0:01

Extra time is exactly how

0:03

I find out what's going on

0:05

in the MLS. Get off. Come

0:07

on. Maybe this podcast has influenced

0:09

me a little bit as well.

0:11

Everybody up here, every single day,

0:14

goes into the office, into the

0:16

laboratory. They're trying to cook up

0:18

some great stuff for you guys.

0:20

That's why he's here! from New

0:23

York, New York. You are listening

0:25

to Extra Time. I'm Andrew Weebie

0:27

with my partner in soccer on

0:29

this November 18th Monday, Dax McCarty.

0:31

It's a very special interview with

0:33

the Atlanta United midfield. There an

0:35

MOS legend nearing but not at

0:37

the end of his career, after the

0:39

biggest upset in the history of this

0:41

league, sent the five stripes on and

0:44

knocked into Miami and Leonomessy. out of

0:46

the Audi MLS Cup playoffs. I'll chat

0:48

with Dax about that experience, about the

0:50

season overall, and his career, including what

0:52

it's like to wrap it all up

0:54

with his young family in tow. Should

0:56

be a great conversation in the meantime.

0:59

Get ready for our previews on Thursday

1:01

of the conference semi-finals. Two matches on

1:03

Saturday, two matches on Sunday, Matt Doyle,

1:05

and I'll break it all down later

1:07

on this week in detail. But in

1:09

the meantime, here's Dax. Enjoy everyone.

1:12

Oh, it's our absolute pleasure and extra time

1:14

to welcome the man, the myth,

1:16

the legend. Dax McCarty, yes, competition

1:18

on the podcasting space, Dax, but

1:21

we'll allow it, all right? You

1:23

just try to finish this career

1:25

out in style, okay? I'm no competition

1:27

for you guys. I don't know what

1:29

you're talking about. That's a filthy, filthy

1:31

life. Biggest upset in themless history,

1:33

man. Do you do you do subscribe

1:35

to that? Does that sound right to

1:37

you at you at Land Over Miami?

1:40

I subscribe to it up to

1:42

a certain point. Yes, I think that

1:44

outside of our locker room, it would

1:46

have been foolish for anyone

1:48

to look at the two seasons

1:50

that both teams had and pick

1:52

Atlantic and I did to win.

1:55

So from that standpoint, I totally

1:57

get it. Miami sets the points

1:59

record. They've got the greatest player that's

2:01

ever lived along with his buddies who

2:03

have won multiple champions leagues, multiple leagueas,

2:05

a couple of the World Cup winners

2:08

in there. So look, I get the

2:10

narrative, but honestly, when I tell you

2:12

that inside our locker room, we really

2:14

were like quietly confident that we were

2:16

going to win this series, we were

2:18

like, that's not, I'm not saying that

2:20

to like make a click bait, like

2:22

headline or click bait, like little audio

2:24

clip, like I really. truly like we

2:26

looked at our regular season performance against

2:28

them and we knew that we could

2:30

go and beat them so it feels

2:33

good and obviously if people want to

2:35

describe it as the massive upset that

2:37

a lot of people think it is

2:39

then that's fine with us. Hey sample

2:41

size is important so if you're taking

2:43

that bigger sample size yeah biggest upset

2:45

if you're just looking at the Atlanta

2:47

United versus Inter Miami sample size well

2:49

then that's a little bit of a

2:51

different a sample to look at. We'll

2:53

talk about so many things in this

2:55

conversation. Let's do start with the soccer

2:57

though. Take me inside that locker room

3:00

on decision day because we're talking about

3:02

like multiple steps down the line. But

3:04

on decision day, if you were looking

3:06

at the odds, the odds of Atlanta

3:08

even being in the playoffs was very

3:10

low. So this journey started far before

3:12

you ever saw in Miami on the

3:14

field. Well, my journey was was definitely

3:16

unique considering I thought it was gonna

3:18

be the last game I ever played

3:20

in. That's not to say like, I

3:22

didn't think we weren't going to win

3:25

the game, because you always have that

3:27

belief and you always believe going into

3:29

every game, you're going to win it.

3:31

It was more to say, there's so

3:33

much has to go right for us

3:35

on decision day that the chances of

3:37

us making it are pretty low. So

3:39

let me be a realist, I am

3:41

a realist, and let me just figure

3:43

out. a way to process my emotions

3:45

of going through my last game of

3:47

my career that I'll ever play. 50

3:49

friends and family down there in Orlando

3:52

in the stands, Adidas. was amazing. They

3:54

sent me like a special pair of

3:56

boots with my kids' names on them.

3:58

And look, I'm not like the special

4:00

boot kind of guy, you know, it's

4:02

just not the type of player I

4:04

am, but like, you know, seeing my

4:06

kids' names on boots and like realizing

4:08

that this will probably be the only

4:10

time I ever wear them. There was

4:12

just a lot of stuff going through

4:14

my head. And to be honest, we

4:17

didn't even know when I was on

4:19

the field and they were doing the

4:21

whole VAR thing, taking their goal No

4:23

one on our bench knew what was

4:25

happening because Rob Valentino didn't want anyone

4:27

to look at the other scores. He

4:29

just wanted to like very much focus

4:31

on the present moment, which a lot

4:33

of people say that and then don't

4:35

practice that. Well, he actually practiced that

4:37

and then don't practice that. Well, he

4:39

actually practiced that. And so he actually

4:42

practiced that. And so when they blew

4:44

the final whistle, I looked at our

4:46

bench and everyone was going crazy and

4:48

I was like, you're telling the playoffs.

4:50

This is incredible. You have to now

4:52

be, I don't know where you've stood

4:54

before, but video review has to be

4:56

near and dear to your old grizzled

4:58

veteran heart, huh? Look, I've always thought

5:00

that VAR is the right way to

5:02

kind of manage moments in the game,

5:04

big moments in the game. It's not

5:06

always, I think, applied properly. But by

5:09

and large, if you were to look

5:11

at it as a whole, it's been

5:13

overwhelmingly positive because the truth is you

5:15

want big decisions to get right. And

5:17

in that moment, when they scored, I

5:19

was talking with Duncan McGuire kind of

5:21

by the halfway line, and I was

5:23

like, it hit your arm. And he's

5:25

like, he was kind of plain dumb.

