Hot Take: The Aurora Games

Jessica interviews women's ice hockey coaching legend Digit Murphy about next week's Aurora Games (auroragamesfestival.com/), "a multi-sport, multi-country, multi-day event showcasing the best in women’s sports, entertainment and culture and was created as a platform for “women to take center stage”."

The Games will run from Tuesday, August 20, to Sunday, August 25. If you can't make it to Albany to watch The Games in person, ESPNU will be airing them. You can follow them on Twitter: twitter.com/AuroraGamesFest.

Coach Murphy, who has her own podcast called Grit, will be coaching Team USA in women's ice hockey on Friday, August 23, at 7pm ET.

Transcript

Jessica: Hello, flamethrowers. Jessica here. I'm joined today by Digit Murphy, a legendary woman's ice hockey coach. She coached at Brown University for over two decades, and is one of the winningest coaches in Division I hockey history. She then took her talents to the Canadian Women's Hockey League, first coaching for three seasons with the Boston Blades, where she won two Clarkson Cups and was named the 2013 CWHL coach of the year. Then she spent some time in China coaching the Kunlun Red Star. She took them to the CWHL championship. Now she's involved with the upcoming Aurora Games, which is described on their website as “a multi-sport, multi-country, multi-day event, showcasing the best in women's sports, entertainment, and culture, and was created as a platform for women to take center stage.” The Aurora Games take place next week, beginning on Tuesday, August 20th, and finishing up on Sunday, August 25th. Coach Murphy is here today to tell us more about this exciting new event for women's sport. Welcome to Burn It All Down, Coach Murphy. 

Digit: Hey, Jessica, what's going on? I'm always really upset about that one Clarkson Cup we didn't win in 2014. [laughs]

Jessica: You sound like a true competitor. Yes.

Digit: I'm so mad. And then, you know, we brought the Red Star to the end of the championship game last time and we lost. So, you know, as a coach, you're always focusing on, damn, I should have won that game! Instead of, you know…But anyways. Yeah, we've got a lot going on at the Aurora Games next week. So we're excited about it. 

Jessica: Yeah. So, I wanted to start there, sort of talking broadly about it. How would you describe to our listeners what's actually going to happen in Albany next week? 

Digit: So, essentially, I'll go back and kind of talk about how this all started. I think, so in 2014-15, I met Jerry on this project that I was working on. It was called the New England Sports Village, and it was this kind of multi-use facility. And the reason I was involved in that was because I had just started United Women's Sports, and United Women's Sports is an aggregator model. And I believe that if more than one women's sports works together, it just is a better monetization platform. So I was going out and kind of barnstorming, you know, New England, trying to find entrepreneurs or businesses that would match that situation. My friend Joe Fitzpatrick and I, and Aronda Kirby, my partner and I went up with Joe to see Jerry because we were hoping that he would do the tennis piece, because you know, he's a tennis guy.

Jessica: Right. Will you explain who he is?

Digit: Oh, okay. Sorry. So, Jerry Solomon is Nancy Kerrigan's husband. I always kid him, I'm like, are you Mr. Kerrigan? Because you know, I'm a feminist, [Jessica laughs] just like Burn It All Down. I'm a flamethrower, like you. But anyways, so he's an agent, and he does big things in tennis and he is a promoter. So, you know, he's a good guy to have on your side, especially as a woman, right? Because, you know, he can access sponsors and blah, blah, blah. So anyways, he said, what are you doing? And I said, I'm doing this United Women Sports aggregator. And when he decided to do the Aurora Games, I was one of the first people I think he called, you know, because it all kind of fit into the United Women’s Sports model. So basically what we're trying to do, what Jerry's trying to do, is put together more than one sport in a location like Albany, New York, and have everyone transcend into that city for this event around women's sports.

So, you know, when I look at it, I see women playing on the ice around the concourse, like little booths set up for empowerment or sponsors where, you know…It’s almost like you see those job fairs or things. So you watch the game, there’s a job fair. If you're watching a hockey game, the basketball players can be signing autographs. It's really a role modeling hero worship kind of event, I'm hoping for. And again, it's the first time it's been done as a festival like this. And, you know, I personally think it's really the perfect model. I think that the aggregator model that we started at United Women's Sports is the perfect model for sports and it hasn't caught on yet. So, as someone that's been doing something in the women's sports space for years and years, and only always being quite frankly 10 years ahead of the curve, I'm looking forward to watching this thing grow. So, yeah. 

Jessica: So, every night there's gonna be a different event, correct? So it's like one night is gymnastics, one night is tennis. Something like that?

