It’s a great day for a podcast! New episode of Morgan Evans: More or Less Pickleball is up, and this one features Lauren McLaughlin – a commentator unlike any other and the voice of the APP.

Tune in to hear her and Morgan talk about the game, the media and Lauren’s rise in a male-dominated field.

Find out more about the podcast on http://pb.fm/ or follow @MoreorLessPickleball on Facebook.

Find out more about Morgan:

• Morgan’s Facebook
• CoachME Pickleball

Find out more about today’s guest:

• Lauren McLaughlin 

Sponsors:

• CoachME Pickleball
• Selkirk Sport and the new Vanguard Paddle

025 | Inappropriate Simulcast

Intro [0:23]

Morgan:  My guest today is a bright spark to say the least. A pundit, a personality, a commentator unlike any other. She is the voice of the APP here to talk about the game, the media and her rise in a male-dominated field. Please welcome Lauren McLaughlin.

Lauren, how are you, sweetie?

Lauren:  Morgan…

Morgan:  That’s the first time I’ve been greeted like that, but I like it. 

Lauren:  Yeah, I like to do things differently. Hang on one second. I got to change where the audio is coming from here. Morgan:  (chuckles…) Okay, I will hold. I can see who’s running the show here already. 

Lauren:  I know, right? I’m just so used to being in charge everywhere I go, I have to make sure.

Morgan:  That brings me to an important point, you have the same birthday as I do. Was that a long-term strategy to help you get on the show?

Lauren:  It wasn’t planned initially, but ultimately when I found out that that was the case, I definitely needed to leverage it to my advantage. And I know that you’re a very tough person to get ahold of, so I had to use anything that I could in my bag of tricks. So yes, ultimately it was. 

Morgan:  Yeah, and if that meant winding back the clock, getting your parents to meet at a certain time to ensure that an April 28 due date was the key, then you’ve done it. Congratulation!

Lauren:  Thank you so much! I think I’m older than you, though. So really you followed me. 

Morgan:  Oh, because I was born in England, so we’re eight, nine hours ahead. 

Lauren:  Oh that’s true! I think we’re like a year apart in age. I actually think we already talked about this at one point. Morgan:  No — hanging on… You’re 38? I mean, sorry – 29.

Lauren:  39. But yes, thank you for that, though, Morgan.

Morgan:  I see. Okay, so it’s been the 10th anniversary of your 29th birthday.

Lauren:  It is indeed. Yes, I celebrated during COVID. It was a great time! 

Morgan:  Lovely! 

Tell me as the sister of the famed Canadian singer-songwriter, Sarah McLaughlin, do you ever feel the pressure to really perform?

Lauren:  You know, I really do. And that’s why ultimately I decided in my commentating role with the APP that I would occasionally sing some of my original songs because it’s a shadow that’s hard to get out from under, Morgan.

Morgan:  I can imagine — yeah.

Lauren:  So I try to do my best to highlight that I also have singing talent as well, and she didn’t get all of it. I do what I can. 

Morgan:  Good! It’s much like myself and Morgan Freeman — a similar situation. 

Lauren:  Yup! Exactly.

Morgan:  I try to narrate as well as I can, but at the end of the day, he’s just a superior actor. I wasn’t even on the short-list for a short Shawshank Redemption, the Shawshank Redemption shortlist didn’t include me.

Lauren:  I feel like you weren’t probably old enough at the time to really have been on the list, and so it was more your age that hurt you versus that you weren’t the best Morgan for the job. I think if it had been a couple more years, you were in the running for sure. 

Morgan:  Well, that’s good. Well, I’m going to pass that along to the casting director for Shawshank Redemption 2: Let’s Get This Party Started, coming out in theaters soon, I hope.

Lauren:  I love it! You’re so funny! Morgan, I miss you so much. Where have you been?

Morgan:  Palm Desert, I’ve kind of been hunkered down. COVID, it’s different. It messed with a lot of things. I lost my Men’s Doubles partner. He didn’t die from COVID. He’s just stuck in Florida. 

