Nathan Harriel on the Olympics, Florida life and the viral raccoon | The DOOP pres. by Subaru

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what are your thoughts on vegetables no won’t eat it won’t go near it any vegetable no you going ask my mom about it like not one vegetable it was a fight for me when I was youngry to eat it was like you’re not leaving the table until you finish I was like mm you’re a professional athlete though how do you not eat any fruit or any vegetables I’m [Music] [Music] a welcome back to the D presented by Subaru where we get to know your favorite Union players off the p pitch I’m Sage Hurley over there that’s Mark who just got off a flight from England to be here for this one Cheerio and of course we have homegrown Defender Nate harriel I’m so surprised you found the time to do this amidst all the golf you’ve been playing lately yeah um don’t to talk about that but uh yeah we playing a lot of golf with Rafa Jack Joe troio he might get in trouble for going with us but no it’s been fun it’s been fun when did you start playing well like when I was younger I played like just went to the driving range cuz there’s like five golf courses near my house back at home so I go to driving range there and then like 3 years ago when Joe benick was here we go with him I was God awful at it I put the clubs down stopped and then I think two months ago I was like you know I’m G give it one more try out of nowhere I went to dicks one day my boy Tom hooked me up at Cherry held dicks and ever ever since then I’ve been going like once a week then speaking of Joe bendick he asked a question um at Jay bendick former goalkeeper for the Philadelphia Union now with the Vancouver White Caps wants to know is it true that you’re the best golfer on the team uh no I think I think the best golfer for going by who’s on the team even though he’s not here is Brandon Craig he should probably stop golfing and even Joe stop soccer Joe told him that he needs a drop soccer and just focus on golf get on the tour he could probably do it honestly like I think his handicaps like a five or four wow seriously he’s really good what’s your lowest score I just do Scramble with Joe I think our lowest we got was like a plus plus five at Westwood in Jersey so not bad Mark you’re a big golfer love golfing played over in England uh when I was there uh course called Hillside uh right next to Roa burkdale where they do the British Open every once in a while beautiful um where’s your favorite course that you’ve played around here recently uh Valley Brook is pretty fun Ron Geor of course valy Brook really good they’re going to up next time they said but that’s a good course Jaws is a great guy he’ll he’ll help you out I haven’t met him yet but apparently he’s like always at the Country Club Westwood is pretty cool too little bit more challenging um and then we did what else did we did I did Walnut with my with one of my friends over the weekend that was fun too this year with the foundation the golf event about it we’re going to be there you’re going to be there if we have off we’re going to be there it’s going to be at Rolling Green which apparently is a beautiful course here in the area um yeah you might have to put a force him in yeah know I think if if we have off I know Rafa Jack me and Joe probably that I think so yeah that’s a good squad yeah who is the worst out of that group I mean I don’t want to call anybody out I don’t want everyone what the everybody’s good at certain things like off the tea Rafa drives it probably 260 270 dead straight almost every single time wow uh Joe chokes when he gets on the Green always a two putt um he’s the most competitive person I’ve ever met in my entire life yeah like after we go golfing the next day Joe will come in pretty if he doesn’t go go well for him he’ll be pretty depressed and like not really talk to anybody head down pretty sad Joe choyo is on staff for the team um we played staff basketball at preseason and it was 5v5 um like we were playing a pretty intense game for two hours at one point him and Ryan RoR and assistant coach were playing a game within the game against each other oh they go at each other and they didn’t pass ball to anybody RoR and troes are like the most competitive people I’ve ever met in my life that like aren’t like when they’re just playing pickup games it’s kind of scary so it sounds like he’s a good person to have in your force him then yeah he is but sometimes he tries you a little bit too much and it cost us a little bit here and there but um it’s working pains he’s not going to be happy to hear that no he’s not but it’s true who’s the most improved then so far probably Jack because Jack’s like not really athletic at all so like his progression Plus at his apartment he’s a golf simulator so he goes like every single day so there’s no excuse for him not to be good a lot better okay all right so that’s not the only thing you guys do together we need an update on the bowling league Rafa talked about it a little bit but you’re the ring leader of this whole thing it’s kind of off season CU it’s warm outside now so it’s like why be inside when it’s 80 degrees and nice and can’t get any sun so bowling’s a little bit offseason right now um where do you put your bowling balls in my apartment in my closet they’re both just chilling in there getting prepared for the season that comes up in like late October that that time when it gets a little bit cooler outside we’ll get back in the league for sure but um yeah winter is bowling time and summer is golf time spring and summer golf time yeah oh perfect you guys have a schedule then that’s that’s great and it’s a home gr’s only thing but since with the exception of donno donno and then Leon Leon Leon’s pretty good at golf too Leon and Oliver so it’s most just with the young guys if anything okay we’re trying to get we got OE out there one time awful oh wow yeah oh he didn’t have a putter so that doesn’t help does it yeah I know but it’s it’s mostly just like with the young guys getting together anything we can do I mean all