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Paul Rothrock Joins the Show From Marbella, Spain!
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Transcript
Fashion Advice Request
00:00:00
Speaker
Ari, as a dedicated fashion expert, how do you do it? Day in and day out, I see you rocking the best fits. I need your help. Noah, I'm glad you asked. People ask me that a lot, and I can tell you need an upgrade.
Introduction to Podium
00:00:12
Speaker
Looking for timeless menswear and durable home goods with a touch of the Pacific Northwest? Podium in Edmonds, Washington has you covered. As Edmund's first ever men's general store, Podium offers a curated collection of quality clothing and durable goods featuring domestic and European brands. Whether it's Filson, Dayhen 1920, or Wax London, everything in the store is made to last, be loved, and even passed down.
00:00:35
Speaker
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Full Pull Wines & Hoxon Ferments
00:00:57
Speaker
Edmonds.
00:00:57
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based cellar. Not only are they a local company, but they've been supporting independent Seattle soccer media since 2011 and are run by Sounders fans. They offer the best boutique wines in the world to members of their mailing list with special focus on their home, the Pacific Northwest. Their model is simple.
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Jeremiah's Proposal Story
00:02:16
Speaker
Hoxon Ferments, proud sponsor of the Flaming Hot Press Conference. Trademark Pendant.
00:02:22
Speaker
Scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. What the scorcher today? Well it's gonna be scorcher.
00:02:41
Speaker
So I was in Vegas, and I proposed to her at the top of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel. Did you really? Yeah. This doesn't sound very... This is not my idea of Jeremiah Oshon posing to his... How do you think I... What would you be, your how would you guess I would have proposed?
00:02:56
Speaker
don't know, like, just... Just writing an article? Yeah. Like... A love letter. Yeah, a love letter, maybe. Yeah, I can see that. No, no, no.
00:03:06
Speaker
No. No, i so I proposed to her at the – we were in Vegas for Super Bowl weekend. Oh. for the For the – I think the Patriots-Panthers maybe Super Bowl. Wow. yeah So like 2004. So she's a sports fan as well.
00:03:25
Speaker
She's not a sportsman, but she enjoyed the energy of Vegas during the Super Bowl. And you were you covering it? No. so is there this the like We had done that a couple times. Have you covered
Seattle's Urban Changes
00:03:34
Speaker
a Super Bowl? I've never covered a Super Bowl. well, you know. So what's up? but ah so You have?
00:03:39
Speaker
Wow. Yeah, I've never attended a Super Bowl on any capacity. And speaking of wives, I fumbled Lana Del Rey while I was there. You did? She asked for my Instagram. And I was low-key in a place I was not supposed to be in, and there was security coming towards me And I was like, I can't. I got to go. I got to But there is a photo of me with Lana Del Rey. And she's she's pretty serious to somebody else. I know. yeah like i know But a normal guy. Yeah, it was right before the normal guy. yeah The guy is like You could have been the normal guy. I could have been the normal guy. ah That's a pretty classic ah bag fumble. Yeah, yeah exactly. Yeah, its a great cold open. Yeah. And so I ah I we went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
00:04:18
Speaker
I got down on one knee and I I proposed and I proposed to her. And then there was the only other person up there was someone that was working. And so she took a picture of us and I don't even know what happened. I haven't seen this picture yet because it's like this is like pre digital camera days.
00:04:33
Speaker
That's not that long ago. It was 2004. But I don't
Paul Rothrock's Journey
00:04:36
Speaker
think, I don't know. i don't Wait, and this is when you had the faux goatee that you're talking about? Yeah. And you proposed at the faux Eiffel Tower? Eiffel Tower faux goatee. Exactly. Half shaved back head. No, I did have a normal haircut by then. But I still probably had just the chin goatee. She must really love you.
00:04:54
Speaker
I think she must, right? She must. And ah and then I, so then the second the second part of that story is we had like a second wedding ceremony. Like we got married in, back in at home and we had a second wedding ceremony in Spain where we invited a bunch of friends. And on that same trip, we stopped in France and we went to the Eiffel Tower And I kind of did the yeah I did it again. Yeah. Okay. Nice. And it was a rain. it was raining with a real goatee with a real goatee.
00:05:29
Speaker
Yeah. Ran it back. Exactly. yeah So, ah you know, we're here with Paul Rothrock in Marbella. Beautiful, sunny Marbella. We've had quite the quite the show of weather over here since we've been here. have We brought Seattle over here.
00:05:42
Speaker
Have you had a single nice day? We've had one. We've had one half day of sun. One half day. Was it a ah rip your shirt off and run in the water day, or was it basically you could just be outside? No, it was a brief mate drinking stint with Pedro on the patio in the sun. That's as good as it got. That's as good as it got.
00:06:06
Speaker
But... It's been a good trip for other reasons. would you yeah Would you rather? i still got to think it's nice to get outside to see. Even if you're even it's not the weather you wanted, it's still nice to get out and change the... Yeah, I think so. And Portugal is cool. I've never been in Portugal. Portugal, the the hotel and facilities were awesome. and um Yeah, it's been a lot of time inside with each other, though. So I will say we're a close team at this point.
00:06:32
Speaker
what are you What are you guys getting up to? A lot of cards? A lot of cards. ah Different movies going on. Is there a letterbox? Like ah a group letterbox? Oh, we should have that one. We don't have that yet, but that's not a bad idea. we ah We all told embarrassing stories to each other last night.
00:06:51
Speaker
Whoa. That's that's a bonding. Anything you can share for your... like I'm not going to ask anybody. what's what's What's happened in that room stays in that room. but ah okay There's some good stories, I would say. Who had the best story without telling giving it away?