Lauren:  Yes! 

Morgan:  So pulled out a bunch of tournaments. 

Lauren:  But you got COVID? But you’re okay. 

Morgan:  Yeah.

Lauren:  I’m very glad that that is the case. I was worried when I found out, but I’m glad you’re back up and running back to your wonderful self.

Morgan:  For sure. I’ve got the antibodies. I’m selling the antibodies, actually, four for a dollar, so that’s a good deal.

Lauren:  Mine is already in the mail, right? 

Morgan:  Yeah, yeah, we give those as surprises to quiz contestants and anyone with the same birthday. 

Lauren:  Thank you. I appreciate that. 

Morgan:  Should keep you happy and grinning and commentating for another three or four years.

Lauren:  At least.

Morgan:  Tell me, how did you get into it? Oh, before I forget, before I forget, I’ve just seen that in a recent Pickleball forum survey ranking the top commentators in the game, you are ranked fifth behind Scott Golden, Mark Renneson, Rob Cassidy, and Johnny Pickleball. Tell me how do you think we should slander them to get you higher?

Lauren:  Well, you forgot to mention, Morgan, that I did pass you by as well. 

Morgan:  Sorry, it’s just breaking up there. What happened with the — something? 

Lauren:  ((laughs…) I was in a tunnel. I’m sorry, I was in a tunnel. 

Morgan:  In a tunnel – that’s what I heard, yeah.

Lauren:  Can you hear me now? 

Morgan:  Maybe. Something about — what were we saying? Something different than what you said? 

Lauren:  Yes. 

Morgan:  I know.

Lauren:  Morgan, I rigged the system. I put out a call to my tens of tens of fans on Facebook and I let them know that no matter what, I just needed to beat Dominic in the poll. So I needed them to get on and vote for me. I didn’t care if they knew what Pickleball was or if I had to bribe them. I just needed to beat Dominic, which I did. But sadly, I beat you also because of my underhanded tactics, so I apologize. 

Morgan:  That’s genius! All’s fair in love and war. You can do that. I’ll try and get my family to join me. 

Lauren:  Nothing personal. 

Morgan:  Good. Well, I’m happy to hear it. 

Live with Lauren Show [5:50]

Morgan:  So how is the Live with Lauren Show going these days? 

Lauren:  It’s interesting because my non-playing Pickleball career has been sort of a fast and furious one, kind of taking different turns. And I originally — honestly, I first even started just doing the live streaming on my phone about a year and a half ago now I would say, and that was kind of where the live streaming game was at, at that time outside of Pickleball channel or sort of a major production crew coming in for Nationals or the US Open. Pretty much everyone else was on a phone, very low-tech, all that good stuff. And, I just kind of stumbled into it a little bit and got some positive feedback and I really enjoyed it because I love attention, so there’s that, the narcissism runs deep.

Morgan:  Hey, tell me about it, sister. Jeez!

Lauren:  You know what I’m talking about, Morgan. 

Morgan:  I totally know. 

Lauren:  So got some good feedback and I just kind of was enjoying doing it. And then, at the time, Kyle Selinko and I were just kind of toying around with the idea of doing some sort of a web series, podcast-type situation around Pickleball, maybe talking about some of the things that other people weren’t talking about or getting a little more in-depth. We managed to do that for, I think we did about six to eight episodes. I’m not even positive now. You were actually a guest on that, Morgan.

Morgan:  I remember. It was probably my crowning achievement, really? 

Lauren:  It should be.

So we did that and that was really fun, and people seem to be enjoying that. Because of that — and then also I got to do some live streaming at the 2019 Chicago Open and then actually TOC in 2019, I think that kind of elevated my status which of course in Pickleball is still very low. 

Morgan:  (gasps…) No!