all the older guys have like wives and families and kids and responsibilities versus us where we just go home and nap and that’s it play Xbox play PS5 focus on your golf game yeah watch YouTube videos So speaking of homegrown there’s a couple new young guys in the group since the last time we had a homegrown on the Pod there have been three more that signed to the first team tabi Vasquez Andre Rick and Cav suvan as one of the eldest of the Homegrown contingent on the team have you helped them kind of adjust to life on the first team um I don’t think it’s like helping them I think it’s just like getting through it if anything I mean it’s pretty easy to come in into this team especially if you’re young guy cuz there’s no like big dividing between older guys young guys it’s all just one really big group so it’s all good but no they’re performing really good um obviously Cav he’s only 14 years old which is kind of crazy to think about but yeah he’s playing good Rick’s been here forever it feels like because he’s been training with us since preseason um had those loone spells when Dre was out and now he’s officially got his contract and then David too so I mean they’re all good young players there’s uh really nothing for them to worry about just take their time coming through training and they’ll be fine do you think it’s cool for them to have you guys to lean on a little bit oh yeah yeah it’s great for them to be with us you know humble them a little bit coming from Union 2 where they might be big dogs and MLS nextpro and then come through our trainings and realize that it’s not going to fly did you have that sort of experience yeah when I first came out I think everyone does when they first come up from the second team to the first team or even from the academy the second team there’s always that adjustments period that’s like really difficult because used to being down there and dominating and then you get thrown with older guys and grown men and it’s just a whole different ball game so since you’ve joined the first team you you are almost the record Setter for highest number of starts as a homegrown did you know that no I saw someone put it out on Twitter after a game I had no idea you’re five away so you have I don’t know where I’m at right now you have 52 starts and Austin trusty has 56 hopefully I can break it who’s what’s who’s the next closest well we don’t have that information Nate you tricked us well just you know like to compete I want to have the number one title I think I think you’ll probably get I hope so yeah I think so I mean there’s a lot of game left this year so we’ll see and this is a big year for you otherwise obviously there’s you’ve started almost every game that you’ve been a part of and you’ve been doing really well you’ve played your natural position you’ve subbed in for Kai when he’s been injured you even played center back in that home leg against puka yeah I mean like at the end of the day wherever you want to throw me on the field I’ll play there’s really no excuses I feel like because once you’re in the game just just natural you’re running off Instinct and um yeah I mean I’m a pretty good athlete overall so filling out any of those positions it’s a little bit challenging it’s a little bit different but at the end of the day you’re just playing soccer out there so what you say you’re kind of a Swiss army knife for this team I mean Jim said it before I’m not going to go ahead and say it myself but whatever is needed I’ll I’ll do I won’t complain so The Best Is Yet To Come that mindset has put you in the conversation for being part of the 2024 Paris Olympic Squad if that does come to fruition what would that mean to represent the country that would be huge huge I mean Olympics is like I think for any athlete Olympics like the biggest like the most you can achieve I mean for in my book being at Olympics is bigger than playing in a world cup I mean some people might not agree with that especially like in the soccer World but I know Olympic just like all these great athletes I mean I remember when I was younger watching in London you sign Bol the 100 meter dash the four like the 4×1 4×4 I remember watching all that with my my family back at home so it’s a huge thing I’m pretty sure my dad almost made the Olympics too when he was coming out of high school really but he wasn’t able too because like he ran the 200 and 100 he was pretty close but like he just missed it so like just being Olympian would be would be massive and then you get to do it with Jack mcglinn who you’ve been working with alongside for a long time here at the Philadelphia Union how is it to do it with him I mean me and Jack we lived in the Reni house with ailia oh since Co so it’s like that’s been what five years I think in the making so like every single step we’re doing it together which is pretty cool to see our both of our careers develop and flourish so I mean hopefully there’s more to in the Summer with the Olympics hopefully we both can go and represent so going back to that residency house what was that like 13 kids four rooms I no 13 kids you five rooms two to a room can you explain what it is for people who might not know yeah so it’s just all the kids in the academy that aren’t from the area so in my first time it was some kids from Florida Michigan Texas and California and we have cilia as our host family great host family host mom she does everything for us laundry cooking cleaning only responsibility we have is to go to school and come to training but um it was so much fun being in the house with all these guys and I’m seeing them now cuz most of those guys in that house I think all of them went pro in some in some way within MLS or USL wow so was super cool can you imagine being in charge of that house Mark I was just thinking about that I’ve got two kids at home and it’s just not it’s not that it’s like when people think of the house before they come they think it’s like a mess it’s like a frat house but it’s the exact opposite it’s cuz she keeps you guys in line keeps in line yeah there’s there’s freedom but