Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
The Interviews from the Sounders Marbella preseason - a sit-down with Paul Rothrock
443 Plays14 days ago
(This is the first of three interviews that were done while Jeremiah and Noah Riffe of Lobbing Scorchers were visiting the Sounders preseason in Marbella, Spain.) Jeremiah and Noah get the chance to sit down and talk to Seattle native Paul Rothrock. We also learn where Jeremiah proposed to his wife.
Follow Noah Riffe on BlueSky and YouTube.
Sponsor
🍷 Full Pull Wines: Love wine but not wine clubs? Check out the boutique wine seller who lets you browse their selections and pick whatever you want. You can join their mailing list here: https://fullpullwines.com/signup.php
***
Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which has been primarily listener supported since 2023. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.
Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase the Sounder at Heart physical magazine, IV or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.
“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Seattle Sounders Legacy
00:00:01
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. Here we go.
00:00:11
Speaker
Come on. Hey, O'Shaan. Let's go. The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winners. Here comes Ruiz Diaz through the middle to crown it for Seattle.
00:00:25
Speaker
The Sounders rule the region.
00:00:58
Speaker
what was the thought process in terms of who you decided to use and who you didn't? Ever since I wrote a commentary that we didn't take the outcome seriously.
Sponsorship and Personal Stories
00:01:18
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
00:01:41
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 proposing to his. How do you think I, what would you be, your how would you guess I would have proposed?
00:01:56
Speaker
don't know, like just. Just writing an article? Yeah. Like. A love letter. Yeah, a love letter. Maybe can see that. No, no, no. No.
00:02:07
Speaker
No, I, so I proposed to her at the, ah we were in Vegas for Superbowl weekend. Oh, for the, for the, I think the Patriots Panthers, maybe Superbowl. Wow. So like 2004.
00:02:23
Speaker
Is that Cam Newton? So she's a sports fan as well. She's not a sports fan, but she enjoyed the energy of Vegas during the Super Bowl. And were you covering? No. We had done that a couple times. Have you covered a Super Bowl? I've never covered a Super Bowl. Oh, well, you know. Some of us have. You have?
00:02:39
Speaker
i've never yeah I've never attended a Super one in any capacity. and Speaking of wives, I fumbled Lana Del Rey while I was there. he 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. i was like, I can't. I gotta to go. but There is a photo of me with Lana Del Rey. She's pretty serious to somebody else. i know yeah like i know but i know A normal guy. right before the normal guy. could have been the normal guy. i could have been the normal guy. ah That's a pretty classic bag fumble. Yeah, yeah exactly. This great cold open. Yeah, and so i ah i we went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
00:03:18
Speaker
i got down on one knee, and I i proposed and i proposed to her, and 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 even seen this picture yet. Because this is like pre-digital camera days. Yeah.
00:03:34
Speaker
That's not that long ago. It was 2004. But I don't 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? Faux Eiffel Tower faux goatee. Exactly. shaved back head. No, I did have a normal haircut by then. But I still probably had like the, just the chin goatee thing. She must really love you.
00:03:54
Speaker
I think she must, right? She must. And, uh, 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.
00:04:15
Speaker
And on that same trip, we stopped in France and we went to the Eiffel Tower. And I kind of did it again. And it was raining. With a real goatee.
00:04:26
Speaker
With a real goatee. We ran it back. Exactly. yeah So, ah you know, we're here with Paul Rothrock in Marbella. Beautiful, sunny Marbella. Yes. We've had quite the quite the show of weather over here since we've been here. have you we brought Seattle over here.
00:04:42
Speaker
Have you had a single nice day? We've had one. We've had one half day of of a 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 you know is a brief you know ah 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.
00:05:06
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.
Seattle's Infrastructure and Public Perception
00:05:18
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. And Portugal is cool. I've never been in Portugal, Portugal, the, the hotel and facilities were awesome. And, um,
00:05:27
Speaker
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. what are you What are you guys getting up to? A lot of cards? lot ah lot of cards. ah Different movies going on. Is there a letterbox, like ah a group letterbox situation? 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.
00:05:51
Speaker
Whoa. that's That's a bonding... okay 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 say Who had the best story without telling giving it away?
00:06:07
Speaker
um There were a few that I liked. ah God, who? Musavski had a pretty good story. I'm not going to give that away. Jordan Morris had a good story.
