The Rush: US soccer legend Megan Rapinoe on the World Cup and Sue Bird’s future

Soccer star and activist Megan Rapinoe joins The Rush to chat with Jared about how multiple generations of footballers co-exist on the USWNT as they fight for World Cup roster spots and what career path she’d like to see fiancée Sue Bird take after retiring from the WNBA. Plus, Megan reveals which cause she’d stage an on-field protest for.

Video Transcript

MEGAN RAPINOE: The younger players are hungry and performing unbelievably in the league and in overseas where some players play. So I personally am excited to get back in with the team and see how everyone's doing and kind of see how everything meshes together.

JARED QUAY: What's up, everybody. I'm here with OL rain star, two-time World Cup champion, Olympic champion, and champion of human and civil rights Megan Rapinoe. How are you doing today, Megan?

MEGAN RAPINOE: I'm good. How are you? How are you? It's nice to be here.

JARED QUAY: I'm glad. You see all them introductions. I gave a couple good ones. You got a lot [INAUDIBLE].

MEGAN RAPINOE: I got to bring you everywhere.

JARED QUAY: We won't know the World Cup roster for about a year. But what's the dynamic like between the old guard and the up-and-coming players as you compete to make a roster for next summer?

MEGAN RAPINOE: You know, it'll be interesting to see as we kind of get into the summer. Obviously, there's been a few of us for a litany of different reasons that have been out of camp. So there hasn't really been like all everybody together kind of once [? Vlatko ?] decides who everybody will be. So that would be interesting.

I mean, I think for us, for us older ones, know what it takes to win a championship. And that's all we really want to do. Obviously, the young ones don't know that. But they have this hunger and desire and that sort of newness that we don't have.

So I feel like putting that all together, we can only help each other if everybody's on the right page and has the right intentions, which from what I see and hear and everything, see people in the league, that's all I see, just people working hard, getting better every day. It's always some sort of a new culture and a new vibe every time you go into a World Cup. So I'm excited to get back and see what that's going to be and look forward to defending our championship once again.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

JARED QUAY: Who controls the music in the locker room? Because it's got to be a very different tune from like before. It's all the same music. Everybody listen to the same thing. It's like hey, this new rapper that's 19 that we love.

MEGAN RAPINOE: Yeah, not everybody listens to the same thing. But also this is not like a Democratic process. Just because you don't listen to what's being played doesn't mean that you get to change it.

There's a certain vibe that needs to be played. I personally am not in charge of it. I'm not good at it.

I'm like give it to the kids. Give it to the youth. They got the finger on the pulse, hand on the culture.

Crystal's been out obviously a lot. So she does the music a lot. And obviously people give suggestions and this and that. But we got to keep it with the kids.

I mean, we can't be hoards. I was just like imagine if I had the aux. Oh my God, that would be [INAUDIBLE]. Nobody wants that.

JARED QUAY: Your fiance Sue Bird is 41. And Diana Taurasi is 39. What do you see both of them doing after they retire from basketball?

MEGAN RAPINOE: I mean, I think with their epic performance of the Final Four, I feel like we need to turn this into a whatever the Sue and D show is. It's just gold.

I mean, they'll probably be the ones getting the $400 million dollar TV broadcasting deal after that. But I feel like they got to be in front of the camera. It's just-- I think it's such a unique relationship that they have in sports. Not only have they played at UConn and played professionally overseas in the WNBA, they just have literally decades of shared experience that you really don't get between people that aren't family.

It's like one shared morphed brain. I honestly wouldn't even want to be inside that brain. They have way too much going on in there.

But the little that they let out and give to us it's just so funny. I feel like they have a unique way about speaking about women's sports as well. I think so often it's sort of the major networks, whether it's a highlight or a show, it's just such like a skimming of the top.

You can basically just tell when people don't know what the hell they're talking about and they like have to check the box, we're talking about women's sports. And so it's just they say the most obvious thing.

But they have obviously a deep respect and love and way that they can speak about the game and critique the game in a way that still feels like they're pushing it forward and doing the game of service. So I feel like they should have a TV show that runs all the time. I certainly would watch it. I think it's hilarious.

JARED QUAY: Sometimes fans run onto fields during soccer matches to bring attention to a cause. What's a cause you would stage an in-game protest for in 2022?

MEGAN RAPINOE: I mean, in America, probably abortion rights or something along those, I mean, reproductive rights, trans rights. We have a lot of wild legislature coming to the forefront. That would certainly be something. Yeah, I think I'll leave it at that.