Digit: Tuesday night is opening ceremonies. So I think Tuesday night they're gonna have everyone there. Then we leave for Glens Falls on Wednesday, and then we go play an exhibition game up in Glens Falls. And then we come back for Friday, which is the main event for hockey. But to answer your question, there'll be an event every night in different sports. And it's like gymnastics, tennis, I think it's volleyball and basketball, figure skating. I don't know. It's so many sports, I lose track. And like I said, I'm a little bit of a crazy hockey person and I focus on my myself.

Jessica: [laughs] Well, and it's exciting. I mean, these are like big time athletes that are competing, like, names that people would know, such as tennis players, Bianca Andreescu from Canada, Sofia Kenin from the US, Monica Puig – who won gold for Puerto Rico in Rio – Victoria Azarenka, Belinda Bencic, grant slam champion Garbiñe Muguruza. And then in gymnastics, the name most people would recognize is Katelyn Ohashi, who's a UCLA gymnast who had that viral floor exercise that was so fun to watch. We talked about it on Burn It All Down. In figure skating, Ashley Wagner, triple axel…Or I should say, Mirai “Triple Axel” Nagasu. And in basketball, a lot of us would recognize Lindsay Whalen, who will be a coach and player for the US team. So you are coaching Team America in hockey? So it's like Team America versus Team World?

Digit: Okay. So, here's the premise of the whole Aurora Games. It's a festival where in hockey, it doesn't work as well as the other sports, but it's almost like an all star team of the Americas. So it's North America and South America versus the world. So, think of it like if you had, in basketball, you might have a Brazilian player, you know, like in hockey, we don't have it. We just have 'em in Canada, North America, Canada and the US. But think of North America and South America versus the world in gymnastics and figure skating. So, I'm actually head of the whole hockey piece of it, but I'm also coaching Team Americas. And you know, we have some great athletes like Katie Burt and Kali Flanagan, Team USA kids; Hannah Brandt. We have Blake Bolden, who played for me at Boston, the Boston Blades, and she actually played for the championship team, I think in Buffalo. Shiann Darkangelo, who played for Team USA; Zoe Hickel, Tori Hickel, the sisters from Alaska; Emily Janiga, Taylor Marchin, lots of NWHL kids. Team USA, Team Canada kids on my team. And then on the global team, we've got Olympians from Russia, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Japan, China.

So, you know, we kind of put together a cast of characters to, you know, please the crowd. But you know, the main thing I'm gonna say this, Jessica, the main thing that I was looking for as a coach, because there's lots of names out there, right? You know, there's lots of women athletes and men athletes that have the credentials. For me, it was really about who are the players that care about the mission of educating and empowering the little girls? And I'm not saying the kids that aren't here are not on that path. But what I am saying is the women that we have in the hockey space right now are special women that young girls and older women should come out to come watch, to interact with, to shake their hand, because they're really true leaders, role models, and heroes in the sports space. And you can reach out and touch them. They are approachable.

And that's, in my opinion, what is wrong with the way that we are trying to do sports now. And by that, I mean, the traditional model says that men do sports this way. Because the only reason I say traditional model and men is because they've been around for 125 years. We on the other hand have only been around since really the mid to late 90s. Title IX was around since 1972, but at the end of the day, really, we haven't started to elevate the resource platform that we had needed til maybe the mid 90s. So we're really in our infancy. So, as the NCAA grows now, those athletes get pushed into the professional space and they have nowhere to go. So when you look at the boycotts and you look at the we want equal pay and stuff, you know, I have a different perspective that we all need to work together to elevate that status quicker in a capitalistic economy. So, I could go on and on about that, but anyways, I'm getting off track. Our kids in hockey are really cool. People should come out, and I think it would be a blast. 

Jessica: That sounds so exciting. It's too bad that you're so far away from where I am?

Digit: Why? You wanna…Oh, you wanna come see it? 

Jessica: Yeah, of course. I would love to come see it. Why do you think the Aurora Games are important?

Digit: Again, I’ve been saying it all along. You know, I said earlier on the podcast here, is women need to be seen as leaders, heroes, and role models for the next generation, especially in sport where we have this really cool opportunity to showcase it. We can showcase it on television. We can showcase it in the media, in print, in blogs. And we just aren't out there enough. And people don't know we exist. And I always say, and I know it probably feels like, oh my god, you're an infomercial, but I talk about this every day. If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? And that's what's happening with women's sports right now. We're not in the forefront. People don't see it. You have naysayers and people that are like, oh, women's sports stink. Hey, get into the 2000s, because women's sports is hot. It's good. Megan Rapinoe is one of the biggest and brightest sport ambassadors I've ever seen in our generation, in our world. We need to get on that bandwagon because we've got a lot to offer, and people across the globe are not tapping this really valuable resource that we have. So, you watch. You’re gonna see a couple of other things come out of not only the soccer but the Aurora Games. It’s gonna pop. You're gonna be pumped when it does happen. You, because you're gonna have a lot to write about and a lot to say. Let's go.

