always be a coach or a referee there. Just play futs all until the sun goes down and your mother has to drag you back to dinner by your ear. Because that's what I see when I go to Catalunya or Brazil or any other places I've traveled, is that it's not nobody's carrying their player registration to play most of the time. You know, they're just balling.

SPEAKER_01 54:37

Well, as you very well know, uh I am have been for, I don't know, a million years heavily involved in coaching education through United Soccer Coaches. So I'm kind of out there on the front lines uh in terms of educating our coaches um, you know, toward becoming more enlightened coaches. I'm also a director of coaching for the Superliga down in Rhode Island. Um so I, you know, I've been in I I've I've I don't know. I'm not trying to trash any of that. I think we're a better thing. No, no, no, no, no. I'm I'm actually going to I I I'm gonna highlight and emphasize some of the things that you had brought up. Uh I'll start with the very first first thing is the street soccer mentality. Our kids, our I'll break it down into two to two areas here. A, kids in general are not going out to play like you and I did when we were growing up. Okay? It was part of the society thing, I get it. Correct, correct. So because of this, so so because kids are not going out and playing, you don't have that street soccer, that free-flowing, you know, uh organize it on our own and just play till the street lights come home, come on, and you know, devoid of coaches, where true creativity is is indeed born in nurtured. On our you just look at our basketball courts over the years. I mean, you know, in any basketball court, you you see no, you're saying exactly what I'm saying. Yeah, exactly, exactly. And then, you know, from from a formal standpoint, and I'm big on this, and I'm trying to educate coaches at every level to create environments that are that that that are as laced with street soccer, with free play, essentially, and this is this ain't rocket science. You show up with the equipment, you give it to the kids, and you say, organize your own games. And your role as the coach at that particular juncture is just to make sure that they're safe, you know, that there's you know, that they're they're in a safe environment. Let them play. All of the developmental things from a human standpoint take place. They have to socialize, they have to, you know, sort out teams. Or what happens if we have an odd number? Well, we've got kids who are really good, and these kids aren't that good. They have to sort all that stuff out, which contributes to human development, and then you let them, you let them play.

SPEAKER_02 56:37

So Yeah, and what happens, what happens if you end up in the, you know, you know, you skin the wrong guy in the dribble, and then he decides to get take your ankles. How do you deal with that? You know, and it's like like we've all been in that situation where you go to the new park, not that I was ever this guy, but all of a sudden the guys come snapping in with those those those sharp late tackles, and like you shouldn't be seeing that for the first time when you're you know a U-17 in some formal club soccer environment. Like you should be that should be summer pickup soccer on the streets, and then you learn how to solve those problems.

SPEAKER_01 57:11

Done right. Yep. And then the pay-to-play thing, again, you and I could talk for hours, we all could talk for hours about this. You know, I my nut, and this is a very abbreviated uh, you know, response to all this because I've done presentations on this in a number of different number of different places, you know, uh, this is America. You know, this is America. Uh, we live in a capitalistic society. Anybody, anybody can tomorrow start their own company, their own organization, their own entity. You can start your own soccer club, your own soccer league, um, and you can do it for any number of reasons. A lot of times it has to do with, well, I want to make a buck. Um and because uh we have so many soccer entities that are trying to make a buck, that the product they're trying to sell diminishes the opportunity to truly develop players. Because you if you're gonna run a club, uh you have a bottom line, and you you know you want to win, and uh you know, you want to say, hey, we're going to this tournament, this tournament, this tournament, you're gonna get this uniform, this uniform, we're gonna go, we're gonna play this many games. And what falls by the wayside um is the developmental idea that you you you've got to have an appropriate training-to-play ratio. You're gonna train two or three or four times a week, depending on the on the on the age. We're gonna play but once a week. And then you're talking about grassroots where, hey, we're not even gonna keep score and there should be no standings. My goodness gracious me, that would, you know, that flies like a lead balloon uh here in here in the United States. Um, but you know, circling back to the capitalist thing, you know, people you can make a bucket soccer, you can make a bucket sports. You know as well as I do, it's a it's a mega billion dollar industry, use youth sports here in this country. Um, and when you put the almighty dollar ahead of anything, in this case soccer, what is going to fall by the wayside are best practices relative to the development of American soccer players. Subsequently, because of you know what we've got, you're right. We do produce, we've got a good uh a decent sized pool of good players. And I and I put a small g on the good. And we don't have, you know, we we we rarely produce, and I put that in big air quotes, people can't see it, the world-class player. And we should. Uh our country is vast, the resources are uh are immeasurable. Um if we could just get ourselves on the same page and uh you know fix some of the things.