Lauren:  I know, right? I don’t want to make it seem like all of a sudden the whole world knew who I was, but you know, some people started to know who I was a little bit. And because of that, I was able to meet Ken Hermann who ran the Chicago Open in 2018, that was kind of his first thing. And he had already been working on a tour for over a year at that point, and the idea and kind of getting everything organized. After he and I met at the Chicago open, he really liked seeing my work ethic and what I was doing there, and we started talking about the possibility of working together in the future. It certainly was never a, “Oh, will you be the lead commentator? Will you be the main person?”

It was be-a-part-of-it at this point. And then we had someone else that was going to be doing the live streaming. I was just going to be doing some commentating. Kyle kind of threw our show that we were doing was getting an increased interest in the production side, some editing things. And so the situation kind of changed with the live streaming for the tour. And then Ken kind of asked if Kyle was able to do it, and he definitely had not done anything of that scale at that point, but worked really hard to kind of research and do a lot of looking into the equipment that he needed, et cetera. And we were kind of like, “Alright, let’s do this.” 

And through random turns of events, Kyle’s now the live streamer of the APP tour, and I’m the head commentator, which is the weird role because I’m certainly not the most knowledgeable one of the commentators, but I definitely I’m the organized one and I keep everybody in check so therefore, I guess I’m the leader of our little band of misfits. But yeah, it just kind of all of a sudden, in a year I was commentating a tour. So it’s crazy how it will happen, but I’m super thankful to be here and be a part of the evolution of Pickleball and where it’s going as a sport, and hopefully that continues. 

Morgan:  Wow! That just sounds like a rollercoaster of events. 

Lauren:  It is. It’s been very emotional, Morgan. Let me tell you, people don’t realize — I think they see Pickleball and they plan tournaments and it’s just, everyone thinks Pickleball is just this lovely, wonderful sport community, et cetera. But there’s a lot of stress and a lot of drama also, Morgan, that I don’t think people realize, that you have to deal with when you’re going to the next level, if you were. So it’s been very emotional at times, very stressful, a lot happening. So yes, I would say a roller coaster is a very accurate description for the last year or so.

Morgan:  If you’re anything like me, then you cry yourself to sleep at least four or five nights a week, just thinking about…

Lauren:  It’s really the only way to do it.

Morgan:  Right? Yeah, you got to get it out. Better out than in, you know?

Lauren:  Exactly!

The Drama [11:07]

Morgan:  Okay, we’re talking about the drama. Does that mean there’s some gossip? If so, what is this gossip? I swear I won’t tell anybody. This will stay between you, me and the 4.6 million viewers/listeners. 

Lauren:  Man, I wish that were true, Morgan. Yeah, there’s always gossip, Morgan. You know and I know, and I would love, love, love to share a lot of it, but I will probably get in a lot of trouble. So I’m going to try and choose my words wisely because I think, you know, I think anyone that’s met me or even listened to me or seen my social media presence knows I’m not really one to shy away from speaking my mind or putting my opinion out there. I’m very passionate about what I believe in and what I think is right and wrong. And the biggest amount of drama, honestly, Morgan, has been watching people think things are a certain way and not really understanding what’s going on behind the scenes just in any aspect of this tour with a team, with the pros, with other entities, et cetera. I think there’s a lot of people that want to believe that everybody in Pickleball just loves the sport, loves the people, loves the community. And for the most part, that’s absolutely true – there’s just an amazing amount of amazing people in Pickleball. But there’s certainly some people that they do not have the best interests of the sport or even other people that are really sort of out for themselves or don’t have the best characters. There’s definitely some people in the Pickleball world who I wish I did not have to deal with, and it’s honestly really hard to know kind of what’s going on behind the scenes and not being able to really let people in on that, just because it’s not for the benefit necessarily of anyone to just be putting that out into the open, so that can be hard at times. I just try to be someone that has good character, good judgment, just the way that I want to live my life and the decisions I want to make, et cetera — I want to be proud of that. So I just try to be the better person as it were in certain situations that we’ve had to deal with.

Morgan:  Wow! My brain is just spinning. That whole thing was just a cryptic labyrinth of information. And I feel like, at the best of times, you’re just trying to be Switzerland and fight against your instinct to stick your nose in some stuff and say some things and shake it up. 