00:06:18
Speaker
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. Joe Dale from U-Dub. He also had a good story.
00:06:32
Speaker
I'll give him that. You not so much? There's a range of stories. I... a I've done a lot of embarrassing things. So I had like a wide range of stories to choose from.
00:06:43
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 and that stuff. But that's a good bonding. That's Steve Lenhart's work. We've been doing a couple things like that. Chief vi Vibe Officer. Chief Vibe Officer, exactly. all right so How familiar were you with...
00:07:07
Speaker
Lenhart's work before, like, were you, are you familiar with the legend of of Lenny? Uh, 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, uh, 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?
00:07:33
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. Oh, yeah. It got a big reaction. People spotted him on the field and were like, that can't be Steve Winner. They were like, there's way this guy's wearing a Sounders uniform right now. Like, this is.
00:07:55
Speaker
And then you were getting reached out to. You were looking into sources. It's what was happening. It was like it was a scandal almost. 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. Like everyone loves him off the field. He's the nicest guy. he You know, he everyone gets along with them 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...
00:08:27
Speaker
That's his thing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's impressive. That's impressive. But you've got a, you've got a little bit of that in you, don't you think? Maybe not the same degree. i would agree. I'm a, I'm a bit of a ah twerp on the field sometimes. And, uh, yeah, I bring the fire occasionally. And when do you know you've got to somebody?
00:08:51
Speaker
um
00:08:54
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 you'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
00:09:27
Speaker
But don't know, when I watch myself back sometimes I'm like, man, who is that guy? That's a side of myself I haven't seen before, but I just think that games sometimes bring that out and 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, oh shit, that's why.
00:09:49
Speaker
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. They love it. Yeah. okay They are like, oh, 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 postgame, whatever that moment
Personal Histories and Relationships
00:10:14
Speaker
is. Yeah.
00:10:15
Speaker
yeah I am interested to hear about the family group chat's reaction to kind of your rise in the Sounders fan base. You have become i feel like almost more than a man 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?
00:10:36
Speaker
Sometimes. I mean, my... um They're like, let me embarrass you really quick. me send this. Yeah, it's it's mainly from my twin sister. My twin sister's like the troll of the family. Okay.
00:10:47
Speaker
And the troll, my own personal troll. So I'm usually... Getting it from her. And you guys are where in the hierarchy of the siblings? We're the sore lyn 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.
00:11:04
Speaker
And they all grew up in the UK. Okay. And then my parents moved over here in 1998 and then had us in 1999. Oh, so there's an actual... There's like a clear delineation between the two groups. Well, yeah, there's like an eight-year gap.
00:11:20
Speaker
and Okay. And then 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 brother sometimes, but then I get to play youngest child at the same time. So so and so you were born first or who was born? i was born first. OK, so.
00:11:43
Speaker
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.
00:11:54
Speaker
yeah Get away with more or 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.
00:12:11
Speaker
Yeah, it's... so You know, especially if they're watching this, they would just hammer me for this, but I i went i think I get it pretty good. Okay. Yeah.
00:12:22
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 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's the oldest?
00:12:53
Speaker
oldest is 13 years older than me. Okay. yeah So this is, I mean, these are generational difference. Yeah, that's They are. Yeah. They're, they're a slightly different generation. They're like millennials. Yeah. they They're millennials. Yeah. Yeah.
00:13:07
Speaker
Sometimes when my twin and I are a little upset with them or it's like we're acting weird. Yeah. No, we just clock it up to them being millennials. right Yeah, they're just they're just on. Yeah, they're just on. Sorry. Exactly.
00:13:18
Speaker
Exactly. They don't got TikTok. They don't got Internet. Right. You know what? They don't know. They don't know. I want to know a little bit more about, you know, you're talking about girlfriend, fiance. I'll log this one up to Jeremiah. Oh, yes. This earlier. But yeah, give give us ah Tell us about what can you tell us about your fiance? How did you guys meet?
00:13:39
Speaker
Uh, her name's Lucy. Okay. We we can cut the fiance thing. I think fiance is kind of a weird word. and It's not even English. It's like, yeah yeah, it isn't. I don't think so. French. It's gotta to be French. It sounds French. Yeah. And then we don't. Yeah. You know, yeah we we don't go to the Eiffel tower around here. Unless it's in Vegas. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, Lucy, she's, she's awesome. We, I'd said to you guys, she was like one of those girls I met and just kind of knew right away.
