For the inaugural episode of the FC Nation Podcast, I wanted to take a look at the 2018 World Cup, but from a slightly different perspective. Most of us enjoyed what turned out to be a phenomenal tournament by watching it on TV. We all watched the stories that played out, but some folks got to give those stories voice, as it happened. One of those broadcasters was play-by-play announcer Mark Followill calling his first World Cup.

Mark is the TV voice of the Dallas Mavericks and FC Dallas and this year he teamed up with Warren Barton to call part of the World Cup for Fox. In our conversation, he told the story of his personal “Road to the World Cup,” his favorite moments from the games he called, his list of most compelling stories from the tournament, and his general thoughts on all the action. He also pulled back the curtain for us to give us a behind-the-scenes look at Fox’s coverage of the 2018 World Cup.

On an informational note, thanks to my involvement in the Dallas Soccer Show and being around FC Dallas, Mark and I know some of the same people.  In this episode he mentions “Carter”. For the reference of those not familiar with FC Dallas, Carter Baum is the team’s Digital Content Manager and a multi-time guest on the Dallas Soccer Show podcast.

Major thanks to Mark Followill for being so generous with his time and helping me share the stories of the beautiful game from a slightly different angle.

Mark can be found on Twitter as @MFollowill

Music: Avicii – Fade Into Darkness (Instrumental Radio Mix)

Welcome! I’m Dustin Nation and you’re listening to the FC Nation Podcast. I wanted to take a couple of minutes to introduce myself and tell you a little about this podcast and my vision for it (at least for right now, we’ll see where things take us over time).

So I guess we’ll start with me. As I said, my name is Dustin Nation and by day I’m a software developer in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I’m a husband, and the proud dad of 3 ginger daughters. I’ve been an avid soccer fan since the early 2000’s but never having played it competitively myself. My first soccer love is Liverpool Football Club, insert your jokes or whatever, but one of my fondest memories that kind of instilled a deep love for the game is going to my buddies house to watch the 2005 Champions League final. He had no dog in the fight, but when Liverpool equalized, his mom had to come tell us to be quiet because we were celebrating so loudly. (Sorry Mrs. R). Watching that drama play out on the largest of stages, I came to fully realize what this game can provide to everyone involved from fans to players alike.

Fast forward 12 years and my brother-in-law, Tristan Vick, and I spend a ton of time talking about soccer and decide to start a podcast to bring others into our conversations and learn more from people that are smarter than us. And thus the Dallas Soccer Show was born. After over a year of doing that podcast together and interviewing everyone from journalists to players, I developed a love for the stories of things that you never really think about as a casual fan.

And that brings us to this podcast. Where as my other podcast focuses on the local Dallas MLS side, FC Dallas, this podcast will be more about the game in general. I want to focus on stories that make the game what it is for all of us involved, from the way us as fans watch and experience the games, to the development of the players, to the events that have changed the sport forever.

In order to maintain the highest level of preparedness for each episode, and in order to maintain a healthy work/life/podcast balance, I plan for this podcast to release episodes every 3-4 weeks on average.

I hope you enjoy this podcast and the stories we tell, and if you do, please subscribe in iTunes, leave a review, and share it on social media. The show’s twitter is @FCNationPod and my personal handle is @D_Naish.

Also, I have episodes planned for the next few months, but if you know of a story that I should try and share, please DM me at either of the aforementioned Twitter handles. I’d hate to miss out on a soccer story that needs to be shared!

Thanks for listening everyone! Cheers!

Music: Avicii – Fade Into Darkness (Instrumental Radio Mix)