Lauren:  Yeah, I really would love to, Morgan. I really would. 

Morgan:  That would be fun, wouldn’t it?

Lauren:  It would. I think people are starting to maybe have an idea of some things that are going on behind the scenes. But, honestly, I think I’m sure we’ll get into it more as we talk about the tour and all of that good stuff. But my personality and the way that I do things is definitely, I want to call people out immediately when I think something wrong is happening or they’re acting in a way that is inappropriate or shady or snake-like, if you were. And there’s certainly a couple, very specific people who I wouldn’t mind name-dropping in that regard. But again, I have to think big picture.

Morgan:  Yeah, play it safe. Good girl.

Lauren:  You know, you know, be the better person. 

Morgan:  Nice! Let me know how that goes. I’ve – Well, I don’t think I’ve ever tried to be the better person. 

Lauren:  It’s not fun, Morgan. It’s not fun. 

Morgan:  I think, at the end of the day, no one should ever argue with anyone with a microphone. That’s the golden rules of broadcasting and generally people understand that. So if anyone messes with you, unfortunately, the next match you’re commentating for them, you get to…

Lauren:  The things I wish I could say sometimes, Morgan. You know?

Morgan:  Just make sure the mic is not hot when you…

Lauren:  It’s so true. It’s so true. Or sometimes I’d like to very much say it on a hot mic and you just, you hold it back, you hold it back.

Morgan:  I think that one of the reasons why I don’t get asked to do a lot of commentating these days, aside from not being at the tournaments, I think generally people know that I’m a little unreliable in terms of how safe I’ll keep it.

Lauren:  I’ve commentated with you, Morgan. 

Morgan:  I know – so fun, right?

Lauren:  I‘ve witnessed it firsthand — so fun! I see people’s thoughts. I, of course, am all about it. I’m all about inappropriateness and random things, and having a good time while still focusing on the task at hand. But I get it, there’s people out there that, you know?

Morgan:  I’ve got an idea! I’ve got an idea. This one of those light bulb — what about we do this? We’ll get two other people to do the main commentary and right down the bottom of the screen, you’ll say click here for an “Inappropriate Simulcast” from Lauren and Morgan. 

Lauren:  Yes! Yes, it’s like an entirely different one when we’re just saying all the most ridiculous things and calling people out and being like, “that’s ridiculous.”

Morgan:  For sure.

Lauren:  I love it, Morgan. I’m in!

Morgan:  Four-letter words, lots of libel slander, everything we can do. I forget which one is the spoken one. 

Lauren:  It’s like the main commentators will be like, “Oh, we’re Fox. We’re putting something on Fox.” We’ll be like FX where there’s no sensoring.

Morgan:  Yes, FX. Maybe HBO.

Lauren:  Exactly, HBO! We’re the HBO version of the commentating. I love it!

Morgan:  Yeah! I mean, if we did that and turns out we have 47 times the viewership, then now we know where Pickleball…

Lauren:  Exactly! We know what the people want. 

Morgan:  Exactly.

Lauren:  I think we should do this. A test run is definitely in order. 

Morgan:  Take the gloves off. Do you think Ken will buy that? I’m not sure. 

Lauren:  Perhaps if we do it at an independent tournament, Morgan. Maybe we’ll just do it at Nationals.

Morgan:  Yeah, right?

Lauren:  I feel like Nationals would be down for such a thing, right? 

Morgan:  Yeah. He doesn’t own you, right? 

Lauren:  Exactly, exactly. 

Morgan:  I mean, I haven’t seen the contract.

Lauren:  I can do whatev’s. But that is correct though. No one owns me, Morgan — that is correct. I feel like that’s not a contract I’m ever going to sign. 

Morgan:  Is Kyle just leasing or is it a rental agreement? 