00:14:07
Speaker
um we The story goes, we actually met a few times prior to meeting later on as adults. And um 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. there you go ah twenty There you go. 2016. are the headliners in this Bumbershoot? Oh.
00:14:32
Speaker
I'm pretty sure it was the J. Cole year. We can fact check that. Yeah. We can fact check that. 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.
00:14:54
Speaker
Macklemore might have been there where he was like throwing Dick's burgers into the crowd. 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.
00:15:13
Speaker
Like, 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
00:15:27
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... i' tell you that was And Ryan Lewis. Let's not forget Ryan Lewis. That was the the Ryan Lewis years. Yeah, it was. yeah Great album. Yeah.
00:15:50
Speaker
So anyways, Sasquatch meet again and same thing happens. Is it the same group of friends? Uh, for the most, yes, 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.
00:16:15
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.
00:16:28
Speaker
ah No disrespect to the owners of this bar, but personally, think it's a bad bar. It's called, it's not my type of bar. LTD. I was going to guess LTD. I 100% going guess LTD. I have a good LTD story if we ever want to hear it ah And yeah, we ah 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.
00:16:59
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. Cause I have some, I have a couple of messages from you that are left on red. Yeah, exactly. I'm like, Oh God.
00:17:18
Speaker
But yeah, shout out to Jackson Reagan. He was actually the the Jackson and Andrew were the guys who dragged me to come out that night. Nice. And, uh, i did not want to go and that's when I met Lucy. So there's that story. And it just and it was ah it was a love story from there.
00:17:39
Speaker
Yeah, from there, it's it's been smooth sailing. oh Okay. It's been awesome. um So, yeah. That is a Seattle love story. It is a Seattle. she's a she's a real she's a Seattle girl?
00:17:50
Speaker
Seattle girl. Roosevelt High School. Eckstein Middle School, even? Eckstein Middle School. yeah that's an ah That's a good one. Is it Eckstein or Eckstein? I think it's Eckstein. Okay. Okay. I haven't heard Eckstein. guy You sound like you're from the Bay Area. for Well, I had my kids were going to preschool up in that area and I would hear it both ways and I would always the transplants man. Yeah, that's a good. news i mean, that was ah that was a fair dig. Yeah.
00:18:16
Speaker
I can't even claim real Seattle. from Snoqualmie. Oh, that's fair. yeah 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, I'm, they, they're like, i'm I'm from Bellevue. I'm from Bellevue. And do you go, where are you? Why were you, why were you lying earlier?
00:18:35
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. have to cross the bridge... Yeah, come on. Yeah.
00:18:46
Speaker
it It used to be, like, the sticks out there, too. Like, now it's super suburban and whatever, but, like... This is divisive content 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. Or not... Redmond, yeah.
00:19:02
Speaker
Yeah, pretty pretty soon. yeah Yeah, like next month. Yeah. Yeah. cool It's... Listen, I'm excited. I'm a train guy. Like, I like the train. It's sick. Me too. I want more train.
00:19:14
Speaker
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... Track down. Oh, I have a lots of thoughts on this. Oh, let's go. Oh, good.
00:19:26
Speaker
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 real urbanist content. Yeah. And not a, not a, you know, uh,
00:19:42
Speaker
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. It would have helped clean up Aurora, too, in some places.
00:19:55
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. 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, that would be yes that would huge. That'd be ideal. I also think You know, another another thought that Lisa and I have a lot, there should be much more water taxi situations. Much more. Yes. You should be able to go from, you know, Capitol Hill to Queen Anne.
00:20:37
Speaker
I 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?
00:20:48
Speaker
Like, is that, is that the future? Like, kat wilson does Katie Wilson need to reach out to you? Like, do we get you on Katie Wilson? Uh, you know, she, she came up on our pod. I, Oh really? Yeah. Twice. Twice.
00:21:01
Speaker
on On Lobby Scorchers twice. Yeah, she's smart. Yeah, yes she understood each the people and one of those times was when she was just a lowly She was pulling 0% she was she was a nobody Randy in the early stages of her candidacy She wasn't a nobody to be fair shoes still being the organizer doing right now, but she was not ah she was not considered a serious contender I think it's so cool what she did with her campaign with the ah camp. Are they called campaign dollars? Yeah, the vouchers. The vouchers. Yeah.