SPEAKER_02 59:22

Let me ask you this like do you think that you know solidarity payments and expanding that? This is not an area of which I really have drilled down as much the last couple of years, but it seems to me that that is the biggest difference. So you can say that you know it's anti-capitalist to sort of democratize things and make it all sort of funded either by the federation or the municipalities, or but if if there is a profit incentive, right? Uh a smaller club that produces one first division pro can, if they get a solidarity payment, you know, as the money continues to expand in the pro game, then they could fund several years of operations with just one player that they developed, even if he the sell-on is, you know, two steps removed from their original transfer. I think that you know, it used to be that the local clubs resented some of the Revs efforts in the youth space, but I think everybody recognizes that the way it works now is here is similar to the way it works in the rest of the world, which is that first division professional club has the academy that 90% of the elite players in your region are going to be gunning to go to. And, you know, you know, you see again, like if you go to uh Catalonia and you read the sports pages there, the way people follow the minor league baseball here in the US, people follow the U-12, U-14 age groups and see who's following into Barcelona and Espanyol, or some of them will go to the you know, the mid-tier local teams like Sabadell and the other sort of second and third division teams uh academies, and then the best of those kids will go to the La Liga teams academies, and maybe one out of a hundred of those elite kids from the U-14 age group will play one minute for the first team. But everybody's watching to see who that is, and if that guy makes it, then his original club is gonna stand to make a lot of money off of it down the line. And to me, that seems to be the system that's most apt to sort of scratch both itches, which is to you know, have that sort of pressure produces diamonds, uh, atmosphere on the field. Parents are in any way, you know, being put upon to pay for players and travel, and then the clubs know that their long-term investment in excellence will come back to them if they produce the most players and funnel them into the best opportunities that they can rather say, okay, we're gonna win State Cup in the U-15 age group, but we're gonna do what we can to get this kid to commit before he can go to one of the academy teams. Instead, they're like, okay, we've developed him up to this point. And if he goes on to not just get a scholarship for D1 team, but to play, you know, at a super elite level, then we're gonna make some money someday. And if we do this with enough kids, that will sustain our business model, and we won't have to charge as much for kids to play for our elite younger teams. That to me seems like the only way. It's just an imperfect science. And if people already have a model that generates revenue, it's hard for them to let go of it.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:09

Indeed. No, I think you hit the nail right on the head. I couldn't agree with you more. Essentially, what you just uh wonderfully described is the marrying of capitalism with the uh, you know, applying best practices in developing players. You you there is the financial incentive, and then which goes literally hand in hand um with the incentive of developing uh you know high-level players. Yeah, I th I think that's it, you know, because again, I circle back. This is America. This is America, it's a land of opportunity. Uh you you can make a buck at doing anything, but I think you hit the nail right on the head there, Brad, uh, where you can marry those two uh uh dynamics to um to develop uh top-level players and still make a buck. So so look, I I just want to kind of bring this to a kind of a close because you and I could go on forever and ever and ever. No doubt. Let's let's talk about broadcasting a little bit. Um, you know, what advice would you give uh anyone interested in getting into the world of broadcasting? A young guy, you know, Giovanni Pacini, a thousand years ago when he was in high school and he wanted to get behind the mic. Uh what kind of advice would you give a young guy who is, or a young girl for that matter, young gal uh who's interested in getting into broadcasting?