Lauren:  I mean, Kyle and I are kind of doing our own things now, which is nice because there’s definitely, obviously still overlap in what we’re working on because he is doing the live streaming, we’re doing the commentary. But it’s nice that he has his thing that he can work on and do how he wants to do. And then me and sort of Dominic and Dave Fleming, when we’re all there, we have our whole thing and vibe. But it’s nice because we all talk and we have calls with each other about what is our main goal, our primary objective in terms of as a team, as a production, what we want to be doing, what we want to be presenting to the people at home. So it is good to have. A team of people that’s all on the same page, which I think isn’t necessarily the case in other places, so I really like that that’s kind of our vibe and what we are hoping to achieve with what we’re doing. 

Morgan:  Well, that sounds like a lovely achievement if it comes through, and I’m sure it is.

Lauren:  It’s also no, however, very dysfunctional family, Morgan. It’s like one of those families that will get the job done, but there may be some screaming and throwing things. You never know, Morgan. It’s all just like a powder keg waiting to explode at any moment. But ultimately, we get the job done. 

Morgan:  Very nice.

Do’s and Don’ts [18:49]

Morgan:  We’re going to hold it there with Lauren, just for a moment for a new segment called Do’s and Don’ts. In this week’s edition, we’re going to talk about competition. 

Many of our listeners are competitive players, part of a core group of Pickleball enthusiasts that travel to play tournaments. Today, I want to address a small subgroup of those players that perhaps didn’t compete as a child and therefore don’t have an ingrained understanding on some of the do’s and don’ts during competition. For example, do treat your partner as a partner, a sidekick in the battle against the field. Don’t treat them like your student. You are not their coach. Encouragement is welcome, coaching is not. 

Gentlemen, I’m talking to you here. Do discuss your tactics before the match. Having a plan A and B in place is an important part of the feedback loop. If neither of them worked, it’s okay. At least you have learned what’s not effective, and therefore you’re one step closer to finding what does. Don’t wait until you’re 9-1 down in the second game to call a time out. At most, an unanswered three points slide should be all it takes to trigger your timeout alarm bell. 

Do try to accept and assist in your partner’s warm up routine. It might not be yours, but a lot of team building happens when at least one person feels that their habits are embraced, not ignored. Don’t be afraid to overturn your partner’s line call, but do talk to them on the subject before the event starts as this can be a sensitive area.

Do learn the name of your referee and treat them with respect. They are being paid little to nothing, so listening to you whine about a line call, doesn’t really inspire them to continue the job or endear you to your partner. 

Legitimate questions are welcome, but keep your tone cordial. 

Now, last but not least, and I mean this with every fiber of my being, do each and every time, tap paddles at the end of the game. It is tradition. It is a celebration for the victors, a consolation for the fallen and it brings closure to everyone.

Well, there you go. Good luck to everyone with those. Let’s head back over to Lauren.

Women in Pickleball [21:11]

Morgan:  So there are not too many women in a pickleball broadcasting. Simeron Gonzalez likes to do commentary, and Hannah Johns is presenting with the PPA. Is there like a sisterhood on the horizon? Is it Girl Power? Do you guys ever talk about how to create more opportunities or what you’re going to be doing to forge this own path of yours?

Lauren:  No, we have not chatted. I know Hannah’s kind of doing something a little different in terms of more player interviews and not so much commentating yet. We’ll see where her path takes her. But I know some of the women pros have generally commentated in the past, which is fun. I think it’s definitely, Morgan, it’s a man’s world out there and. With anything, it’s hard for women to break in and I think even harder sort of in the sports world. And I think the good part, at least about Pickleball is it is still such a small sport, generally speaking, still in the early growth stages, and so I think that it is probably much more open to women in those roles and it’s not necessarily such a big deal as it would be to have a woman commentating for NFL or NBA. And I think it’s really awesome, honestly, that Ken Hermann has — I mean, honestly, never even felt from Ken that it had anything to do with me being a woman or that he was trying to fill a gap or a quota or trying to appeal to women by having me on. I think it really was nice to just have it be the, saw the work that I was doing and my work ethic and what I was passionate about doing, and he noticed that. It really didn’t have anything to do, obviously, with me being a woman. I think that it certainly brings different mindset, a different view to commentating, to the sport as a whole and I think that I have really enjoyed being able to kind of be — I certainly am not at all going to set myself up to be that I’m championing for women and I’m helping push forward the women’s game. Honestly, I really do love being able to have the platform and the microphone to be able to really give the women the credit that they deserve in the sport. And I feel like I’ve heard commentators even this year say things like, “Oh, you don’t see many women that have that kind of power.” Or, “Oh, there’s not a lot of women that are going to be able to put that shot away or do this, or do that.”