like it’s not like a free-for all at the same time it’s it’s good times are you got like going into each other’s closets or like saying like hey you need to pick this up yeah I mean everyone just like making sure that you’re responsible in the house you don’t have a dirty especially if your roommate’s dirty like my roommate Axel at like 3:00 in the morning he had so many bris cans underneath his bed he would just crack it open and start chugging at yeah you can ask Jack about it too but um yeah no the house is amazing I mean back when I was in the house I was so excited in my own apartment but now like we all talk about it we wish we can go back and just have like one month together it’s like real world but for Philadelphia Union soccer exactly so would you and Jack be roommates at the Olympics if that came to be how does that work you I probably rumors with Paxton honestly because when we go to Camp he’s always with Paxton and then I’m with Kade Cal who plays at Chas but um yeah I don’t know no I don’t think Jack would be my roommate and I wouldn’t want him to be my roommate either why not no I had him in preseason for the first League I wasn’t really a big fan of it I was more of a fan of like I had Holden that was probably the best room I had this year really yeah holding runs a tight ship in the room bedtime by 10:30 up at 7:30 I liked it impressive oh good to know funny wow yeah so at the Olympics do you think you would add um the Olympic rings to your yeah I think I think I would yeah I would have to I’m not sure where at yet but um I think I would I do some thinking on it I would definitely text Jay the at Bone Daddy’s tattoo probably like I think he like the best in Delo great tattoo shop probably hit him up yeah he was our chief tattoo officer for a while yeah he’s a great guy he’s done like I think he’s done one two three four he four my tattoo five of my tattoos so a lot of people ask questions about your tattoos will you give us a tattoo tour yeah so I have one two three four five six so I have the one on my L the biggest one I have is the palm tree that one hurt the most cuz like on the back of near the calf that was some pain and then um the right above my knee I have my family’s birthdays and above my knee I have this big compass that no one really sees but it has like the laundry latitude of my hometown house in inore Florida that means a lot cuz it’s home and I I go home for like two weeks a year now um and then on here has my favorite song love yours by Jay Cole my back is uh my grandmother’s heartbeat right before which passed away back in 20 back in 2020 or 2021 and then on my arm here I have two Bible I have a Bible verse here and then like a religious sign in inside of my arm so yeah so your faith is a really big part of who you are yeah like every single Sunday like I church back at home even up here I watch every single Sunday if we don’t have training or after training I’ll come home and watch church so it’s yeah it’s huge and there’s a group of guys that get together sometimes after training and then sometimes even after a game on the field yeah with Andy it’s great every sing on Thursday I’m pretty sure he comes up in the front office and does it on Wednesdays but yeah Thursday it’s like me biso Dre um who else is up there Marcus Isaiah MCA Paulie’s up there Brad’s up there yeah it’s a big group it’s great and then after games um who’s on the field like left on the field usually just me and Paulie CU everybody goes in the locker room right away or meet with the family Me Andy and uh and paully have a little pressure after games so yeah it’s great do you think that’s a cool thing for you to be able to express who you are and your faith outside of soccer with your team you need a strong community and like I think a Christian Community is like the strongest one you can have to keep your morals correct and um you know it’s hard to go through this world by yourself with everything that’s going on so just having someone to lean on and help you out has that always been a big part of your life then yeah I mean I grew up in the church when I was younger I was always Vacation Bible School in the summertime because work it there and then yeah every single Sunday it was it was great so a lot of your tattoos are about your faith and then about your family they’re huge to you how has your family helped you in your professional journey and just throughout your life navigating a transition from Florida to Pennsylvania a lot I mean like when I was younger like I was my parents would either be driving me across the state up to Jacksonville or down to Miami or even Orlando all the time uh take me to practice 5 days a week I remember Wednesdays we’ have to drive to Lakewood Ranch Sarasota near IMG for like like an hour and a half both ways so yeah it was huge without them I would definitely not be where I’m at even for my younger brother same thing for him they take him all over the place too and it’s it’s great speaking of your younger brother that’s Jaden harriel and he is something of a baseball star 2024 6A district 10 Player of the Year going to Florida Atlantic University yeah and boa he has some questions for you yeah I’ve heard my mom told me so before we get to the bulk of the mailbag which is packed full Mark has quite a few questions for you let’s see what your brother has to say he asked these both on Instagram and Twitter so I think he’s excited yeah Jaden hariel wants to know how does it feel that your younger brother has a player of the year before you I never played in high school I wasn’t allowed to play in high school sports but um good it’s good for him uh he had a really good year I’m pretty sure he set a record too as the all-time heading leader in E High School history uh played all four years with RC and baseball which is like extremely hard to do especially down in Florida because I think that’s like the best baseball there is in the country but yeah it was it was huge for him he had a really good year the team had a good year itself they won uh pcac for the first time in Eastlake history