Tune In: Real Salt Lake

If you’re someone like me, you spend a lot of time working individually, be it in the field or in an office. This work or lifestyle leaves a lot of open air in which you can choose how to occupy it. For me, podcasts or audio books are perfect. I learn, I laugh, and I debate while I lesson to whatever ideas and concepts that I decide to put on the playlist that day.

There have been attempts by Real Salt Lake to start something like this in the past, but nothing really seemed to have enough momentum to keep them going. The fan podcast “The RSL Show” has been around for a couple years now and the show has even branched out with a sister Royals FC Show hosted by RSL Soapbox writers. They’ve successfully established a DYI brand I would think is something they should be proud of (congrats on the recent 100th episode fellas!).

As for the RSL club, they have finally got themselves a network of consistent news and interviews that covers all three teams - the Real Salt Lake Podcast Network.

The RSLPN is what you can expect from something of that nature, but what you don’t expect is the interview series “Beyond the Pitch” created by the PR staff at RSL. This series isn’t the typical outside the game interviews you’ve heard before.

What stands out most is how Matt Gaschk almost catches you off guard with how casual and relaxed the tone is set in the interviews he conducts. You immediately feel an effortless rapport between the those in the conversations. It’s not a journalist with questions and an athlete with a microphone. These are genuine relationships with working professionals and how their lives relate and coexist with one another.

Every “Beyond the Pitch” interview I have listen to from the RSL Podcast Network has left me wanting more. Not only do the conversations give you a better understanding of the personalities of the players and staff, but you learn about their goals, achievements, and ambitions. You learn, laugh, and debate new ideas and philosophies introduced to you while listening to this production.

One of the best takeaways from these is the fact that you learn to love your team or favorite player even more, without any soccer involved. There are things you find that you can completely connect with. It could be music, books, children, work, travel...you know, life in general. There are a lot reasons why they say don’t meet your idols, but Matt Gaschk gives you a thousand reasons why you should want to support them.

I hope the staff at RSL realize how great these audio pieces really are, because even some of the best full-time podcasts, in any genre, capture don’t capture that kind of magic in an interview. Check out the links below and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts from. I highly recommend it.

Beyond The Pitch: Tony Beltran

The RSL Show