TFG Pod: Lia Reich, NFL Daughter Extraordinaire
From The Football Girl Podcast, hosted by Melissa Jacobs. Please subscribe in iTunes to get new episodes of the pod in your feed the second we publish. If you like what you hear, please rate and/or review us!
Imagine being a kid with a late January birthday and having consecutive parties held at the Super Bowl because you wanted to celebrate with your dad and he happened to be the backup quarterback for the Buffalo Bills. Or two decades later experiencing the indescribable glory of watching your dad finally win a Super Bowl, this time as a coach.
In our latest episode, Lia Reich, daughter of Frank, provides a lens into her close relationship with her father and family and how the values he instilled during a delightful childhood catapulted her to a fascinating career as a marketing executive in robotics. Lia shares a plethora of great stories about her dad, explains why she went to journalism school, touts robotics as the future, and offers a few suggestions on how the NFL can further market to women.
Plus, Melissa Jacobs on what appears to be the blackballing of Eric Reid, how Nate Solder’s signing leaves a lot of teams with a big hole and Tom Brady’s jaw-dropping beer chugging abilities.
The Rundown:
3:07: Is Eric Reid the new Kaepernick?
6:50: The NFL’s left tackle conundrum
9:11: All hail Tom Brady, beer-chugging god
18:47: How being the daughter of NFL QB impacted Lia
22:02: Lia learns football at a very young age
25:42: Lia on her seemingly perfect family
29:28: Why Lia went to journalism school
34:00: What Lia learned from her short time in journalism
37:02: Lia on her pivot to robotics
43:38: Lia on her experience a Super Bowl LII
46:15: Lia provides a tick-tock of her father landing the Colts job
50:09: Lia on women in the NFL
55:21: Melissa on how the NFL can make more money off free agency
Notable Quotables:
Lia on her experience watching the Eagles in the Super Bowl:
When we came back to the 2nd half, I really don’t remember much of what happened, it was so back and forth. We were so stressed and I was sitting next to my mom knowing how important this was for her. Her sixth Super Bowl, all of them losses. Knowing the anxiety she was feeling it was really nerve-wracking during the game itself.
But after the game, going down on the field and seeing all the craziness around was the most amazing thing I’ve pretty much ever experienced.
Lia on how the NFL can better market to women:
As you look at some of the initiatives that NFL teams are taking on – I’ll use the San Chargers, now the LA Chargers as an example. When my dad was in San Diego they did a women’s education class and my dad, I remember him calling me and saying how overwhelmed he was by the amount of women and girls who showed up at the complex to learn about the fundamentals of football from him. As the father of three girls, he loved that opportunity and I hope more teams will continue to host these football 101 classes.
MUSIC: Funky Cha Cha – Arturo Sandoval | Whatever It Takes – Imagine Dragons | Make It Rain – Fat Joe Featuring Lil’ Wayne | Mr. Brightside – The Killers