00:07:07
Speaker
um There were a few that I liked.
Seattle Sports Highlights
00:07:11
Speaker
Uh... God, who? Mussovsky had a pretty good story. I'm not going give that away. Jordan Morris had a good story. Jordan Morris had a good story. Jordan Morris is not striking me as someone who opens up and has shares embarrassing stories. I can't say anything more than that. Okay. you know I like that. um Joe Dale from UW just had a good story.
00:07:32
Speaker
I'll give him that. You not so much? There's a range of stories. i I've done a lot of embarrassing things. So I had like a wide range of Stories to choose from.
00:07:43
Speaker
But I thought my story was pretty good, too. Okay. yeah That's great. yeah the I don't know what I was expecting, but definitely not sharing.
00:07:55
Speaker
hey that is up that is a bonding That's Steve Lenhart's work. He's he's been doing a couple things. like okay Chief Vibe Officer. Chief Vibe Officer, steve vibe officer yeah exactly. all right so How familiar were you with Lenhart's work before? like were you Are you familiar with The Legend of of Lenny?
00:08:12
Speaker
I was not. You were not? I were not. So was this like you met him and he was just a guy and then you've, assuming, learned all about his antics? I've got to know the legend as I've gotten to know But, ah you know, prior to that, I didn't know much about Steve Lenhart. Were you surprised to learn that he was maybe maybe the ultimate MLS heel?
00:08:32
Speaker
Yeah, I was. You were? I was. It makes more sense because I'm getting to know him. okay Okay. But yeah, didn't know that. I didn't know Sounders fans really disliked him. i Oh, yeah. It got a big reaction. people People spotted him on the field and were like, that can't be steve they were like this is there's no way this guy's wearing a Sounders uniform right now. like this is And then you were getting reached out to. You were looking into sources. It's what was happening. oh it was like It was a scandal almost.
00:09:01
Speaker
Yeah. ah Brad Evans. So the funny thing about that is that even when they were playing, Brad Evans knew him from their days in Columbus. And he would always vouch for him. He's like, no, I swear to God, everyone hates him. And he he's the worst on the field. But he is like everyone's best friend. Like everyone loves him off the field. He's the nicest guy. he You know, he everyone gets along with him.
00:09:22
Speaker
And it's like, well, but this is how do you explain this? And it's like, I don't know. It's not my... That's his thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's impressive. That's impressive. But you've got you got a little bit of that in you, don't you think?
00:09:35
Speaker
Maybe not to the same degree. would agree. I'm a bit of a twerp on the field sometimes. And, yeah, I bring the fire occasionally. When do you know you've got to somebody?
00:09:51
Speaker
Um...
00:09:54
Speaker
Man, that's good question. I don't think I'm really ever intentionally trying to get to somebody. Okay. ah I don't think I play it like that. you play it you're getting You're doing it for yourself. like yeah're You're just getting yourself like fired up Yeah, I'm getting myself fired up. It's usually, i don't know, I like to stick behind my guys too. if like I like being the you know coming you know coming behind them like having their back there in some of those moments. um
00:10:27
Speaker
But when I watch myself back, sometimes I'm like, man, who is that guy? yeah That's side of myself I haven't seen before. But I just think that games sometimes bring that out in yeah you. know it's a good It's a good place to have that happen rather than like being that in in your regular life. You can kind of just be like...
00:10:46
Speaker
Oh, shit. That's where you get it out. yeah Does your sister ever call you and be like, I don't i don't know if I like that? they they Anytime you know I get into something like that, they love it.
00:10:59
Speaker
They love it? Yeah. okay They are like, oh,
Paul's Engagement Story
00:11:02
Speaker
like what's he going to do here? and yeah so But yeah, they that's definitely like getting thrown in the family group chat post-game. Whatever that moment is. Yeah.
00:11:15
Speaker
yeah i I am interested to hear about the family group chats reaction to kind of your rise in the Sounders fan base. Like you have become, i feel like almost more than a man it to to to a lot of people. Like you're getting fan edits made. You're getting like everything. Yeah. Do those show up in the family group chat?
00:11:36
Speaker
Sometimes. I mean, my. um They're like, let me embarrass you really. Yeah. understand this. It's mainly from my twin sister. My twin sister's like the troll of the family. Okay.
00:11:47
Speaker
And the troll my own personal troll, so I'm usually getting it from her. And ah you guys are where in the hierarchy of the siblings? We're the two youngest. So we're we're known as Rothrock 2.0 in the family. Okay. And then my three older sisters were Rothrock 1.0.
00:12:04
Speaker
And they all grew up in the UK. And then my parents moved over here 1998. And then... had us in 1999. Oh, so thiss like there's an actual, there's like a clear delineation between the two groups. Well, yeah, there's like an eight-year gap.
00:12:20
Speaker
and Okay. You know, the the three older sisters and, um but yeah, we're we're the two youngest. Okay. Yeah, I would say I kind of, i I get to play both cards. Like, I act like her older or brother sometimes, but then I get to play youngest child at the same time, so.
00:12:39
Speaker
so So you were born first, or who was born first? how was born first. Okay, so. Yeah. But you're also the only boy out of five siblings. So there's got to be a special, whether it's it's good or bad, there is a you're different. There's a special boy element for sure. yes yeah Get away with more get away with less? um Probably both, right? Probably both. It depends who you're talking to. but Your sisters all insist that you get away with everything. Yes. But you feel like there are you're held to a double standard.
00:13:11
Speaker
Yeah, it's... so You know, especially if they're watching this, they would just hammer me for this, but I i been i think I get it pretty good. Okay. Yeah.