Jessica: [laughs] Yeah, absolutely. Anyone that listens to this podcast knows that we are huge fans of women's sports here. And all we want is to have a bigger spotlight for them. Before we finish up here, if people like me who can't get to Albany, how can they watch what is happening?

Digit: So, we are gonna be on ESPN. I'll get you the link to attach to your show notes. But we'll be on ESPN. I know my game will be. 

Jessica: Wow. 

Digit: Yeah. So, and interestingly enough, I can tell you a funny story about the way that we're gonna do it – I hope. I hope I'm not letting the cat outta the bag, but I really think people need to hear about this. One of the things that I think…And I talked to Jerry about this, and the reason I like working with Jerry is because he's an innovator, he's a creator as well, and he's not afraid to take risks. And there's a lot of people out there that just are paralyzed by the ability and the kind of I don't know what you say, but the way that they wanna conform to everything. They’re always about conforming. And when you conform all the time, you really take out, in my opinion, the creativity. So Jerry and I were going back and forth like, “We need to do the broadcast differently,” you know, A) because, you know, the way that traditionally it's like, oh, it's just the hockey market. We're not just the hockey market. We're a women's sports market. And we want other people besides hockey people to watch us. So I said, so why don't we mic up the coaches? Because in my mind, I’m like, crap. I'd like to do the broadcast as an announcer, right? I'm just being honest. [Jessica laughs] I think I have a lot to offer and–

Jessica: I could see that. I can see that. 

Digit: Yeah. And you know, and I said, why don't we tell it differently? Why don't we have a different way to do it? Because we are women's sports, and what we're trying to do is capture women's sports in a different way. And maybe that's a way to draw people in. Because when you look at the traditional way of doing it, it ain't working, so let's try something else. So I said, why don't we bring in like, you know, two women, because you know, we'll have two women on the mic, right? Because of course you always have only men, because – guess why, Jessica? Why do you think you only have men doing television? 

Jessica: I would guess because men are hiring them. 

Digit: Yeah. And there's also no opportunity to do it because we're never on TV. But also, you can't cross over to the men's side, because guess what? You have no experience. So anyways, it's this closed loop. You know, I hope I'm not letting the cat outta the bag or, you know, saying things outta school, but you know, we have a woman on the broadcast, I guess I'll foreshadow it as one of the, you know, top women that has played the game, that is articulate, eloquent, in her forties, is a gold medalist for the hockey team, three time Olympian. And she'll be doing the broadcast. I won't say the name in case they haven't decided, but I think they have. It’s kind of getting close. Actually, I'll just say, it's Tara Mounsey. She played for me at Brown. She's amazing. But she'll be doing the broadcast, and she doesn't have a lot of experience, but guess what? She's a rockstar. She's like you, Jessica, you know, she's articulate, she's gonna be great on camera, but without these opportunities, how do we ever cross over? You know what I'm saying?

So when you look at the Aurora Games, and again, the reason I like Jerry is he's advocating for these positions. He could have said no, Dig, we're doing men and shutting it down. But he didn't. He worked with ESPN, who's open to it. And now we have a woman on the set, on the microphone. And these little differences, Jessica, make a difference. And I wanna tell all your listeners out there, every day, if they just push the envelope a little bit in their own way, they're gonna make change for the future. You know, if they go out and take a risk in their little world, we're all gonna be better. And, you know, we'll be saving the planet, and I think it can be attributed to us, the women. So, mic drop. I hope I didn't like go too political on you. 

Jessica: You literally cannot go too political on this podcast. [laughs] It’s impossible.

Digit: Nice. Nice! I gotta come back, then. I gotta come back. 

Jessica: Well, thank you so much, Coach Murphy, for telling us all about the Aurora Games and all of that. I want you to call me every morning when I wake up [Digit laughs] and like, do my inspirational talk, motivational talk for me in the morning.

Digit: I'll tell you, I'm not kidding. Like, maybe that's how we monetize the podcast. [Jessica laughs] We just get people listening first thing in the morning. I'll come on every morning with this kind of juice in me. I just wake up pretty pumped about life and opportunity. It's just how I'm wired. And I'm delighted to have been on the show and to be part of your movement, because you guys are doing great things for women, for women's sports, and please carry on and please go succeed. Go be great.

Jessica: Well, great. Thank you so much. Good luck next week at the Games. And if anyone wants to follow along, they're on Twitter at @AuroraGamesFest. You can find 'em on Facebook and Instagram. Their website is www.AuroraGamesfestival.com and, yeah, thank you so much. I can't wait to see it.

Digit: I did wanna say one last thing, and I don't know if I can say this, but I also have a podcast called The Grit and I think that we should share listeners and we should spread the message together, because again, like I say, we're all better together. So let's work together to make a better world. 

Jessica: Absolutely. Thank you, Coach Murphy. 

Digit: Thank you.