Why U.S. Women are the Global Soccer Powerhouse

Haiti: The World Cup’s Underdog

Every sport has an underdog story. There are teams and players who go through such insurmountable odds that you can’t help but root for them. This World Cup, that team is Haiti.  In this episode, we look at how a country and a soccer team written off by the world managed to shock everyone. And we go beyond this epic qualification, as Haitian fans at home and abroad navigate through a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment and hostile policies coming from the main World Cup host: the United States. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Why U.S. Women are the Global Soccer Powerhouse

There has been mounting anticipation for the 2026 Men’s World Cup, but it’s impossible to make a series about soccer culture in the U.S. without bringing up the women’s national team. Because for decades, that team has dominated the sport in the United States and abroad. We're talking a global powerhouse, with four Women’s World Cup titles under its belt. We talk about the making of the U.S. Women’s National Team, how the players fought so hard off the pitch for equal pay, and what’s in store for women’s soccer.  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Blame Harvard

Why isn't soccer more popular in the U.S.? Turns out the answer to that question goes way back to the 1800s – and one of the biggest Ivy League universities in the country is to blame. Though, as we find out, soccer is more rooted in U.S. history than we think. Some historians go as far as saying it’s “an American game.” See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Tab Ramos and the Rebirth of U.S. Soccer

When Tab Ramos immigrated from Uruguay as a child, he had no idea he’d play a role in the rebirth of U.S. soccer. “I remember telling my father at the time: dad, out of all the countries in the world that we could move to, why do we have to move to the one that doesn't have soccer?” Tab said. But Tab would grow to become one of the best U.S. soccer players of the 1990s. We hear about his devastating losses, his hard-fought wins, and a cracked skull that nearly ended his career and his life. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The Game We Love

The Men’s World Cup is coming to our continent – and to this country. So we’re using this huge event to dive deep into what soccer means in the United States. We hear from immigrants all across the country for whom soccer is a touchstone, but who’ve also woven the sport into American culture and life. And we go back to the 90’s, to the very first time the World Cup came to the United States. There was Oprah, there was O.J.,  and it changed soccer in the U.S. forever.  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.