Carolina infielder Alyssa Brito stopped amid explaining how her love of coffee led her to bring her espresso machine to the clubhouse, pausing so she could turn a double play.
Oklahoma City’s Sydney Romero and Chicago’s Morgan Zerkle made catches in the outfield amid conversations with the announcers.
And Portland’s Tori Vidales offered an analysis of her teammate’s home run in the top of the inning, explained how her glove was made and shared with both announcers and viewers the defensive shifts the Cascade were making as they made them.
If you want in-game access, AUSL has cracked the code. While Athletes Unlimited has been mic’ing up players since it launched in 2020, the feature has shined during the AUSL’s second season.
It’s truly one of the most compelling things in live sports. (Not for nothing, the AUSL’s viewership was up 181% on ESPN year-over -year for the first two weeks of the season. I’m not saying that’s solely why, but it can’t hurt.)
Here’s a look at how and why it works.
Opportunity to innovate
Building from the ground up gave AUSL the chance to do something novel with the freedom of not being bound by years of doing it the same way.
Still, Cheri Kempf, chief broadcast officer at Athletes Unlimited, didn’t get an immediate yes on mic’ing up players. Recalling chatting it through with one of the producers, Kempf said she asked for the players to be mic’d up, to which the producer thought it meant stopping the games.
“I go, ‘No, I want them to play. I want them to be playing,’” Kempf told me. “And he’s like, ‘There’s no way they can do that.’ And I said, ‘They can do it.’ And they have been aces.”
Kempf also came up with the league’s Golden Ticket series, and the social media buzz and interest it’s created has been nothing short of remarkable.
Those type of innovations have allowed for others, including chair chats during the games — something much more akin to a midgame interview that we see in other sports. The AUSL has also put iPhones on tripods in the dugouts, capturing everything from players dancing to them taking it to home plate to celebrate scoring plays.
Working through the tech
How easy is it to actually pull this off, you ask? Well, not as difficult as it might seem, but not without obstacles either.
Kempf said the earpieces that allow the players to hear the announcers and talk back have progressively gotten smaller. Before the game, players get mic’d with a transmitter, which they wear in a small fanny pack. They put their earpiece in when its their inning to be live.
Kempf said the AUSL has worked through transmission issues, with less interference now than five years ago (although Chicago’s home in Rosemont often faces issues because of its proximity to O’Hare). Because the league produces nearly all of its games, the segments air with all its broadcast partners — ESPN, CBS Sports, MLB Network and YES Network.
“The challenges we’ve had are with the technology, not the players that we’re asking to play,” she explained. “We’ve done it on every single position, and people are fascinated by catchers, and they’re also fascinated by the corners.”
Players sell the product
Really, all of it is fascinating. But part of what makes it compelling is getting to know the players and the game — something the athletes are heavily invested in.
Take Vidales, who also works as an analyst for the SEC Network. In a game in June, she talked about the monster home run her teammate, rookie Megan Grant, hit at her first at-bat. All before explaining her custom-made glove, which has two-tone leather that replicates a smoky-eye look inspired by her love of make-up.
“Not only do you get to talk about the strategy part of the game, but you also figure out who the players are, which is important,” Vidales told me. “It’s a testament to how great the players are in the league too and how dedicated we are to growing the game.
“All of us have a great understanding that the game doesn’t stop with us.”
In a sport that’s struggled to sustain a viable pro league in the past, they’re invested in helping AUSL succeed. Kempf said nearly all players have said yes to wearing mics, seeing the value in building their brands alongside the AUSL’s.
With their buy-in, the league is continuing to include the segments for most games. And it’s still looking to innovate, with Kempf expecting to mic up umpires later this season.
“The perspective that it adds to a fan is unprecedented, and it’s invaluable,” Kempf said. “We’re not doing anything just for the bells and whistles of it. We’re doing it so that we’re a more entertaining product so that more people watch and overall it becomes valuable to everyone.”