this year so yeah it was huge did you get to watch some of his games at all yeah on Game Changer my iPad I was able to watch um it suck I couldn’t get down for any senior games this year but um yeah I mean they had a great year and then hopefully the best for him to come and at F you different level playing with grown men now so it’s going to be it’s going to be a challenge for sure do you ever talk to him about that like the transition to a higher level or just kind of no I just let him go let him learn then when he hits it hits a a bump in the road then he’ll probably text me my mom would say hey reach out to Jaden he has another question yeah why are you the shortest sibling I don’t know man I think the genan just skipped me I think since I was like 16 he was taller than me he’s like 6’2 now 6’2 like 25 220 just pure muscle he’s a big kid what position does he play for baseball he plays third first and then he closes so but in the college he’ll go back out to the Outfield just for the opportunity to play as a freshman cuz College baseb was like it’s a gauntlet man like if you’re not playing as a freshman then most of the time they just go down to Joo but even Joo baseball in Florida is like the best baseball there is in the country yeah so yeah wow yeah who’s the better athlete you’re him it’s me for sure you can ask anybody from home um it’s okay you can admit it no he can’t can’t play more more than one sport I’m the I’m the better athlete in the family I think he would have something to say about that it’s okay my 13-year-old sister is a better athlete than I am too I can promise you he’s wrong so who do you think you got the athleticism from Mom or Dad U I’m pretty sure it’s my dad’s side of the family like just everyone in that family is crazy athletic there’s if you go down yeah but like it’s all football it’s all football and track and baseball but yeah well I was going to ask if they like baseball or soccer better but no they know nothing about soccer no one on my family knows nothing about soccer it’s kind of crazy to think about okay then how did you get into soccer so I think soccer is like the youngest sport you can put a kid in so like at the age of four my mom was like you are driving me insane in this house so you need to go do something outside besides go to my dad’s football practices at the high school where he he coached High School football so when I was younger I I would always be out there at at football track practice and I got to a point mom’s like you need to do something evening and I just threw me in soccer and I just it just stuck so yeah I mean it was fun I played every single sport growing up but I think soccer just the one that stuck the most to me it was different no one in my family has done it before even like in my friends like none of them none of them play soccer so yeah just just being different I guess if you didn’t play soccer what sport would you want to play um probably football would be my next thing just cuz just natural I played football in high school for like one spring just to see how it was and then they asked me if I wanted to come back next year I was like no I’m done I said no I’m done yeah I play the spring game had a touchdown F recovery I like I’m done I don’t need to do anymore what position were you then I played wide receiver in high school and then I played corner on like in defense wow yeah we were actually talking about this yesterday what position we think because we were trying to think what you were going to say to that question and both of those answers were said yeah yeah perfect um your mom a really big part of your life yeah Mark has a question about your mom Mark who about Mark I thought it was Mark Mackenzie if any say which mark well it’s actually the question is not from me okay it’s from mlin Kim I saw this on Twitter how incredibly cool is your mom very cool she wants to know yeah she comes up here a lot to help me out with stuff most time she comes up here she’ll take me to wigman’s right away clean the apartment but no she’s great uh she’s extremely helpful whenever I need something I call her and it’s like instant right away it’s not like any delay so she’s great she me helpful with everything did she help you out a lot when you were just first moving here like did you call her all the time like hey Mom how do I do this how do I do that I used to call her all the time about cooking cuz I have no idea how to cook anything so she would always text me or send me like recipes what to do and then even moving in my apartment like when I moved into my new apartment it was when we were gone last year with Champions League in Mexico and my mom just was up here moving in to help me out which is like show me helpful cuz like moving in is so stressful it’s it’s so much work I didn’t realize how much it it was until like I was actually moving stuff I had so much stuff I didn’t need sorts do you know how to cook now yeah yeah I keep it pretty simple what’s your goto uh just big steak when I was in Puerto Rico with my friends in the offseason and I just fell in love with it super easy to make and chicken cets too chicken cets and M potatoes yeah yeah that’s so after this break we’ll go to questions and there’s actually an entire food related category of questions so we’ll get back to this great we’ll be right back Subaru has teamed up with the Philadelphia Union and Greater Philadelphia area Subaru retailers to make a difference in our community and at Subaru Park together we’ve helped hundreds of pets get adopted at the stadium at Subaru Park we’ve grown and donated thousands of servings of fresh organic produce to area food banks and helped give kids in our community access to the game they love together Subaru and the Philadelphia Union are making a difference Subaru more than a car company we’re back and we have questions but first Nate the ray Jersey the Phillies are one of the best teams in baseball right now what are we doing I’m from Tampa man our RI pretty our R it’s strong um I mean the Phillies are a great team but I grew up going to T Tampa