00:21:30
Speaker
It's so impressive to me that she raised like $400,000 or something. Oh, I didn't know that. That's cool. Yeah, she maxed out the amount. You can go door to door and get people to basically commit.
Seattle Identity and Community
00:21:43
Speaker
I think it's $100. Yeah, $100. And she found 40,000 people to do that.
00:21:46
Speaker
you know she found forty thousand people to do that I met her at the Capitol Hill Farmers Market. She was there with her daughter. That's bad math. She was there with her daughter signing people up.
00:21:57
Speaker
Oh, really? She was there every every Sunday. She was everywhere. I see her all the time. she's like lives up there, too. and it's like She was grinding it out. Real Seattleite. She did. She grinded it From New York.
00:22:09
Speaker
Real Seattleite from New York. but that's That's what a real Seattleite is these days. That's true. Is and a transplant like I I don't I don't claim to be from Seattle, but I definitely feel kinship with Seattle because of 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.
00:22:30
Speaker
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, yeah. What other Seattle changes do you want to see? Oh, yeah. I feel like you have a platform is like a Seattle voice now, you know,
00:22:44
Speaker
This is putting in the hot seat now. Water taxis, water taxis, trains, east-west trains, Aurora train. yeah I think a great part of Seattle is the parks, and I just hope they like continue to maintain the parks as they have.
00:23:01
Speaker
I've been living really close to... Schmitz Creek in West Seattle. That's an amazing park. But all those Olmstead design parks are yeah are awesome. Look this guy. Olmstead.
00:23:14
Speaker
Olmsteads are a cool group of people. i'm a big i'm a big 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 What do you think of the waterfront? The new waterfront?
00:23:30
Speaker
I like it... i There's a selfish part of me that really liked that drive. Oh, yeah. so it's a It was the best view. Yeah, home from the airport, like, at sunset and whatnot. But what they've done is pretty cool. Yeah,
00:23:47
Speaker
yeah i don't I don't know. i it's Seattle's changed a lot. You know, South Lake Union's, like, a whole new place now. Oh, I'm not... it It feels a little weird being down there. It feels like you're in, like, a architects rendering of a place. yeah 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. yeah yeah yeah it's It is odd.
00:24:13
Speaker
yeah It's too sanitary. I like a little grunge. like yeah i did too yeah i think if I were like... If I were really to talk about the changes I want to sell, I'd mind start getting in trouble. So I'm going to be careful. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. We'll keep you on track. Thank you for listening to the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network, which now includes No Sarietes, Lobbing Scorchers, and The Cooler Guild. Although this podcast is free, it's only made possible through our paid subscribers. Plans start as low as $30 a year and allow us to remain independent and mostly ad-free. Subscribers get access to all our written and podcast content, including a full text RSS feed and a mostly ad free podcast feed that includes every show in one spot. If you really like what we're doing though, I'd encourage you to sign up at our higher tiers, which include all sorts of various perks. The most popular of those is our members only discord or the real Sounders sickos hang out. I know I've called this group the smartest, funniest and best informed Sounders fans in the world, but it's more than the rough equivalent of a Sounders Mensa meeting. Discord is where we make things happen.
00:25:15
Speaker
Like, for real. You know the promotion the Sounders ran that offered fans the opportunity to trade in their messy jersey for a Paul Rothrock one? That originated in our community. You'll not only be the first to know about stuff, but you also have a semi-direct line to the movers and shakers at the Sounders organization. If you want to be one of the totally normal people who occupy the Sounder at Heart Discord, just become a supporter of Sounder at Heart. Anyway, thanks for listening, and go Ders.
00:25:42
Speaker
Nos Adietes, admittedly, is not exactly known for our spicy takes, but that doesn't mean we want our food to be mild. Spice up your life with Hacks and Ferments. Handcrafted in Georgetown and made with the best local ingredients from across the Pacific Northwest, they specialize in unique small batch fermented hot sauces and vinegars.
00:26:01
Speaker
Hacks and Ferments brings bold flavors and natural fermentation together for something truly special. Whether you're a heat seeker or just looking to elevate your cooking, you'll find something you love at haxanferments.com.
