WHAT
IS
FOOTBALL?
(THE PODCAST)
A Moment of Inspiration
During the COVID-19 pandemic, at age 16, my best friend and I created the Social Distancing Football Podcast, an ode to the matches that we were forced to watch through the window - a better alternative to watching alone. The podcast was the first public opportunity that either of us had to articulate our views on football in an organized, dedicated environment, and it engendered a level of understanding that didn't exist when the discussion was casual.
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The podcast sustained our shared love for the game through a time when we couldn't play together; football is, after all, a game of understanding space. As restrictions were lifted, we began recording in the same room and eventually rebranded to the What is Football? podcast, named after the question that was most often raised when we started explaining our passion project.
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I credit the podcast and the experience it gave me with sparking my desire to spend my life talking about it. Without the opportunity, someone to talk with, and a microphone in front of me, I may have sputtered through the pandemic. It's rare that the development of a dream is so clearly documented, but I sat through hours of editing without realizing that I was the recordkeeper of my own future.