I have to start with this — if someone ever made a movie about my life in any way, I would never shut up about it. So can we hop into The 99'ers? What can you tell me about the upcoming film that follows your 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup team?

Two and a half weeks ago, I was on set, and one of the things the cast kept saying was how close they've all become. It was one of the things that they felt, in watching interviews about us and watching our team, they really wanted to represent: how we all supported each other and what we were going through. It was important to have that as the throughline in all the scenes in the movie.

Before filming, did you have conversations about non-negotiables for you? Moments where you said, "This has to be in the film," or, "You can't leave this out"?

One of the things I told them was how important our coach was to our success. I think you have all these dynamics at play, and you have all these individuals at play. To have the type of person he was leading our group at that time, who was very self-aware and vulnerable at the same time, saying, ‘I know I'm good at this, but I also need other people around me to help kind of take care of some of my deficiencies as a coach.’

As a player, especially at that time in your career, you feel that you know a lot more than you used to know, but there's still growth to happen. I don't have to be all things for all people. I can be okay being myself. That's the message he shared with us every single day, and I think that was really important for me personally, and I know a lot of our teammates, to get across. Because if we had had another type of personality, someone who came in and said, ‘I'm gonna micromanage this group,’ we wouldn't have had the success, we wouldn't have had as much fun, and we wouldn't have had the same impact. He was just the perfect coach at the perfect time.

So would you say that's the best career advice you've received?

I think from him, yes, because he taught me that there is strength in being vulnerable and not to shy away. We're talking about it in this campaign — to say it's okay if I'm not okay, or it's okay to ask for help when you're in pain, to acknowledge it and do something about it.

It's okay to say, ‘I'm a good soccer player, but I don't do this well.’ Rather than continuing to say, ‘Oh, yeah. I can do it,’ when you know it doesn't help the team. There are teammates around you who are much better suited to be in that position.

Yeah, I agree. I feel like we're in this new generation where athletes are having these open conversations about pain and mental health. It's so beautiful to see because I feel like we've, in many ways, evolved past the ‘suffer in silence’ era. With that being said, what about this partnership with TYLENOL made you say, ‘This is the time to have this conversation?’

I think exactly that. I think being open... Emma has a different experience now as a player, and we all have fears when we're out there. If you're hurt or you're in pain, does that impact your playing time?

But more so, it's just listening to your body and being proactive in its care. Those decisions you make now might be difficult, but they will help you in the long run.

Speaking of the long run, what has it been like seeing the growth in access for athletes to resources as the sport has grown over the years? What does that feel like for you?

I think that we have a lot more similarities, even though our environments might be vastly different in terms of resources. First of all, as a former player, that's what I want for her. But also, to hear from her the challenges that come with that, and how the expectations are much greater because there are no excuses. You have a physical therapist, massage therapist, and all the stuff for prehab and rehab at your disposal.

We were talking about a chef. She was like, 'We have a chef that makes breakfast and lunch.' And I was saying, 'Yeah. I had, like, an Eggo waffle on my way to practice.' Or a bagel. But in the end, we still had some of the same excitement and fears as a player. You want to perform. You want to do your best. You want to show up, get better, and hope that you're improving your teammates every single day.

So the fact that this is one of our first interactions, there's a lot... we have a lot more similarities than we do differences. And, as a former player, she was just on the national team trip. We're cheering for her, and we're here as a resource for her and to thank her for the investment she has made in this game and continues to make.

Ron Wilson

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