Shownotes
First up this week on the Feist:
Finish line proposals. Jeanne Lehair dominated Supertri Toulouse and then also accepted a marriage proposal on the podium. As you can imagine, we have feelings about this one!
Then, we dive into what’s been happening across the world of women’s sports — from Demi Vollering finally snagging her first major title of the year at the Euro Cycling Championships and Catherine Debrunner, who absolutely dominated the Para Athletics World Championships with five gold medals — yes, five — across distances from 100m to 5000m. Add in the Cricket World Cup’s $13.8 million prize purse!
Then we shift gears to the WNBA Finals, where Vegas is leading again, and Napheesa Collier goes full scorched earth on the WBNA leadership.
Plus, the Red Bull Rampage is back. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when mountain bikers throw themselves off cliffs for fun (and glory), this is the one. We sit down with athlete Chelsea Kimball, who shares the guts, grit, and glory behind one of the most extreme events in sport.
CORRECTION: We mistakenly mentioned that Rampage was *this* weekend, when it's actually *next* weekend. Watch on Oct. 16 on Red Bull TV.
Finally, we go deep on the true value of female sports fans — and spoiler alert: it’s massive. According to new data, women will control 75% of global discretionary spending by 2030, and 72% already identify as sports fans. Yet two-thirds say brands still don’t get them. We unpack what that means for the future of fandom, sponsorship, and who gets to shape the sports economy.
Deep dive: The value of female sports fans
- https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/study-reveals-women-sports-fans-120207836.html
- Full study: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/63dd2a294ccbcf78ab818f33/t/68dc158c1ad98112f9228c39/1759253900172/TCEPartII+Her+Fandom.pdf
Subscribe to The Feist, our Free Weekly Newsletter covering Women's Sports: https://feisty.co/feistnews/
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00:30 Finish Line Proposals: Love at the Finish Line
02:25 Euro Cycling Championships: Demi Vollering Takes the Win
04:50 Para Track and Field World Championships: Shoutout to Catherine Debrunner
06:14 Cricket World Cup: A Global Sport's Big Payday
09:53 WNBA Drama: Napheesa Collier's Scorched Earth Speech
12:13 Ironman World Championship: All Women's Kona
13:39 Athlos Track Meet: Culture Meets Sport
17:25 Red Bull Rampage: Women's Inclusion and Interview with Chelsea Kimball
28:29 The Future of Women's Sports: Opportunities and Challenges
36:16 Feisty Picks of the Week including Ilona Maher Barbie!
Transcripts
Welcome to the Feist.
Speaker B:Everything you want to know about your favorite women's sports in one feisty hour.
Speaker A:With your feistiest friends, Kelly o' Meara and Sarah Gross.
Speaker B:And I'm actually today hoping.
Speaker B:We take less than an hour because the sun is setting.
Speaker A:The sun is.
Speaker A:We have to finish before the light disappears.
Speaker A:That's our goal.
Speaker B:That's our goal.
Speaker A:It's good to have goals.
Speaker B:And today we are talking about the spending power of female sports fans.
Speaker B:The epic Red Bull rampage.
Speaker B:We have an interview with one of the writers, but.
Speaker B:But first, finish line proposals.
Speaker A:Finish line proposals.
Speaker A:Okay, so anyone who's been around in the Sarah and Kelly ecosystem for a little while probably can guess how we feel about finish line proposals.
Speaker A:But I have to say it was Jeanne.
Speaker A:Is she French?
Speaker A:Jeanne Laer was proposed to Luxembourg.
Speaker B:Luxembourgian.
Speaker A:Oh, she is.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:But she's very French.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I'm pronouncing it like a French name, but okay.
Speaker A:And she got the proposal.
Speaker A:She won super try.
Speaker B:She won the super Tri grand final, won the series, lots of money.
Speaker B:And then her, I assume boyfriend, as soon as it wasn't random, comes up behind her on the podium and, like, she obviously knows something's happening.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because the crowd's cheering.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And proposes.
Speaker B:And it went super viral in Europe.
Speaker B:It was like on TNT Sports over there.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Very big.
Speaker B:And here's.
Speaker B:Okay, so I'm not a big fan.
Speaker B:If somebody did it to me, I'd be like, have we met?
Speaker B:But I'm.
Speaker B:I'm in the camp of, like, if she's into it.
Speaker A:She was into it.
Speaker B:She's into it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Great.
Speaker A:That's it.
Speaker A:You have to know your partner if you're gonna propose.
Speaker A:This is my.
Speaker A:Because a lot of people do this, right?
Speaker A:They go to the.
Speaker A:They go to a marathon.
Speaker A:Their partner's running a big event whether they're a pro or not.
Speaker A:And they, you know, you have to know your partner well enough to know if the finish line proposal is something that they want.
Speaker A:So if you're proposing to Kelly or myself, then if that happens, if.
Speaker B:If you just happen to be husband would be surprised.
Speaker A:Then don't do it.
Speaker A:At the finish line of the biggest event of our year.
Speaker A:I would like that moment to just be about that moment.
Speaker A:But if you're someone like Jen, who is into it.
Speaker B:She was into it.
Speaker B:She seemed into it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I will say it does seem like tide has shifted on these because it used to be like, oh, that's so cute.
Speaker B:And all the comments now are like, why is he stealing her moment.
Speaker B:Why is he getting up in her space?
Speaker B:Like, let her have her time.
Speaker A:But yeah, she seemed to, like, now.
Speaker B:I'm gonna defend her.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker B:That's why I'm like, okay, guys, it's all come down.