SPEAKER_02 1:03:15

You know, I I do have uh young people who come to me uh you know every so often, and and I try to get, you know, it's easy to hand out advice in hindsight, and I don't want to make it sound you know preachy or facile or anything like that. I think that first of all, the the landscape has changed a lot since uh since I got into it and you were starting out. Um so like there aren't universal truths that apply from then and to this era now, but uh some things do carry over. Um, you know, I was relentlessly persistent. I did an interview with uh Julian Cardulo uh recently for uh Pro Soccer USA, where I talked about how I made my demo uh CD, an audio demo CD, and I sort of I crashed uh the uh GM and team presidents meetings at MLS Cup 2000 and just stood outside the boardroom and waited for you know well over an hour and then sort of you know threw these around like ninja stars. And I knew that most of them would end up in the trash can or on in the bottom of people's briefcases, but I figured it would show that I had the confidence to do it, and maybe one or two people would listen and it would give me a pretext to follow up with all of them and say, hey, remember me, I was the guy who gave you that. You know, did you get a chance to listen kind of thing? And it was sort of a bold, brash move, one that I don't know if I'd have the confidence to do now. But I, you know, to me that was emblematic of like, you know, on the one hand, I knew it was a long shot that I could make a career at it. On the other hand, the only reason I went for it is that I had this self-belief that it was it was something that I could do. Um it's not real, you know, there I think people think it's a more normal way of making a living than it really is because you know, media people are front-facing, and we most people in our society consume a lot, whether you're streaming cooking podcasts or YouTube channels or broadcast news or whatever it is, sports broadcasting. Uh I think there are fewer of us out there doing it than people might perceive relative to the total numbers of population. But there are a lot of jobs in media. I think you know, broad strokes, I think with what I'm getting at is two things. One is to be uh like just tirelessly persistent, but in an appropriate way. The young people whom I respond best to are the ones who stay on my radar, but know how to time it so it's not obnoxious or too in my face. There are times when people send me emails, I You know, mean to follow up on. I always try to reply to everything and then slips down the stack. And if they come back to me, I appreciate it. And I often close my email. I say, if you don't hear back from me two weeks, three weeks, follow up. It doesn't mean I don't want to hear from you. It just means I got busy. Um, and so like it's not just timing, it's also tone. And you know, but you you also gotta know what you're talking about. Like some people work so hard to get the job, they forget to like learn how to do it. And some of these things you can only learn by repetition and doing actually being on the job, but preparation is incredibly important. Uh and I'm not gonna give a whole lesson in soccer broadcasting here, but like you you gotta, you know, you gotta spend time preparing and learning how it's done. And most people who want to get into it know that, but I think there are different levels, and I think you know, some of it is having the personality, the communication skills to get things across, and then the other is knowing how to prepare in a professional manner and in a way that works for you because everybody's different. And then the final thing is I always say this, I believe this very strongly. Know something about more than just sports or soccer. I think that people like some of these specialized sports broadcasting and marketing programs are excellent, and it gives uh young people more industry knowledge than I had coming in. But I also started late, I didn't get on the air till I was 30. And I think my other experiences as a print journalist, uh working in film and television production, I did a journalism school degree. I had pre, you know, I started as an international relations major in college and then switched to a writing major. But I think my background in writing and literature helped me. I think reading something more than just uh 280 character tweets helps a lot in terms of expanding your vocabulary, but mostly your context and your breadth of knowledge, and you don't have to be an expert in some of these other areas, but if all you know about is sports, you're very one-dimensional, I think. Uh the problem with that nowadays is there's so much information to consume, so many games you could be watching, and it's very hard to know how to allocate it. But the broadcasters I like best and who and to whom I relate the most are ones who see things in a broader context. One of the things I really liked about Adrian Healy, um, and one of the reasons why we're still friends, is that you know, he's not just a jock strat, man. He he's a man of the world, you know, he knows what's going on, uh, you know, culturally, politically, and he doesn't see sports as all there is to life. So that that's what I would say uh sort of the three prongs of success are, you know, that for me.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:44

