-
that was fun…
If you heard my latest podcast, you would’ve heard some personal news at the very end of the episode. For those of you that haven’t: HOW DARE YOU? No, but seriously, I had shared that as soon as I finished recording I had to pack, eat, shower and head to the airport for a wild trip ahead.
I had to change my flight last minute but I ended up leaving at 4am as my flight left at 6 on the dot. What flight? Well I headed to St. Louis to watch Ireland Women vs USWNT at CITIPARK, a brand new stadium.
Shortly after landing I went to say hello to Louise Quinn, as you all know, former Arsenal player. I had met Lou back in 2019 when she, Meado and DVD came to my show with the Jonas Brothers. Lovely quick chat and then I was off to meet my friend Pete aka Pete from Le Grove aka one of the best Arsenal blogs ever (here), and he also hosts The Arsenal Opinion Podcast.
We’ve been friends for a few years, he’s come to my gigs and I always try to see him whenever we’re in the same city. He is very knowledgeable on all things footy, Arsenal, branding and more. He hadn’t been to a women’s match and I brought him along.
Pre match we took a walk and went into this little pub and as I walked in, I knew it was gonna be a good day. There was a couple sitting at the bar, both wearing AFC black strips. The guy was sporting #10 – Smith Rowe and the queen, because that’s what she is, was wearing #9 – Mead. We greeted them and chatted for a bit. Lovely people.
Coincidently , Pete works for St. Louis Soccer Club so before getting to our seats I was able to get some details regarding the stadium, the culture they are building and much more.
Once seated it was just amazing. Loved the energy, loved watching the girls warm up. I have to say, it was pretty emotional. I don’t get to see matches often in real life. I guess I could if you count USWNT matches but honestly, as a naturalized American, I can tell you that I don’t care at all. I respect them and they are great but that’s it. Horan to me is DVD’s teammate. However, definitely a privilege watching her, Mewis Alex Morgan etc.
My point is that I was there for Ruesha, Louise and Katie McCabe.
The match was outstanding. One freakish goal from the USA was the difference. I personally thought the girls in green were incredible. KT was commanding and I could feel her energy from my seat. Ruesha had a great match, she was athletic, committed and very involved. Louise was her solid self. Calm and intelligent as ever.
These Irish queens are historic. They are going to the World Cup and I’m so proud of every single one of them. To add a little color, we had Niall Quinn sat a couple of seats in front of us and that was so cool!
After the match I had some dinner and went to the Airport and got back to LA basically 25 hours later.
I might support the Oranjeleeuwinnen but these girls have a very special place in my heart, forever.
d ❤
Listen to THAT ARSENAL WOMEN PODCAST on:
-
Bravo, LIA!
A few days ago, in the middle of the international break, we heard news coming directly from Lia regarding her decision to step away from her national team and her club, to focus on her mental health. I won’t get into details because I don’t have any lol. But I did want to talk about how important this is, how brave this decision is and how I love the support she has gotten.
We all know how important mental health is. We also know how hard it can be to understand complex feelings as well as anxiety, depression and much more. It’s not easy. Sometimes the way to work on those things, to get the help we need and / or to overcome things has to do with time. Literally taking the time to do that, but often we don’t have that time… we have to work, we have families, etc.
Speaking up and expressing that you need a break is nothing short of brave. The fact that both country and club support her decision is outstanding and I’m proud of her for saying what she said and how she said it. I’m also proud of women’s football and how we have seen a few examples of these mental health breaks taken by a few players.
This is something you don’t see on the men’s side. I can’t remember the last time this was even close to being a conversation in real time. What I mean by that is that we hear men talk usually well after they retired, how X period in their lives was rough. As if it would show weakness. Ironically it would be the opposite.
Imagine the toxic dialogue something like this would awaken on social media if Toni Kroos asked for something similar. It would break the damn internet. Yet, on this side… the good side… the women’s football side, those breaks are encouraged, respected and well received.
One of the many reasons why women are the answer.
d ❤
Listen to THAT ARSENAL WOMEN PODCAST on:
-
Borehamwood is my highbury
You have probably been a AWFC supporter for a long time. Easily longer than I have been one, I would bet. My educated guess is also that you probably have attended A LOT of matches at Borehamwood, at The Emirates or at Wembley. I say it’s an educated guess because I can see the location of my readers and 99% of you are in the UK or The Netherlands.
Whenever I think of “going to a match” I’m overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude and joy for those of you that can actually go. I’ve been spoiled as a professional musician and a music fan here in Los Angeles, where I have been able to watch some legendary and unique shows in some unreal venues. It’s magical, it’s mesmerizing and depending of how in tune I am with my memory, I can remember so many details of so many shows.