00:26:14
Speaker
That's H-A-X-A-N-F-E-R-M-E-N-T-S dot com. And right now, if you use the code SOUNDRATHEART, that's all one word, at checkout, you will get a free hot sauce with your order.
00:26:29
Speaker
Again, go to hacksandferments.com, use the code sounderatheart at checkout for a free hot sauce with your order. Hacks and Ferments is a proud sponsor of the Sounder at Heart podcast network. Let's let's let's turn the Seattle train to Safeco Field, yeah a.k.a. T-Mobile, whatever. team ah What is it? T-Mobile Park. Yeah.
00:26:57
Speaker
I heard you talk a lot about behind the scenes, you know, how excited you were to see the Mariners in the playoffs. Yes. 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. Oh, dude, it was...
00:27:19
Speaker
It was awesome. I mean, this is this last year, i was just talking to somebody about this. This be the best year of Seattle sports. I don't even know what would be ah close. set I mean, you got the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
00:27:31
Speaker
You guys won a trophy in front of 70,000 people. Against Messi. Against Messi. And the Bursar Boys. And the Bursar Boys. Mariners get to the ALCS. UW wins the men's soccer title. Mm-hmm.
00:27:44
Speaker
Storm like almost pulled off a yeah crazy upset in the playoffs. The Kraken are good too, right? No? Okay. The Kraken haven't been great right No, they're not great, but shout to the Kraken kid. They all watch. They love us. ah Yeah, it's, I mean, going back to the Mariners, um cool connection was Dan Wilson was my Little League coach.
00:28:06
Speaker
ah let's go on yeah So that's about as Seattle as it gets. But 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, 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.
00:28:39
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Like you could get tickets for like six dollars in the bleachers and. it It wasn't even that fun to go the wrong way. Luckily, I had like a brief stint where they were kind of good. I think it was like 2004.
00:28:57
Speaker
yeah i was like pretty young where we had a good team. We had like Edgar and Brett Boone and Ichiro. 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 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.
00:29:29
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.
00:29:45
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 you're going to blow them out.
00:29:58
Speaker
Yeah. What you think? What do you think going to happen? I think it's going 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
Sports Culture and Team Dynamics
00:30:11
Speaker
to this day. So, so how, ah when do you guys get back?
00:30:15
Speaker
We get back the sixth. so you're going to get back the day before we get back the day before. So you're going to jet lag watching the Superbowl. Yeah. It's going to be a couch day. Yeah. Is there going to be a ah a gathering, a Sounders fan or Sounder players to watch the game? Are you watching with anyone?
00:30:30
Speaker
you know i i think we're all going to take some time away from each other. You had a lot of time together. Yeah. You're like, no one contact me. yeah But ah yeah, I'm going to have to try and convince Lucy to watch it because she's... ah She's not really a football fan. Never has been.
00:30:49
Speaker
Actually, neither am I. I don't watch a whole lot of football. I'm going the Seahawks. But, ah 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.
00:31:03
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 she, how aware is she of your job, your profession?
00:31:15
Speaker
Um, She's somewhat aware. Her dad actually her dad's actually like an avid Sounders fan and Sounders hard subscriber. Oh, let's go. There we go.
00:31:30
Speaker
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 starting the arc. Yeah. And he's like, oh, yeah, I know that guy. you know he And he was like,
00:31:45
Speaker
Lucy had mentioned that we were going on a date with each other. He's like, 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.
00:32:10
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.
00:32:23
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, um 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.
00:32:42
Speaker
Still doing my own grocery shopping. Well, even Messi does. He goes to Publix. That's right. Or at least that one time. That one time you went? Yeah. But no, it's... Yeah, it's been... That's been funny. 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...
00:33:04
Speaker
wish sitting there going, how do I get out of it? That must happen. For sure. People are weird. People are weird. People are weird are weird. People are weird. You're sitting next to two of them. Yeah. yeah Two definite weirdos. and I'm weird too.
00:33:17
Speaker
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 that, but I'm his doppelganger. that's kind of a funny bit to That's a good bit,
00:33:37
Speaker
But... You're giving away the bit now, though. Yeah, that's true. you're running into somebody who Davis is, they're not Paul Rothrock. You know who it is. Yeah, yeah. not but Starting a new Instagram account, not Paul Raja. Yeah, yeah like yeah that's that's pretty good. oh my God.
00:33:53
Speaker
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. Yeah.