Honestly, I feel like that has no place in this world today and certainly I think the women in Pickleball, the pros especially have done nothing but prove that they can hang just as well, if not more with the men of the sport. Dominic and I, and Dave Fleming, all of us as a team, have often commented how we often feel like the Women’s Finals are much more exciting than the Men’s just because it’s just so much more variety, so much more — not impressive that it’s the women, but it’s like they put on so much better of a show than the men. 

Of course, the men are amazing and talented and can do all this great stuff but…

Morgan:  We’re okay. We’re fine.

Lauren:  You’re okay. You can hang. You’re alright. But the women, it’s like this graceful, elegant dance that they have, and every single point that they play has seven different points within it, and it’s thinking, it’s resets, it’s around the post and then it’s defense and then it’s overheads, and then it’s back to dinking and it’s just — it’s so much more involved. I think that people really, per usual, don’t give women the credit that they deserve in a lot of different areas. And so, I feel like I like that I’m able to shine more of a spotlight, I think, on the capability of women in the sport and that they are certainly up to the level with the men, and I mean, in my, in my opinion, sometimes better. So I do like that it’s given me that opportunity to kind of be a voice for more of that, because certainly you will never, ever hear me say something like, “Oh, wow! As a woman, I didn’t think she’d be able to get that shot.” Or like, “Oh, that’s so much more impressive as a woman to be able to do that.” Like, that’s nonsense, that’s not ever going to happen from me. 

Morgan:  Fair enough, and I agree with you completely there. I remember during the early 2000s, I believe, there was a period of Wimbledon whereby the game had started to change so much that the average rally in the Men’s was something like 2.1 shots, which is not a lot of tennis. It started to really affect the fan-base and the spectatorship. And during that time, they noticed that because of how short the rallies were getting in men’s tennis, that a lot more people were starting to watch women’s tennis. And it’s not to say that women’s tennis, hasn’t always had a good viewership — it has. But it historically, it has been less than, than men’s tennis. 

Lauren:  Sure.

Morgan:  And there was a moment where they realized, “Well, you know what, it’s the highest level tennis you can get, whether it be men’s or women’s,” but the women’s rallies are lasting longer and they’re engaging the public because of it as opposed to one big serve and maybe a return that often was happening on the fast grass courts of Wimbledon. So what they did, they started cutting the grass on an angle and opening up the balls two or three weeks early to slow down the game of the men’s to make the rallies last longer. But it was because of that impact they saw in terms of how many people wanted to watch these just wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am rallies versus a more drawn out, methodical chess game that often the women’s matches involved. And I think when you look at the highest level of Pickleball, I do think you get a better cross-section of all the skills involved in Pickleball in certainly Mixed Doubles, but Women’s Doubles can be super exciting watching Simone. 

I remember when she used to be engaged when Lucy was on the other side of the net, those two would spend what seemed like hours going back and forth until it went from chess to checkers. I used to love watching that. Now, they’re on the same side and it’s going to be tough to win. 

