12. Alexandra Francisco: New England Patriots Multimedia Reporter, Sportswriter, and Radio & TV Host

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28:19yeah yeah do you have any like idea of like if you weren't a journalist like what would you want your next job to be I think if I wasn't in sports media I would be doing something in like HGTV production or something I love interior design it would be creative I'm a creative at heart no matter what that's translating to whether it's but especially with interior design like I was also a weirdo kid where like I was rushing to get my homework done so I could watch my favorite HGTV shows or like call centers or overflop, you know, like weird, weird kid. I feel like the, like the realest people and like the most successful people are the people that refer to themselves as the weirdos when like you're growing up.

29:02Cause like literally listening to your story, I was like, that was literally me like going to college and doing all the, all the stuff, writing for the newspaper and like being in broadcast. And like, it was so crazy because it got to a point where like nobody wanted to do it and I was like well I don't really know how to but screw it like you figure it out all on the way right like no one knows what they're doing until they're doing it right yeah yeah right uh I love the hgtv thing I was an hgtv kid too but I became a realtor so see there you go yeah I love that and I was like that's crazy. Full circle.

29:39So many broadcasters become realtors when they're just like done with with the news life and the grind of that. Like it's so transferable. And if you have appreciation for real estate and aesthetic, like it's a great industry to go into. Yeah. A lot of like athletes or ex-business people with really good connections end up going into real estate because if you have friends who are high earning friends who want to work with somebody they feel safe with then they can work with you instead of like a random person that they find on social media. But I guess I'm going backwards because I went real estate and then...

30:13However you get there, no one's journey is linear. That's one thing I've learned too. Like you talk to people, not a single person will have the same exact journey to get where they are. Right. Yeah. So you talked a little bit about kind of wearing many hats and how dynamic that you have to be in the sports media content journalism side of your job. So can you walk us through either a day or a couple days of what you and your job are looking like? For sure. Yeah. I mean, I guess a good place to start is that this is, this is my fourth season. So when I got hired in February of 22, I got hired as a lifestyle writer.

30:57I formerly was at New England Sports Network covering, I was their lead Celtics writer. I did a podcast there too, but primarily writing. But I was covering all of the Boston sports as well as the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA. So, and like random UFC articles too, like super, super versatile general assignment sports coverage. You just like get an email and they're like, yeah, you're writing about fights today. And you're like, okay, great. Pretty much. And it was like, I'm writing like six to 10 articles per night. So that's one of the jobs I had along the way, but just like in networking, I got to know covering the paths over 10 years, even at my job prior to Nesson covering the Patriots, you get to know the content teams, you get to know the team reporters.

31:45And And eventually our life, the former lifestyle reporter who had the job before me was leaving. She took a job on the CBS morning show and basically reached out and was like, listen, I, I've been here seven seasons. This job is like my baby. I can't hand it off to just anyone. And I would love if you were interested, I'd put your name through to, to my boss, because I can't think of a better person to kind of pass the torch to. So I got so, so lucky in that sense. But like, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have an eye on her job anyways, for a really long time. And I always knew like, if she ever moves on, I'm going to jump on that because I really appreciated how like the lifestyle reporter you're working for the team.

32:30So you're not really doing as much negative coverage anymore, which I really like because like, who the hell am I to tell a running back? You should have played better or a coach. You should have made a better call. Like, no, I'm not that I'm delusional, but not that delusional. So I just had an eye on the job, essentially got like poached in a way. And it was a really seamless transition. But I started off just writing. So covering the guys off the field, writing like in-depth feature stories, personality feature stories, covering their charity events, covering their business endeavors. and then working closely with Robert Kraft's Patriots Foundation too, and all that they're doing in the community to shine a light on that.

33:14So within like maybe like two or three months, our director of, actually our vice president, he's the vice president of content, whatever. I don't know his title, but his name is Fred Kirsch. He's been with the team for 30 years and he is an absolute visionary. Like it was his idea to say like, Hey, we should have a website for the team, like patriots.com. And the Patriots were the first team in the NFL to have their own website. And then one day, like they had their own team newspaper, like way, way back. And he was like, what if we could do like a radio show simulcasted through the website that was like, not on the airwaves, like traditional FM AM radio, but like you could get it through the website live every week.