5:27

And he was like, it was like,

5:29

it was like his natural position, like

5:31

he's like a deflected and all the

5:34

all these different factors have to come

5:36

into it and no way they can

5:38

call this off. And I'm like, listen,

5:40

the only way I interpret the rule,

5:42

which as it is written, is it

5:44

doesn't matter how the ball hits your

5:46

hand if it leads to a goal,

5:48

if like the next touch or two

5:50

is. a goal, they have to call

5:52

it back. And so I knew that

5:54

in my head. And I was thinking,

5:56

as soon as they went to the

5:59

monitor, I was like, this has to

6:01

go in our favor. And so look,

6:03

we have in Atlanta been on the

6:05

wrong end of a call like that

6:07

a few times this year. So to

6:09

have it go our way, it felt

6:11

pretty good. Boy, you're coming after my

6:13

instant replay job as well. I just

6:15

got to get my elbows out here,

6:17

protect some position. I, you know, you'll

6:19

have to tell me, maybe I'll have

6:21

to get Rob Valentino on this podcast

6:23

to do it. Google is everyone's friend.

6:26

I mean, just make sure that you're

6:28

doing it not on like a school

6:30

computer or, yeah, your work computer might

6:32

be fine, TBD. Where did this come

6:34

from? And it feels to me like

6:36

Rob Valentino is the perfect person to

6:38

deliver that particular message, just on persona,

6:40

on looks, on, he's got like a

6:42

W, a W, W, W, E vibe,

6:44

Vibe, vibe, vibe, vibe, vibe, going to

6:46

him. Yeah, Rob's great. He's got all

6:48

these little, these little motive motivational idioms

6:51

that he pulls out every now and

6:53

then. And you know, Rob, you know

6:55

what I really appreciate about Rob is

6:57

that he's 100% authentic and he's extremely

6:59

self-aware and he doesn't pretend to be

7:01

anyone but himself and he's got some

7:03

pillars that he relies on for how

7:05

he goes about his business and how

7:07

he coaches and he practices what he

7:09

preaches. And look, he's been fantastic for

7:11

us. And look, we haven't always gotten

7:13

the best results, even when they made

7:16

the change, our season has been so

7:18

up and down, so inconsistent. But the

7:20

one thing I have to give him

7:22

credit for is that even when we

7:24

got pretty poor results, and when he

7:26

was at the helm, and when he

7:28

was at the helm, and it seemed

7:30

like the playoffs weren't going to happen

7:32

for us, he kept saying, guys, I

7:34

know you don't believe me and I

7:36

might not feel like it, but I

7:38

believe we are a good team. It

7:40

was one of those things where you

7:43

just couldn't help but believe him. And

7:45

so when he does all these motivational

7:47

speeches before the game, sometimes he'll throw

7:49

out like little quotes here and there

7:51

and I can't remember. exactly what game

7:53

it was before but look he gave

7:55

it it's it's a Tom Brady quote

7:57

right and it's a Tom Brady quote

7:59

from one of like his viral moments

8:01

as a leader and as an inspirational

8:03

kind of figure and you know how

8:05

are you going to go against Tom

8:08

Brady the guys got infinite amount of

8:10

championship rings and he's one of the

8:12

best winners of all time and if

8:14

he says FEA to the people that

8:16

don't matter then Why wouldn't we subscribe

8:18

to that motto in Atlanta? Like, let's

8:20

just believe in ourselves in the locker

8:22

room and see what happens. Tom Brady's

8:24

the goat. Don't let me know Messie's

8:26

the goat. Take me into the preparations

8:28

ahead of this series against Miami. How

8:30

did you guys do it? What was

8:33

the plan? And did you execute as

8:35

close as you could do that plan

8:37

or did some things just sort of

8:39

vibe right in the moment? Everyone's got

8:41

a plan until you get punched in

8:43

the face. Yeah, 100%. And that first

8:45

game, we got punched in the face.

8:47

I think it was like three minutes

8:49

into the game. And so when Suarez

8:51

scored in that first game, I know

8:53

exactly where that everyone's going with this.

8:55

Miami's gonna beat him six-zero and the

8:57

second game is gonna be a formality

9:00

and they're gonna win in Atlanta no

9:02

matter. Like, and listen, I gotta be

9:04

honest, it was a little tedious that

9:06

it was kind of scary there for

9:08

a minute for a minute because... That

9:10

first game, without the help of you

9:12

know who, Mr. Brad Bousan, I mean,

9:14

the game is going to be out

9:16

of reach within 20 minutes, right? And

9:18

so we're kind of hanging on for

9:20

dear life and we had a plan.

