Monday Night Football: For Foreigners Like Me (and You?)

When we hear Monday Night Football what jumps to mind for many of us soccer fans all over the world is the cheeky Gary Neville doing his bit calling the English Premiere League on Sky Sports. In Australia, Monday Night Football means a fixture of the National Rugby League delivered by two of Australia's greatest ever "footy" players Andrew Johns and Peter Sterling. Here in my adopted country of the USA it's all about the NFL … and over the last 18 hours or so, MNF has lit up riveting commentary since the "touchception" call by the (replacement) referees in the game–winning last play for the Seattle Seahawks victory over the Green Bay Packers.

It intrigued me how much real estate this (passionate) conversation is taking up online (including some f-bombs via Twitter from heated players after the game). Although not unfamiliar with the power of sport to bring people together (for good or for bad) it spurred me to take a look at the forces at play. Just a Canadian trying to make sense of things…

NFL as Sport Crack
There are an insanely large number of eyeballs watching MNF. It has become an iconic franchise of sport TV over its 40 years on air. In its history MNF has registered eight of the top 10 all-time biggest

Reinvention is a Beautiful Word

Today my friend Suzie told me her brother was quitting his job to pursue his dream to live abroad (Hawaii apparently counts for "abroad") and live a more unconventional life for awhile. He's preparing to rent out his home which he owns and giving his employer notice. I always get inspired when someone shakes things up, and takes the bold step (or more likely hundreds of little steps) to turn a dream into a reality. Hearing the story of Suzie's brother landing himself in a new surrounding fires me up, in an addictive kind of way. It's pretty powerful. On a personal level, I don't want to move to Hawaii but I have a desire to hear more about his plans and get a taste of that enthusiasm he is feeling with the anticipation, hopes and possibilities of his personal re-invention. I'm a big believer in constantly re-inventing ourselves, it's totally necessary for all aspects of life to avoid those momentum-killing plateaus. What's great about the move Suzie's brother is making is that his re-invention matches his goals – he wants to experience a new way of life and he's curious about meeting people, understanding different cultures and the challenge of making a living without the 9-5. The spark of his reinvention came from his purpose and passion. It inspired me to consider when and what my last personal reinvention was … and what I have planned for around the corner? More to come on that...

Meanwhile, in my work world of product and consumer and marketplace that I live in each day, it made me think about how a product has the ability to transfer that same feeling to someone. If a brand can surprise and delight a consumer and ignite feelings of passion and

Mourinho's Passion

One of my favourite moments of this year's Champions League race so far is coach Mourinho's sliding celebration after Ronaldo scored the game winner for Real Madrid versus Manchester City FC today. Passion. Check out the cellie here.

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart. [confucious]





Please share this post if you liked it, loved it, found it inspiring, or funny (that's unlikely, I'm not that funny) or your eyes were zapped open by amazement - thanks!

Celebrate Clive

Daily as I leave home every morning a colour photograph of a smiling soccer coach hugging a heavy trophy is there to encourage me as I approach the door. Scribbled on its border are his inspiring words, “Earn your right to play!”

           

This simple message is underlined by the fact that my soccer coach, Clive Charles, died six months after the photograph was taken and exactly nine years ago today. He was faithful to his ideals to the end, and his spiritual presence bids me to follow in his footsteps.

“Earn your right to play”? Clive’s motto referred in particular to the conditional right of each of the 20 women who were privileged to wear the purple and white jerseys, which proclaimed that they were jointly the University of Portland Pilots soccer team. Acclaimed as one of the best collegiate women's soccer teams in the USA, the team has included several Olympians (most recently London 2012 saw Christine Sinclair and Sophie Schmidt win bronze medals with Canada and Megan Rapinoe a gold with the USA), and Clive an Olympic coach.