Speaker B:If she's into it, she's into it.
Speaker B:You have to know your person.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:There was a lot of sports this weekend, though.
Speaker B:Euro cycling champs, which feels funny coming after the World Cycling Championships.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:That is odd timing.
Speaker A:It's probably to do with venues and who's, like, who's hosting and when they can host and that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:Because Europe being Europe, it's still like a very big event, right?
Speaker A:Of course.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:In some ways, I feel like.
Speaker B:I don't want to say it was bigger, but.
Speaker B:Oh, it felt bigger than worlds for the European cyclist.
Speaker B:So Demi bouldering one.
Speaker B:Casio was third.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And there are all these headlines.
Speaker B:I was like, demi Vollering wins her first major title of the year.
Speaker B:And you're like, I'm pretty sure she won, like, some of the European classics this spring.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it's like, clearly it's a big.
Speaker A:Deal because it's a European championship.
Speaker A:Oh, I see.
Speaker A:And didn't she go with, like, 38k to go?
Speaker B:Yeah, she just.
Speaker A:That's a long way out to be, like, I don't know, going off the front.
Speaker A:So I was like, it's in K. That's like a little over 20.
Speaker A:Like, 21 miles.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:That's a lot.
Speaker A:That's a long way.
Speaker A:I still have to ride.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I also was thinking, though, this is.
Speaker B:Okay, here's my thought.
Speaker B:So Demi Volley, the past couple years has been like, all in all, eggs in the basket for Tour de France Femmes.
Speaker B:And it hasn't worked out for her the last two years, which is like.
Speaker B:Because doesn't always work out in sports.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like, you can have everything lined up and it still has to come together on the day.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Now for women, female athletes, historically, it's been like, well, that was your chance.
Speaker B:Like, that was right.
Speaker A:Also.
Speaker A:Oh, because you.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker A:There is only one event once every year.
Speaker B:You only have the one thing.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:When there were less women's sports just generally happening with prize money and big crowds and all.
Speaker B:So now I'm like, well, maybe because, like, athletes at some level, like pro athletes, you talk to them.
Speaker B:We're.
Speaker B:We're in Kona at the Ironman World Championships.
Speaker B:We'll talk about in a second.
Speaker B:I've been thinking about this, and athletes at some Level.
Speaker B:Do understand that, like, good days, bad days, like, you go on to the next one.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:But when you have to put all your eggs in one basket, it's very emotional.
Speaker B:And maybe there's some level now that, like, especially in women's cycling, they're starting to have, like, more baskets.
Speaker A:More baskets.
Speaker A:I love that you can put your eggs in.
Speaker A:In a.
Speaker A:A variety of baskets.
Speaker B:Variety of baskets.
Speaker A:I do like that.
Speaker A:Honestly, it takes the pressure off a little bit, which for some athletes does help them perform too.
Speaker A:So you could have more variety of winners if you have, you know, for people who feel the pressure and tend to crumble.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker A:Which we know those.
Speaker A:Those people exist.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So anyway, that was this weekend.
Speaker B:We've been joking.
Speaker B:It's championship season every weekend right now.
Speaker B:So I do.
Speaker B:I feel like we have to give a shout out to, like, it was the page Pera Track and field World Championships in India.
Speaker B:Very hard.
Speaker B:Yeah, they were in India.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:New Delhi.
Speaker B:Very.
Speaker A:The cricket World cup in India.
Speaker B:Also the women's Cricket World Cup.
Speaker A:Women's sports in India.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:But the para is a little hard to find results.
Speaker B:I feel like para sports.
Speaker B:And I've talked to some of the people who are like, working to start these outlets covering parasports are kind of where like women's sports was maybe five years ago in terms of coverage and the way they're treated.
Speaker B:They're treated as like, inspirational.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:And I, like, could not find results.
Speaker B:I was like, I just want to know, like, the results, you know, where.
Speaker A:Did you find them?
Speaker A:Because you've written them on our run list here.
Speaker A:I can see.
Speaker B:Well.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So the other thing is that parasports are overseen not by the IOC or World Athletics, but by the ipc.
Speaker B:It's like a totally different.
Speaker B:Okay, so that's what makes it complicated, right?
Speaker B:Yeah, it was very challenging.
Speaker B:They had it on their YouTube.
Speaker B:But other than that, it's very hard to, like, find.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:And I just want to give a shout out to Katherine de Brunner because she won five events.
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker B:She's a wheelchair athlete.
Speaker B:She won 5,500, 800, 400.
Speaker B:And she finally, after 22 years of trying, won the 100.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:That's a wide range.
Speaker B:That's what I thought.
Speaker B:I was like, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Okay, Good shout out.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So that's my shout out.
Speaker B:She won five gold medals at the para athletics.
Speaker B:And then you just mentioned to Cricket World cup.
Speaker A:Cricket World Cup.
Speaker A:13.8 million dollar prize purse.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's wild.
Speaker B:And here, the craziest part of the 13 point million dollars, 13.8 million dollar in US dollars prize purse is.
Speaker B:It is more than the men got the last World cup, like two years ago.
Speaker B:Yeah, they'll get that much the next one because they're equaling it.
Speaker B:It's also the last women's World cup was like 3 million.
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker B:They didn't up it like a little bit.
Speaker B:They were just like it.
Speaker B:We're all in.
Speaker A:Let's go.
Speaker B:Let's go.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Well, good for them.
Speaker A:And honestly, cricket's a huge sport.
Speaker A:Even though in North Sport America we don't always app.
Speaker A:Cricket really is a giant sport for men and for women.