9:22

It didn't work. Two of our big

9:25

defensive players go down in the first

9:27

20 minutes of the game, Brooks linen

9:29

with a season ending injury and Stion

9:31

Gregerson, just from three games in six

9:33

days or whatever it was. So look,

9:35

we had to adjust. We were in

9:37

a four, in a four call it

9:39

a four. four one one whatever. And

9:41

so once once the injuries happened, it

9:43

was almost Rob's hand was forced. We

9:45

go into a back five. We get

9:47

more secure. Sava gets the goal. And

9:50

look, we didn't deserve to. We didn't

9:52

even deserve to get anything out of

9:54

that first game. But I think that

9:56

that performance in the guts that we

9:58

showed, it kind of set the stage

10:00

for them the last two games because

10:02

we knew it was going to be

10:04

a big task going into Miami and

10:06

trying to get anything out of that

10:08

first game. But with the rest, with

10:10

the way that we had played them

10:12

before down in Miami in a back

10:14

five, that was kind of the blueprint

10:17

to go forward. And so I'll try

10:19

to keep it brief. When you play

10:21

against them, they are almost unstoppable. And

10:23

I mean that in a way of

10:25

like... It doesn't matter how well you

10:27

play. They are going to do what

10:29

they want to do. It's just a

10:31

matter of can you limit that in

10:33

some capacity. So like Leo Messie gets

10:35

on the ball, he's going to turn,

10:37

he's going to find a midfielder and

10:39

get it back, and he's going to

10:42

find Jordiaba running in behind. And if

10:44

you cover that, you open yourself up

10:46

and he will find a pass for

10:48

a striker or for a striker or

10:50

for Diego Gomez. So what do you

10:52

do? You stay compact, when the ball

10:54

gets to Jordiaba. you just watch the

10:56

cutback ball. And that's kind of like

10:58

where I came in is like, I

11:00

used my experience to be like, okay,

11:02

if Campana or Gressel or Gomez or

11:04

Kromaski, if they hurt us and if

11:06

they score, fine. Don't let the literal

11:09

centerpiece of MLS and the centerpiece of

11:11

soccer for the last 20 years beat

11:13

you. Like easier said than done, but

11:15

in my head, like if you if

11:17

you watch certain moments of games two

11:19

and three. I'm just, I literally let

11:21

Redondo just have the ball and he's

11:23

30 yards out from goal and I

11:25

just, I opened the, I shade towards

11:27

messy so he cannot find it. I

11:29

mean that's just in my head how

11:31

I had to think about it, right?

11:34

And so it's a little bit tactical,

11:36

it's a little bit lucky that they

11:38

didn't finish very well and it's of

11:40

course writing a hot keeper and brag

11:42

musin. I mean that's kind of the

11:44

recipe we stuck with and it worked.

11:46

You I've enjoyed your enjoyment of Braguzan's

11:48

net moment. It just had everything it

11:50

was like Shakespearean for me like all

11:52

the different characters the facial expressions Suarez

11:54

his desire to trash talk him in

11:56

the moment as he's flailing and I've

11:59

I've compared him to a being stuck

12:01

in a net and a trawler dragging

12:03

him through. After a moment like this

12:05

happens, what sort of life does that

12:07

live in the locker room? Because that

12:09

feels to me like locker room gold.

12:11

It was just incredible. Honestly, I. I

12:13

talked about this a little bit on

12:15

our pod, but I stayed the night.

12:17

I didn't fly back with the team

12:19

because I had my family there and

12:21

I wanted to help get the kids

12:23

back, as you know, father of kids,

12:26

young kids. It's very difficult traveling with

12:28

them on air travel. So you don't

12:30

leave the wife with that. Correct. I

12:32

was being a good dad and we

12:34

flew back together and I couldn't sleep

12:36

because I was in the hotel room.

12:38

We had one bed for all four

12:40

of us and it was a nightmare.

12:42

four o'clock five o'clock in the morning

12:44

and I was just hoping I was

12:46

refreshing Twitter please someone throw a new

12:48

meme in there like every time I

12:51

saw the video I had a tear

12:53

in my eye from laughter and you

12:55

know when you're trying to laugh really

12:57

when you laugh really hard but you

12:59

got to be quiet because the kids

13:01

are sleeping you're just shaking I was

13:03

just giggling like a school girl it

13:05

was just the best and like of

13:07

course the memes get thrown around the

13:09

locker room You know, I thought of

13:11

the wedding crashes scene. I was just

13:13

thinking like Big Tree Fall Hard, right?

13:16

I'm like, there's just something that resonated

13:18

with me about that scene and that

13:20

movie and what was going on with

13:22

Brad, the tuna flailing in the net,

13:24

I also see the vision and I

13:26

like it. It was just, it was

13:28

gold. And Brad, look, he's great. He's

13:30

such a good sport about it. And

13:32

if you hear him describe it, the

13:34

reason why it makes it so funny,

13:36

you know in that moment. he is

13:38

so mad he's about to have a

13:40

brain aneurysm or something and because he

13:43

just wants to go he just wants

13:45

to get out of the net and

13:47

give Suarez the business and he can't

13:49

move it's just it's just classic i'll

13:51

never forget that it's almost like a

13:53

reverse mime you know the mime goes

13:55

forward but brads going backwards he's grabbing

13:57

he's flailing it's perfect and it's also

13:59

real sicko heritage decks that braguez on

14:01

Dax McCarty, Rob Valentino, in this particular

14:03

Lady United group, knocked out messy and

14:06

friends. Like, this is, this is MLS,

14:08

MLS war. Well, I haven't shared this, but

14:10

I'll share this, and I'm gonna give a

14:12

shout out to another MLS heritage guy in

14:14

Kay Kamara. And you just, these are the

14:16

type, of course, if you make, if you

14:18

win a big series like this, you know,

14:21

you're gonna be talked about in a more

14:23

positive light. And the truth is, is, is

14:25

that we haven't been talked about as a

14:27

team. in anything but a relatively negative

14:29

light this whole year. And you know

14:31

what? Probably deserves. So I'm not complaining

14:33

about that. But you know, when now

14:35

everyone, you know, they want to praise

14:38

you for the performance and all that,

14:40

it's great. You kind of block it

14:42

out. But when other, when your peers

14:44

notice different things, you appreciate it more.

14:46

So Kai, you know, he sends me a message

14:48

and it's a voice note. And he's basically

14:50

just walking through like step by step, hey,

14:52

man, like, I just want you to know, like,

14:54

like, congrats on winning the series

14:57

and second of all like everyone will probably

14:59

talk about right like the past that led

15:01

to the second goal or whatever and like

15:03

of course it's a great pass but the

15:05

thing that I noticed is just how you

15:07

you saw what messy and Jordi Abba are

15:09

trying to accomplish and you just took

15:11

that massive part of their game plan

15:13

away and it wasn't just me right

15:15

it was all our midfielders it was

15:17

our centerbacks doing their jobs and so

15:20

like hearing that from a peer who might see

15:22

the game in a little bit of a

15:24

different way than maybe the casual fan. You know,

15:26

that type of stuff is the stuff that

15:28

I really appreciate. And that's the type

15:30

of stuff that will resonate with me

15:32

long after this season's over, right? It's

15:34

just your friends, your peers, the people

15:37

who have been doing it a long

15:39

time who also acknowledge and notice, like

15:41

maybe the little things that other people

15:43

wouldn't notice, right? So, you know, I appreciate

15:45

that. Obviously it was a fun series. But

15:48

yeah, I'll always appreciate that from my fellow journeyman,

15:50

Mr. Kaikamara. Well, the old heads loved it. All

15:52

the guys that have been through the different trials

15:54

and tribulations have been most over the years. And

15:56

I want to get to that with you in

15:58

a little bit, because you were here. when Beckham

16:00

arrived and that year with Messie. So

16:02

there's a interesting perspective to be had.