But as far as women’s football, it’s just not easy to go across the ocean and watch a match. There’s so much money involved, work that we need to shuffle, cost of opportunity, unplanned expenses, food, lodging, the armoury… you name it. For us that are lucky enough to make the trip, we have to plan it so much in advance. However, as a musician it is impossible to plan. We thrive on the unpredictability of our lives, of our industry and our bank account status.
I look at people in the stands, at the lunch box, sorta tucked away in the parking lot and I just say to myself: these people are so privileged and I’m so happy they are there.
We have heard people say over and over that they don’t regret anything. That attitude is so revered and seen often as this standard that we all have to adhere to, but i don’t agree with that sentiment all the time. I absolutely have regrets and quite frankly, my biggest regret in football terms is never going to Highbury when I could’ve. I have a hard time emotioanlly whenever I think about that and I feel like I cannot forgive myself. Sounds harsh but I feel that way. That regret though, pushed me to try to, as my wife always says: “not miss the events.”
A couple of years ago I decided to make a pilgrimage and planned a very involved trip to the FA Cup final vs Chelsea, and I was going to go the CL match vs Barcelona, one of the men’s games and one last match at Borehamwood. I planned it all, and when I say “I” i mean MY WIFE planned it all. I was all set. So exciting…
I get on the plane, crying of joy. When I land, i turn my cell phone on and i get a message asking me if I wanted to perform with Miley Cyrus. Needless to say, I took the gig. I was able to watch the final at Wembley and it was such an incredible experience. Beyond the result, the amount of joy I felt was unlike anything i had ever felt. Yet, my mind and heart were all over the place due to the job offer. It was a lot. And honestly, i don’t think i have processed it yet.
All this to say that I will try by best to not make Borehamwood into the Highbury that never was, but to enjoy it tenfold and cherish it.
But I consider myself lucky… I can travel, I can more or less afford a trip but there are SOOOOOOOO many people that can’t. Maybe distance is the issue… There are insanely big fans out there like @argsenal or @spanishawfc among many others that live very, very far away who love the club so much and know much more about it that I could ever do.
So, next time you go there and watch the girls play, think about how incredibly cool that is. You’re living our dream. Cherish it.
d ❤
Listen to THAT ARSENAL WOMEN PODCAST on:
-
You’re above the gossip
Friends…
If you know anything about me, you know that I have tried my very best to stay away from any sort of drama around players, I don’t spread gossip and I surely do not ever talk about player’s personal lives. It’s non of my business, it’s not yours or anybody’s.
Today I’m also not going to address directly the comments going around about player X saying thing Z and some people talking about another player altogether, who happens to be a player in our squad. It’s not worth it. I don’t care about what the fan or fans said. I really don’t.
But what I do care about is how some people are reacting to it, not because I think they’re wrong to react or interact, but just because I know there’s nothing healthy about it. I’m not here to tell you what to do or how to think but, pardon me if this sounds arrogant of me, I have some suggestions that I’m sure will help you in the future.
Firstly, you cannot rationalize irrational behavior. Read that again if you have to. This applies to many, many things in life. You will be way better off, with less BS around you, you will set boundaries in a healthier way and you will be able to create a habit out of this.
Another thing I will say is that people that talk about other people like that, with the aim of getting attention (because it’s not ever about anyone else but the one person that spews the ignorant comment), thrive on engagement. They want to be read. They want to be interacted with. Ignore them, as often as you can.
And trust me, I know it’s hard. Recently someone I follow and whose opinion I respect, said something about my favorite player that I found to be very much click bait. I couldn’t said so many things and wrote a DM, etc etc etc. But why? If that’s what they think, that’s what they think. If I didn’t like how they said it or what they said, that’s MY problem. A few years ago I would’ve absolutely engaged. And then I would’ve been inundated in that. The issue would persist. The drama would build.
And it’s all such a waste of time. Imagine what you could do with the same energy and time that that tiny, absurd, little post took from us.
I love that people care. I love that people wanna defend our players with all our might. It shows that they matter to us. I totally get it.
Sometimes we need to say to ourselves: I’m above this.
I know you are.
d ❤
Listen to THAT ARSENAL WOMEN PODCAST on:
-
Anything can happen
At this very moment there’s a countdown clock on my TV that says 11:23. That’s the amount of time left until the men’s squad play vs Liverpool in what is, for me, the most important match of the year. There’s so much on the line.But I just cannot help to think how this is the same feeling I get with every single Arsenal Women’s game in the WSL. I’m not kidding.
“THAT BIRMINGHAM GAME” has given so much trauma as a fan. And it also has sorta empowered me and gave me confidence. The trauma stems from what we felt as complacency against a team at the bottom of the table which cost us the championship. We can blame ourselves and question how we didn’t beat them as long as we want but the fact is that it happened and we cannot change it. Safe to say we all loved that at least it was vs Louise Quinn, who played a stellar match.
