Bonus Episode 7 | A complicated legacy

While Amy Donaldson was researching and reporting this podcast, she found Dell Loy Hansen to be one of the most polarizing figures she'd written about in three decades as a journalist. 

And it isn’t just that he has vocal critics or ardent supporters it’s that even those who worked closest with him, those who knew him best find it difficult to neatly or easily summarize his impact on professional soccer which, like it or not, extends far beyond Utah and one could argue even the U.S. 

Without him, Real Salt Lake might not have become financially stable enough to enjoy those golden years after the MLS Cup championship of 2009. Without him, Checketts may have been forced to sell the team in 2013 to owners who wanted to move it to a bigger market. Without him, the training facilities, The Academy, the Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman - none of that would exist

In sports, there are moments that transcend a single game. But what if we told you how that on-field moment was created? If you knew the myriad of people who make sacrifices, choices – if you knew the full messy, complicated, gut-wrenching truth- it might change your opinion of those legendary plays. 

In Making of a Moment Season 1 - The RSL Story - host Amy Donaldson looks at the unlikely 2021 playoff run of Real Salt Lake. That post-season performance from a team expected to finish last is much more than the Cinderella story witnessed by RSL faithful. It’s the story of an underdog club engaged in a fight for survival off the field, while trying to prove they deserved to compete for a championship.