You know, I I teach uh albeit a very limited I did this this little uh uh you know community uh community educ education uh course called Voiceover Basics. And I talk about these things. When you talked about you know being well read, it I can picture my slide and my presentation where I talk about that. I go, you need to know more about what you're talking about in a particular subject area. You know, the ability to know a lot of things, you don't have to be expert, like like you had and indicated, but that breadth of knowledge allows you to to better uh you know to better present the the the the area of which you're you're you're you're talking about, whether it's soccer or what whatever it you know it happens to be. And you know, and not and not this is not a joke. I mean, you also have to have a presence and pipes. Let's be frank. Um and I'm when I say present, you don't have to be, you know, drop dead gorgeous or you know, uh, a super male model. Um, but you all you have to have a presence about you and you have to have the pipes uh in order to deliver. I again this is very limited. I do this on a very limited basis with these with these courses that I teach. And there are some folks who come in and boy, they think they're gonna, you know, do voiceovers and like, oh, you know, you may want to think about doing something else in the area of media or broadcast or you don't talk so much. You know, yeah, but you're a voice man. Um it it's not, you know, it's it's just it's just not there. And it's you know, and I and and and I only assess people if they want to be assessed. I'm not one of these, I'm gonna assess all of you. If you'd like some some constructive feedback, I'll give you some constructive feedback. And um, you know, but yeah, you gotta have a presence, you gotta have pipes and you know, and all the things that uh you know, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:14

Like you say, you don't have to be you don't have to be you know model good looking, but you have to keep yourself well in most cases. Of course, of course. And you know, you don't have to wear twelve hundred dollar suits, but you know, know how to tie your necktie, you know, you know, keep yeah, keep yourself well is the main thing in that department. And you know, the the presence you can't really coach, although I think if you learn to observe uh the people who do it well, you can learn something from that. And then I think just the fact that you teach that course, you can learn uh vocal mechanics that can improve your delivery. You can. But if your voice is in a certain register and or you speak with a very nasal way of talking, it's it's gonna be harder to succeed without changing that.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:59

Yeah, and then those of us from Boston losing that Paktica and Have it yard thing going on, you know?

SPEAKER_02 1:11:04

Uh my favorite thing about the Boston Act, I grew up, I don't really have it. I have a few things I say. Uh my parents are from New York, which is one of the reasons why I think I didn't get it, even though I lived here for 36 of my 53 years. Um, I love because so many kids' mothers told them not to drop the R's. So we used to when the Reds were winning that tournament against the uh Mexican teams, people on our staff would call uh call it uh Super League instead of Super League. So when they add when when when Bostonians add the R where there's not one, that's the sign of somebody who really has the accent.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:44

Anyway. Well, listen, Brad, on that note, uh let me just say it has been an absolute joy having you on the GP Soccer Podcast. I've been looking forward uh to spending some time with you here on the air. And uh, you know, you didn't disappoint. You're you're you still uh you've been a wonderful guest. Um so our guest today has been Brad Fellman, the the wonderful uh and veteran uh play-by-play announcer for the New England Revolution. Uh hopefully the Revs and MLS gets get back on the field uh very soon. And when that is the case, if you cannot attend a match, please uh you know tune in, uh, whether Brad is on the radio or on television or both, and listen to his uh his play-by-play. It is uh amongst the best. So uh we're gonna break for a uh very brief commercial message. On the other side, we're gonna dip into the GP Soccer Podcast mailbag. I got a couple of emails that I want to share with all of you. Um so as I always like to say, don't you go anywhere. Hey there, this is Giovanni Pacini, host of the GP Soccer Podcast. You all know me as a soccer coach and a clinician, but did you know that I'm a professional voiceover artist as well? My voice has been heard on radio, television, as well as other media platforms. If you'd like to learn more about my services as a voiceover artist, contact me at gp4voiceover at gmail.com. That's gp the number four, voiceover at gmail.com or at 617-968-21800.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:04

Hey everyone, this is Dan Abrahams of the Dan Abraham Soccer Academy. I am so thrilled to be speaking with Giovanni Picini of the GP Soccer Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:14