00:13:22
Speaker
They... i think that we call the sisters the gauntlet. You know, they've all been... um They all have partners now, and you have to go through the gauntlet as well. My... ah My girlfriend, now fiance, also had to go through the gauntlet of the four sisters. They're scary. yeah that's gotta to be one That's got to be pretty intimidating for a new and ah new any new person into that group, especially eight-year gap between your next youngest. yeah And so how old is the oldest?
00:13:52
Speaker
The oldest is 13 years older than me. Okay. yeah So this is i mean these are generational difference. Yeah, it's true. they are yeah They are slightly different generation. They're like millennials. Yeah, they they're millennials. Yeah. yeah Sometimes when my twin and I are a little upset with them or like we're acting weird. Rumors.
00:14:12
Speaker
No, we just clock it up to them being millennials, right? Yeah, they're just unk. Yeah. They're just unk. Sorry, bro. Exactly. Exactly. They don't got TikTok. They don't got internet. Right. don't know. They don't know. yeah I want to know a little bit more about, you know, you're talking about girlfriend, fiance. I'll line this one up to Jeremiah because asked this earlier. but Yeah, give give us tell us about, what can you tell us about your fiance? How did you guys meet?
00:14:38
Speaker
ah Her name's Lucy.
Team Dynamics and Bonding
00:14:40
Speaker
Okay. So we can cut the fiance thing. I think fiance is kind of a weird word. and It's in English. It's like, yeah yeah. It isn't? I don't think so. French? It's got to be French. It sounds French. Yeah, that we don't. Yeah. you know yeah we We don't go to the Eiffel Tower around here, clearly. Unless it's in Vegas. Yeah. Yeah, ah Lucy, she's she's awesome. we I said to you guys, she was like one of those girls I met and just kind of knew right away.
00:15:07
Speaker
um we The story goes, we actually met a few times prior to meeting later on as adults. And I think the timing was, it was all about the timing. But the first time we met was at Bumbershoot, a true Seattle love story in 2016. Who are headliners this Bumbershoot?
00:15:27
Speaker
sixteen who's the head who are the headliners in this in this bumershoe I'm pretty sure it was the J. Cole year. We can fact check that. Yeah. We can fact check that.
00:15:38
Speaker
I, you know, think it was like J. Cole. I'm, you know, i I had been to two or three around that time, but like, you know, Maybe it was the Kendrick year. Maybe that was this. I think it was Kendrick Lamar year.
00:15:54
Speaker
Macklemore might have been there where he was like throwing Dick's burgers into the crowd. yeah um Yeah, we met there day one. you know, things are looking pretty good. Day two, I'm like, you know, this could go somewhere. Day three, silent treatment from her.
00:16:12
Speaker
Like,
Seattle's Transit and Development
00:16:14
Speaker
you know, and then i'm I'm analyzing, you know, the way I was acting at J. Cole and, you know, whatever else, like what I could have done better and um
00:16:27
Speaker
felt like a lost cause for a sec. So fast forward three years later, Sasquatch Music Festival. At the Gorge. Wow. It was Macklemore and Death Cab for a Cutie. Death Cab for Cutie. That's good. that' so you nice And Ryan Lewis. Let's not forget Ryan Lewis. That was did the Ryan Lewis years. Yeah, it was. yeah Great album. Yeah.
00:16:50
Speaker
so anyways, Sasquatch meet again and same thing happens. Is it the same group of friends? Uh, for the most, yeah, it's kind of similar. Okay. But you know, we kind of run into each other again, like, wow, this is funny. And, uh, same thing happens day one, day two, it's things are moving somewhere, somewhere. And then day three, she wanted nothing to do with me.
00:17:15
Speaker
And, um, Yeah. Third time's the charm, I guess. How did you meet her the third time? Third time I met her at a really bad bar in Fremont.
00:17:28
Speaker
ah No disrespect to the owners of this bar, but personally i think it's a bad bar. It's called it's not my type of bar. LTD. I was going to guess LTD. I was 100% going to guess LTD. I have a good LTD story if we ever want to hear it.
00:17:44
Speaker
ah And yeah, we met there and just timing was a lot better and um started dating really soon after that. and did you did you you Did you tell her, you know you've blown me off twice.
00:17:59
Speaker
Yeah, you know, actually there was one moment where you know she's kind of, she's leaving for the night and I... you know, asks for her number and she's like, pretty sure you still have it in your phone.
00:18:11
Speaker
Cause I have some, ah I have a couple of messages from you that are left on red. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I'm like, oh my God. But yeah, shout out to Jackson Reagan. He was actually the Jackson and Andrew were the guys who dragged me to come out that night. Nice. And, uh,
00:18:29
Speaker
I did not want to go, and that's when I met Lucy. Yeah. and There's that story. And it just and it was ah it was a love story from there. Yeah, from there, it's it's been smooth sailing. Okay. It's been awesome. um So, yeah.
00:18:45
Speaker
That is a Seattle love story. It is a Seattle. she's a she's a real she's a Seattle girl? Seattle girl. Roosevelt High School. Eckstein Middle School, even? Eckstein Middle School. yeah that's that That's a good one. Is it Eckstein or Eckstein? I think it's Eckstein. Okay.
00:19:00
Speaker
I haven't heard Eckstein. that guy You sound like you're from the Bay Area. for Well, and this is i had my kids were going to preschool up in that area, and I would hear it both ways, and I would always...
Paul's Career Journey
00:19:09
Speaker
It's the transplants, man. Yeah. that's a good i mean that was a That was a fair dig. Yeah.