34:01That's a podcast, right? He literally like created the world's original podcast Patriots Unfiltered. So all that to say, he comes up to my desk one day and is like, Hey, like we like your banter. Like you have good ideas in meetings. Would you ever want to try radio and come on the radio show? And I had no experience with this at all, but I was like, sure. And after my first show, like the guys I was on the panel with were just like beaming and they're like, you're really good at this. We want you to do this often and routinely. So never really looked back. And I've been doing Patriots Unfiltered three times a week ever since we record two hours, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday midday.

34:44And then that kind of just kept blossoming. And I would start throwing out like fun social media ideas and they would stick and we would do them. And then I kind of got more respect and notoriety with the social media team. And then I guess my big claim to fame was the schedule release videos have become a really, really big thing in the NFL. And I just like, we had a couple ideas that I thought were good, but I didn't think they were as good as our idea the year before. So I just, I really felt like we had to move the needle because I thought we had a top five video the year before. And I just, We had a good idea, but I didn't want to leave anything on the table.

35:24So I came up with the idea to kind of spoof Goodwill Hunting. And instead, like Julian Edelman would play Matt Damon. And instead of being a janitor at MIT, he would be a janitor at Gillette Stadium. And instead of solving like a really complicated algorithm, whatever it was that they did in Goodwill hunting, he solved an algorithm to figure out the Patriots schedule. So then Gronk is playing Ben Affleck and a longtime guy on our coaching staff, Ernie Adams. He's like a bit of a local legend, but totally like unsung hero type that like, if you know, you know, kind of guy. He played the Robin Williams character, like the psychiatrist.

36:08So I had so much fun with it there. I said the idea in a meeting. And like, even though we had done so much work on a different idea, like Fred Kirsch, again, just eyes lit up. He was like, oh, if we can get the schedule to align, we should do that. And I ended up writing a screenplay for that video within a month, Good Jewels Hunting. And it just like received so much positive. Like I didn't see a single negative comment, which is so, so rare in sports, social media. And it was just so fun and so rewarding. Like it truly was a once in a career type project. And we went on to win like a bunch of awards for it.

36:48I was just in New York city this summer accepting a best, an award for best short film from the hashtag sports conference. And like, we got a silver telly, like Emmy recognition. So it was just like, so rewarding. And it was like, okay. So I started out as a journal, traditional, like writer journalist now I'm doing radio now I'm doing like video writing screenplays writing like screen now I'm an award-winning screen no I'm sorry I'm sorry as you were as you were like telling the story about this whole thing I'm like sitting back and I'm like oh my god like like you guys have to go back and watch it because I like not to brag I remember no yeah as you're talking about my face lights up because I remember seeing this yeah I had the exact thought I'm like oh my god wow these people are like literally like film producers when it comes to these videos we went all out for it we really know and it was amazing and like just whenever you were saying all this I immediately immediately thought of like this is what other duties as necessaries means when like you sign up for a job yes and she's like yeah so I started off writing newspaper and then now I'm like on the radio which radio and tv are two different beasts I come from a radio background.

38:07So it's like, I understand. And now you're like screenplays. Like that's insane. It's insane. It really is. And then like this season has taken an even new turn where like my first internship in the industry was with Nessun. And then I ended up going back to Nessun as a writer, but that's like years later. But my first internship was Red Sox production, assisting the sideline reporters for Nesson with, and like helping with the pre and post game show. And I was like, damn being talent. Like, I don't know if that's the avenue I want to take. I don't know if I want to be a host. I don't know if I want to be a sideline reporter.

38:45Like I think my bread and butter is like good writing and, and content that has nuance to it and like length to breathe, you know, like as opposed to like, and this was, I think we're out of this period now, but for a while we were really hot takey, you know, like it was a lot of talking heads, a lot of hot takes, a lot of like if rage bait content farming for lack of a better word, not to say that it was all rage bait, but, um, I just didn't resonate with it. So I was like, no, I'm going to, I'm going to hone in on the writing. And then now I've come full circle because I'm back to like, Oh, looking at Aaron Andrews broadcasting on the national championship because we unfortunately had to make a layoff this past season.

39:28And it was one of my best friends. We were so, so close. She's like a sister to me. We still talk every day, but she was our on camera talent host, stand up, stick mic interview. And she was so talented. She's so good at it. And fortunately she's found work elsewhere. And it was just like an unfortunate thing with like contracts and, and that's the business. And you're trying to be robust in this ever-changing media market, but essentially like they looked at it, like I could do the job that she was doing for the pay of one person, which like, it just goes to show, like you need to be as versatile as possible because I can edit video.