The confidence that I got from it is that a match like that can happen to any team, and that gives me hope, which empowers me to know that anything can happen.
I’m not saying that we will be champions and that Chelsea will lose 2 matches and whatever scenario is needed. What I’m saying is that it CAN happen. Maybe it’s not likely but it CAN. So, why assume that things won’t work in our favor? Why is the default to be a pessimist?
I chose to always believe and if it doesn’t happen I’ll just deal with that and try to get something from it. I don’t understand the whole “expect the worse and be happily surprised” attitude. Seems better that way for me. Its what works. Because it nothing can happen, and things will finish just how the are at the moment then why play any more matches? what’s the point of anything?
With that said, I have a weird feeling that there’s still one result that will go our way to either get us the title, super close to it or even make the CL final.
Those results wouldn’t be luck. These women, on all squads, work so damn hard. Also, I’m hesitant sometimes to say things like: it’s what they deserve only because I also think that other women also deserve the rewards.
Ok, not Chelsea.
d ❤
Listen to THAT ARSENAL WOMEN PODCAST on:
-
de waarheid
Most humans that know the sport know about Vivianne Miedema. As AWFC fans we are so very privileged to have a player of her quality, vision and consistency in our team. The influence she has on players, staff and fans as a whole is truly impossible to quantify, qualify and analyze. In addition, her value and importance to the Oranjeleeuwinnen and to her nation as a whole is simply unreal.
You know this, I know this and even rival fans or people that don’t think she’s the best striker on the planet, would still agree that, objectively, she’s unstoppable and makes every single squad better. For my money, she makes every single team stronger and when she’s not, no matter the form they might have for a spell, a squad is weaker. This is a sign of big players and when you’re the biggest there is you’re going to leave a chasmic void wherever you aren’t.
When I think about Viv though, I don’t think about the goals, the passion, the gloves… I do admit I think about the bun because I now sport a man bun in her honor… but back to the topic. I don’t think about on the pitch stuff when she comes to mind. Rather, I feel this incredible energy, vision and humility that is much more powerful and has more potential than anything within the confines of the white lines.
Of course, I’m not the first nor last to say this. Her attitude and personality have been featured in many interviews, blogs, videos, etc. We all know she’s special but I’m here to say that she’s 1000x more special than we think.
There is a “Wengerism” that I love and I use all the time. It says that to truly appreciate things we need to “create chronological distance” between us and the event. By the way, that has to be the name of a future album for me.
Viv’s football brain is developed beyond description and her ability on the pitch in undeniable. But the person, the human, the intelligent human is an incredible force and I’m here for it and support her in every single thing she does.
Her writing is incisive, poignant and extremely intelligent. All the articles she write push boundaries and do so with eloquence and truth.
It’s almost like I feel, no that she’s TOO BIG for the club, etc… it’s that the club and anything she’s involved with is too small. I don’t mean to disrespect and anything and yes “no one player is bigger than the club” blah blah blah. But I kinda feel it like that with her.
There is a infinite amount of quotes from her I could cite. Her self awareness is uncanny and her ego is so tiny, its just inspiring. But my favorite quote of her recently was during the Man City match when she was asked about the girls playing at The Emirates and she said that that stadium wasn’t the men’s stadium but that it was the club’s stadium.
INSERT MIND BLOWN EMOJI OMG
I never thought of that. Not in my feminist, equal opportunity, socially conscious mind. What a perspective… what a point of view… what a simple truth.
Viv is the truth.
d ❤
Listen to THAT ARSENAL WOMEN PODCAST on:
-
Red shorts to follow?
Empathy is paramount in life. Also, as a fan of women’s football I’ve grown to practice more empathy and I have become, I’d like to think, someone that has the ability to put myself in other people’s shoes. I’d like to think that I have an open mind and heart as it relates to imagining how hard female footballers have had to fight, battle and such.
Regardless of how much I may try, regardless of how long I have been married, regardless of how open and willing to listen I am, as a man, the reality is that I simply cannot understand what it’s like to live through the biological cycles that women experience.
This post ins’t about trying to explain it, nor is it about assuming that I have the least amount of comprehension of the topic, physiology, menstrual cycles, hormones or anything at all, really. What I do want to express is how happy I am that the lionesses have decided to start using blue shorts instead of the traditionally white ones.
As you know, AWFC use white shorts on the home kit and I think it’s only a matter of time until that changes. Why wouldn’t it? It makes sense to me. Whatever situation applies to white shorts, doesn’t matter if it’s for the national team or a club team.
I understand tradition and things like that but there has to be a time where things shift and compromises are made. I mean… women footballers have been making compromises their entire lives.
