Sue Bird and Megan Rapinea drive with the “rocket ship” of the ecosystem for sports media for sports media

Rapinoe: It is the wildest in the world I've ever seen. Cross the street or go to a city across the country and it's like “Hello Sue!” Lovable.

Bird: So it's really not that surprising. I think that's so interesting at this time. There are certainly some things about what is happening in the world of women's sports that are new. Don't get me wrong. But then there are some things that are highlighted, and it is as if they haven't looked at it yet.

I think the question will then take so long to have these conversations?

Bird: How much time do you have?

Rapinoe: Um … I think it's sexism. Broad.

Bird: They are the ISMS. The way it was held back. It has always been like that. I was on the college, it was my junior year, I hit a game -winning shot. The year is 2000 and there is no social media. You will only see this so many options, but it was on the ESPN TOP 10. Immediately the next day, and then after the week I got all possible calls from celebrities to the basketball office. I wouldn't let names fall, I don't want to be this person, but it was as if NBA players were called to congratulate me, like: “Oh, let us exchange information.” Actor called. Like: “I'm a big fan.”

It has always been there. This sport suppressed and held back, and women's sport in general was. The same applies to football. Tons of people have been in their games for years and years. There are a variety of things that finally tore the blinkers for women's sports, and now they see everything when it was already there.

Rapinoe: I also think that the mechanism for providing information has changed dramatically. However, if you did not look at ESPN and did not achieve the top 10 or the producer did not talk about women's sports, women's sports were not spoken about it. Their last four were sold out, the community was there. From a broad cultural perspective, however, it was not talked about it. It was suppressed, it was held back. Social media for women's sports simply got the top of them out of which access to what actually happened. Before Caitlin Clark, some of these bigger things – these moments were already taking place.

Bird: SOme of moments are the struggle for the same payments, combined with Sedona PrinceTIKTOK shows the discrepancies during the Bubble NCAA tournament season, our WNBA Bubble season, Kobe Bryant wears a WNBA hoodie … There is a whole lane of all these moments that have finally reached a turning point. And yes, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers– This new generation for basketball plays a major role.

Do you have a feeling of responsibility to design this wave of attention in such a way that it leads to long -term changes?

Bird: I think we do. We can do it on the podcast on our way – again and again to circle everything we have already said – by talking differently about it, bringing in the history, introducing specialist knowledge …

We got past the phase – which is great – is that real? Does that have a utilization? We actually got past it. It's pretty real, we are now legitimate, it is here to stay here. But now there is this land grabby feeling. I really encourage people not to do it and actually be strategically with every decision they make through women's sports. Wherever you want to be strategic your money, which player, the team, the team, the league, whatever you want. Don't just throw money on it because you try to get in. I think that will play a big role in getting it to the next level.

Rapinoe: About my body I will be one of the chorus of us who have long been here who have contributed to building this that does not have what will happen in the future. We have this opportunity to be one of many that will be an incredible time in American sports culture, only in general, but in particular in women's sports culture. I think women will have the next decades of American sports culture.