00:19:15
Speaker
I can't even claim real Seattle. I'm from Snoqualmie. Oh, that's fair. I mean, Snoqualmie's cool. you can You can rag on the east side. It's okay. Okay, so when you meet somebody out and they say they're from Seattle and they say, oh um they they're like I'm so from Bellevue. I'm from Bellevue. And you go, where you why were you why are you lying earlier?
00:19:35
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's... I don't know if that's Seattle. I mean, you can be a sounder from Bellevue, but I don't think you're... No. That's not Seattle. If you have to cross the bridge... Yeah, come on. Yeah.
00:19:46
Speaker
it It used to be, like, the sticks out there, too. Like, now it's super urban and whatever, but, like... This is divisive content we're getting into. Redmond? Man, Redmond's changed a lot. Dude, it's crazy. It's like... You're gonna be able ride the light rail to Redmond. Redmond, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, pretty pretty soon. yeah Yeah, like next month. Yeah.
00:20:05
Speaker
Yeah. That's pretty it's Listen, I'm excited. I'm a train guy. Like, I like the train. and It's sick. Me too. I want more train. More train. More train. Where would you, if you could pick anywhere right now for the light rail to extend, like if you could just snap your fingers, where are you putting...
00:20:22
Speaker
track down Oh, I have lots of thoughts on this, actually. Oh, let's go. Oh, good. I wish they had put the light rail on Aurora. There we go. because That is the correct answer. Because ah right now it's still a commuter rail. It was designed as a commuter rail and not as a... This real urbanist content. Yeah, and not a, not a you know, a... A metro. A metro. Yeah, absolutely. I think if they had done it on Aurora, where there are already established neighborhoods, would have really grown Aurora more. Would have helped clean up Aurora, too, in some places.
00:20:55
Speaker
think Aurora would be great. like we need We need some east-west going further west towards like Ballard and whatnot as well. It's impossible to get to Ballard without driving there. ah like the no it just had from my ah Because I live on the hill. I live by volunteer. okay And it's like, I'm taking an hour bus ride. i don't want to pay $50 for an Uber. like there was If there was a light rail that essentially mimicked the 44 bus...
00:21:20
Speaker
That would be huge. That would be ideal. also think another thought that Lisa and I have a lot, there should be much more water taxi situations. Much more. You should be able to go from
Seattle Sports Culture
00:21:35
Speaker
Capitol Hill to Queen Anne.
00:21:37
Speaker
I will like that. yeah Or South Lake Union to Ballard on a little water taxi. I agree. so Are you interested in running for like Sound Transit board?
00:21:48
Speaker
Like, is that is that the future? like kaie wilson Does Katie Wilson need to reach out to you and get you on S.K.A.? Shout out Katie Wilson. ah You know, she came up on our pod. Oh, really? Yeah. Twice. Twice.
00:22:01
Speaker
Cool. She came on Lobbing Scorchers twice. Yeah. She's smart. She does. She has to reach the people. And one of those times was when she was just a lowly. She was polling 0%. She was the go buddy currently in the early stages of her candidacy.
00:22:15
Speaker
She wasn't nobody, to be fair. She was still a community organizer. Yeah, but she was not considered a serious contender. I think it's so cool what she did with her campaign with the... Are they called campaign dollars? Yeah, the vouchers. The vouchers. Yeah.
00:22:30
Speaker
It's so impressive to me that she raised like $400,000 or something. off Oh, I didn't know that. That's cool. Yeah, she maxed out the amount you can get. You can go door-to-door and get people to basically...
00:22:41
Speaker
basically commit, I think it's $100. Yeah, it's $100. And she did, you know, she found 40,000 people to do that. I met her at the Capitol Hill Farmers Market. She was there with her daughter. That's bad math.
00:22:54
Speaker
She was there with her daughter signing people up. Oh, really? She was there every every Sunday. She was everywhere. I see her all the time. She lives up there, too, and it's like she was grinding it out. Yeah, she Real Seattleite. She did. She grinded out. From New York.
00:23:09
Speaker
Real Seattleite from New York. a she But that's that's what a real Seattleite is these days. That's true. Is a transplant. like i i don't I don't claim to be from Seattle, but I definitely feel... kinship with seattle because uh there's all i mean at this point i've been there for 15 plus years so it's like my both my kids are born in seattle so i think that gives me some bona fides but it does you know i compared to most people that i meet i've been in seattle longer than them so it's like yeah what other seattle changes do you want to see oh yeah i feel like you have a platform as like a seattle voice now you know
00:23:44
Speaker
This is putting the hot seat now. Water taxi. if Water taxis, trains. East-west trains. Aurora train. Yeah. I think a great part of Seattle is the the parks. yeah And I just hope they like continue to maintain the parks as they have.
00:24:01
Speaker
and I've been living really close to Schmitz Creek in West Seattle. That's an amazing park. But all those Olmstead-designed parks how are yeah are awesome. Look at this guy. Olmstead.
00:24:14
Speaker
Onsides are cool, cool group of people. I'm a big, I'm a big, if I could, if I was a soccer player, I'd be a city park designer. There you go. Yeah. Yeah. You could definitely get into that after. Yeah. Who knows? We'll see. Do you, what do you think of the waterfront? The new waterfront?
00:24:30
Speaker
uh i like it i there's a selfish part of me that really liked that drive oh yeah so it's a bit it was the best view yeah home from the airport like at sunset and whatnot of course but what they've done is pretty cool um Yeah, I don't um i don't know. um it's Seattle's changed a lot. You know, South Lake Union's like a whole new place now. yeah and I'm not... it It feels a little weird being down there. It feels like you're in like a architect's rendering of a place, you know?
00:25:03
Speaker
It's not real. it is not i mean There's never anyone walking around. never anyone walking around. The restaurants are ah oddly have the weirdest hours. It is odd.