16:05

I saw the the Jordan Belfort Wolf

16:07

of Wall Street gift that you put

16:09

out and let's push it forward because

16:11

we have a big match against Orlando

16:13

coming up here but like it's not

16:16

over. It's not over for Dax McCarty.

16:18

It's not over for Atlanta United and

16:20

to do it again against Orlando when

16:22

that's where you were born and raised.

16:25

I mean this has to feel like

16:27

a poetic, When I went into my

16:29

meeting with Garth Lagerway, and when I

16:31

had made the decision to retire, and

16:33

I told some family, I had told

16:36

Brad Guzan, and I had my meeting

16:38

with Garth, and I said, look, these

16:40

are the reasons why I feel like

16:42

it's the right time to walk away.

16:45

I don't want it to be a

16:47

distraction in the locker room. I want

16:49

your blessing. How do you think I

16:51

should go about it? And, you know,

16:53

we just had a really nice, honest,

16:56

honest, candid conversation, candid conversation, and And

16:58

I said, look, if there's one thing

17:00

that maybe can come out of this,

17:02

and this is when we weren't in

17:04

a good way, you know, we weren't,

17:07

maybe selfishly, this can potentially help galvanize,

17:09

like, give the locker room something to

17:11

rally around, right? And that's just maybe

17:13

a hope and a prayer, but like,

17:16

it didn't work. We just, we continued

17:18

to, like, get stuck in the mud,

17:20

get stuck in the mud, and so.

17:22

You know I'm not a I'm not

17:24

a negative person I like to think

17:27

of myself as a glass half full

17:29

type of guy but once you see

17:31

where the season's heading you're almost like

17:33

it just doesn't look like it's gonna

17:36

end how I want it to end

17:38

you know I wanted it to end

17:40

challenging for trophies winning games contributing on

17:42

the field and it just didn't look

17:44

like it was heading in that direction

17:47

and now you fast forward to now

17:49

you said poetic someone else said fairy

17:51

tale someone else has described it as

17:53

almost like magical, right? And it is

17:56

like a little bit of magical run

17:58

right now. I mean, Disney, isn't that

18:00

where dreams come true? Like, you know,

18:02

whatever happened down there in Orlando. on

18:04

the last game of the season. We've

18:07

just kind of been riding that wave.

18:09

And like the fact that I hadn't

18:11

played that much this year and now,

18:13

you know, I played in Montreal, I

18:16

scored my penalty. Started every game against

18:18

Miami. We got through the goat and

18:20

now we go back to Orlando. It

18:22

feels great, man. And that's why these

18:24

careers, like professional careers and, you know,

18:27

what I'm experiencing right now, it's such

18:29

a roller coaster of emotions because you

18:31

can't right the script before it's done.

18:33

in my head, maybe I had written

18:35

that script a little bit and I

18:38

was already starting to feel a little

18:40

sorry for myself saying, you know, great

18:42

career decks, it's going to end with

18:44

a sputter. No. Stay positive. Keep the

18:47

outlook. Keep the little perspective. Keep the

18:49

outlook. Keep a little perspective because truly

18:51

you never know how it can end

18:53

and honestly, I'm just going to enjoy

18:55

it. Sunday Orlando Atlanta 3.30 p.m. Eastern

18:58

time pregame show before and less countdown

19:00

tune in I mean these are the

19:02

moments Conference final at stake and then

19:04

of course unless cup if you can

19:07

get past that one What is Saba

19:09

time? Dax like in like if we

19:11

actually had to define Saba time within

19:13

the locker room. I don't know that

19:15

it runs like normal time because normal

19:18

time is predictable you know exactly what's

19:20

gonna like it's tick-tock-tock this is what

19:22

time it is Saba time feels like

19:24

a Yeah, it's less predictable. Saba Time

19:27

is like, is like, is like, is

19:29

like Matthew McConaughey and interstellar where he's

19:31

caught behind the bookshelf and he's like,

19:33

where am I? But in reality, he's

19:35

saving the world and like, Saba, like,

19:38

Saba's just the best, you know, and

19:40

he's all that is good with our

19:42

team. And Saba time usually means it's

19:44

winning time because when Saba plays well

19:47

and when Saba scores, you know, we

19:49

usually win and we usually do well

19:51

and we usually do well. And so.

19:53

That's the analogy I like to I

19:55

see for for Saba time right now.

19:58

But what a guy, what a tremendous

20:00

guy and a tremendous player. And the

20:02

fact that he's a Georgian from the

20:04

country, Georgia, playing in Georgia, and he's

20:07

a fan favorite. And he's a super

20:09

genuinely nice humble guy. It's just, he's

20:11

a wonderful teammate. Tell me about the

20:13

midfield matchup against Orlando. And then I'll

20:15

take you big picture on some other

20:18

fun stuff. But like, you know, Arjo

20:20

and Cartjana are two of the very

20:22

best. Yeah, no, it's going to be,

20:24

it's going to be a challenge. Look,

20:26

I look at the Miami series and

20:29

the way we approached that, and it's

20:31

going to, we're going to have to

20:33

approach it differently against Orlando. You know,

20:35

we knew against Miami, we were going

20:38

to be able to build out of

20:40

the midfield and have more time and

20:42

space because of, you know, the lack

20:44

of defensive responsibility that Suarez and messy

20:46

have, because of what they do on

20:49

the attacking side. And so Orlando doesn't

20:51

play like that. their front four is

20:53

very compact and they all work for

20:55

each other and then like you said

20:58

those two midfielders are tireless they're relentless

21:00

and they're there it's like it's almost

21:02

like putting two pit bulls in the

21:04

midfield and and both of them are

21:06

technically proficient both of them are good

21:09

players there they share the responsibility of

21:11

going forward and and defending and you

21:13

know when one steps out the other

21:15

covers them and so they have a

21:18

really good understanding between themselves and so

21:20

the series is going to look a

21:22

lot differently. And I know Oscar will

21:24

have them ready. He's one of the

21:26

best coaches in the league. Orlando, their

21:29

fans always bring it. Orlando is always

21:31

a pain in the butt to go

21:33

down and play there, man. Their fans

21:35

are excellent. So look, we're under no

21:38

illusions. We've been prepping for what it's

21:40

going to look like. And yeah, I'm

21:42

excited to see how we approach this

21:44

game tactically. We haven't gone through it

21:46

in detail yet, but... We'll create some

21:49

problems for them. They'll create some problems

21:51

for us. They're really well balanced side.