Bay gam and trop all the time when I was younger cost like seven bucks for a ticket so you and not many others though right oh there’s no one ever at the games like last in the playoff games like there’s nobody in there I mean they were 3:00 games but there’s you could not tell a playoff game compared to up here Florida man through and through oh yeah 100% do you accept that characterist yeah but it has a bad rep I think the title is a bad rep like I told my mom about this the other day when she was up here and she was human about it cuz she’s like people don’t go down there and they don’t know what it’s like it’s not like what they sees on they see on TV it’s not that bad honestly the headline is always Florida man does something if you look when that if you look where that happens at it’s like in the sticks of Florida like in the middle of the state like it that doesn’t happen on like the coast where I’m from like nothing in Tampa Miami is different Miami is a different world so in Philly now what are your favorite things about Philly compared to Florida and then things that you miss in Florida I think um City living is pretty cool I mean I didn’t grow up in a big city at all so just being able to walk around places seeing different things like the culture is definitely different up here for sure um the food is it’s great food up here too um the people are amazing it’s a lot different from back at home where everyone’s laid back and relaxed people up here kind of L up your ass on certain things but it’s it’s nice I don’t mind it you do a lot of walking around the city you’ve mentioned before with your dog bear yeah when he’s here he’s not here right now he is back home in Florida because we have not been here at all this year so it was just too much this at the beginning this year the travel was not expected really but he’s he’s at home right now he loves Florida there’s so much space for him uh my parents always take him out on walks I think his first walk’s like at 5:30 in the morning oh wow yeah he loves it only thing I doesn’t like is the heat like it’s too damn H for him down there have you ever taken him for a 5:30 a.m. walk no cuz my dad wak my dad’s a high school teacher so he’s up at that time of the anyway so he’s on a clock now we 5:30 up and going for a walk how do you get him Florida and back drive you drive him oh wow it’s not that bad just straight down 95 he’s a big dog I mean like he’s just like it’s the it’s the fur when you when you cut the fur down he’s not that big he’s pretty dense but he’s not a big dog a lot of our questions were about bear bear update please talk about your dog he’s not here how old is bear he’s he’s going to be two in July oh very young he’s really young yeah he’s not old he’s a very young dog he’s been rolling through the front office since he was a puppy though uhhuh but he’s just been big big dog he’s a goofball but he’s he’s just big and he’s young now he I had no idea yeah no he’s not old no I got him I had him at three months wow yeah how big is he right now he’s the same size he’s only 45 50 lbs but it’s just like when you cut the fur down it’s not like he’s not that big he’s pretty skinny but with the fur on he’s massive massive he’s huge we miss him in the front office I mean I guarantee he mes up here but that florid life he’s loving a little bit too much all right we got the bear update I hope everyone is happy even though we’re not happy that he’s not here food we’re going to the food topic question is from Billy Mojo 10 and he wants to know what’s your favorite fruit but I’ll preface that by saying I ran into Marissa this morning she’s the team performance dietician she told me that she’s never seen you eat a piece of of fruit no I no no just a lot of meat I mean I eat food like at home like you know the cotton candy grapes like the green ones those things are amazing app my kids love those things apples pineapple but I’m not like I’m not like out of nowhere like you know what I want a grape no give me a fry give me a chicken sandwich give me mashed potatoes that’ll do what are your thoughts on vegetables no won’t eat it won’t go near it any vegetable no you going to ask my mom about it one vegetable it was a fight for me when I was younger to eat it was like you’re not leaving the table until you finish I was like you’re a professional athlete though how do you not eat any fruit or any vegetables I’m an athlete explains that I guess yeah I know Don’t Go Near it don’t touch it anything green no so a friend of yours put up two options Nei have vegetables or fruits on them chicken tender Pub sub or a Philly cheese steak chicken turn pups up without a doubt like it’s so clear it’s not even funny Angelo is amazing it’s my favorite cheese SP cheese sake Spa in Philly it’s good but that that pups up Sunday after church usually BOGO too oh my God go to church go Publix’s M do are errands reward for going there go get a pup sub eat your pups up turn the buck game on take a nap every single Sunday there’s a lot of red flags in that amazing that one came from The Bu The Buck game The Bu cheak G usually at 1:00 1:00 or 4:25 that was from your friend C cho cho yeah OG we played with since you6 forever great guy he played at USF for all four years um in the offseason I play pick up with him Co with him but yeah we stay close that’s a Florida friend Florida friend yeah what is a pub sub for those who aren’t from Florida Publix grocery store is only in Florida basically I think there’s some in Georgia but it’s like a wigman’s but they have this sub that is unbelievable you can get any sub you want but the buffalo chicken tender sub or the the Buffalo one oh my God and then you get lemonade a pu lemonade or a p sh tea with it it’s unbeatable sounds like a good Sunday it’s a fantastic Sunday it’s the best part about Sunday all right so this next one shifting back up to Philly from catopia O2 what’s your favorite thing to eat in Philly um a cheese stick I mean it has to be a chees stick Angelo is amazing Nick cr’s got the hook up at Angelo yeah you know some people there yeah