00:25:13
Speaker
yeah It's too sanitary. I like a little grunge. like Yeah, I do too. yeah I think if i like if I were really to talk about the changes I want Seattle, I might start getting in trouble. So I'm going to okay. yeah We'll keep you track. Let's turn the Seattle train to
00:25:33
Speaker
Safeco Field, aka T-Mobile whatever. team up What is it?
Global Events and Sports
00:25:38
Speaker
T-Mobile Park. I heard you talk a lot about behind the scenes, you know how excited you were to see the Mariners in the playoffs. yeah You did the celebration, which went crazy viral, which was cool. um how was How was watching the Mariners play and get so close? like I want just want to know like where you were feeling through all of that. Dude, it was...
00:26:02
Speaker
It was awesome. I mean, this is this last year, i was just talking to somebody about this. This might be the best year of Seattle sports. I don't even know what would be i close. set I mean, you got the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
00:26:15
Speaker
You guys won a trophy in front of 70,000 people. Against Messi. Against Messi. And the Barstow boys. And the Barstow boys. Mariners get to the ALCS. UW wins the men's soccer title.
00:26:27
Speaker
Storm like almost pulled off a yeah crazy upset in the playoffs. Kraken are good too, right? No? Okay. Kraken haven't been great, right? No, they're not great. Yeah. Shout to the Kraken kids. They all watch. They love us.
00:26:41
Speaker
ah Yeah. It's, I mean, going back to the Mariners, um cool connection was Dan Wilson was my little league coach. Oh, come on. Yeah. So ah that's about as shallow as it gets. Yeah. um His son, Eli, and I were best friends on our ah Pony League baseball team. And, you know, we did a little all-star team couple years there, too, where Dan was the coach there. um but
00:27:11
Speaker
Yeah, then seeing him take over the Mariners and do what they did was just like, yeah, especially cool. And um yeah, i grew up going to Mariners games where they sucked.
00:27:23
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Like you could get tickets for like $6 in the bleachers and... it it wasn't even that fun to go to them. But, um you know, I was, i luckily I had like a brief stint where they were kind of good and like, you know, think like, oh, four.
00:27:40
Speaker
Yeah. I was like pretty young where we had a good team. it had like Edgar and Brett Boone. Yeah. Each row. and And, but yeah, that was sweet. And then the Seahawks too, like, and they're a cool team. They're they're like on such a fun team to support. Like,
00:28:00
Speaker
everything I watched about them and all the interviews I see, I like what they're saying about each other. i like how, you know, they talk about their quarterback and like how they all rally behind each other.
00:28:12
Speaker
um coaches, coaches, dope. It is kind of crazy how that whole team just kind of flipped over in the last three seasons. you know yeah Different quarterback. The only person who's really stayed there is the GM.
00:28:29
Speaker
Completely changed back to that like philosophy that won them the their first Super Bowl. And now you get to play against the Patriots in the Super Bowl for revenge, and everyone thinks going to blow them out. yeah Yeah. What do you think? what do you think is going to happen?
00:28:45
Speaker
I think it's going be a closer game than people are saying, but I don't know. I'm scared too. Yeah. That loss for me was like so hard still to this day. So, so how, ah when do you guys get back?
00:28:58
Speaker
We get back to sixth. so you're going to get back the day before we get back the day before. so so you're to be jet lag watching the Superbowl. Yeah. It's going to be a couch day. Yeah. Is there going to be a a gathering of Sounders fan or Sounder players to watch the game? Are you watching with anyone?
00:29:13
Speaker
you know i I think we're all going to take some time away from each other. but You had a lot of time together. Yeah. Like, no one contacted me. i'm Yeah. But, ah yeah.
00:29:26
Speaker
I'm to have to try and convince Lucy to watch it because she's ah she's not really a football fan. Never has been. Actually, neither am I. I don't watch a whole lot of football. I'm good for the Seahawks. But, ah yeah. Yeah. Will she go to your games? Will she watch soccer? She watches... she That's the only sport she really likes is soccer. So it worked out. That does work out. Yeah.
00:29:46
Speaker
All right. Not to bring in too much back this, but when you meet her, she knows who you are because you've met her. Yeah. But does she know... like does you How aware is she of your job, your profession?
00:29:59
Speaker
Um...
Team Bonding and Growth
00:30:01
Speaker
She's somewhat aware. Her dad actually, her dad's actually like a avid Sounders fan and Soundert Heart subscriber. Oh, let's go. There we go. yeah So he was like, oh yeah. Like, you know, this was in 2023 we met each other. So, you know, I i was in a different place. You're st starting our team. yeah Yeah. And he's like, oh yeah, I know that guy. You know, he and he was like, Lucy had mentioned that we were going on date with each other. He's like,
00:30:30
Speaker
He scored against Houston. So, ah yeah, he's awesome as well. But she has never really cared for any of that stuff, particularly. i mean, obviously, it's it's been a fun thing to be a part of together, but ah she's a she likes to stay out of the spotlight. and um Respect that. Yeah.
00:30:53
Speaker
It is that meteoric rise is crazy. Like, do you get you get recognized quite a bit now? ah Only when you're being interviewed by Sounder Hart in random places.
00:31:07
Speaker
Yeah, I think in Seattle, it's like mostly... I think it's still a nice balance. Like people who do say hi, I appreciate what they say. They usually say nice things. And, you know, I still feel like I can live a pretty normal life. Yeah. And that's a good place to be. You're still doing your own grocery shopping.
00:31:25
Speaker
Still doing my own grocery shopping. Well, even Messi does. He goes to Publix. That's right. Yeah. Or at least that one time. That one time he went. Yeah. Yeah. ah But no, it's... ah Yeah, it's it's been... That's that's been funny. it's There's been a bit of an uptick in that, but... Has it been awkward? Have you had any awkward situations like that yet where you just...