21:53

I'm excited. It's going to be a

21:55

really fun game. I mean, and that's

21:58

to move on to get to. in

22:00

the West Cup, the favorites in the

22:02

East Herb could put, adios, they're out.

22:04

It's an interesting debate in Los Cup

22:06

for Supporters Shield, and I'm sitting in

22:09

the studio with some guys that have

22:11

won some shields, and sometimes I just

22:13

can't help a look at them a

22:15

little bit incredulously, and like, guys, the

22:17

whole, like, I love the shield. It's,

22:20

I mean, I am as in love

22:22

with the shield as someone can be,

22:24

but it is not in the last

22:26

cup. I wonder where your mind is

22:29

that. This is your last chance. Yeah,

22:31

it is and my my buddy sosh

22:33

Look, I'll ride with him forever because

22:35

I think he's He's right on most

22:37

things on on this one I would

22:40

have agreed with him if the argument

22:42

if his argument was made like Five

22:44

six years ago, and I say that

22:46

because I don't know if you saw

22:49

it, but I had a tweet when

22:51

all this stuff was going out that

22:53

The shield in general, because the schedule

22:55

isn't fully balanced, of course, you're always

22:57

gonna have the argument of like, well,

23:00

it's not a fully balanced schedule, so

23:02

the shield, it can't be above MLS

23:04

Cup. But I always thought the best

23:06

team in MLS won the shield. I

23:09

think that's a legitimate argument. There's no

23:11

gripe with that. The problem now is

23:13

that. Not only is the schedule on

23:15

balance, but you don't even play every

23:17

team in the league, at least once,

23:20

at least before 2020, you played every

23:22

team in the league one time. And

23:24

look, maybe one year you played the

23:26

Galaxy in LA, and then the next

23:29

year with Red Bowl, we played them

23:31

in New York. Okay, so it wasn't

23:33

fully, you played the Galaxy in LA,

23:35

and then the next year with Red

23:37

Bowl, we played them in New York.

23:40

Okay, so it wasn't fully balanced, we

23:42

played them, and I really valueded, If

23:44

you ask me, I said this, if

23:46

you ask me, would I trade in

23:49

a shield for an MOS cup? Of

23:51

course, I would, because you get a

23:53

ring with a cup. That's just a

23:55

fact. And it's a totally different tournament.

23:57

The best teams don't all. win MLS

24:00

cup and that's what makes it unique

24:02

but it gets you a ring it

24:04

gets you in the rafters it gets

24:06

you a banner it gets your name

24:08

in the lore of all-time MLS grades

24:11

that's just that's just the reality that

24:13

we live in now I'm still proud

24:15

of the shields I still feel strongly

24:17

that the supporter shield is very important

24:20

but when you don't play every team

24:22

in the league it's just so hard

24:24

to make the argument that it's more

24:26

valuable than MLS cup you just can't

24:28

do it who's the favor right now

24:31

in your mind Like just just taking

24:33

your emotional and personal stakes out of

24:35

it if you were if you're imagining

24:37

yourself to be a media member ahead

24:40

of time. I've got to say I

24:42

feel like the LA Galaxy have been

24:44

very impressive all season. I've always I've

24:46

always been very impressed with Greg Vanny

24:48

teams for the most part. We ran

24:51

into them a ton with Toronto FC

24:53

and with Red Bull and Chicago and

24:55

all these. So I knew he would

24:57

get it right eventually, been a rough

25:00

few years in LA, but if I

25:02

look at it objectively, look, LA, they've

25:04

got a really good team and they're

25:06

really well balanced and they were leaking

25:08

goals earlier in the year, they've tightened

25:11

it up a little bit in the

25:13

back, and they've got in my opinion,

25:15

one of the top three best players

25:17

still left in the playoff and Ricky

25:20

Poosh who he just... He's just a

25:22

really tough guy to deal with. He

25:24

makes things happen. You like the Ricky

25:26

vibe or you are annoyed by the

25:28

Ricky vibe guy? I'm annoyed when I

25:31

play against him. And just generally speaking,

25:33

his mannerisms, they get on my nerves

25:35

a little bit. Yeah, they inspire a

25:37

little bit of that. You can't, you

25:40

can't deny his value and you can't

25:42

deny what he brings to that team.

25:44

And then even when you mention him,

25:46

you look at like, pencil and peck.

25:48

and Joe Village and you're like, all

25:51

right, take out messy Suarez and they're

25:53

40 goals, 45 goals, whatever they score,

25:55

that's probably the best attack in the

25:57

league. If you were looking at it.

26:00

like really objectively like an analyst.

26:02

You're thinking they've got a lot

26:04

of different ways to hurt you a lot

26:06

of different guys that you have to stop.

26:08

And so they've got home field advantage throughout

26:11

the rest of the LAFC does. But you

26:13

know, LA. Still in LA, but still in

26:15

LA. But the galaxy for me, I think

26:17

Vegas, probably smart money would be on them

26:19

being the favorites and I would probably have

26:21

to agree with it. I love that you

26:24

brought up the Galaxy and I want

26:26

to bring us back to that Beckham

26:28

point because you joined him less in

26:30

2006 and Beckham came later. So I'm

26:32

not calling you old, but the fact

26:34

of the matter is that you were

26:36

here when Beckham arrived and Messie arrived.