so yeah it’s amazing every time I try to go before I went with Nick it was either they were sold out or they were closed CU they close on these random days yep he’s the guy at Angelos like Nick he knows people yeah know like oh yeah he knows people yeah so if you ever want to go to Angelos Ash Nick piano he’ll get you in how do you get your cheese steak done the classic no wh no wh no Wiz no Wiz just onions you do Cooper sharp cuz that’s amazing in no I don’t do whz though R is a big whz guy what do you get Mark that with like with Cooper sharp yeah I got provolone and onions I know it’s good it’s amazing solid and then I throw some may Mayo on it which people aren’t a big fan of but no the Mayo on is really good again you’re a pro athlete and you’re eating Mayo on a cheese steak all right we had a last minute food question when we had the door open for the podcast um a walk by from John the chaplain asked about your love for gas station food wah wa four trips we go to Wawa a lot it’s great you see Quinn roll with like eight subs for all the home grounds and like sometimes Dre and like Jose and B like randomly get their order in but yeah Hua is a SWAT to go okay all right that’s not necessarily gas station food though I would gas say that’s gas station food G but it is a gas station a gas station it’s a gas station like Wawa is a gas station but sometimes there’s no gas but Wawa is a gas station it’s a gas station it’s not a establishment it’s high like it’s like high-end it’s like five star G gas station F yeah it’s good yeah okay I’m not convinced but we’ll talk about that another time all right Union related questions quite a few at Brendan R 1966 when you retire from soccer many years from now what do you think you’ll do hopefully sit on a beach back in Florida just watch the sunset and sunrise but I have no idea honestly like I don’t know I asked Joe benick this question last year and like he’s older than me like nearing that time he was like I don’t know either so I was like I don’t know either but yeah I have no idea honestly just hopefully be back on the beach play some golf but honestly probably like stay within Sports somehow and some way would be the best thing for me to do Post career you’re always up here in the front office have you ever thought about maybe being a in the business side I don’t think I can sit in a cubicle inside all day long I don’t think I could do it personally I need to be outside I just like no son coaching could you co possibility but some kids are so I don’t know but you’re good with the kids the most part yeah but like some kids like these kids growing up now just it’s not the same man like is ah don’t get me started how old are you 23 yeah but these youngers like the kids at YC now different too like y I see back then y I see now was totally different world so this next question came from Kitman extraordinaire Brandon kamsky we talked about a little bit earlier in terms of being a Swiss army knife but who inspired you to become a goal scorer all of a sudden I don’t know everyone talks crap on me for not scoring and training and then I think last year was when like it really popped off but they all set pieces all Corners cuz no one picked me out cuz I’m like the smallest one there is but yeah especially Jack mlen Jack all the home grounds really just talk took a lot of nonsense on me for not scoring at all in training so KN lash ended more goals with all of them it was pretty good feeling it’s good feeling and a lot of that has to do with your vertical Nico jordano 10 wants to know what is your vertical I really don’t know I’ve never like really measured it I think it’s more of just like a I don’t know just like athleticism thing like I’m I’m pretty sure I’m like one of the most athletic guys on the team and like when the ball’s up there I’ll go get it somehow it doesn’t matter how I do it but I’m go get it that sounds like that could be a next social media thing that the social team runs who’s going to be the most athletic comment below who you think I’m pretty sure it’s me I’m like without a doubt who would even be close Damen yeah daman’s pretty athletic but like I’m pretty sure it’s me like Jack’s at the very bottom of that list mlen he at the bottom of that list Glenn is catching Strays left and right on the podcast I think he might have to come on soon to make his case for himself everyone says it like everyone like everyone knows that Jack’s not athletic like everybody knows it everyone also knows that Jack’s left foot his left foot’s amazing good thing he’s left foot [Laughter] cuz um all right so this next question came from C Burke 722 what’s your favorite game you’ve ever played for the union favorite game um I think was last year in the leag cup against Red Bull when I scored the TI and go and W in PKS and it was like it was huge like cuz I have friends on Red Bull too like caros was here when I was here on steel he was here scoring on him uh Jonathan toan good friend scoring on him sick uh so yeah scoring against Red Bull is cool but also like the 2021 Easter Conference fining Us New York City was also I mean we lost but like that was a CO game and like you look at the start lineup in that game it was like people that didn’t play at all yeah and then we held the lead for I think it was like 80 eight something minutes and like we were just like this close so that was a super cool experience to play in it’s like my first like big big game and you played on the left that game right yeah I did play left back that game yeah it was crazy that Red Bull game is a fan favorite for a lot of people Choo Cho last week said that that was one of his favorites too cuz he scored that I think it’s just something about playing as Red Bull I mean the R’s obviously there it’s been five and a half years since we’ve lost to them hopefully we can do six years but um yeah I know playing as Sim is always it’s always fun and being them and scoring as Sim is always a highlight so a sort of related question at Trent Thomas SVA wants to know best opponent you’ve defended against and most intimidating