Clive made it clear to us that earning a right to play applied to more than just the soccer field. It embraces all facets of life equally. In soccer and in life, he expected a high standard of

Anatomy of a (Freakishly Awesome) Goal

Recently I was organizing some old boxes my parents returned to me that I had been storing in their garage and I came across a list of goals I had written for a 12th grade English class project. It was a reflection of my ideal vision of life at the time (and there were some freakishly awesome goals that my 17 year old self set!). As I took a brief mental note of those

Life After: Some Surprising Revelations

I talk Life After Soccer for @OurGameMagazine (click here). 

Click thru the digital magazine while you're there, it'll become your go-to source for everything you want to know about women's soccer in North America and abroad. Current pro player and hilarious comic Tiffany Weimer (@TIffanyWeimer) is the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine and a former Ireland national player that grew up in Canada and played and studied in the USA and Scandanavia, Ciara McCormack (@CiaraMcCormack), is the Contributing Editor. It's a gold mine!

Please share this post if you liked it, loved it, found it inspiring, or funny (that's unlikely, I'm not that funny) or your eyes were zapped open by amazement - thanks!

A Celebration of The Girl Effect

Today's piece is in celebration of The Girl Effect. I am joining people around the world who want to improve the live of girls, in the Girl Effect Blogging Campaign which kicks off today! First I wanted to share this video, I think you'll agree it's pretty powerful.
 
There are so many ways we can help improve the lives of girls. Sometimes it's hard to know how to help. For me, I'm a strong believe in the power of sport to bring positive change to lives.

Sport and life are inextricably linked. If you're an athlete ["ath•lete": if you have a body you

Moneyballin' it

This posting is a shout-out to some former teammates for Moneyballin it. I'll share with you why after explaining the term "Moneyballin it". Perhaps one of the most influential books in professional sports, Moneyball ¹ brought to light how the Oakland A’s, one of the most resource-thirsty teams in the MLB, could compete with the perennial heavy-hitters like the New York Yankees. Oakland’s GM Billy Beane looked for unorthodox ways to evaluate players to lift his team to prominence with a relatively

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Everyone wants to be entertained. My friend Joann Nash, who is as famous for her storytelling as her brother is famous for his skills on the court, can turn the most mundane moments into a thrilling adventure through her gift of storytelling.

Recently the brand I work for claimed a tiny piece of 10x10 real estate in The Venetian to pitch the sportswear side of the business at the lifestyle and fashion show (capsule). Buried within the mash-up of labels from indie designers to high-end contemporary brands were a few that rocked my world. It wasn't until

One Big Idea

I decided, enough research already, just do it. So I opened up an e-trade account to start investing now that my MBA is complete and I have a regular paycheque hitting my bank account. It got me thinking about the pros and cons of investing in stocks versus bonds, and the power of compound interest. 

Here in lies the One Big Idea:

Sidekicks!

It hit me. While out on the boat waterskiing with Andrew and Emily, it hit me why I revere them both, and its for ultimately the same reason.

Emily is a three-time Olympian and creator of a youth foundation, while Andrew is a former collegiate baseball player and MBA holder. That alone, already in their young lives, makes them remarkable. But what makes these people, in my eyes, king + queen of awesomeness, is their ability to communicate positive energy to another. An authentic enthusiasm for life. 

They make a connection with someone or something and leave it better than it was before.

In life, in business, in adventures, that is the kind of person I would choose to be alongside. 

Looking out at the wake the boat leaves behind as it roars ahead, it's a good question to contemplate, what kind of a wake do I leave?

Please share this post if you liked it, loved it, found it inspiring, or funny (that's unlikely, I'm not that funny) or your eyes were zapped open by amazement - thanks!

The Power of Team

As part of a national championship winning squad, I am not unfamiliar with the power of teams. My coach Clive Charles always made it clear that each and everyone of us on the roster had a specific and important role to play. Recently, I was reminded of this when Umbro hosted one of our biggest assets, Manchester City FC, at the Nike Inc World Headquarters,