26:38

Grizzled. Can you compare and contrast the

26:40

league at those two different moments in

26:42

time when those two guys entered and

26:44

how you see their particular impacts on

26:46

Major League soccer? Yeah, they're a little

26:48

bit different, but they're very similar in

26:50

a lot of ways. Beckham. Beckham

26:52

helped usher in a totally new

26:55

era in MLS. And the way I

26:57

see it, you know, 18, 19 years

26:59

later, whatever it is, I think

27:01

Messie's doing the exact

27:03

same. And so the differences

27:06

are obviously the quality of play.

27:08

The league has gotten better, in

27:10

my opinion, since Beckham has been

27:12

here. You know, Beckham. The big

27:14

difference for me is that that

27:17

Beckham helped usher in this era

27:19

of like the DPs right and

27:21

so let's go shoot for the

27:23

stars and try to sign one

27:25

or two huge names that are

27:28

probably a little bit older and

27:30

and let's you know sell out

27:32

stadiums that way and it wasn't

27:34

top to bottom quality of roster.

27:36

Now with messy I just I

27:38

look at a player like Diego

27:40

Gomez right I look at a

27:42

guy like Kromoski and I think

27:45

The only reason they ever, they

27:47

came to MLS was to play

27:49

with Messie. And because they see

27:51

a tremendous opportunity to be

27:53

able to not only play with an

27:55

idol, but but also to develop

27:57

and to be sold for big money.

27:59

and go play elsewhere, right? And so

28:02

look, it's happened in the past. Of

28:04

course, MLS has developed great players like

28:06

Almerone and these guys who have been

28:08

sold and developed, but for me, there's

28:10

such a bigger emphasis now on signing

28:12

younger, proven quality designated players in their

28:14

primes because that's what you need to

28:16

do to compete. Back in the day

28:18

when Beckham was in the league, you

28:20

could compete with one or two aging

28:22

superstars in a roster of. for by

28:24

and large a lot of college kids

28:26

like that you could you could compete

28:29

that way you wouldn't win usually but

28:31

you could compete now you can't compete

28:33

that way the right the way you

28:35

build rosters it's so different you have

28:37

to get get it right with your

28:39

veterans you have to get it right

28:41

with your super stars you have to

28:43

get it right with your middle the

28:45

core of your roster and you have

28:47

to get it right with your young

28:49

players or else you're not gonna have

28:51

a chance so. That for me is

28:53

a big difference. I think the spotlight

28:56

with the Apple deal, of course you

28:58

can always, messy probably takes us more

29:00

international, more global, you know, but Beckham,

29:02

the things that he did, man, you

29:04

just can't recreate some of that magic

29:06

that Beckham brought to the league, right?

29:08

And so I look at Beckham as

29:10

bringing a media. a media frenzy in

29:12

a different way because he actually did

29:14

interviews. He was like a media darling

29:16

and he promoted the league in a

29:18

lot of good ways. And so Messie's

29:20

the total opposite of that. He does

29:23

not do media. He lets all his

29:25

play on the field do the talking.

29:27

And so, you know, you kind of

29:29

struggle to understand where he's at with

29:31

where MLS is and where maybe his

29:33

feelings are. So a little bit of

29:35

differences. I think one of what I

29:37

think about what Beckham is like sort

29:39

of a professionalization of major league soccer

29:41

in the sense of resources. dumped in

29:43

and not just on the the player

29:45

side of like hey we can sign

29:47

these big guys yeah but I think

29:49

in terms of like the training facilities

29:52

that players enjoy now some of the

29:54

basic perks the organization that goes around

29:56

that he was sort of just like

29:58

you know this this has to happen

30:00

nowadays now that's a good if you

30:02

don't have a world-class training facility in

30:04

MLS, a big top player is probably

30:06

not going to sign with you. That

30:08

was not the case with Beko. That

30:10

came, right, the, it was called the

30:12

Home Depot Center. I don't know if

30:14

it still is, maybe it still is,

30:16

I don't know. No, dignity health sports

30:19

park. Yeah, but you know, it's a

30:21

center, you know, it's got a lot

30:23

of skills, right. So for me, there

30:25

was not, there was one in Friscoo.

30:27

Pizza Hut Park, as you can recall,

30:29

which had a dedicated training field, 1819

30:31

fields. Not a lot of places had

30:33

their own training facilities, where the owners

30:35

were spending $50 million to be like,

30:37

listen, this is where we're going to

30:39

train. This is where we're going to

30:41

spend 90% of our time. That change

30:43

in and of itself was huge for

30:46

MLS, because that is where you spend

30:48

majority of your time. Yes, stadiums are

30:50

important. No one's going to deny that.

30:52

But that's mainly for the ownership and

30:54

for the fans. And that's where obviously

30:56

game day occurs. But for the players,

30:58

you spend 95% of your time on

31:00

the training field and as a class.

31:02

You want it at a top level.

31:04

And so now, if you don't have

31:06

a top training facility, you don't have

31:08

a chance to sign the best players.

31:10

So that's a huge difference. I'm thinking

31:13

about like all these experiences that you

31:15

had and now the opportunity to share

31:17

this final experience with your kids. How

31:19

is that? How is that going? Just

31:21

is a family affair here like this

31:23

build up to games the possibility of

31:25

it all being over? How do they

31:27

grasp that? How do you communicate that

31:29

to them? How have you experienced as

31:31

a family? Well, it's emotional for mom

31:33

and dad. It's not emotional for them

31:35

at all because they have no clue

31:37

what's going on. They don't care. My

31:40

oldest is a very, very funny kid.

31:42

And so, you know, he knows like

31:44

hey in this home game, you get

31:46

to do the walkout with dad. Great.

31:48

Well, the other kids are a little

31:50

bit older and they all know who

31:52

Swares and Jordiaba and Messine Busquettes are

31:54

and my five-year-old. has no clue, right?

