S1 Ep. 2: The Freddy Adu Show

American Prodigy: Becoming Great

Blue Wire

Sports

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2020

⏱️ ? minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Freddy stepped off the stage of his introductory MLS press conference and right onto The Late Show with David Letterman. Before Adu had even played a pro game, MLS promoted its fresh-faced teen superstar with commercials alongside Pelé, feature stories and magazine covers in order to save a league in desperate financial straits. Freddy Mania put butts in the seats for the 2004 season, but it also set expectations unbelievably high. No one even knew if he was going to start games. Grant Wahl watched the pressure mount, wondering: “Can Freddy handle the hype?” American Prodigy listeners! We want to learn more about you! Please fill out this quick survey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This podcast is brought to you by Coors Light.
0:03.0	Coors Light's the one I choose when I need to unwind.
0:06.0	So when you need to hit reset, reach for the beer that's made to chill.
0:10.0	Get Coors Light and the new look delivered straight to your door with Drisley or Instacart.
0:14.0	Coors Brewing Company, Golden Colorado.
0:16.0	Celebrate responsibly.
0:18.0	They are on their feet in D.C. a standing ovation.
0:25.1	We're waiting for Freddie to come out on the field.
0:29.6	Make that debut.
0:31.1	April 3rd, 2004, R.F.K. Stadium, Washington, D.C.
0:37.0	It was the first game of the MLS season.
0:39.3	The reigning champion, San Jose Earthquakes, with star Landon Donovan,
0:43.3	faced off against DC United and 14-year-old sensation Freddy Adieu.
0:49.3	The old barn was sold out, and nearly 2 million people were watching on ABC, one of the
0:55.3	largest TV audiences in league history.
0:58.7	The stadium was alive, crackling with energy, as everyone waited for Freddie the biggest
1:03.9	story this league had ever seen.
1:07.1	I was watching that day from San Antonio, where I was covering the NCAA basketball Final Four,
1:13.0	but my Sports Illustrated magazine story on Freddie, which took up part of the cover,
1:17.7	was on newsstands around the country.
1:20.3	Before the crowd could roar at Freddy's arrival, the media had created a deafening buzz around the teen,
1:26.5	drowning out any warning bells.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Blue Wire, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Blue Wire and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.