Speaker B:That's why I wanted to go all in on this.
Speaker B:And the quote from like the head of the ICC was like, well, if you don't support them equally, like they're not going to feel equal.
Speaker B:You have to.
Speaker B:And a part of me was like.
Speaker A:Wow, I appreciate the logic.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's weird.
Speaker A:Amazing.
Speaker B:But it is happening in India right now.
Speaker B:It's an interesting sport because like you said, it's not big in North America.
Speaker B:Like the second biggest sport in the world though.
Speaker B:And it's such a range.
Speaker B:Like you have Bangladesh playing England.
Speaker B:Like, that's not.
Speaker B:Those are like very different countries, right?
Speaker B:Size wise, economic wise, like.
Speaker B:Yes, but they're equally.
Speaker B:I mean, England's probably gonna win, but they're both very good.
Speaker B:You just have such a range.
Speaker A:I bet there's a lot of kids that play cricket though, in Bangladesh.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like the depth of the pool, you know, that's just a guess.
Speaker A:I don't have a.
Speaker B:We apparently have like some kind of alarm going on outside.
Speaker B:But yeah, so it's.
Speaker B:It's happening in India, which is also a huge cricket country.
Speaker B:But here's what's fascinating, because Pakistan and India, things are breaking down.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Politically, it's up and down over the years.
Speaker B:So it's down right now.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:So all Pakistan games are going to be played at a neutral location in Sri Lanka.
Speaker A:Oh, really?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Including potentially the final, the Pakistan games against India.
Speaker A:All the games that Pakistan.
Speaker A:Because the Pakistani team doesn't want to come to India.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because there's like worried about crowds and stuff.
Speaker B:There's a neutral location in Sri Lanka.
Speaker A:Well, good on them for creating a neutral.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker B:I just was like, first of all.
Speaker A:But wow.
Speaker A:So, okay.
Speaker B:The big deal.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And for the rest of the world, very big deal.
Speaker B:Massive World Cup.
Speaker B:I also understand this isn't one of my cricket fashion.
Speaker B:Fashion from.
Speaker B:Inspired by cricket.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Coming Next.
Speaker B:Like, you know, like sports fashion's been like, like sports inspired.
Speaker B:Fashion's been the thing lately.
Speaker A:Running, of course, and especially with women's sports rising.
Speaker A:Basketball.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:So apparently the next like on the on the edge brands.
Speaker A:I'm so glad that you said this because now I'm going to pay attention.
Speaker A:I'm going to be in the forefront of cricket related fashion.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because who knew?
Speaker A:I didn't know it was coming.
Speaker A:But now I can set my Instagram algorithm appropriately.
Speaker B:I follow a few like women's sports, fashion time, sports type things and they were letting me know.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Cool.
Speaker B:And then the last thing from this weekend, I feel like we're like opposite end of the spectrum.
Speaker B:We're like sports that the whole rest of the world cares about, but not the U.S. yeah.
Speaker B:And then we're like sports the U.S. cares about and no one else.
Speaker B:Basketball.
Speaker A:Basketball.
Speaker A:The WNBA.
Speaker A:Oh my gosh.
Speaker A:We didn't talk about this last week.
Speaker A:I don't know what it happened.
Speaker B:So last week we obviously heard from the new Tempo president about Canada's team.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:We talked about where the finals were at then.
Speaker B:Now the Aces are winning by two, which separately is like kind of wild to me.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But the big news this whole week was Nafisa Kalier just like scorched earth went all in.
Speaker B:But I think it happened after we recorded last week.
Speaker B:So we didn't talk about it.
Speaker A:I think it did shortly after.
Speaker A:Because what I find funny is sometimes, you know, you and I are criticized for the way that we speak publicly about like some of the things we disagree with in Iron man in our sport and.
Speaker A:But oh my God.
Speaker A:Nafisa Collier, just like full scorched earth.
Speaker A:I couldn't even.
Speaker A:I rewatched the clip just now as we were prepping for this and I was like, I'm just going to write down one quote from what she said that would be.
Speaker A:And it wasn't.
Speaker A:It was just like three minutes of like burn.
Speaker B:So if you haven't watched this, Nafisa Collier may be kind of like one of the most well respected WNBA players.
Speaker B:She is the vice president of the players association.
Speaker B:Like the union.
Speaker B:She is a pick for MVP for this year.
Speaker B:She's just been around like everyone respects her and she came out for her end of season interview after they got knocked out with this statement.
Speaker B:It was just like the league is the.
Speaker B:The league is great.
Speaker B:Our leadership is the worst thing ever in the world.
Speaker B:They are letting us down.
Speaker B:The product is amazing.
Speaker B:The fans are amazing.
Speaker B:Everyone who's in charge Needs to be fired.
Speaker B:She is like, she was like, last time I met with Kathy, who's the commissioner, she told me we should be grateful.
Speaker B:We should be on our knees.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker A:This is what I wrote down in the end.
Speaker A:This is what I chose to write down year after year.
Speaker A:The only thing that remains consistent is the lack of accountability from our leaders.
Speaker B:She said they were the worst leadership in sports.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:And the.
Speaker B:So we have had, yes, some situations where leadership in some of our sports has not been happy.
Speaker B:And I was just picturing doing that.
Speaker A:I mean, sometimes as much as we.
Speaker B:Talk, we don't do that.
Speaker A:We don't.
Speaker A:Like, not even close.
Speaker B:And the other thing, though was every goddamn athlete backed her.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like every.
Speaker B:Even, like, even Caitlin Clark, guys.