Lauren:  Yeah! The best part that I have loved about this year in pickleball is I’ve felt like we’ve really been able to see a lot of the newcomers coming into the sport onto the pro level, and it’s been super exciting. We’ve had some of just the best matches I’ve ever seen at some of our APP events this year. Just some of the most amazing matches because it’s people that you haven’t necessarily seen on the pro circuit much, or you would never have seen if Lucy, Simone, Ben and Matt were playing in that tournament. It’s been awesome to see that the talent pool is just growing and growing at the pro level in Pickleball. And just the more people that are coming onto the scene just make it that much more exciting and different styles of play, different backgrounds, they’re coming from different sports, and I’m very excited for the sport and the next couple of years to see the Juniors that are coming on the scene, the different men and women that are coming on. I’m very excited for all of these different players to be able to see some new faces and new names on the court. 

Morgan:  Yeah, and arguably, the rapid expansion you’re talking about seems to sort of coincide with the period that you took over as head commentator. I mean, is it coincidence? I don’t know. Probably not. 

Lauren:  I’m really glad that you mentioned that, Morgan, because it would have been very narcissistic of me to have mentioned it. But because you did, yes, that is correct. I am responsible for this new explosion on the pro scene of this new talent. Thank you for bringing it up.

Morgan:  Definitely. Direct correlation.

Lauren:  Thank you for bringing it up because it would have looked bad if I had.

Morgan:  Hey, no worries. We were all thinking it. It is an obvious, direct correlation now. 

Lauren:  Clearly, clearly.

Morgan:  I think it’s a given, really.

Sponsor: CoachMe Pickleball 

What’s Next [30:36]

Morgan:  Let’s head back over to Lauren. 

So what is next for you, young lady? Where are you heading to? What’s the next tournament? What’s going down? 

Lauren:  Well, so I’m going to speak as if 2021 is going to be a pseudo normal year of semi normalcy. We are kicking off the APP tour in Punta Gorda on January 6. 

Morgan:  Is that how you say it? Is it pronounced “PONTA”? 

Lauren:  It is “PONTA” Gorda.

Morgan:  I’ve been saying “PUNTA” – now, I know.

Lauren:  Which is like a weird, punting a football, et cetera. 

Morgan:  It was never Punta Gordon, wasn’t it? 

Lauren:  It was not. That is correct. 

Morgan:  Okay, it was always just an “ah” at the end there.

Lauren:  Yes. Yes. Yes. It’s probably a language barrier with you, Morgan. Like, you know, the whole Aussie thing.

Morgan:  Possibly. Yeah, I know. I’m still learning this whole English thing. 

Lauren:  Different languages, right? I know. We’ll give you some, some grace. 

Morgan:  Thank you.

Lauren:  Yeah, so Punta Gorda in Florida. January6, we’re kicking off the tour. So far, we have, I think 16, 17 stops currently next year. There’s possibly some others that will be added certainly things in the work, but very excited to kind of be all over the country in different areas. And so we’re going to the English Open in England, obviously. It’s going to be awesome!

Morgan:  Well, that makes sense, yeah. 

yes. Yes, yes. I think probably a lot of people think it’s in London, but it’s actually a couple hours outside of London. I forget the exact city, but Sam Basford is one of the tournament directors there and he’s like 19 years old, so it’s so impressive. He’s just such a cool guy and very excited to be going there. It’s the premier European, up the wall tournament over there so we’re very excited to have them. We’re going to Canada, and I think we’re hoping to expand going forward. But I’m just really excited to kind of be in a lot of different areas of the country. We’re not really yet in the sort of upper East coast area, but I think that is certainly on the short list of places to go for 2022. But that’s pretty much what’s on my agenda, what’s next for me for next year with at least the APP tour. I’m hoping to possibly do some other local tournaments or other tournaments going on in the country as well, doing some commentating, and I will certainly always be putting it out there for if Chris and Terry want to give me a call from the US Open, if Indian Wells is looking for somebody this year for Nationals, I’m sure they’re already chatting about it. So certainly putting my hat in the ring for those, possibly, and I’ll bring my crew along.

Morgan, you can be — oh, we’re doing the HBO version, Nationals. 

Morgan:  Yes, yes, exactly.

Lauren:  So we’ll have to get that situated.

Morgan:  We’ll have a very separate studio, and that studio will have bar. 