31:56

He's kind of starting to realize it

31:58

a little bit, but when they're high

32:00

five in everyone and my wife's taking

32:02

a video and he's karate chopping Messie's

32:04

hands and kind of almost leaving the

32:07

goat hanging for a little bit, like,

32:09

they just don't get it, you know,

32:11

those get it, you know, those moments

32:13

and it'll resonate, you know, hanging for

32:15

a little bit, like, they just don't

32:17

get it, you know, I get to

32:19

go out on the field afterwards. So,

32:21

that's cool for them but for me

32:23

it's like you guys don't understand this

32:25

will end very soon like appreciate it

32:27

you know and i almost feel guilty

32:29

because my two-year-old you know my five-year-old

32:31

he likes it my two-year-old loves it

32:33

loves it obsessed he is obsessed with

32:36

the game and it's it's a little

32:38

bit sweet because i know if i

32:40

just could hang on a little bit

32:42

longer and if i played another year

32:44

or two It would that that that

32:46

bug would just be ingrained in him

32:48

forever and maybe it is now I

32:50

don't know but he loves it so

32:52

much he sits there for you know

32:54

how it is how hard it is

32:56

to for kids to keep their attention.

32:58

He'll sit on my wife's lap and

33:00

I'll just watch the game and I'll

33:03

just watch the game and he'll just

33:05

watch the game and he'll just and

33:07

it's like a two year old doing

33:09

that is almost almost unheard of. So

33:11

it's been a little up and down

33:13

for my wife. Good thing we didn't

33:15

spend any money on any flights, right?

33:17

Or else we would have had to

33:19

cancel it. You know, so we're just

33:21

kind of enjoying every moment, taking it

33:23

as it comes. She's as happy as

33:25

anyone for me, but I think she's

33:27

as surprised as well, because she knew

33:30

how difficult this year was, and she

33:32

knew how frustrated I was at times

33:34

during the season, and you're wrestling with

33:36

this dichotomy of, well, I want you

33:38

to win, and I want you to

33:40

go out on top, but... You know,

33:42

it's been a hard season and you

33:44

haven't been happy all the time and

33:46

I want you to be happy again

33:48

and you know, maybe look towards the

33:50

next phase of your life. So balancing

33:52

that, it's been a challenge but man,

33:54

I mean, I wouldn't want it any

33:57

other way. That's just the life we

33:59

sign up for. What are the most

34:01

important things to you in the

34:03

next phase of your life? What

34:05

are the sort of core principles

34:07

that you're thinking about and organizing

34:10

decisions around? Giving back to the

34:12

game, it's something that obviously it's

34:14

very important to me just because

34:16

I'm so grateful to what the

34:18

sport has given me in my

34:20

life, things that I never thought

34:23

would happen. Opportunities, people that I've

34:25

met, players that I've played with,

34:27

just kind of indescribable. But I

34:29

also, I want to stay a part

34:31

of the game. I want to leave a

34:34

legacy in the game. And it's weird

34:36

because, you know, all this hoopla

34:38

around, like, the Mike Tyson, Jake

34:40

Paul fight. And the one thing

34:42

I took from it was like,

34:44

Mike Tyson, Jake Paul fight. And

34:46

the one thing I took from

34:48

it was like, Mike Tyson being

34:50

interviewed and just kind of being

34:52

a curmudgeon. And when a little

34:54

girl asked him about his legacy,

34:56

I have the opposite opinion. I

34:58

think every person on the planet

35:01

leaves a legacy. Whether they want

35:03

to leave a legacy or not,

35:05

that's not up for debate. You

35:07

do. Your legacy is the memories that

35:09

you leave behind, the effect you have

35:11

on people, the effects you have on

35:13

kids, the effects you have on your

35:16

industry, whether you're a doctor or a

35:18

lawyer or an athlete or a garbage

35:20

man. It doesn't matter. You leave a

35:22

legacy by how you treat people, how

35:24

you carry yourself. the charitable things that

35:27

you do, whatever it is, you

35:29

will leave a legacy. And so

35:31

I do think about that. I

35:33

think about legacy and part of

35:35

an athlete's legacy will be on-field

35:37

contribution. No question about it. Okay,

35:39

I'm very proud of that legacy. Hopefully

35:41

still more to be written. But then

35:44

the offfield legacy is also something that

35:46

I want to leave and maybe do

35:48

better at than I have as a

35:50

player because there are so many people

35:52

in this sport and in this game.

35:55

that do things

35:57

just for the

35:59

athletes make, they don't get the

36:01

recognition that the athletes get. And they deserve

36:04

every bit of praise. And so if I

36:06

can somehow lift those people up and make

36:08

sure that they know that they're valued and

36:11

cared about while also staying engaged and involved

36:13

in the game, then that's what I'm gonna

36:15

try to do. I always think about it

36:17

in terms of sort of a tapestry. at

36:20

least for our game in the US and

36:22

you come from a lot of different perspectives

36:24

and had a lot of different roles in

36:26

every thread matters and that goes for every

36:29

level. Are you going to coach your kids?

36:31

Like speaking of certain legacies to leave, you

36:33

think you got that in you? Can you?

36:36

I probably will end up coaching them at

36:38

some point, although I will say it would

36:40

be very difficult for me because I can

36:42

I can already feel. the blood boiling when

36:45

you know I see something wrong and I'm

36:47

like trying to be gentle about hey don't

36:49

do this or don't do that or hey

36:52

do it this way and they're like dad

36:54

like you're my dad be me alone I

36:56

don't care right and so I will I

36:58

will try to help them I think it

37:01

would be better if someone else was was

37:03

the main contributor of coaching them as they

37:05

grow up but I'll be there every step

37:08

of the way for sure and you know

37:10

what listen I got to be honest weave

37:12

if both of them say dad when they're

37:14

five, six, seven, eight years old, I have

37:17

zero interest in playing soccer, I want to

37:19

do something else, I'll be like, awesome. Awesome.

37:21

I can't imagine how hard it would be,

37:24

not even to say on this really big

37:26

deal, but just your dad played for 19

37:28

years, right? Like, are you, you try to

37:30

follow in their footsteps? I mean, I look

37:33

at Brani, and I'm like, God. How is

37:35

that kid ever going to like have success?

37:37

Like what does success look like for him,

37:40

right? And so I almost look at it

37:42

like, hey, if my kids play, awesome, I

37:44

will try to help them be the best

37:46

they can be. If they don't, great. They

37:49

don't have to worry about any of that.