Speaker B:Like, everyone has backed her.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:And been like, like, I think Queen Fee was trending on Twitter.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And if you had to pick.
Speaker B:So part of this is that they're going into CBA negotiations.
Speaker B:If you had to pick right now, who's going to lose their job, it is definitely the WNBA commissioner.
Speaker B:Like, where the power is.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Like, where the tone is shifting.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's with the players right now.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:We are in Kona.
Speaker A:In Kona at the Ironman World Championship.
Speaker A:If you're watching on YouTube, you can.
Speaker B:See the sunset where the sunset is.
Speaker A:Coming and it's not to beat us.
Speaker B:The sun.
Speaker B:The sun's not going to beat us.
Speaker A:The sun will wait for us.
Speaker B:We are at.
Speaker B:If you want to know everything about the last all women's Ironman World Championship, we have a daily podcast going out on the feisty triathlon feed.
Speaker B:We will next week on this episode, we will have interviews from all the podium.
Speaker B:We will do a full, like, coverage of it.
Speaker B:We thought maybe not everyone wanted to know everything about triathlon, but.
Speaker B:But it is a big deal.
Speaker B:It is all women in Kona.
Speaker B:If you've seen a triathlon, you've seen Kona Hawaii.
Speaker A:If you.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:If you grew up and saw the NBC as you're growing up, saw the NBC one hour special about the Hawaiian Ironman, this year it's all women, so.
Speaker B:It'S a big deal.
Speaker B:They don't do the NBC special anymore, which is a shame.
Speaker B:I used to watch it and see if I could, like, see myself in the background.
Speaker A:One year they did a Canadian version and I got.
Speaker A:I was in it.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:It was my moment to shine.
Speaker B:You're like, wow.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I think I was the first Canadian that year.
Speaker B:There's only one Canadian racing in the pro field this Year.
Speaker A:So Tamara.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Pulling it for the team.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker B:So that is why we are.
Speaker B:If you are watching on YouTube on an island.
Speaker B:And we will have full coverage next week.
Speaker B:There's a lot happening this weekend, though.
Speaker B:We were also talking about going to Athlos, the all women's track, and of course we can't because we're here.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:But it is this weekend to the all women's track meet in New York, happening for the second year in a row.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:It was like, I feel like it was very successful last year.
Speaker B:I feel like it was a big event.
Speaker B:Flashy.
Speaker B:Everyone I know who went loved it.
Speaker B:They had Megan Thee Stallion perform.
Speaker A:Cool.
Speaker B:Naturally.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:I do love the, like, connection between culture and sport that we're seeing everywhere that we've talked about already that we're going to talk about some more.
Speaker A:The cricket fashion.
Speaker A:Megan Thee Stallion.
Speaker B:Like, yeah.
Speaker A:I don't know what she did.
Speaker B:She did like a couple.
Speaker A:Well, yes, but a couple songs, five songs, one song.
Speaker A:She didn't run.
Speaker B:What.
Speaker A:At a, you know, at a track meet.
Speaker A:That's cool.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:People are calling it a concert where our track meet broke out.
Speaker A:So I love it.
Speaker B:So I do think.
Speaker B:Yeah, so people are very excited now.
Speaker B:There are a lot of big names, like, kind of missing just because last year, I think coming off the Olympics, there was.
Speaker B:People had a little time and like, there weren't as many big meets this year.
Speaker B:There's been grand Slam track and the World Championship Diamond League.
Speaker B:And so there's more people injured.
Speaker B:So you're missing, like Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson Wooden, Sydney McLaughlin, LeBron.
Speaker B:They're not there.
Speaker B:Which are all, like, big names.
Speaker B:I'm curious.
Speaker B:There's a thing.
Speaker B:I've told you this, like, when the Valkyries came to Bay Area, somebody on the radio was like, well, it doesn't matter how they do.
Speaker B:You're like, well, eventually it matters.
Speaker B:So I'm like, yeah, in one level, it doesn't matter how people do if Adam, Megan Thee Stallion concert.
Speaker B:But at some point it will, right?
Speaker B:Like at some point.
Speaker A:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker A:So you want the big stars there.
Speaker A:Well, yeah, I think it will.
Speaker A:It'll evolve.
Speaker A:It's just the second year, though.
Speaker B:Next year they're going to, like, a team model.
Speaker A:Yes, I saw that.
Speaker B:Multiple events.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:How does that work, Kelly?
Speaker A:How does.
Speaker B:Who knows?
Speaker B:Oh, we don't know.
Speaker B:No, they haven't announced all the details.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:But I believe, like, they said it was athlete driven because they do have like.
Speaker B:Like Gabby Thomas is on, like, Tara Woodall Davis are on the board, so they're helping.
Speaker B:Kind of like, their recommendation.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like, their suggestions.
Speaker B:They're gonna have multiple events next year, so it won't just be in New York.
Speaker B:They're expanding, and then I think they'll have, like, points for the season is the kind of idea.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Because people, like, it's a series, right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:Like we were saying before, like, putting all your eggs in one basket is never right.
Speaker B:Like, athletes don't like that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Well, it seems like track athletes have a lot of baskets right now.
Speaker B:A lot of baskets.
Speaker A:Yes, we like it.
Speaker A:We love when women's sports have lots of baskets.
Speaker B:My favorite thing about Athlos is a little bit of a jab.
Speaker B:They just got announced this week, a sponsorship by a instant cash payment app so that athletes will get immediately.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:Which is a little, like, with.
Speaker B:If you've been following and I know we talk about it, the Grand Slam track, where athletes are still owed, like, millions of dollars.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:It was a little bit of a.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:It was a little dig.