40:11I showed enough on radio to make them think I could host. So now I find myself full circle broadcasting this year. And like really for the first time, since UMass Sports Weekly talking about UMass basketball on campus at Amherst in our studios there. So this year I'm now doing a player interview every Wednesday, doing Patriots Unfiltered on TV, which is like the television show we produce for a local news affiliate out here up in Boston, WBZ. And then we also put it on like YouTube and social media. But I'm doing hosting a show with my two coworkers and tossing them questions every Monday morning after a game.

40:53And then I'm doing player interviews on Wednesday. So it's like, it's, it's so many hats. And then of course, like I had a meeting this morning for our two 2026 schedule release video, and we're brainstorming those ideas. So it's really just like a testament to loving content and loving media and loving being creative. And I'm just so fortunate that like people are always like, what's next for you? What's next to you? And I'm like, I don't know, because I keep getting all the opportunity I could ever want. And like more, quite frankly, like even more here where I am for like a team that I've loved forever.

41:33And like, I named my dog after Tom Brady, you know? So it's like, is it Tom or Brady? Brady. Yeah. Sadly, we lost him earlier this summer. He was 12 years old, lived a great life, saw three Super Bowls, you know, like the best boy ever. But it just, it speaks to how much I love this team. And I like, it's so rare to make it in this industry and break it into a market like Boston. I thought I was going to have to go live in like Nebraska and who knows? Like, I thought it was gonna be bopping all over the world, the country really. And it just so worked out that I got to stay close to my family and stay in this market that I know and I love so well.

42:13And just, I have that institutional knowledge and it's been such an asset, but like, Oh my God, I'm so fortunate because who gets to like, it's a huge sports market. It's so competitive, like Boston, New York, Philly, Chicago. Like those are the big four in my personal opinion. I think Dallas is definitely up there too, but it's not many people can say that like they grew up in the market they're working in and they've only been in that market it's just it's so rare it's very rare I mean as a Dallas girl who is in this industry like a lot of and like the reason why I didn't do the traditional news route is because everyone was telling me I can't do traditional news in Dallas because it's such a big market and I was like well watch me but I do love no because like don't tell me I can't do something until I actually fail.

43:00No, a hundred percent. My best achievements come from someone telling me I can't do something. That part. So good for you. Yeah. I've stayed like Dallas is my home. And like, similarly to like the new England area, I feel like Texas in general, this is such a, like where I live in Frisco, Texas, it's literally coined, they coined the term sports USA. So like, it's just a huge city for sports and we have so much stuff going around us. So it's really exciting. And I'm sure you share those same sentiments with what you do. And you've talked a lot about like managing different hats and doing different things and giving a little bit of advice to people who might want to be in your position.

43:40But let's talk about like the benefits of your jobs. Like what are the, what are the perks of working for the New England Patriots in a role like yours? I don't know if there's like a one term. I feel like you can't define your role as like one word. It's like multiple, but Yeah, I just say your role. I say like a team reporter and like digital media, you know, like I just say I work in digital media, sports digital media. But like I'd be lying if I said there weren't perks. Like I don't always want to like tell people what I do because I know I'm opening up like can of rabbit, like definitely a rabbit hole can of worm situation.

44:16Like sometimes I'll say I'm an accountant in an Uber, right? Depending on what mood I'm in. But depending on my mood. you're like if I'm tired I can't tell you about the players that I got it with today I just can't do it but I mean the Patriots are such a a global brand and I saw this we we got to travel to Germany two years ago to play a game and we traveled to London last year too but it's just like people were coming up to me asking me for selfies and my autograph knowing me by name and in Germany in Frankfurt Germany I'm like what oh my god like you don't realize the reach you have Like I have like anchors from CNN that I've, I've looked at for so long, reaching out to me on Twitter, just like, oh, you're a fan.

44:58And you're telling me I'm doing a good job because you're listening to my radio show. Like, what is this world? You know? So it's like, I don't realize the reach that our shows have. And that's really, really cool. And then just like the Patriots being a global brand, Mr. Kraft, just having the influence he has within the NFL and the sports world as a whole and getting to work so closely with him, it opens the doors for you in so many ways. Like I feel like I can go apply for any job I want in the world after this. And I have the new England Patriots on my resume and that's automatically cool to someone, you know, like that's automatically a talking point that automatically makes me interesting.