Stadium atmosphere you felt on an away day um I mean like best opponent you can always say it’s messy from like but that’s like probably the most basic answer um strangely enough I think it was in 2022 in Portland when you played against them away Blanco he’s about this tall probably like 36 years old but that man is like these old players are so good in MLS cuz like the experience they have it’s it’s it’s amazing so he’s definitely up there in CNA too from Toronto unreal Talent even though he was like wasn’t really trying the game like when when they want to try like it’s it’s a joke they’re unbelievable and then what about the atmosphere atmosphere um Cincinnati playoff game was pretty it was crazy last year I mean yeah then upset with that with Pat and Chris being there it’s um their environment is always insane it’s always it’s always it’s always rocking in there but that was pretty intimidating but also super cool to play in Another another playoff game do you think that’s an added new rival like a a fresh one I don’t know I mean yeah cuz it’s within like the front office aspect of it I mean geography wise no they’re probably with Columbus and we have Red Bull New York and somehow New England’s going in there too I don’t get I don’t think that’s a rivalry at all but yeah since cinin like playing as them is always it’s always fun to playing against them so this next one is from and it goes back to maybe you being the best athlete on the team stash nc37 wants to know how did you develop your throwin cuz you can absolutely launch it I mean just like the athletic like going back to just being an athlete at the end of the day like I’m just an athlete I grew up playing Bas you I mean I don’t know if you can throw baseball into that like being part of it but like yeah I mean just being a pure athlete I think and I get knocked for it because people like just say he’s only an athlete but like I’m a better athlete than you are it does not matter so this one has to do with athleticism again with all of your header chances at G Hazelwood 08 wants to know does his head hurt after games since at this point he’s just harriel the header sometimes I like there’s like instances but like it’s like quick it’s nothing like crazy there’s no like if it was if it was anything crazy then like yeah it’s important to take care of that and we’ll go back to the front office side of things Ali gtii and Nadia Gibson want to know why do you love volunteering for you serve it’s always great to get back to the to the community you know I mean I’ve been here for six years and the least I can do is get back in some way it doesn’t hurt me at all you know there’s people that need a lot more help than people really think they do so just being able to help out the community is huge and whether it’s cleaning up around the stadium or going to like elementary schools and giving back to them it’s it’s always fun and put smile on their face what’s been your favorite event that you’ve been a part of um I think probably going back to the elementary school and just reading to those kids and you know like it was pretty cool too because it was predominantly black school and for them to like have like a Roa that looks like them it’s always huge like I didn’t have that growing up where I’m from really so I to give it back to kids at the elmet school in Chester was it was amazing and they were really appreciated too it it was it was so much fun the teachers did too and it was great I’ve been there two times before so it’s always fun nice the smile on their faces when you do something like that like what does that mean to you and yeah know it’s like just a little things you know it might not seem a huge thing to you cuz you’re giving it like maybe like two hours every a time but for them it’s like the biggest thing that they’ve they’ve seen you know so it’s it’s super cool that’s awesome and if you want to get involved with you serve the Philadelphia Union is always looking for volunteers and you can be alongside Nate yeah with any of the trash cleanups around the stadium all kinds of things so that’s a really good opportunity um we have a few more questions we have one that’s a little chaotic and one that is wholesome at Tropical star _ ENT which teammate is most likely to lift everyone’s Spirits if the team is feeling disappointed um probably Jacob honestly or Ali because I mean they’re both great leaders but Jacob he he always had a smile on his face like of course if you’re having a if the game doesn’t go as plan of course he’s going to be frustrated but like the next day it’s like it’s out the river Mir it’s out the river Miro it’s gone so yeah probably Jacob and then Oli with his experience uh the level he’s played at the experiences he’s gone through he’s been through everything you could think of so just looking at those two for for answers and tough moments it’s always a good sign and then when all announced that he was coming back this year how important was that it was huge cuz like even before he announced it like in January I came back up he was like can you come through to my house real quick I got to clean some stuff out some clothes and like none of us want him to leave he’s a huge part of this team club’s history uh huge figure in the locker room himself too so it’s huge for him to stay one more year and then final question you might know this account already at Nate haral Stan do you know that account yeah I do I sent their memes all the time it’s hilarious they want to know what’s your favorite Union meme page probably them it’s just so funny they got so much time on their hands but like it’s so I I don’t I don’t pay attention to most of the meme pages but for them they’re a they’re a head case but it’s it’s funny to watch whether we we lose or win it’s pretty funny like the reaction do you have a favorite Union meme Mario answer this too um I think probably my favorite one which is kind of funny cuz I mean it was everywhere when it first happened but when Cav got announced it was a meme of Kobe and Shaq when they were at the Lakers and they