In sports, there are moments that transcend a single game. But what if we told you how that on-field moment was created? If you knew the myriad of people who make sacrifices, choices – if you knew the full messy, complicated, gut-wrenching truth- it might change your opinion of those legendary plays.
In Making of a Moment Season 1 - The RSL Story - host Amy Donaldson looks at the unlikely 2021 playoff run of Real Salt Lake. That post-season performance from a team expected to finish last is much more than the Cinderella story witnessed by RSL faithful. It’s the story of an underdog club engaged in a fight for survival off the field, while trying to prove they deserved to compete for a championship.
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RSS FeedWhile Amy Donaldson was researching and reporting this podcast, she found Dell Loy Hansen to be one of the most polarizing figures she'd written about in three decades as a journalist.
And it isn’t just that he has vocal critics or ardent supporters it’s that even those who worked closest with him, those who knew him best find it difficult to neatly or easily summarize his impact on professional soccer which, like it or not, extends far beyond Utah and one could argue even the U.S.
Without him, Real Salt Lake might not have become financially stable enough to enjoy those golden years after the MLS Cup championship of 2009. Without him, Checketts may have been forced to sell the team in 2013 to owners who wanted to move it to a bigger market. Without him, the training facilities, The Academy, the Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman - none of that would exist
Real Salt Lake coach and former player Pablo Mastroeni was able to sit down with Amy on two occasions to talk about his journey and his philosophies on being a coach, being a player and just life in general. One thing that is so good about these two interviews with Pablo, is that his advice and ideas can help anyone who is trying to go somewhere.
Real Salt Lake's magical run comes to an end, but not with the fairy tale ending everyone hoped to have. There are massive changes for RSL after the 2021 season - a coach is hired, the club finds and owner, and key players depart. The team, staff and the players are left to reflect: What does it all mean? If winning is the ultimate goal in professional sports, what other measurements matter?
Real Salt Lake's 2021 Decision Day victory gave them the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. But they barely had time to celebrate when they were hit with another blow. Their reward for making the playoffs? A chance to play the Sounders - in Seattle. The team that had stolen their coach in August, a team that boasted one of the most potent offenses was standing between them and a fairy tale ending.
There is no player who embodies the culture of Real Salt Lake than Kyle Beckerman. When he was traded from Colorado to Utah in 2007, he instantly changed the culture of RSL’s locker room. He captained the team from 2008 until he retired in 2020. Beckerman has seen the club through its rise to glory - and through its bleakest times. This episode gives you more of his background, his time in Colorado where RSL head coach Pablo Mastroeni became his friend and mentor and what it was like to try and win soccer games when the front office was in chaos.
When Real Salt Lake’s head coach stuns everyone by quitting with 10 weeks left in the season, he leaves the team in the hands of a man RSL fans once loved to hate. And despite his unsavory history with the club, he seems uniquely suited to lead a team without an owner, picked to finish last, and abandoned by their head coach in August of 2021 to an unlikely playoff berth. All he has to do is lead Real Salt Lake to a win on the road on the last day of the regular season.
Dave Checketts was working for the NBA when he fell in love with soccer while traveling in Europe. He decided he wanted to build a club in his home state of Utah, but he had no idea the obstacles and heartache he’d face. This is more of the conversation we had with Checketts on the hurdles he faced building the team and why he had to sell his dream.
Real Salt Lake’s new owner - Dell Loy Hansen - called the club “a state trust” and hoped his contribution to soccer in Utah would become his legacy. He invested millions in a development academy, training facilities, a minor league team and eventually a National Women’s Soccer League club. But players and staff said RSL shifted from a familial ideal to a more transactional organization, and a toxic culture took hold and infected every aspect of the club. Even those who saw it, who hated it, who tried to do something about it, were powerless to create meaningful change. Things shifted when Hansen spoke out in a radio interview where he not only revealed that rot, he also lit a match that threatened to consume everything he’d built.