37:51

They don't have to try to impress anyone.

37:53

They can just go and live their own

37:55

lives and make their own legacies and do

37:58

their own thing, right? And so I look

38:00

at it kind of both ways and whatever,

38:02

whatever they decide to do all support. All

38:05

right, let's rapid fire and get you out

38:07

here. I know you have an MLS journeyman

38:09

pod. Best unless journeyman guest of all time

38:11

is. Kikemara. Who's the one person you would

38:14

want to get in that show now if

38:16

you could choose any person in Major League

38:18

Soccer's extended Marvel universe to so to speak?

38:21

Well, the very very easy answer is messy.

38:23

That would be obviously the coup of the

38:25

century, which means it won't happen obviously. More

38:27

realistic answer. I

38:31

would say, I'm trying to think

38:33

here, I'm trying to give a

38:35

shout out to an old head

38:38

who's been around as long as

38:40

I have, but we're few and

38:42

far between these days. Listen, Weeb,

38:44

that's a tough one, because there's

38:47

not many journeymen that have been

38:49

through the mud like us, like

38:51

me, guards, and Gordo. I've already

38:54

had, we've already had Nag Beyond

38:56

and he's a king, he's a

38:58

legend. So that- I'm gonna throw

39:00

one out that I think could

39:03

be a fun one. Sure. It

39:05

might not be, Fafa Pico could

39:07

be fun I think. Fafo would

39:10

be awesome. That's a, that's a

39:12

great show. I think just, I

39:14

think there's a lot of personality

39:16

there that needs to be. I

39:19

think there's a lot of personality

39:21

there that needs to be. I

39:23

think there's a lot of personality

39:26

after the game. I think. I

39:28

did, I did. I got I

39:30

had traded with Busquets. So, oh,

39:32

wow. Very private. Okay, outside of

39:35

Busquets, best Jersey, most cherished Jersey.

39:37

Doesn't have you the best name?

39:39

It could just be the most

39:42

cherished. Well, it's it's going to

39:44

be obviously the messy Leagues Cup

39:46

Jersey, which that's an obvious one.

39:48

But okay, other than that. It's

39:52

numerous jerseys. It's every Brexhe jersey

39:54

that I own. I'm so happy

39:56

and proud of them. I've got

39:59

Dallas, I've got Orlando, I've got

40:01

Vancouver, I've got Atlanta, I've got

40:03

him all, and he's one of

40:05

my favorite guys of all time.

40:07

And to be honest, let me

40:09

go back, edit this in, he

40:11

would be the perfect journeyman guest.

40:13

Brecht, I can't believe, I'm not,

40:15

I'm actually mad he hasn't come

40:18

on the pod because I've told

40:20

him numerous times that you are.

40:22

our coveted guess. So Brech is

40:24

my answer. There's a Birmingham story

40:26

in there that I'd love to

40:28

hear his perspective on. There's some

40:30

early social media practices that we

40:32

could talk about as well. Yeah,

40:35

that's a that's a definitely a

40:37

good one. Their best defensive midfielder

40:39

in unless history for you. God,

40:41

you're this is tough. Because what

40:43

is Darlington? I don't know. I'm

40:45

not considering him an out and

40:47

out defensive midfielder. It's going to

40:49

be a tie between Azia Lanzo

40:51

and Diego Chara and then with

40:54

a special shout out to Shari

40:56

Joseph I Like the special shout

40:58

out to Shari. He's a little

41:00

bit of a tweener too like

41:02

he he was and he wasn't

41:04

and then that somehow he played

41:06

striker in Seattle as well. Correct.

41:08

Correct. All right your favorite moment

41:10

from your career that is not

41:13

quite done But what is the

41:15

one moment you look back on

41:17

you like I just that was

41:19

so special to me? Two

41:22

moments. Well, God, I'll give you,

41:24

other than I'm gonna take out

41:26

the supporter shields and the trophies,

41:28

because those are really special moments,

41:30

but the most special moment in

41:32

my career is not MLS related.

41:34

It's national team related. I have.

41:36

13 or 14 caps with the

41:38

U.S. men's national team, and only

41:40

one of those caps was a

41:42

World Cup qualifying cap. It was

41:44

in Orlando, and obviously this was

41:46

before Cuba, the game before Cuba.

41:48

We had beaten Panama, I believe

41:50

three. in Orlando. And I subbed

41:52

on for Christian Pulisic and I

41:54

made my World Cup qualifying debut

41:56

and it was my only World

41:59

Cup qualifying cap I ever had.

42:01

And it was in Orlando in

42:03

front of my friends and family.

42:05

And in the hotel, after the

42:07

game, Dart McCarty, who was my

42:09

father, he was over-served at the

42:11

bar. And we were having drinks

42:13

after, just soaking up the moment.

42:15

And you know, he just told

42:17

me that. He's proud of my

42:19

whole career, but you know that

42:21

moment was the most proud he's

42:23

ever been of me in his

42:25

life And that I'll never forget

42:27

that because we there was a

42:29

picture from that night as well

42:31

that is just you can just

42:33

see in someone's face in their

42:36

eyes You know pride is difficult

42:38

to assess in a in a

42:40

picture, but you know that that

42:42

moment for me was great and

42:44

it was one that I'll always

42:46

keep with me So a little

42:48

bit of a different moment not

42:50

MLS related because the supporter shields

42:52

for me are at the top

42:54

winning the first trophy ever for

42:56

the Red Bulls will always be

42:58

a top three moment for me

43:00

but that that World Cup qualifying

43:02

cap where I was with my

43:04

family was was at the top.

43:06

Family affair for the McCardies and

43:08

it is fitting that the next

43:10

game perhaps the last you hope

43:13

not the last is going to

43:15

be in Orlando as well Orlando

43:17

Atlanta. MLS Cup conference semif final

43:19

Sunday 3.30 p.m. Eastern time Dax

43:21

and the five stripes trying to

43:23

pull off another upset. Dax, appreciate

43:25

you man. Everybody go listen to

43:27

the endless journeyman. It's a great

43:29

pod. And yeah, appreciate your time,

43:31

dude. Thanks, guys. Thanks for having

43:33

me.