00:31:47
Speaker
wish sitting there going how do I get out of it you know that must happen for sure people are weird people are weird people are weird weird people people are weird you're sitting next to two of them yeah yeah two definite weirdos I'm weird too ah but I would say for the most part especially in Seattle like that doesn't happen you get the occasional and You know, one thing I've been doing sometimes is pretending like I'm not him and I'm actually, people just keep, you know, keep asking me about that, but I'm his doppelganger. And that's kind of a funny bit to play. That's funny bit, yeah.
00:32:21
Speaker
But. You're giving away the bit now. though Yeah, that's true. You run into somebody who days this, they're not Paul Rothrock, you know who it is. Yeah. not but starting a new instagram account not paul ron yeah like yeah that's uh that's pretty good oh my god i will ask did you know the lore of lobbing scorchers the first episode um I knew that there were two guys or so who were really shouting my praises. and yeah know
00:32:52
Speaker
i do i do think I need to take the time. to I think you've been you know you've you've played a part in... in uh in all wow look at that oh my god i gotta say thank you um but yeah i think like at the first you know my my family thought it was hilarious like who how do these guys even know who this kid is um and they you know they knew about lob and scorchers so we know shout out they they knew They knew.
Paul's Career Reflections
00:33:22
Speaker
um
00:33:24
Speaker
But, yeah, it's turned into – I mean, that was kind of you guys' first big call. Oh, yeah. Nailed it. Yeah. I know we peaked right away. Really early. Like, we really – Really early. Like, we always say, we're like, that was it.
00:33:36
Speaker
That was it. We got it one right. Like, we can ride that coattail until the end of time, until the end your, you know, whatever. keep giving – keep reminding people. you You're able to keep reminding people, being like, we were there first. We were there first. did I feel some loyalty to you guys to keep keep proving as well. Very good. Yeah, I know. You heard it here first. Paul Rothrock is actually doing it for Lobbing Scorchers. And we are also doing it for Paul. Exactly. It's a symbiotic relationship. It is, yeah. We're like the the little the little guys that like swim with the whale. you know and Right.
00:34:07
Speaker
You're the orca, and we're the orca. I'm the orca. Yeah, that's a real compliment. Yeah. Especially for a Seattle kid. Exactly. Yeah. Anything you want to share? what's like if What have you been thinking about? Like, if you had to start a podcast right now, what would you cooking on? There we go. That's a good question. um Urbanist podcast, obviously. What have I been thinking? I mean...
00:34:30
Speaker
I think it's a crazy time right now. I've been thinking a lot about just yeah how trivial what we're doing is compared to what's going on um in the rest of the world. I think it's a really scary time.
00:34:43
Speaker
And, ah yeah, there's a lot of crooks out there that are... making big decisions that had big implications for a lot of people. and um yeah even in Even in Seattle, it's like this strange moment that we're in. Everything that's happening with ice right now is scary. I was say, there's going to be a lot more attention. i mean as the World Cup gets closer... Yeah. None of this is seemingly cooling down.
00:35:12
Speaker
No, no. and it's it's I think it's going to be a really strange culmination of events. you know i think I've been asked a couple times about excitement towards the World Cup, and yeah, I'm excited, but I'm also i'm scared and anxious about what that's even going to look like, if people are even going to show up. Yeah.
00:35:30
Speaker
um Yeah, i you know i don't I don't know i don't even know what it's going to look like here in six months. like It's to be, sorry, not Marbella, Spain. high i yeah where It's the Seattle weather. It's tricky. Yeah, it It's tripping.
00:35:48
Speaker
But, yeah, I want to bring that up, too, because I haven't been able to talk about that yet. And, you know, we've just been soccer, soccer, soccer. But there's, you know, a lot of people are scared right now. And I want to recognize that. And it's like, yeah, it's a weird moment.
00:36:04
Speaker
You know, and not to get too deep into this, but is that a conversation among the players? I mean, because this is stuff that is very real for a lot of these players. It's not just a theoretical thing. It's something that if they're not literally dealing with themselves, they probably have family members who are.
00:36:19
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. We talk about it. i mean, I think, I think, you know, the crossroad between sports and politics is always a little tricky with people. You know, it's some people want to cross that road and others don't.
00:36:35
Speaker
You know, you saw in saw with even Weah's comments on the World Cup and what the coach had to think about that. and um But, yeah, we talk about it, definitely, and there's a few who are more inclined to. and um But, yeah, I mean, even the stuff that was happening in Minnesota last week and two weeks ago, that was kind of a heavy week. We learned of, you know, Steph's mother passing away, and then we're watching some crazy stuff happen in the news. Yeah.
00:37:07
Speaker
um you know Those were moments that we shared together and in Portugal too. so I don't know i don't know what else to say there.
00:37:19
Speaker
Yeah, it's hard to be. I'm sure like at one point feeling connected to it, but also being busy and and feeling disconnected in a way of like, I'm sure it's hard as a as a public figure, but also sports player. And like where does my voice fit into all of this? like Yeah, finding that for sure. And you want to be, you know,
00:37:39
Speaker
You want to feel like what you're saying is authentic and if you are putting your voice behind something, it's something that you're well-researched in and something you really believe in. and um Yeah, and also how to play that with.
00:37:56
Speaker
you know, being part of a big organization. Yeah. Team dynamics are different. Not everyone is from the same places. Totally. Agrees with the same things. Totally. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And you're not just representing yourself, but you're representing the Sounders. And, um, so yeah, those are, those are things I've talked about with my family too. It's like how to, how to be intentional about that. Yeah.