Speaker A:And, like, Alexis Ohanian even made a point of saying, well, last year, they got paid three days after, and that wasn't soon enough.
Speaker A:It's like, okay, okay.
Speaker B:I've never been.
Speaker A:How do they even get the drugs testing?
Speaker B:They're not.
Speaker B:Yeah, right.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because that's obviously, if you're used to pro sports, like, they have to leave.
Speaker A:The delay on payments has to do.
Speaker B:With the doping control, so.
Speaker B:But I thought it was funny.
Speaker B:So we'll see how it goes.
Speaker B:This week.
Speaker B:It will be on ion.
Speaker B:If you're in the US they are broadcasting on ion, so you can watch it.
Speaker B:If you're in New York, you can get tickets to the.
Speaker B:The concert.
Speaker B:I don't.
Speaker B:They haven't.
Speaker B:I'm sure they're.
Speaker B:They announced, like, more and more things all week.
Speaker A:Tickets to the concert.
Speaker B:Yeah, obviously, they do a lot.
Speaker B:They were.
Speaker B:They basically did a lot of things, though, kind of last year that were.
Speaker B:Make it, like, an experience, make it fun and exciting.
Speaker B:The other big event this weekend, Red Bull.
Speaker A:Are we going there?
Speaker B:Red Pink Rampage.
Speaker A:Red Bull Rampage, which, honestly, is a really, really cool event.
Speaker A:I. I went from knowing very little about it to the last couple years because they just added women last year.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Last year, that was the first year we actually had a reporter there from Feisty who did some really fun video for us, but I didn't.
Speaker A:I knew nothing about it.
Speaker A:And I learned that, like, the riders themselves and their teams go out and.
Speaker B:Create their own path they call it a line.
Speaker A:A line.
Speaker A:This is.
Speaker A:I'm just making Red Bull Rampage more accessible.
Speaker A:So feel free to use any language.
Speaker A:They, like, build their own line.
Speaker A:Like, basically riding off.
Speaker A:For riding off a cliff is essentially what it looks like to me.
Speaker B:Oh, it's definitely.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:Like, if you've seen the reason we've talked all year about kind of like, how people have this idea in their head about mountain biking.
Speaker B:That's, like, much more intimidating than mountain biking, actually, is.
Speaker B:This is that thing.
Speaker B:This is.
Speaker B:This is the.
Speaker B:Like, I'm gonna ride off a cliff.
Speaker A:Yes, it's.
Speaker A:It.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It's incredible having.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Now having seen it and understanding what it is.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And so last year was the first year they had women.
Speaker B:Kind of the whole usual, like, women.
Speaker B:Well, they're just the same reason they couldn't surf Mavericks forever, where it's like, well, they're just not good enough.
Speaker B:It's safety.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:But then they got rid of the development events.
Speaker B:There used to be a Red Bull all women's development event kind of to, like, build up that.
Speaker B:Those skill sets.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And they got rid of that.
Speaker B:And then there was, like, this.
Speaker B:And so then women who advocate in the space were pushing and pushing and pushing, and finally they got it this year.
Speaker B:And I can understand the, like, crying when they finally got it right.
Speaker B:Very dramatic.
Speaker B:And now they're doing it again this year.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:You can watch it on Red Bull YouTube.
Speaker B:On Red Bull TV tomorrow, Thursday.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Very exciting.
Speaker A:Cool.
Speaker B:But first we did.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'm gonna say we should listen.
Speaker B:We should talk to.
Speaker B:Our colleague Catherine Taylor was at Rome Fest, which is a big women's mountain bike festival.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And so that's why the sound's not great, because it was out in the desert, but has a great interview with Chelsea Kimball, who is one of the writers last year and is one of the writers this year.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker C:I am in the Rome Fest Expo, and I've chased down Chelsea Kimball, who I've been kind of stalking all weekend.
Speaker C:I'm gonna be honest with you, because you are such.
Speaker C:Just because you're such a badass.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:So you participated in the first ever women's Red Bull Rampage last year.
Speaker C:And are you going back this year?
Speaker C:Are you staying again this year?
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:I've probably watched your video and showed your video, like, so many times to people of you, like, getting back up and climbing back up that cliff and then finishing your run.
Speaker C:That was just so crazy.
Speaker C:But I.
Speaker C:For our audience that might not be as familiar with Red Bull Rampage, especially On the Feist podcast, which is our women's sports podcast, tell us a little bit about what Red Bull Rampage is and, like, how.
Speaker C:Like, what the story is like with the women riding it.
Speaker B:How.
Speaker C:How last year happened and why was such a big deal, I guess, is what I'm asking.
Speaker D:Okay, so Red Bull Rampage is pretty much the most precise, prestigious mountain bike event in the world.
Speaker D:It is not a race.
Speaker D:It is a competition.
Speaker D:In the category we call freeride, which is athletes hitting big jumps and big drops.
Speaker D:And when I say big, I mean like the size of two or three buildings and jumps that are 60 or 70ft long, and it's down the side of a mountain.
Speaker D:It's unique because athletes build their own lines.
Speaker D:Everything that's written at Rampage is built by the athletes and their teams.
Speaker D:The event is viewed by millions of people.
Speaker D:The big sponsor is Red Bull.
Speaker D: r it happened, I believe, was: Speaker D:So it's been around for a long time.
Speaker D:And there has always been only one category.
Speaker D:Women were never excluded from Rampage, but there has never been a single separate women's category before.
Speaker D: And so last year,: Speaker D:It was really controversial because a lot of people's argument is that Rampage is supposed to be the best rider in the world, regardless of gender.