Lauren:  Yup, it’s going to have to be like soundproofed as well for the outside, because there’s a lot of kids around Nationals and we got to keep it safe.

Morgan:  Alright, so we’re going to wrap things up. But how does your fan base really discuss the pros and cons of Lauren McLaughlin? 

Lauren:  So obviously you can find me on Facebook, Live with Lauren is sort of my personas page, I suppose, if you will. Of course, the APP Tour Facebook page, I am certainly making the rounds on there as well. Feel free to send me a friend request on my personal, Lauren McLaughlin Facebook page. That one, you will be getting a lot more of my actual personal opinions on, so depending what your opinions are, you might want to stay away from that one. We might not get along as much as you think. And then you can find me on Instagram. I’m @LaxLauren1. That one you’re going to get a lot of opinions you might not like, so pick and choose. The Live with Lauren is a very, very calm, chill, nothing really too crazy going on there.

Morgan:  Sounds like the rest is just a bowl of controversy, so that’s good. 

Lauren:  It really is. And that’s the thing too, Morgan. At events and at tournaments, when you can push aside sort of the drama or anything that’s kind of going on in the outside world and just focus on the tournament and the players, and the fans that are there, which I’m super excited hopefully to have a little bit more flexibility in terms of people being able to come and watch these tournaments, because it has been so great this year to meet people at these tournaments that I’ve never met before that are, “I love listening to you. You’re my favorite. You’re so funny,” whatever the case may be like. I love meeting these people and it always is so nice to hear that people are enjoying what you’re doing. And you, I mean, obviously, you know what that’s like. When you’re doing something and you’re putting it out there for people to judge or have an opinion about, obviously everybody’s not going to like them, obviously I wasn’t number one on the commentating poll. But I think just hearing that people do like it and hearing positive feedback and things that you’re doing right. Is always so nice to hear. And I love meeting these people and it just really makes my day to be able to be at these tournaments and kind of put anything else that’s going on behind the scenes aside and focus on the task at hand which is doing great work and making the tournament the best as possible for those that are there in-person participating as well as anyone that’s watching at home. I think we really just pride ourselves on trying to be the best that there is in the business right now, whether or not people agree that that’s the case is certainly subjective, but that is our objective, and I really, really enjoyed sort of every moment of the actual work and the job and meeting people and getting to watch these amazing matches with a front row seat. 

I don’t know what the future holds in terms of these tours, Pickleball, me commentating, me not commentating, but I have enjoyed it very much so far and whatever the future holds, I’m certainly excited to be part of a really great community in Pickleball and hopefully, we’ll see it continue to grow and have the people that want what’s best for the sport and the pros and the participants and the tournaments and everybody else. I really hope that those people prevail in the end for the sake of the sport and the growth of it, whatever that looks like in the future, you know, that’s certainly — we’ll find out, I guess, down the line, what becomes the sport we all love. But I’ve been very privileged to be a part of it so far. 

Morgan:  Well, we’re all happy you are. It’s a part of the game that really kind of legitimizes the sport to a wider audience, and I think to a large extent, having such a qualified female commentator that is doing the job so professionally, it adds even more to it. As you say, you feel like it’s a man’s world out there, but you have proven that the fairer sex is more than capable of doing the job wonderfully, so congratulations! Thank you so much for your time, Lauren McLaughlin. I’m hoping I said it right then. 

Lauren:  You did! Do you think you say my name wrong? 

Morgan:  I think I may have said McLaughlin earlier on.

Lauren:  I mean that’s more like your accent versus saying it wrong. 

Morgan:  Perfect, that’s exactly what it was. 

Lauren:  So yeah, there you go. Perfect! Morgan, it is always a pleasure chatting with you. I miss you. I hope I see you soon.

Morgan:  Perfect! Sounds good, sweetie. Take care of yourself and we will see you soon. 

Lauren:  Thank you, Morgan.

Sponsor: Selkirk Sport

Smell Better [38:53]

Morgan:  Yeah, and you also smell better.