Welcome to the Party

In 1995, sailing’s most prestigious competition had existed for nearly 150 years without an all-women’s team. Then came Mighty Mary. Dismissed as a publicity stunt, the groundbreaking crew took on the best sailors in the world, defeated four-time America’s Cup winner Dennis Conner—and nearly disappeared from sports history.

Abby and Julie sit down with Mighty Mary director and Olympian Mary Mazzio, team captain Dawn Riley, sailor Merritt Carey, and executive producer and narrator Elizabeth Banks to unpack the team’s incredible rise, the leadership failures and shady backroom decisions that changed everything, and why women must be in the rooms where decisions are made.

Plus, Abby and Julie reflect on the moments they didn’t realize were history while living them, debate the 1999 USWNT vs. today’s team, and reveal Abby’s hilarious “logical consequence” for her kids: watching all 184 of her goals.

Mighty Mary opens in select theaters September 11. Visit MightyMaryFilm.com to find a screening near you.



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Keep the Party Going:

GO SEE Mighty Mary. Seriously. The incredible story of the groundbreaking 1995 women’s America’s Cup team opens in select theaters September 11. Find a theater near you and grab tickets: https://www.mightymaryfilm.com/

Party People, it’s time to do More Than Four. Take the More Than 4 Challenge and learn more about Zoe’s Goal, our September charity supporting childhood cancer research. A portion of proceeds from our merch store this month goes to Zoe’s Goal, too. https://zoesgoal.org/

Want to see where Dawn Riley is building the next generation of sailors? Check out Oakcliff Sailing in Oyster Bay, New York, where Dawn serves as Executive Director and trains sailors for the America’s Cup, Olympics and beyond. https://www.oakcliffsailing.org/

Mighty Mary awakened your inner sailor? The Women’s Match Racing World Championship is coming to San Francisco September 30–October 4: FOLLOW ALONG: https://www.sailing.org/our-sport/types-of-sailing/sailing-match-racing/

“Historically Speaking”? “The Party Before the Party”? We still need a name for our new history segment. Got something better? Send it to partypeoplequestions@gmail.com.

And mark your calendars for the next America’s Cup. The 38th America’s Cup heads to Naples, Italy, in 2027, with the Match beginning July 10. https://www.americascup.com/38th-americascup

And learn more about the woman who finally brought Mighty Mary’s story back to life. Mary Mazzio is an Olympic rower turned award-winning filmmaker whose work centers on overlooked people doing extraordinary things: https://www.50eggs.com/about/

From Mighty Mary to Maine lobster. Merritt Carey now works in fisheries and rural economic development and helped build the Tenants Harbor Fisherman’s Co-op, connecting local fishermen more directly with consumers and helping protect a working waterfront in Maine. https://lobsterfrommaine.com/lobstermen/merritt-carey/



Thank you to our sponsors:

-Ally’s got you covered. Ally Bank, Member FDIC

Party people, actor, producer and entrepreneur Gillian Anderson and former New Zealand captain and Crux Football founder Bex Smith are joining the party!

Bex breaks down why women’s football can’t reach its full potential by simply copying the men’s model—and how Crux is building dedicated ownership, investment and infrastructure around the women’s game. Gillian shares why she invested in the mission, how Sex Education inspired her bestselling book Want and her G-Spot drinks, and why creating spaces for women to speak openly about desire has become part of her purpose.

Plus, Billie Jean King explains why women’s teams need their own sales and commercial operations, Abby and Julie reflect on athletes becoming owners, and the group gets into player power, financial literacy, five Coca-Colas a day—and why the G-Spot remains so hard to find.



Follow @welcometothepartyshow on:

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Email — partypeoplequestions@gmail.com

Keep the Party Going:

Want to see what Bex is building with Crux? Learn more about Crux Football and its mission to build women’s football around the women’s game, not just copy and paste the men’s model: https://www.cruxfootball.com/

Party People, Abby said it: get this book. Gillian Anderson’s Want is a collection of anonymous fantasies from women around the world — and yes, Gillian’s own is hiding in there somewhere: https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/want_9781419777301/

After all that G-Spot talk, obviously we had to give you the link. Meet Gillian Anderson’s line of functional drinks:https://us.thisisgspot.com/

The party before the party is WILD. Go deeper on the Dick, Kerr Ladies, the enormous Goodison Park crowd and the FA ban that pushed women’s football off its grounds for nearly 50 years: https://nationalfootballmuseum.com/stories/12-games-1920/



Thank you to our sponsors:

-Ally’s got you covered. Ally Bank, Member FDIC

Welcome to the Party is coming to you from Billie Jean King’s house…literally. Abby Wambach and Julie Foudy make their first-ever trip to the US Open, joining Kinger inside the Ralph Lauren suite at Arthur Ashe Stadium for a special episode celebrating the tournament she helped transform.

Billie Jean shares what it feels like to see her name across the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, how the women fought to make the US Open the first major to offer equal prize money and the unforgettable 1974 final she somehow pulled back from the brink. The trio also gets into New York’s gloriously rowdy tennis crowds, athletes as entertainers, the intersection of sports and fashion, Billie Jean’s beloved childhood tennis sweater, Honey Deuces, Anna Wintour, and whether Abby and Julie have officially peaked sartorially.

Come for the history, stay for the fits.