Speaker D:But all of us women athletes and just the women's community of mountain biking teamed up and we pushed and we pushed and we pushed and we practiced and we rode our bikes and we pushed for this women's category to happen.
Speaker D:And the organizers of the event finally agreed and made it happen last year.
Speaker D:It was awesome.
Speaker C:That's awesome.
Speaker C:So do you think, like, women and men have different skill sets there, or is the riding different?
Speaker C:I just don't know enough about free riding to know, like, physiologically, is it different for men and women?
Speaker D:I cannot speak physiologically because I'm not a scientist, but I would say that the level of the male athletes right now is much higher than the female athletes.
Speaker D:Not in the respect of basic skills, because we can all hit the same features.
Speaker D:What sets us apart is the tricks that the men are doing versus the tricks that the women are doing.
Speaker D:Last year, Robin Goombs won Rampage.
Speaker D:She did two beautiful backflips in her run, and she was the only woman to backflip.
Speaker D:For the men, a backflip is like a basic trick for them to do.
Speaker D:The men are doing double backflips and cork 720s or cash rolls or front flips.
Speaker D:And 360s off of massive drops.
Speaker D:So the level of riding between men and women right now still has a pretty large gap.
Speaker C:And that takes time to catch up.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:When women have been excluded from something, it takes time for them to catch up to that same level of being able to do things.
Speaker D:I would say that women have never been excluded, in my opinion.
Speaker D:But yeah, there's a huge skill gap between men and women.
Speaker D:For whatever reason, we've just kind of gotten a more later start in the sport, and we're trying really hard to progress quickly.
Speaker D:And you can see in slopestyle right now watching joyride and seeing Alma Wigberg throw backflip bar spins and doing perfect 360s.
Speaker D:Like, the level of the women right now is progressing so quick, quickly.
Speaker D:It's really impressive.
Speaker C:That's amazing.
Speaker C:So there's now a women's category and a men's category at Rampage.
Speaker C:Is that correct then?
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker C:Okay, cool.
Speaker C:And then you got to ride the first event.
Speaker C:Last year, there were seven women.
Speaker D:Eight women.
Speaker B:Eight women.
Speaker D:Well, eight women at the start of the event.
Speaker D:But Camino Gaida crashed in practice and was not able to compete.
Speaker C:And when you talk about practice, like, for you all, you're out there, you have to build all the lines.
Speaker C:And so I think people don't realize how physical, because it looks like you just throw yourself down a mountain, but you have to climb up the mountain with your bike as well.
Speaker D:Yeah, well, the practice days, we're carrying our bike, or a lot of times the Dig teams help us carry our bike.
Speaker D:Luckily, for the last day of practice and for the competition day, the event of Rampage organizes volunteers to help carry our bike, which is, like, so appreciated.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And it's very like you have to go at the right time for the wind.
Speaker C:Like, that's a key factor in your runs.
Speaker C:Is that correct?
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:Ideally, you go at the right time, but once your name is announced and they start your time, you have 10 minutes that you can drop.
Speaker D:And if you wait longer than that 10 minutes, then you forfeit your run.
Speaker C:Okay, okay.
Speaker C:This is all really fascinating, all the things around it.
Speaker C:Are there other Rampages, like the same style events around the world?
Speaker D:No.
Speaker D:Rampage is a one and a half only unique event in the world.
Speaker C:So what's the path to getting to getting to that?
Speaker D:The path to getting to Rampage is kind of like each writer takes their own path.
Speaker D:It's whatever you determine.
Speaker D:If you have your eyes set on Rampage, then really it takes a video submission.
Speaker D:It takes a video submission and getting the panel of I Believe seven people to approve your video and say that you can ride Rampage.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker C:All right.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Well, I wanted to ask you about your run, and I'm sure you've talked about it a lot, but you.
Speaker C:So it's not uncommon, I think, for people to crash or not make a feature on this.
Speaker C:On these events.
Speaker C:And you basically were dangling off a cliff and pulled yourself back up and finished a run.
Speaker B:And what's the.
Speaker C:What's the mindset that you're like, no, I'm getting up and finishing this?
Speaker C:Like, yeah, tell us a little bit about that mindset or what was like?
Speaker D:I.
Speaker D:To me, it wasn't like.
Speaker D:To me, there was no thought that went into it.
Speaker D:I was just finishing my run.
Speaker D:Yeah, just like riding down a trail.
Speaker D:Like, you get up and you keep riding.
Speaker D:Yeah, Yeah.
Speaker D:I just wanted a top to bottom run so bad.
Speaker D:I didn't get it clean, but I still got it.
Speaker D:It was like, yeah, I had to do it.
Speaker D:There was no other option.
Speaker D:There was no other possibility in my mind.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Well, it was really inspiring to watch you on that.
Speaker C:And just like, you just didn't even seem faced.
Speaker C:It was like, I'm gonna finish this no matter what.
Speaker D:Yeah, 100%.
Speaker C:And the other thing I loved was the community of women cheering at the bottom.
Speaker C:It just seemed like there was a real excitement.
Speaker C:And I have been at the Tour de France Femmes and seeing that community and then seeing this, it just felt like a special moment of the women's community there.
Speaker C:Was it like that there?
Speaker D:Yeah, there were so many ladies there cheering us on.
Speaker D:It was so awesome.
Speaker D:I'm hoping this year they sell more tickets because the women's event sold out last year, but there really weren't that many people there.
Speaker D:So I'm really hoping that this year they.
Speaker D:They sell a lot of.
