MLS Gone Wild’s Newest Addition Mike D. Gets Activated!
Tuesday evening June 16th, 2020 I was sitting in my living room and I had just finished eating dinner with my girlfriend after a long day at work and a session at the gym. I got a FaceTime call from a good buddy of mine, Blake. We played soccer together in college and our friendship continued long after, growing to the point where we became tight like brothers from separate mothers. He had started this podcast about Major League Soccer (MLS) with two of his childhood friends from Ohio just as the 2020 season was getting ready to kickoff. When I picked up his call, he told me he was getting ready to record the 17th episode of his podcast – MLS Gone Wild and he wanted to ask me something. Calls like this from Blake were pretty normal, but this call was a little different.
I picked up the phone and he asked me, “What’s up Chuck?” a phrase Blake usually greets me with although my name is not Chuck, it’s just kind of an inside joke. I responded accordingly, and he proceeded to tell me that him and the boys were getting ready to record the next episode of MLS gone wild in 45 minutes and asked me if I wanted to be a co-host. I was like, “Uhhhhh, I don’t have anything prepared can you give me some context?” Blake told me they were interviewing Katie Stengel from the National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) Houston Dash, and their third co-host decided he was not going to be recording with them anymore. That meant there was an opening for me and this was my chance to be a part of MLS Gone Wild.
At first I was hesitant because I had not done any research and did not want to screw anything up, but after five minutes I told myself, “It’s soccer, you love this stuff. How could you possibly screw it up?” I put my fear aside and told Blake I was in! Blake and the boys had things prepared, so all I needed was a couple of their easy questions and about twenty minutes to do some research. Next thing you know we had finished up the interview with Katie and I was on a high like I had just nailed a big presentation at work or something. We got back on face time and the boys told me it was a good first go, and I could not have been more excited.
I couldn’t believe it. I thought I would have been more nervous about being on my first podcast! I mean, I had no previous experience in the podcast world, nor had I ever interviewed a professional athlete, but needless to say, there were very few nerves. The conversation felt so normal. The boys and I had this natural flow that seemed to make me feel more comfortable even though I tend to be naturally anxious by nature. I knew after recording my first podcast that this could be something special, and it was just the beginning. I felt like we could only go up from there. Although this was my first time actually recording on the podcast, there was a lot of build up that led to that moment.
Blake had been telling me for some time that he and his buddies had talked about starting a podcast, but never actually pulled the trigger. Right before the 2020 MLS season was getting ready to start, he told me they were finally going to do it. Even though I wasn’t actually on the podcast, I was always involved behind the scenes in some way. Blake would bounce ideas off me, and we would converse about strategies and questions, but you would have never known of my involvement. Every now and again I would get a little shout out on the pod, but I was strictly acting in a consulting role if you will.
We are all huge soccer fans. English Premier League (EPL), MLS, Bundesliga, Serie A, Liga MX. If soccer was on, you could find us watching a game. We had started getting more focused on the MLS a few years back when we started a MLS fantasy league and were very excited for this year’s season to begin. When COVID-19 reared its ugly head, it threw a wrench in the mix. The direction of the podcast seemed it would be difficult since there would be no professional sports for a while, but that wasn’t going to stop the ship. The boys started it trying to create content in a time where it seemed there wasn’t going to be any, but they quickly learned that was not the case. After the first handful of episodes recording the show with just the three of them, they started sliding into the DMs of anyone and everyone they could to try to get guests on the show. They landed a couple of USL players early-on including Brandon Eaton and Hayden Partain and then doors started opening. They started gaining traction and were able to bring on some MLS players.
They landed Chris Duvall, Kellyn Acosta, Justin Mapp, Jacori Hayes, and the hair himself, Alexi Lalas. Not only that, but MLS Gone Wild also started a recent partnership with the MLS Aces blog. For me, being on the outside looking in, I was so proud that in such a short amount of time, they were able to do what they did and I was excited for the potential of the podcast. During this time, I was going through some internal struggles with my current job and had been exploring options to do something I truly love. While I was not technically a part of it yet, I felt like if the boys continued in the direction they were going, it was only a matter of time before I became more involved.
With my feelings shifting in this way in terms of my job and one of my best friends starting a soccer podcast, I began thinking the timing could not have been more perfect. When I got that FaceTime call from Blake on Tuesday June 16, 2020, I knew then that this was no coincidence. This was a sign; this was an answer to my prayers. I needed to be a part of this, and that is why I decided I would do the show with them that night. To date I have only been on two episodes with the most recent being an interview with New England Revolution and MLS legend Shalrie Joseph, and I can already feel that this will be something special. I know that this is only the beginning, but now that I am officially a co-host, I am even more excited for how we can grow MLS Gone Wild as a podcast. If you are reading this and haven’t already, you can find us on anywhere you listen to your podcasts so please go check us out at MLS Gone Wild. Don’t forget to rate, comment and subscribe!