It's time to dip into the GP Soccer Podcast mailbag. Hey there, welcome back to the GP Soccer Podcast. I am, you you know who I am, Giovanni Pacini. Uh great guest today with with Brad Fellman. Uh it was really, really a lot of fun uh you know talking with him about the about the game, um, you know, the game uh uh across our country where we're at as a nation in soccer, uh MLS and uh and with the New England Revolution. Um terrific guy, terrific friend. Um and again, I as I noted at the closing of the of the interview, uh if you get a chance to tune in to the to the revs, you'll you'll certainly appreciate Brad's uh terrific play-by-play calling. So again, many thanks, Brad. Uh I look forward to our paths crossing again soon. So here we are. Uh GPSoccer Podcast Mailbag. Got a couple this week. Uh kind of kind of a a low volume week. I get a bunch, believe it or not, I do get a bunch. Uh just a couple this week. So I pulled, I pulled this one. There it is. Printed it, and there we go. This is a little lengthy, but I think it's worth uh worth sharing. So here we go. Giovanni, big exclamation big exclamation point. Good, good, good show. Three goods there. Do three goods make a great? I hope so. So good, good, good show. You say coach is helping coaches a lot, and I started to listen when a coaching friend suggested that I tune in. I like that you answer email questions on the air, and I hope you answered this one. Well, I am. How do I use how do I use technology to keep my kids engaged when we're not on the field, particularly during each off season? How do I balance that with actual face-to-face times thanks? That's a great that's a really great question. Um indeed, we you know, we're living in the age of technology, and you know, it's it's uh it's become part of what we do uh in sports, not just in soccer, but sports across the board, and certainly can use it um, you know, as uh the grassroots level all the way to the professional level, and it is it is here uh to stay. So what can you do? So there's there's a couple things as as I kind of process the the question. Uh we're all familiar now with Zoom, you know. Um you know, we're we're we're using it uh more and more these days, and uh it's a great tool to have your your kind of your virtual team meetings, you know, in your offseason. You know, maybe you know once a week you have a a Zoom meeting uh with your team, and you you can you know designate a topic. Uh maybe this week's topic is uh you know some of the moves that they might have practiced in their backyard. Maybe it's a Zoom meeting on uh you know uh a soccer movie they might have seen that you might have suggested, you know, ladybugs comes to mind or uh you know, victory, any number of soccer movies. You're only limited by your own imagination as to what you want your topic to be uh when you have a uh a Zoom meeting with um you know with your players. That that's a terrific um terrific piece of technology as well. There are there there is technology out there that um you know that the kids can take on their own, and they have a smartphone or their or their smart device, and uh it is used to inspire them to kind of go out on their own, whether it's in their backyard or out of the park and practice some soccer moves, um, you know, encouraging them to encouraging them to master the soccer ball. They can videotape themselves and they can be uploaded uh and it can be shared with uh you, the coach, and with their teammates. Uh there are apps out there that that do that and uh create competitions where somebody might uh do something creative with the ball and they, you know, uh challenge other players to to emulate that particular uh that particular move. Um that's another piece of of technology that that can be used out there. But this there's a lot of great stuff. But I uh if I had to pick a couple, the Zoom one, because it allows you that kind of face-to-face interaction uh with your kids, and then the any number of uh apps, and I'm not gonna name one over the other because it there are there are a bunch of them uh really good ones out there where you know it is uh inspiring for your players to go out and do something on their own. And we need to do that. We really need to get our kids to want to go out with the ball and explore what they can do with the ball, be creative with the ball, you know, without the influence uh of a coach around. So there's a couple of um a couple of uh suggestions. I I hope that helps. Uh if not, then you email me back. So there's our show for today, the GP Soccer Podcast, with with me, Giovanni Pacini. Again, I want to thank Brad Fellman for being on the show today. Uh if you like what you heard today, and goodness knows I hope you did, please tell everyone. If you didn't, tell everyone anyway. If you'd like to advertise on the GP Soccer Podcast, you can contact me, Giovanni Pacini at GP4Soccer, and that is the number four at Yahoo!com or at 617-968-1800. This is Giovanni Pacini of the GP Soccer Podcast, and I will absolutely positively catch you later.