00:34:09
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, in all of this. I gotta say thank you. um But yeah, I think like at first, you know, my, my family thought it was hilarious. Like, who how do these guys even know who this kid is?
00:34:31
Speaker
um And they, you know, they knew about Lobin Scorchers. So we know shout out. they They knew, they knew. Um, but yeah, it's turned into, I mean, yeah that was kind of you guys' first big call and nailed it. Yeah. I know we peaked right away. we we really are done it for Like we, we, we always say we're like, that was it.
00:34:53
Speaker
That was it. We got it one, right? Like we can ride that coattail until the end of time, until the end of, you know, whatever. You keep giving it, you keep reminding people. 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. There you go. Yeah, no. You heard it here first. Paul Rothbrook 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. Right. Just you're the orca and we're the the orca. Yeah, that's a yeah that's ah that's a real compliment, especially for a Seattle kid. Exactly. Yeah.
00:35:33
Speaker
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 be cooking on? There we go. That's a good question. um Urbanist podcast. What have I been thinking? I mean,
00:35:47
Speaker
I think it's a crazy time right now. I've been thinking a lot about just 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.
00:36:00
Speaker
And ah yeah, there's a lot of crooks out there that are you know, making big decisions that have big implications for a lot of people. And, um, yeah 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. So hope people are,
00:36:22
Speaker
I was going 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. No, no. and it's it's I think it's going 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.
00:36:44
Speaker
If people are even going to show up. Yeah. 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 going to be, sorry, not Marbella, Spain. Yeah, or it's the Seattle weather. It's tripping you. look Yeah, tripping me.
00:37:05
Speaker
But yeah, I want to bring that up too because I haven't been able to talk about that yet. and ah you know We've just been soccer, soccer, soccer, but there's you know lot of people are scared right now and I want to recognize that. It's like that's a weird moment.
00:37:21
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.
00:37:36
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. And,
00:37:52
Speaker
You know, you saw in saw with even Waye'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 – Steph's mother passing away and then we're watching some crazy stuff happen in the news. and um you know Those were moments that we shared together and in Portugal too. so um yeah and yeah it's know i don't know what else to say there.
00:38:36
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 a sports player. And so where does my voice fit into all of this? like Yeah, that for sure. And you want to be, you know,
00:38:56
Speaker
you want to feel like what you're saying is authentic and yeah not just 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.
00:39:10
Speaker
And also how to play that with, 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.
00:39:21
Speaker
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, like how to, how to be intentional about that. You know?
00:39:38
Speaker
yeah 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? Yeah.
00:39:54
Speaker
That's good question. i think ah I think both and. 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.
00:40:13
Speaker
And at the same time, you are already starting at a good base level, and so you can go deeper sometimes. Yeah. You know, credit to like, exercises like we did with Steve last night. Like, those are things that, like, takeing take things maybe a step further. And,
00:40:31
Speaker
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. inside I don't know the math on that.
00:40:44
Speaker
Calories a day. calorie a yeah ah 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 you know, in the everyday running of, you know, being an athlete and our day to day, you don't get to talk about And one of them being, you know, us being good friends, but being in competition with each other. Right.
00:41:16
Speaker
And, um, just like, you know, just talking back to different moments of 2025 that with, um, 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,
00:41:40
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 navigating. Yeah, like you're being battling them, but also you need to have good rapport and you're battling them and you're friends and have good rapport and you also are competing with each other and you're making each other better. Yeah.
00:42:07
Speaker
Do you guys bond over it 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.
00:42:20
Speaker
Yeah, I think we have a lot of similarities. Obviously, different backgrounds and whatnot. But, um yeah, he's awesome dude. and um But he's becoming a good friend of mine. So that's been cool.
00:42:32
Speaker
And his English seems to be getting... Pretty good, right? Yeah. Really good. Yeah. And I think that also helps our friendship, right?
Team Communication and Career Reflections
00:42:40
Speaker
Is 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 we're most, mostly talk in English.
00:42:51
Speaker
I'm trying to get it to more 50, 50. So, Yeah. I'm interested, you know, obviously big off season for you chose to come back to Seattle at rocks for us personally. Yeah. For me too for 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,
00:43:15
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?
00:43:30
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 in some different things of, you know, ah negotiation and... ah Yeah, like how to how to carry yourself in different settings and um how to make decisions.
