Sydney Leroux on the World Cup, Angel City and soccer mom etiquette I The Rush
Soccer star Sydney Leroux is on the show, chatting with Jared about lofty expectations for the USWNT in 2023 World Cup, reuniting with her old national team pals at Angel City FC, her recovery from an ankle injury and how she’s fully morphed into a soccer mom with her young son Cassius. Plus, Sydney gets us pumped up for the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup, featuring a historic million-dollar prize pool.
Video Transcript
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JARED QUAY: The Women's World Cup is coming up, and Team USA will try to become the first squad-- men's or women's-- to win three straight. What kind of pressure is the National Team facing this year?
SYDNEY LEROUX: A lot of pressure. A lot of teams are catching up, and it's actually-- it's amazing to see. But I also think that the US, like, we've always thrived under that pressure, and we welcome that. So I'm-- I'm excited.
JARED QUAY: What's up, everybody? I'm here with World Cup champion, Olympic gold medalist, and Angel City FC forward Sydney LeRoux. Sydney, how are you doing today?
SYDNEY LEROUX: I'm actually just sitting in my car. I just finished training so I'm good. Yeah, excited to be here.
JARED QUAY: You got an ankle injury, correct?
SYDNEY LEROUX: Yes. I had an ankle injury. I'm coming back from surgery, and it's going really well. So we're progressing pretty fast now. So yeah, I cannot wait to get back on the field. So it's been a long-- a long journey.
JARED QUAY: You got you and Christen Press, and-- and now Julie Ertz. And so, like, what's the impact on and off the field of playing with women you've known for nearly half your life?
SYDNEY LEROUX: Yeah, like, knowing people half my life is-- it's crazy. And playing with people-- playing against people. And so it's really nice to have a lot of my friends and a lot of people that I know in Angel City.
JARED QUAY: The NWSL Challenge Cup is back, but with a bit extra shine. How is the Challenge Cup making history this season?
SYDNEY LEROUX: Well, UKG came in and they really wanted to push for equality. And that's what we got with the Challenge Cup. Our prize money is just as, like, basically what a-- a men's team would get. We're-- we're getting $1.1 million, which is amazing. So I'm sure everyone's going to be playing pretty hard for that. But it's been a really cool moment, and, again, like you said, a pivotal moment in women's sports to have that.
JARED QUAY: Where does the fight for pay equity rank among your career accomplishments as a soccer player?
SYDNEY LEROUX: You know, I think when this league started a lot of people were working multiple jobs. Because this league was, I mean, people were making, like, $6,000 a season, like--
JARED QUAY: Wow.
SYDNEY LEROUX: Maybe even less than that. And so it's amazing to see how far this league has come, how far women's soccer has come. I mean, we know that we have a--a big hill to climb. But I think with this happening, and hopefully more companies come in and want to do the same, I think it's only going to go up from here. And so I'm really excited. And I've been really proud of where we've come, especially seeing where we started.
JARED QUAY: You shared some adorable videos of your son Cassius playing soccer. How did he react when mommy scored on him and then taunted him afterwards?
SYDNEY LEROUX: Then you don't mess with your mother. Then you don't mess with your mother. [LAUGHS]
'Cause he got me, like, a couple of weeks ago with this really nasty chip right over my head.
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SYDNEY LEROUX: Sometimes I just got to show him who's boss. I-- I don't let him win. That's not-- you can't do that.
[CHEERS] Wow!
And that's what my mom did to me. So we played until I could really beat her. And then, that was, like, such an exciting moment for me. Because I'm like, oh, I really finally beat you. It took me, like, 10 years but I finally beat you. And I think it's sweet when you get there. So he'll eventually get there, but not anytime soon. I'm not letting that happen.
Who's going to win?
- Me.
SYDNEY LEROUX: Get out of here. Does he know-- does he know who he's playing?
JARED QUAY: Last year, we saw one of the craziest examples of soccer parenting, interfering with coaches and sons on teams. Now that you're a soccer mom, do you feel like you had to keep yourself in check when it comes to Cassius on the pitch?
SYDNEY LEROUX: If I feel like he's not trying or something, you know, I have to ask him about it. Because when you know what your children are capable of, and they just, like, decide that they just don't want to do it, I feel like that's just not-- that's not OK with me. And like, I always tell him, like, you have committed to a team. And you've committed to, like, be your best and show up and show up for your teammates and show up for yourself. I'm like, you know, I want you to do that. And so when he does that, and he-- I see the joy in him as well. So yeah, it's a win-win.
JARED QUAY: Thank you so much for rushing with me today, Sydney. And we are pumped for UKG NWSL Challenge Cup coming up.
SYDNEY LEROUX: Yes. Me too. Thank you guys so much.
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