have Cavin and Quinn’s head on it and like that duo it was pretty funny just cuz like the timing of it with like it being literally everywhere everybody asked me question who’s this kid Cavin so then to come out with that video it was pretty funny my favorite is the Chris Donovan with like the red laser eyes and it’s like you just got beat by Chris Donan yeah I mean whenever Chris scores in big games I mean he brought Messi here he scor in the playoff came was New England so yeah I mean it’s it’s seems like a knock on Chris but no it’s it’s a great mem no he was one of my all-time favorite interviews when he came off the bench in that New England game and scored and I asked him like oh like what did Jim say to you on the bench before you came in he was like do something Chris keeps it real I mean Chris he’s not one to sugarco or anything he keeps it how it is he’s like when you get him talking about certain things like I’m pretty sure Kylie Kim when they’re out with the questions if they ask one the in depth especially if is a water wet one he’ll go on for about 15 20 minutes and just continue to go until training starts even after the even if the camera’s not on him he’ll still keep going about the question when we bring him on the podcast I already know I have to yeah keep a long amount of time he he will not stop talking he will get his point across and I want to hear his deep Phil philosophical thoughts about the world yeah it’s something else I think he has a lot to say it is something else Mark what’s your favorite Union meme so I can’t believe that nobody neither of you mentioned the most recent meme that was out there with the raccoon ra rakino did I say that right rakino um Believe It or Not we’ve got a live update of exactly how that raccoon is doing from the guy that was chasing him all over the field the man the myth the legend Eddie pvic is in the house Eddie come on there he is EDD let’s get a round of applause he not prepared for this today Mark thanks for having me m question is what were your thoughts running out the raccoon with no gloves on or nothing cuz you do know if you get scratched or bitten by a raccoon or any rodent you will have to go to the hospital for rabies gonna be honest I really didn’t have a plan when I jumped on the field at first I didn’t really know what was happening um I just heard the crowd kind of all shriek at one time and I finally saw it running around and uh looked around for about 30 seconds didn’t see anyone doing anything and I was kind of like I have to at least try to get this thing off or else our league contact was probably going to give me a call right after that um in turn I did actually have a plan even though I didn’t have trash can or anything I ran by one of the FMB workers they had a small basket but I was like this is not going to do with pretty B raccoon it was a big raccoon um and then I was just trying to run it off the field to be honest um try to run it through the 10140 vom so we could get it out the gate and then it got spooked when Mark Melo ran on with the trash can and kind of juked him out there turned it around and then I mean I think I laugh back listening to Dave Leno’s call like five or six times when it almost went in the goal then once I saw grounds with like five trash cans I started running towards them and then was like you guys can take it from here I got nothing else I can do I was going nowhere near that raccoon cuz I know like I’ll mess with anything but a RAC any like raccoon posum there ain’t no way cuz if it touches you there’s a chance you going to the hospital yeah looking back I was like thinking about I should have grabbed it but you should grabbed it I don’t know I was kind of like the last thing you want to do is grab a rco all I all I heard in my ear was suer or our producer yelling Eddie be careful Eddie be careful and then in my right ear was Ally yelling at our game day staff through the radio and I was just like I have no idea what to do but we’re just going to we’re going to see what happens here so yeah luckily it worked out Ry Ryan Haynes got juked out a couple times we finally got him there’s a photo of you running in lock step at this raccoon on the field did you have friends and family reach out to you and ask about the experience I think by the time I got off the field I went and actually saw Mark the mailman in the locker room and he sent me the picture so that was the first time I saw it but then uh I sent it to my friends and family they they were obviously dying laughing when they saw it so yeah no I’m not touched that thing from a player perspective what were the conversations on the field on the sideline everyone kind of like just like looking at it run but like whenever R near us they just like stayed still but I was like uhuh no like it’s a raccoon I’m not bench was just kind of just letting it yeah like people like like when he jumped on the score like on the the board advertisement boards people just sat on their seats and move uhuh that was raccoon there’s no way there’s no way and Eddie how’s the raccoon doing right now he was safely uh taken away from the stadium and release so he’s as far as I know still happy and healthy probably looking for I don’t know some more food out there in the wild I guess well because this is his home The Great Outdoors the riverfront of Chester where’d you guys dump it at uh it got taken off the grounds and was released safely so I don’t know exactly where I know it was far far away from the stadium Hoffman’s our partner came in and they took carried it very far away all right do you guys think that was Dave Leno’s all-time best radio call personally I do I didn’t get to hear it at all so really no oh you need to listen to it it’s so good I saw over Twitter so I mean the the raccoon like worldwide now I think Dortmund tweeted them out yeah and from Germany yeah it’s crazy on that note Nate thank you so much for coming on the dup presented by Subaru can you close us out yeah make sure you guys like comment and subscribe and to the dude podcast make sure you watch it too