00:43:56
Speaker
It 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 um But yeah, I think, you know, it's, it's tricky cause 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, you know, um,
00:44:44
Speaker
you really understanding who are the people that you want to tell information to and who you can trust and not that guy. I'll report it. Exactly. not that guy 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,
00:45:08
Speaker
was a surprise, but also like really glad that I went through it because 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. Um, um,
00:45:31
Speaker
but yeah, it's like, you know, you're thinking about 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 And, 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.
00:45:59
Speaker
ah Took a lot of time to get there. But ah yeah, it was, it was i'm I'm good to be, I'm glad to be on the other side of it too.
00:46:10
Speaker
I have to imagine there is some, don't 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 un 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.
00:46:39
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.
00:46:56
Speaker
i have I have one more, if you have more. 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 Defiance, being like, I will do anything I can to work my way up. You know, you make it happen in the Open Cup.
00:47:38
Speaker
Get your minutes 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 things. Yeah, I 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 like that right again.
00:48:07
Speaker
We will win more championships here, but they will... that 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.
00:48:25
Speaker
In front of 70,000 fans. front of 70,000 in the summer at home.
00:48:29
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 ah it was It was awesome. um And yeah, definitely a career highlight.
00:48:46
Speaker
Just like the the actual feeling of like you know, that moment right there when it 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.
00:49:07
Speaker
And it's like striving for, the next moment of things and there's going to be peaks and valleys in between now and then. And, uh, I don't know what that looks like.
00:49:20
Speaker
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, i don't think you're cut out for this league. Yeah. Well, that quote has been misinterpreted a little bit. oh god bradley thing yeah I was a little bummed. That was the first time I heard the quote.
00:49:37
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. i think I wasn't expecting i had typically gotten, you know, the, the spiel of.
00:49:54
Speaker
you know, yeah would say 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. 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, was definitely thinking about,
00:50:20
Speaker
you know quitting on different occasions. ah I had multiple conversations with my family and my sisters where they were telling me to, 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,
00:50:41
Speaker
The warm embrace of Wade Webber's arms. Something like that. i just felt like um It 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.
00:50:59
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. going to give it one more shot. Yeah.
00:51:11
Speaker
And even in those moments, you know I had said as an Academy kid, I'm never going to play for Tacoma. Cause 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 star fire and was like, I'm never doing this. And then never say never. And I was on Tacoma as a 24 year old, you know, living in my parents' basement. So sometimes humbling things are what keep us. I mean, being humbled like that sometimes kind of is what, what we need, right? Yeah. The, the good, the good headline. Yeah.
00:51:43
Speaker
if I was going to title the YouTube video would be from parents' basement to dethroning Messi. oh I'm just saying, I gave you your memoir title. Exactly. There you go. That's, unique 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.
00:52:03
Speaker
I, that's a, I like that. I think it's, I think it's possible. 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.
00:52:17
Speaker
Which is crazy and great.
Sounders' Future and Podcast Conclusion
00:52:20
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.
00:52:28
Speaker
Right. And, uh, now I think a lot of the concepts that we've been, that we were like really 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 don't think we were talking about it in the same way last year.
00:52:50
Speaker
So, I think there's like ambition to the group and, um, Yeah, it's going to be an interesting season. I think it's going to be that like some of the most... It's going a hard season and the resilient teams are gonna are going to shine this year because that middle summer break is really weird.
00:53:10
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.
00:53:21
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 trips such as following that we're like kind of a closer team and so.
00:53:34
Speaker
Yeah. Well, that seems like a good place. Yeah. Yeah. Paul, you've been wonderful with your time. Thanks, guys. we This is where we would say shill whatever you want when you got to shill.
00:53:48
Speaker
Follow me on Instagram. You got a crypto coined. Cut the cameras. Cut the cameras.
00:53:56
Speaker
No, I got nothing. Got to just go enjoy beautiful, stormy day, which is barely Yesterday was not bad. I got to tell you, I got into town. I was like, no, this is I love this.
00:54:08
Speaker
Today I woke up and I was like, oh, this isn't too bad. then i went out inside and 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. Yeah, for sure. No, thanks, guys. And thanks for being here. Yeah.
00:54:23
Speaker
Thanks for the rest of you back home. Yeah. all right.
00:54:55
Speaker
Let's go at Sounders.