Follow @welcometothepartyshow on:

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Email — partypeoplequestions@gmail.com

Substack - https://welcometothepartyshow.substack.com

Welcome to the Party Merch - https://welcometotheparty.voila.store — and for September, a portion of proceeds supports Zoe’s Goal and childhood cancer research.



Keep the Party Going:

How exactly did the whole place become Kinger’s house? Go back to the 2006 night the USTA National Tennis Center was officially renamed for Billie Jean King: https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2023-06-06/milestones_in_equality_home_of_the_us_open_renamed_in_billie_jean_kings_honor.html?

Equal pay at the US Open started with a threat not to come back. Go deeper on how Billie Jean and the women helped make the US Open the first Grand Slam to award equal prize money in 1973. https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2023-03-30/milestones_in_equality_a_long_climb_to_equal_prize_money_at_the_four_grand_slams.html?

Look good. Feel good. Play good. Check out the Ralph Lauren US Open Collection, including the looks inspired by the tournament’s iconic ball crew: https://www.ralphlauren.com/tennis-tournament-cg?ab=en_US_BANNER_SEO_1_S1_L2_



Thank you to our sponsor:

-Ralph Lauren

Five-time Olympic gold medalist, Basketball Hall of Famer, and Team USA’s first-ever Women’s National Team Managing Director Sue Bird joins the party!

Before Sue stops by, Abby and Julie go back to the loss that helped build one of the most dominant dynasties in sports history and how Team USA women’s basketball turned back-to-back bronze medals into a culture that hasn’t lost an Olympic game since 1992.

Then Sue takes us inside her newest role shaping the future of USA Basketball, from making the brutally difficult calls behind a stacked World Cup roster to carrying forward the standard set by legends like Dawn Staley, Lisa Leslie, and Sheryl Swoopes. She talks about why winning remains the North Star, handling the pressure that comes with Team USA, and what today’s players need to understand about putting the team above individual stats.

Plus, Sue opens up about life on the other side of retirement, becoming a broadcaster, navigating social media noise, and why the next phase of growth in women’s sports needs more than investment, it needs strategy.

And with the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup tipping off September 4, the Party People are officially ready to cheer Team USA all the way to Berlin. 🇺🇸🏀



Follow @welcometothepartyshow on:

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Instagram — @welcometothepartyshow

TikTok — @welcometothepartyshow

Email — partypeoplequestions@gmail.com

Substack - https://welcometothepartyshow.substack.com

Welcome to the Party Merch - https://welcometotheparty.voila.store — and for September, a portion of proceeds supports Zoe’s Goal and childhood cancer research.



Keep the Party Going:

Want more Sue Bird in your life? We do too. Follow Bird’s Eye View for Sue’s take on the WNBA, women’s basketball, the people shaping the game and everything happening around it: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/birds-eye-view-with-sue-bird/id1812530040

UConn people, this one is for you. Want to hear more about what Geno really thinks of Sue — and go deep on anything and everything UConn? The Dynasty: UConn Huskies goes inside 40 years of Geno, championships, pressure, personalities and the players who built the standard: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-dynasty-uconn-huskies/umc.cmc.1xd5z7o77x0f6g6laf1vfbdn0

Party People, clear the calendar. Team USA is headed to Berlin. The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup runs September 4–13, with the U.S. opening against China on September 4: https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-womens-basketball-world-cup-2026

And yes, you can watch it all unfold. Find where to watch the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in the U.S.: https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-womens-basketball-world-cup-2026/where-to-watch

Party People, it’s time to do More Than Four. Juggle anything more than four times, nominate four friends and donate more than $4 to help fund childhood cancer research through Zoe’s Goal. And this month, a portion of Welcome to the Party merch proceeds will support Zoe’s Goal too: https://www.pledge.to/mt4zoesgoal

Meet Zoe Suder and learn more about the mission behind Zoe’s Goal: Scoring Against Childhood Cancer. LEARN MORE + DONATE: https://zoesgoal.org/



Thank you to our sponsors:

-Ally’s got you covered. Ally Bank, Member FDIC

At just 18 years old, Iva Jovic has surged from No. 389 in the world to entering her first US Open as a seeded player and she has no intention of stopping there. The American tennis phenom joins Abby Wambach, Julie Foudy and Billie Jean King to talk about her goal of becoming world No. 1, the “healthy delusion” it takes to believe you can beat anyone and why her secret to success is surprisingly simple: show up every day.

Iva opens up about how her parents’ immigration story shaped her drive, the sibling rivalry that made her fiercely competitive and the routines helping her stay grounded and avoid burnout. Plus, she reveals why soccer is still her favorite sport, while Billie Jean challenges Iva and the next generation to lead women’s tennis forward on and off the court.



Follow @welcometothepartyshow on:

YouTube — @welcometothepartyshow

Instagram — @welcometothepartyshow

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Email — partypeoplequestions@gmail.com

Substack - https://welcometothepartyshow.substack.com

Welcome to the Party Merch - https://welcometotheparty.voila.store



Keep the Party Going:

Keep up with Iva Jovic. Follow the 18-year-old rising star on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iva_jovic07/?hl=en

Party People, follow Iva at the US Open! Check the official schedule and results as she takes on New York: https://www.usopen.org/en_US/scores/schedule/index.html

Iva gave it a rave review, so now it’s on our list too: WATCH Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H7KQQLWW?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback



Thank you to our sponsors:

-Ally’s got you covered. Ally Bank, Member FDIC