Speaker D:They like, create more tickets to sell so that we can have more people there watching.
Speaker C:Yeah, that would be amazing.
Speaker C:Okay, last question.
Speaker C:What is your hope for the future for women in this sport?
Speaker D:I'd say my biggest hope is that we can continue this.
Speaker D:I've noticed and heard from other people in other sports, like motocross, and I don't have any others on the top of my mind, but some other sports, there has been events at the elite, highest level of sport, but then there weren't enough athletes to fill a full roster.
Speaker D:And I think for women in Rampage, the only way that we can keep it going is if there's enough women.
Speaker D:So right now there's enough women, but we got to keep.
Speaker D:We got to keep inspiring the younger generations and keep encouraging them to push themselves in hopes of keeping this going.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:All right.
Speaker C:Well, you are definitely inspiring the younger.
Speaker C:All eight of you, seven of you that were out there, and we can't wait to watch you this year.
Speaker D:Thank you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So, I mean, like I mentioned before, obviously, they did have these, like, skill camps that were all women's for a couple years.
Speaker B:One of them was called Formation.
Speaker B:There's this big effort to kind of increase women's skills because they just, like, hadn't had the support, the place, the space, the, like, you.
Speaker B:It takes, like, I don't.
Speaker B:I could not go out and be like, I'm going to try a backflip just because I have the confidence.
Speaker B:Like, you have to, like, learn and build up to that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And so they were kind of in that universe doing a lot to teach, like, to help women grow those skills.
Speaker B:And now.
Speaker B:Now they kind of have access.
Speaker B:My understanding is they are growing at a very.
Speaker B:The rate has accelerated.
Speaker A:Of course it has.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I thought that Chelsea's perspective was really interesting in terms of, like, open to everyone, and that's the category, but in reality, that's meant basically zero women.
Speaker A:So the creation of a women's category allows for a development stream for women and, like, women to be able to make goals.
Speaker A:And I think that that's very important, you know, but it's just one of those cases, I think, where when you come from a sport that has a certain thought process around who deserves to be at something like a Red Bull Rampage, then you.
Speaker A:You kind of.
Speaker A:That's what you've been kind of brought up in the sport in.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Um.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I'm very much a fan of having.
Speaker A:Having now known about Red Bull Rampage for two years.
Speaker A:I am very much a fan of, like, having a women's, you know, having a women's category and allowing women to, like, grow into that kind of sport.
Speaker A:Because we know there are women who.
Speaker B:Want to ride, not me, Right off cliffs.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Not in this room.
Speaker B:Not in this room particularly.
Speaker B:But, yes, they exist out there for sure.
Speaker B:And they should be able to.
Speaker B:I also thought it's interesting.
Speaker B:She said that they should sell more tickets because they sold out.
Speaker A:That was.
Speaker A:Yeah, that was interesting.
Speaker A:And then I remember seeing the footage of where the spectators were and stuff, and they're just kind of outside.
Speaker B:They're out in the desert, standing in the wind.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Very windy last year.
Speaker A:So I don't know why there's a.
Speaker B:Limited number of times, but it made me think because There has obviously there's been a lot of studies about this huge market for women's sports.
Speaker B:And there was a big study last week kind of out of the collective, which is a subset of Wasserman, about the power, the spending power of female sports fans.
Speaker B:And they're talking not about necessarily about fans, just of women's sports.
Speaker B:They're talking about women who are fans of sports.
Speaker A:Yes, period.
Speaker A:Women, sports fans.
Speaker B:Women sports fans.
Speaker B:And it's this thing where like women control 75% of like discretionary spending in the world and 72% of women in the world consider themselves sports fans.
Speaker B:And even when you talk about sports spending purchases, half, 50% of the women they surveyed said they are the primary decision maker for sports spending purchases.
Speaker B:Like what events, what's games, what things.
Speaker B:And yet the majority of women were like brands, companies, leagues are not serving me.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like I felt.
Speaker A:Did you feel this when you were reading the study that like oh yeah, they've nailed this.
Speaker A:I mean obviously it was a study, but I feel like I'm like clearly in their demo in the demographic.
Speaker A:Like I feel I must fan of sports.
Speaker A:I'm an even more, I'm a bigger fan of sports now that women's sports are growing and there's not a ton out there for me and I don't love the old male model of, of how sports fandom works.
Speaker A:And I think there's, I completely agree, completely agree with statistics, the numbers, the studies that, that like there's, there's a massive opportunity here to like to serve women better and to create different.
Speaker A:It's not just, it's not just about, I don't think it's just about like merch and stuff to buy, but I think it's about like experiences.
Speaker A:It's partially about that.
Speaker A:It's about experiences.
Speaker A:I think it's about creating connection spaces outside of the stadium, which is something that they mentioned or I was thinking when I was reading and I was thinking about Isabel Chevalier talking about the Montreal Roses and how they were doing like espresso raves before, before the game started, you know, or how they had thought about how they were selling food, for example, selling more different types of food, different, like different cuisines or things like salads, more variation in the, in the drinks.
Speaker A:You could buy like, like special cocktails or non alcoholic beverages.
Speaker A:Like all of these things that they had thought through to create an experience for the women fans, which I very much was like yeah, that's cool.
Speaker A:Like I want to go to an.
Speaker B:Espresso rave part of me is always like, I'm sure there are men who would also like that.
Speaker B:Of course, I think to a degree, the male sports fan experience is very monolithic, and it has been shoved down people's throats and they, like, have to do what they have been told they like.
Speaker B:But there are probably.
Speaker B:And this is like, obviously like, just people I know in my.