It’s only fair.
d ❤
Listen to THAT ARSENAL WOMEN PODCAST on:
-
Massive growth
I love the growth of the game. I honestly and truly do and I hope it keeps going and going. It’s what women deserve, it’s what little girls deserve and it’s also what all kinds of people deserve. We all deserve the sport to grow. It has infinite benefits to us all.
I only started seriously following women’s football in 2019 during the World Cup and the growth I have seen in every way, shape and form in the sport has been nothing short of astonishing. I’m talking about growth and expansion and evolution in all areas of all areas of all areas of the sport. I have honestly never seen anything like it.
It seems like the athleticism has progressed and the players are just better and better. New blogs, podcasts and YouTube shows enter into the space exponentially. The community as a whole has mind blowing reach. The brands that are supporting the sport get bigger and basically anything you can think about related to the sport is growing and getting better.
Of course there are things that can be better. UEFA can do better, FIFA can do better. Society can do better, and so on. Among the things that I wish were different or better is the involvement on questionable owners and where their money comes from.
I love the idea of Arsenal having competition but what I dislike is the growth of Chelsea and Man City, two clubs that are among the biggest financial dopers in the history of sports. I have a lot of empathy and I understand why players would play for those teams but the idea of having Putin’s best friend be your boss and the guy that signs your checks sits very bad with me. I’m not judging the players, I’m judging the fact that he is allowed to be in that position.
Why must we allow dirty hands to have an impact, as positive as it has been, on the game we love? Well, that’s life and nothing is perfect and I’m sure fans of those teams have different opinions. Moreover, I might need to rethink my opinions but as it stands, I’m completely ok with the thought of Man City being sanctioned and Chelsea being relegated just because I don’t like them.
d ❤
Listen to THAT ARSENAL WOMEN PODCAST on:
-
the importance of being Wrighty
It’s absurd to try to summarize the importance of Ian Wright. Not only for what he has done and continues to do for Arsenal but also as important is what he does for AFWC and the women’s game.
I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Ian but if I had to guess, I’m pretty sure that he would be the first one to say that I’m giving him too much credit, that this isn’t a real thing and that he is nowhere near as important to Arsenal Women as Vic Akers, Kelly Smith, etc etc etc.
The best way that I can attempt to explain what I mean is the following:
When the conversation about who is the best player ever comes about we usually hear the debate be centered among Pele, Maradona and Messi. For me, the question I always go back to isn’t “who is the best player ever?” but instead: “who is the most important footballer ever?”
The answer is a clear one: Johan Cruyff.
Not because I’m obsessed with the dutch, but #14’s playing, his philosophy, his coaching. He did it all, in a very specific way that had a profound impact.
So in my opinion, to a certain degree, Wrighty is as important to Arsenal as Cruyff is to world football.
He’s an Arsenal legend, we all know that…He is also a fantastic pundit, podcaster, has a great taste in hats, and moreover he often uses his voice and speaks out for social causes and loudly stands against racism and misogyny. On top of that the way he champions the girls is legendary in itself. Goes to virtually every match, tweets and posts about virtually every single player in the squad. Supports in every which way… you get the idea.
This is not something you’re hearing for the first time and it also never gets tiring to give him credit. On the same token though, I would guess that Ian feels it’s natural, it’s common sense and absolutely effortless.
Imagine if 5 or 6 more legends would be like him! Image the impact that could have.
Wish at some point we don’t have to imagine it.
d ❤
Listen to THAT ARSENAL WOMEN PODCAST on:
-
a case against emirates stadium
Even though I totally understand what it would mean for the girls to play every match at The Emirates Stadium, I just wanted to argue against in a way. I think its a great idea and a great thing to strive forward too, for sure. It would mean so much to the players and the club.
However, it is my belief that if we really want to give the girls what they deceiver we should give them their own stadium. Doesn’t have to be Emirate’s size but big and great enough to be a stand alone, quasi independent entity.
I would call it The New Highbury or The Vic Akers Stadium.
Name a stand after Maria.
Have the girls play CL matches at The Emirates like the men did at Wembley.
This would be so incredible, wouldn’t it?
It would be their own thing, their own identity, their own entity. It would be THEIRS.
ONLY theirs.
Like, I know what the emirates would mean and all that but I just think it would be way cooler if the girls had their own thing. The thought of them having to do the same thing as the men to get to a truly high level in people’s eyes or whatever is something that doesn’t sit well with me overall.
I know that that isn’t the actual idea behind them playing there and sharing it full time with the men, I totally understand that. I also understand there’s infinite money involved and it’s not that easy. I get it. I’m just saying it’s what I feel they deserve and the idea should be explored by the powers that be.
d ❤
Listen to THAT ARSENAL WOMEN PODCAST on:
A very subjective look into AWFC 