00:38:21
Speaker
Yeah.
Seattle Sports Ambitions
00:38:23
Speaker
And do you, I don't know. Is that something where you you're on a team here where you have almost everyone has been here for multiple years. Does that make it easier or does that make it harder to have those internal conversations you link?
00:38:37
Speaker
That's good question. I think ah think both and. I think there are dynamics in a group that has been together for a while that are easy to then continually play into, which I think we can fall victim to sometimes.
00:38:57
Speaker
And at the same time, you are already starting at a good base level, and so you can go deeper sometimes than you're... you know credit to like exercise like we did with steve last night like those are things that like tasting take things maybe a step further and um i always feel like sharing food together is a great way to to get to know people a bit better and we've done a lot of that on this trip it's like I don't know the math on that, but calories a day. Calories in.
00:39:31
Speaker
But yeah, like i I do feel like I know a lot of guys much better this trip. you know I roomed with Pedro this trip, and we got to talk about a lot of things that...
00:39:43
Speaker
you know In the everyday running of you know being an athlete and our day-to-day, don't get to talk about it. One of them being you know us being good friends but being in competition with each other. right and um just like you know just talking back through different moments of that coincided with You know, some highs for him and some lows for me and some lows for me and some highs for him and vice versa and how to still be able to celebrate each other in those moments. And like athletics are weird in that way and that you're.
00:40:23
Speaker
you know Even in practice, you're like you get three reps on the left wing, and then you're so actively switching with somebody else to then go and get the next three reps. like that's a weird that's a That's a weird thing that you're Yeah, like you're battling them, but also you need to have good rapport. and You're battling them, and you're friends, and you have good rapport, and you also are competing with each other, and you're making each other better. Yeah.
00:40:51
Speaker
Do you guys bond over Because he comes from a family of a lot of girls also, right? I actually think he's mostly... He has two brothers and a sister. okay. ah But big family as well. family.
00:41:03
Speaker
Yeah, I think we have a lot of similarities. Obviously, different backgrounds and whatnot. But um yeah, he's an awesome dude. and um But he's becoming a good friend of mine. So that's been cool.
00:41:16
Speaker
And his English seems to be getting... Pretty good, right? Yeah, really good. Yeah. And I think that also helps our friendship, right? So we can communicate with each other better. and um So shout out to him for... I'm still working on my... My Spanish is conversational. but Okay. We mostly talk in English.
00:41:35
Speaker
I'm trying to get it to more Yeah. yeah I'm interested. you know Obviously, big offseason for you. Chose to come back to Seattle. That rocks for us
Paul's Reflections and Future Plans
00:41:46
Speaker
personally. yeah yeah For me too. For you too. um i think there was i think i think people would probably be interested to know. I know you've talked about it with Jeremiah a lot, but maybe just a little bit of...
00:41:59
Speaker
what that process is like as a player, like divorced from the like specifics of it, but just like the feeling and emotion, especially as, you know, it's your hometown club, it's your hometown, like you have roots here, like all of that stuff, you know?
00:42:13
Speaker
Yeah. It's a, um, it's not an easy process to go through. i think I felt like I took a ah few university courses and some different things of, you know, ah negotiation and uh yeah like how to how to carry yourself in different settings and um how to make decisions know was the first decision i had made up to this point that had you know years of implications you know five ten years down the line and and also the first big decision i made with a partner too so
00:42:54
Speaker
um But yeah, I think you know it's it's tricky because you're wanting to look out for yourself and everyone's telling you to look out for yourself and your best interests, but um that's colliding with you know what the club's best interest is. and And then you're also pairing that with um you know holding your cards close and...
00:43:23
Speaker
and know um
00:43:28
Speaker
you know, really understanding who are the people that you want to tell information to and who you can trust and not i'll report it. Exactly. not that And then, you know, and then getting to the moment of like, I never thought I was going to enter free agency either. So getting to that place, um,
00:43:51
Speaker
was a surprise, but also like really glad that I went for it. Cause I was able to, you know, really know what I was giving up to stay and really know, also validate my own opinion of myself within the international and the domestic market.
00:44:12
Speaker
Um, but, Yeah, it's like, you know, you're thinking about and your career that's really short and has, you know, implications for the rest of your life in terms of how you play it. And, um you know, you're also thinking about the ramifications for the other people in your life, like my family and my partner. And, um, so all of that played into it and I'm really happy with what I chose.
00:44:43
Speaker
Uh, took a lot of time to get there, but, uh, yeah, it was, it was, I'm, I'm good to be, I'm glad to be on the other side of it too. I have to imagine there is some, maybe I'm wrong, but I would imagine there's on some level some sort of like union solidarity as well where you don't want to sell yourself too short just for, like, it's yeah not the biggest implications, but every free agent that goes into free agency, there is some, you know, domino effect of how it impacts what the next guy is going to look for. And you have, and like, there's got to be some pressure to, even if you want to return to be, go through an honest process.
00:45:22
Speaker
Yeah, and for the next home you know the next hometown kid as well who's going through a similar process. like I'm thinking about that too of like you know what does this mean for the next guy like me going forward. and um Yeah, definitely.
00:45:39
Speaker
i have I have one more, if you have one. But I want to know in my view of your career thus far up until this moment, there was this kind of culminating point and this kind of like perfect story, you know, to end of the chapter and move to the next chapter, which was you score that final goal in League's Cup, right, after Brian says the famous quote and all of that. But... You know, I was looking back, I'm thinking about when we talked to you about being in Toronto and you're like, I didn't know if I was going to play soccer again. like yeah Leaving that, joining the Defiance, being like, I will do anything I can to work my way up. You know, you make it happen in the Open Cup.
