Ali Riley
speaker
372 appearances
6 recordings
1 series
first heard Apr 2025
last heard Jun 2025
Ali Riley’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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Appearances
Okay, I definitely have Marta and Chaney on there. It is a bit, I don't want to say weird, bizarre. It's surreal that my memory and the impact that players have had on me kind of starts with 99 because I didn't know.
They are teammates because besides the 99ers, which for me, the third face would be Michelle Akers, Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm kind of mesh together. Yeah. Like when they do the like make the AI baby, like it would be it would be the love child of those three. And and it really shows how times have changed because there is so much women's soccer. Yeah.
out there and publicity and engagement and it's on TV and you can stream Champions League. But when we were growing up, none. Yeah, none. Yeah, there was nothing. And so it really starts with them. And then we think about players that we played with and against being on our Mount Rushmore having this huge impact. Yeah.
And speaking of, the fourth one for me is Christine Sinclair getting drafted to FC Gold Pride and her being one of the stars of that team. Marta was on the team later in the offseason because LA folded. But Sink was the star of the team. And I didn't realize I had played against her with Canada and New Zealand. Mm-hmm.
I had no idea that someone who was that prolific and that famous could be that humble. And she worked so hard and she led the team and I really got to know her. But I love that she is the greatest goal scorer of all time. And everyone thinks it's Cristiano. Everyone thinks it's a man. It's Christine Sinclair. She holds the record. And I love that for us.
We talked about how things have changed so much. We didn't really have women athletes on TV very often when we were growing up. Who did you look up to?
Did you know from a young age, like you could recognize that your mom was sacrificing so much for you? And yeah, that's really special.
I think I realize that about my mom now, but she was so tough on me and I couldn't see it then that she wanted me to go to the best school and have the best opportunity to have the best life. That didn't include soccer for her. She didn't see that that could be a future where I could be financially stable. I mean, it wasn't really at the time. She got her PhD at Harvard and my dad at MIT.
So they really wanted me to be an academic. And I just felt I didn't feel so supported. You were smart, though. I mean, I worked really, really hard, but I felt so much pressure. And she made me cry in college because I got... an A minus. Oh, no. Like it was serious. I know she's going to try to deny this, but she will.
I remember where I was walking my bike crying when I had to tell her I got an A minus in English.
Yeah. So, yeah, I got some kind of wound up there. A little trauma.
Yeah. And now I really understand. And she was the disciplinarian. out of my mom and dad you know good times drawn so um she just wanted me to have the best and I appreciate her so much now but growing up no she was not the person or the woman that I would have been like yes this is my role model this is someone who inspires me and but now she is She is now.
And when I think back to, you know, we have Women's History Month every year. And what I remember from inspirational women was in school talking about Amelia Earhart and Harriet Tubman. And I was like, wow, women are great. But I didn't feel like I identified with them. Harriet Tubman or Amelia Earhart. And I didn't feel like there was really anyone that looked like me. I felt the same way.
Or like, yeah, that I could really see myself pursuing the thing that they were doing because I love sport and I didn't really see that. Lori and Ronnie Fair played for the national team and they were half Asian. And that definitely like I saw something in that and Michelle Kwan. But again, we weren't seeing these women.
There was no social media and we weren't seeing them on TV. What makes me so happy is that things have changed so much. And you have a very special story about how someone saw themselves in you.
Wow.
It is. And you've inspired so many young girls in this country and, well, around the world. And speaking to Alyssa, I just know that having someone who looked like her, who she could see herself in on the national team, scoring goals, being outspoken and expressive and having style and being her authentic self—I'm talking about you—
it meant a lot for her growing up and it is it is um the u.s national team is led by triple espresso and that's you know this quirky fun people coming up with these names for them but this is a big deal they're exactly who they are exactly and they're all so different and it's so amazing because i think now when you know young girls come up um playing soccer they can look
Yeah, it really is. Do you think that these young players get it? That, you know, we fought so hard so that they would have it better. And we're far from getting there yet. Where they would never have to work another day in their life after they retire. We're not really closing the gender gap so much with the payment. But do you think they will keep the fight up? Do they know what it takes?
It's very powerful to see the diversity of the team, to see the players, to hear them when they speak too. And not just the national team, but this league is full of women who just are fighting, who wear so many hats. The NWSL Players Association was started by a player, Yael Averbush, and led by players. And have made the league so much better and safer.
Showing 321–340 of 372 · page 17 of 19
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