Speaker B:People who would like more types of cuisine.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:At bachelor games.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:More types of merch.
Speaker B:So the other thing, though, that is super true with female sports fans and I'm sure is also increasingly true with younger male sports fans, is there was, like, 91 of them think that sports brands should support social causes, which is obviously a very broad term.
Speaker B:But, like, it's the whole, like, stand for something.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:They don't like and that.
Speaker B:I mean, we know that's true.
Speaker B:We see it all the time in our audience and in our fans.
Speaker B:And it just is.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:It's just like, yeah.
Speaker B:And you can't.
Speaker B:You can't, like, go back, like, don't change with the wind.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:You can't be like, oh, we support this thing right now because it's cool.
Speaker B:And then we're change our minds.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Stand for something.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then you have to stand for it.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So, yeah.
Speaker A:Well said.
Speaker A:I also, I like some of these bullet points like, that I wrote down.
Speaker B:Oh, okay.
Speaker A:Like, about even around the sponsorships and how you choose sponsorships.
Speaker A:Like, sponsorships that serve certain demographics, like, that make products that make life easier for moms.
Speaker A:For example, like this family orientation, of course, camera largely out of the study.
Speaker A:And then.
Speaker A:But then you had.
Speaker A:That was like, 50% of the women in the study.
Speaker A:Then there was another 50% that were not moms and not family focused.
Speaker A:And you have to serve them, too.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:I think the, like, we've been talking about culture and sport and lifestyle and, you know, that stuff, like, I feel like that stuff with women's sports is really important, too.
Speaker A:So those kind of, like, lifestyle brands.
Speaker B:They are underestimating, too.
Speaker B:I think you're pointing about moms there.
Speaker B:We know, and we've talked before about how, like, generational fandom is built.
Speaker B:And it's built by, like.
Speaker B:Well, I always went with my dad to tailgate at the packers game, and now we're getting to this point where, like, it.
Speaker B:Whatever it was, it was a huge percent of moms have played sports.
Speaker B:And they are then determining the generational.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Like, my husband was laughing that I care way more about the WNBA than I ever paid attention to the NBA.
Speaker B:And so like, what's my kid gonna go to?
Speaker B:Definitely one of those games.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:So like, they are underestimating that value.
Speaker A:Yes, for sure.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:So I do think, and I'm also, I think a lot about kind of the spaces that we're creating for.
Speaker A:Like, I do remember at the ESPNW conference in Toronto, there were a couple entrepreneurs up there who have a, like, have created a fandom space in Toronto.
Speaker A:And people said, oh, and I forget what it's called right now.
Speaker A:So I'm sorry, but they, people said, oh, your model will never work because people don't want to buy shoes and hang out and have coffee in the same place and watch sports.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And actually women do.
Speaker B:Like, I don't to be totally fair.
Speaker A:But you're not in that part of the demographic.
Speaker B:Sometimes when people make these broad generalizations about women, I'm always like, ooh, I don't want to do that.
Speaker A:But do you not think that there's like a market for that?
Speaker A:It's not just a sports bar that serves that watching community.
Speaker A:Like, it's also, it could be a cafe or it also could be a shop or it could be somewhere where you're actually physically doing something and have sports on or, or could do a workout and then sit down and have your coffee and watch the WNBA game.
Speaker A:Like, yeah, I think that there's, I think that there's going to be more spaces like that that emerge all the time for sure.
Speaker B:So we'll see what happens.
Speaker B:Cough Iron Man.
Speaker B:Listen.
Speaker B:All right, as we wrap up here, Sarah, who are your feisty picks of the week?
Speaker A:Okay, I have a good one this week.
Speaker A:In the past few weeks, I've, I've picked something that we already talked about, you know.
Speaker B:Well, yeah, ok, so I was going to pick something we already talked about.
Speaker A:Okay, you do that.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:I was going to say, I got to say, if you call it is my pick for the week because I am in a burn it down mood and I feel like she is my new icon.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:So exactly.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Ilona Mar Barbie.
Speaker A:I saw this for the first time last night, this Barbie doll.
Speaker A:So at first I saw it and I was like, my brain was honestly just confused.
Speaker A:Like I thought was this just like an AI generated like alone Amara Barbie.
Speaker A:And then because the reason I was confused, not that Ilona Mar can't be a Barbie, but just that like how do they turn what is like the stereotypical body shape of Barbie?
Speaker A:You know, this like long, thin, like, you know, we've all heard this thing about like how the real Barbie couldn't stand up because.
Speaker A:Yeah, her boobs are too big and her feet are too small.
Speaker A:Like, how do we turn.
Speaker A:How did they turn that into like this strong, iconic rugby player?
Speaker A:Well, turns out the Barbie is like ripped.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker A:Like this Barbie's arms are incredible.
Speaker A:So I love that they actually physically kind of changed the Barbie to be.
Speaker B:It was actually four rugby players.
Speaker A:Oh, cool.
Speaker B:Four rugby players that they made Barbies for.
Speaker B:There's an England player.
Speaker B:The one, the iconic one.
Speaker B:If you watch the World Rugby cup that was all over the place.
Speaker B:So there.
Speaker B:Yeah, they're expanding their athlete line.
Speaker A:Rugby Barbie.
Speaker A:I'm so here for rugby Barbie.
Speaker B:Perfect.
Speaker B:All right, next week we will have lots of interviews from the Ironman Women's.
Speaker B:Call it Iron Women, Iron Man Women's World Championship, the Iron Women World Championship and all the news.
Speaker B:And stay tuned.
Speaker B:Sat.