00:46:22
Speaker
Get your minutes into into the team. And then now, you know, it's this like culminating moment. Do you... I don't know, your your celebration in that moment made it feel and look like you you realized what that symbolized in the grand scheme of things. Yeah, get shivers thinking about that moment because it was a special moment. I mean, that final was so cool. i was We were talking about this the other day with some of the guys. Like, there will never be anything...
00:46:48
Speaker
Like that game right again. We will win more championships here, but they will the it'll be a different feeling. Absolutely. It's a different moment. And, you know, to beat Messi and his buddies with a bunch of Seattle kids and a Seattle coach.
00:47:09
Speaker
In front of 70,000 fans. In front of 70,000 in the summer at home.
00:47:13
Speaker
at home I mean, and like it's the end of the movie. And to beat him thoroughly and then to have the antics that followed and um it was it was awesome. um And yeah, definitely a career highlight.
00:47:29
Speaker
Just like the the actual feeling of like, you know, that moment right there when it was just like game over, you know, it, it did feel awesome. Um, and yet it's, you know, the part of the sport that's hard too, is like, you know, now you're onto the next thing. Yeah.
00:47:50
Speaker
And it's like striving for, the next moment of things and there's going to peaks and valleys in between now and then and i don't know what that looks like you know had i ever imagined that that was going to happen no i'm sure i When you're freezing your butt off in Toronto, you're like... Bob Bradley is apparently telling you, don't think you're cut out for this league. Yeah. Well, that quote has been misinterpreted a little bit, that Bob Bradley thing. yeah I was little bummed that was the first time I heard the quote.
00:48:20
Speaker
Yeah. He actually was... ah you know He was like... he he was That was like so what I needed, and he was just really honest with me. Sure. think I wasn't expecting. i had typically gotten spiel the spiel of It's not you. It's us. It's not you. We got some other stuff going on that we still have to figure out. And he was just like, you're not ready.
00:48:45
Speaker
you're not You're not ready yet. and And I wasn't. And i you know I don't know if, like, I'm not sitting here with you guys right now if I hadn't had my Toronto experience. yeah and And that was, yeah, there were some dark moments there for sure. I would i was definitely thinking about...
00:49:04
Speaker
you know, quitting on different occasions. ah I had multiple conversations with my family and my sisters where they were telling me that, you know, there's never a right time to hang up the boots. and and And I don't know what was, like, driving me in that moment to so to keep doing it, but I just felt like,
00:49:25
Speaker
The warm embrace of Wade Webber's arms. yeah Something like that. It just felt like and its felt like this was not how it was supposed to go, and it's not going to end like this. and and The gut feeling. Yeah, the gut my gut was not telling me to to stop.
00:49:42
Speaker
Yeah, I think you told me when we when I last talked to you in depth about this stuff was you you moved home and you're like, I'm just going to try and figure it out one more time. Yeah. I'm going one more shot. Yeah.
00:49:54
Speaker
And even in those moments, you know I had said as an academy kid, I'm never going to play for Tacoma. Because I was a ah kid who was 17 who, you know, got called up to a few games and played there and, you know, saw the locker room at Starfire and was like, I'm never doing this. And then never say never. was on Tacoma as a 24-year-old, you know, living in my parents' basement. So...
00:50:17
Speaker
Sometimes humbling things are what keep us, I mean, being humbled like that sometimes kind of is what what we need, right? Yeah, very true. The good headline, if I was going to title the YouTube video, it would be From Parents' Basement to Dethroning Messi.
00:50:33
Speaker
I'm just saying I give you your memoir. ti Exactly. There you go. That's his memoir. I like it. well then They won the MLS championship. So now ah now i'm now we're we have to dethrone that. i that's a I like that. I think it's like it's possible.
00:50:51
Speaker
I do too. I like our team. yeah What do you like about your team this year? I think we're even more deep than we were last year. Which is crazy. Which is crazy and great.
00:51:03
Speaker
um I think we have a lot to build on this year. You know, last year we played the first 14 games or something in a five-back. Right. And ah now I think a lot of the concepts that we've been, that we were like really...
00:51:19
Speaker
working on through the summer we can we're just building on which is great um i think the group is looking at you know we're we have our eyes on the supporter shield which i don't think we were talking about in the same way last year so i think there's like ambition to the group and um Yeah, it's to be an interesting season. I think it's going to be the like some of the most... It's going hard season, and the resilient teams are going to shine this year because that middle summer break is really weird.
00:51:54
Speaker
The away games and the home games combination. Longest road trip in team history. Yeah. And the road trip last year was really good for us.
00:52:04
Speaker
That big road stretch that we had, we ended up kind of turning around on the backside. Same with 2024 as well. Some of our long road trip stretches following that were like kind of a closer team. and so Yeah. Well, that seems like a good place.
00:52:21
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Paul, you've been wonderful with your time. Thanks, guys. we This is where we would say, shill whatever you want. You one we got to shill.
00:52:31
Speaker
You got a crypto-coinda? Cut the cameras. Cut the cameras. No, I got nothing. You got to just go into a beautiful, stormy day, which is barely...
00:52:47
Speaker
Yesterday was not bad. i got I got to tell you, I got into town. i was like, no, I love this. Today I woke up and I was like, oh, this isn't too bad went out inside. and it I'm like, no, this is actually not it's not fun. Yeah. No, this is a Seattle's got this beat right now. Oh, yeah. ya Yeah, for sure. No, thanks, guys. And thanks for being here. and Yeah.
00:53:06
Speaker
Thanks being here. See you back home. Yeah. All right. Bye.