Origin Story: The 85ers

Presented by adidas Produced by Storied Sports Executive Producer: Michelle Akers The final episode brings the story full circle by returning to the cheer — Oosa! — that began as a mispronunciation from the Italian crowd in 1985 and evolved into a sacred team tradition passed down for four decades. Erin and Jane reveal that nearly every modern USWNT player knows the chant, but almost none knew its...

Presented by adidas Produced by Storied Sports Executive Producer: Michelle Akers Episode 6 opens with an anecdote we’d hardly believe today: Kim Wyant being summoned to the cockpit of a 747 by a pilot who can’t quite believe women play soccer at such an elite level. That moment of patronizing curiosity becomes the metaphor for what “The 85ers” face when they return to the U.S. — no media coverage...

Presented by adidas Produced by Storied Sports Executive Producer: Michelle Akers After a tough opening loss to Italy, Episode 5 celebrates the glorious chaos of being twenty-something years old at an international tournament with almost zero oversight. With no curfews, no social media, and no federation breathing down their necks, “The 85ers” discover nightclubs aka “discothèques”, siestas, beach...

Presented by adidas Produced by Storied Sports Executive Producer: Michelle Akers Episode 4 drops listeners into Jesolo, Italy, where the 85ers arrive for the 1985 Mundialito (“little World Cup”) and experience a world none of them had ever seen before — sea-air-filled hotel rooms with shuttered windows, endless cappuccinos, topless sunbathers, and food so good it felt unreal. But the wonder of It...

Presented by adidas Produced by Storied Sports Executive Producer: Michelle Akers With the Olympic Sports Festival in Baton Rouge barely over, the newly named 85ers are thrown into a whirlwind: no rest, no recovery, barely any instructions — just a plane ticket to New York and three days to become a national team before flying to Italy for their first international tournament. Episode 3 captures t...

Presented by adidas Produced by Storied Sports Executive Producer: Michelle Akers Episode 2 digs into the chaos & confusion that led to the formation of the first U.S. Women’s National Team - unbeknownst to the players themselves. The women recount finding out they’d made the national roster in ways that ranged from the bizarre to the anticlimactic — including learning the news from a reporter bef...

Presented by adidas Produced by Storied Sports Executive Producer: Michelle Akers In the series premiere of Origin Story: The 85ers, hosts Erin Foley and Jane McManus first immerse listeners in an unforgettable moment inside the tunnel at Lumen Field in Seattle, where 15 members of the first-ever U.S. Women’s National Team reunite exactly 40 years after their historic debut in 1985. But first, let...

Presented by adidas Produced by Storied Sports Executive Producer: Michelle Akers Origin Story: The 85ers is a groundbreaking documentary-style audio series that uncovers the untold beginnings of the most dominant dynasty in women’s sports: the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. Before the world knew their names — and long before millions tuned in to watch the USWNT lift World Cups — there were 17...