Making Of A Moment

While 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...

When Dell Loy Hansen decided to put his soccer holdings up for sale, there was a lot of fear among fans - and speculation amongst the media - that a buyer would take Real Salt Lake, the Monarchs, the Royals and the Academy - and move it anywhere but Utah. As it turned out, on the Royals were at risk. And in early December, the players, coaches and staff got a gut-punch when the Royals were sold ba...

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? 

When Jason Kreis became the first player signed by Real Salt Lake founder Dave Checketts in November of 2004, he’d never even been to Utah. But 20 years later, it’s difficult to say if Kreis had more of an impact on the club - or if the club - and the community - have had more of an impact on Jason Kreis. In this bonus episode, Kreis talks about his departure, why he wanted to return t...

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 t...

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 C...

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...

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...

Brian Dunseth played for six different MLS clubs over the course of his career including a season with the Real Salt Lake. “Dunny" is one of the most recognizable people in soccer in America. He was the captain of the 2000 U.S. Olympic soccer team and is an MLS analyst for TNT, Apple TV, host on Sirius XM and co-host of the Week in Tackle podcast.  In this conversation wi...

Professional soccer got its start in Utah thanks to the visionary leadership and relentless will of an NBA executive. It was Utah native Dave Checketts who bought an MLS franchise and decided to put it in his home state. He fought political and financial battles to establish a club that would do what no other professional sports franchise in Utah has ever managed to do - win a championship. But wh...

August 27, 2020 is a day Real Salt Lake faithful and staff remember well - but not for what happened on the pitch. That’s the day the smallest Major League Soccer team was thrown into chaos by the man who once saved the club from financial ruin - their billionaire owner. But what most fans didn’t realize is that when Real Salt Lake made an unlikely playoff run in 2021, the seeds for th...

In sports there are moments that transcend a single game. What if you knew all that went into how that on-field moment was created? The Real Salt Lake is an iconic soccer team. It wasn't always that way. This season, host Amy Donaldson looks at the RSL's unlikely 2021 playoff run. That post-season performance from a team expected to finish last is much more than the Cinderella story witnessed by R...