45:39And like, I'd be lying if I said it didn't get me out of a speeding ticket because I was coming home late night from Gillette after a game with my credential all dolled up. And the car's like, where are you coming from at 2 a.m. in this getup? And I'm like, work. And they're like, oh, where do you work? I'm like, Gillette Stadium. I'm like, what do you do? And it's like, oh, miss, you probably had a long night. Like a shout out to the Massachusetts State Police. But I don't want to get anyone in trouble. But it's like there's small perks like that. And then there's perks like we put on a bunch of concerts every summer, stadium shows.

46:14So it's like, if you're lucky, you get first dibs on concert tickets and access at a very, like I brought all my friends to Taylor Swift for the Ares tour for 200 bucks with great seats. And it's like, I could have sold those seats for a pretty penny if I wanted to. So it's like, you get great perks like that. and then like I'll find myself on a sideline before a game and Jason Tatum's right next to me or like Michael Rubin you know like you never Jay-Z we had Jay-Z at a game this week I was like that's how you know the Pats are hot again the celebs are back coming through wait were you the one who made that Instagram post that said that it's I was like the team's up because Jay-Z's here you know that's how you know because he used to come to a lot of games like Bon Jovi's a regular here.

47:00And it's just, it's funny. It's interesting. So you find yourself in certain rooms with people that you'd never imagined you'd be in as like a small town, second generation American, like from podunk Western Massachusetts. Like, you know, it's really, it's really cool. And like getting to see the country honestly is a big reason why I got into this in general. Um, and, but the biggest part to me is like the connection I have with my community, you know, like, I don't know if I would have met so many amazing people, like, especially with my work through the Patriots Foundation, doing just great, great things for people at a grassroots level.

47:41Like, it's not just like a charity you send money to, and it's going to executives. Like we are working with people who have their boots on the ground to help with food insecurity. Like I have an event with Stefan Diggs coming up where he's hosting a Thanksgiving party for single mothers in the Boston metro area. We're doing a community event today where we're bringing children who can't go trick-or-treating because they're receiving treatment at children's hospitals. And they're coming here to Gillette to have a party and be celebrated and feel like kids again. So like, that's the best stuff I do.

48:11And like, as cliche as it is, like, that's the biggest perk because it's the most fulfilling work I get to do and having these touch points with my community, like it's just so rewarding. And it gives me so much fulfillment that I feel so blessed because so many people like do not get fulfillment out of their work and what they're doing. And it's like, I get to run around and do like, it feels like we're doing a college project half the time. I'm doing the shit about football with my coworkers. And like, I get to have this impact and shine light on people that are doing like real life stuff. Like we always say it's just football.

48:49It's not brain surgery, but like there's people out there that are basically doing brain surgery that we got to impact and we get to uplift them with the foundations work or just like even bringing like a kid to a game. We had a kid this weekend. He came to practice into the game and Mike Vrabel, he wrote Mike Vrabel like a beautiful letter. And this kid was in the hospital, like essentially receiving end of life care. Like it was a really dire situation, a 15 year old little boy at Boston Children's. And it was right before the combine when he reached out to Mike Vrabel and Vrabel was like, okay, you're asking me for a Skype or like a video message.

49:26I just want to visit you, man. Like I have time. So like the day before he left Indy for the combine, he went to go visit this kid and just had like built this bond with him and checked up on him. The kid made a miraculous recovery to the point where He went from receiving end-of-life care, his family preparing for the worst, to his parents and his four siblings being here at Gillette, watching a practice, staying at the team hotel, and then coming to the game with sideline passes this weekend. So it's like, that's the stuff that not everyone sees. And it's like, that's why I'll never F with anyone that's like, it's just sports.

50:04Sports are for low IQ people. Like what else is there other than like food and music, in my opinion, that bring people together like sports does? And like, really, that's why you deal with the grind and the hustle. Yeah, you literally talked about it earlier. Like you alluded to the language that sports has. And I think that when you can successfully dominate and have something where you're able to communicate with people outside of using words, that's like your bread and butter. And so often do people forget how much sports unites us, whether you like it, whether you don't, whether you watch football every single Monday, Thursday and Sunday that there is, or whether you don't watch it at all.

50:49Like that kid and Mike Rabel alone, there's so many stories like that in the NFL and in college too, that people just don't hear about. And I think that's why, yeah. Especially football, right? Like find me a sport that has more people from every walk of life, every race, every class, every socioeconomic like background coming together, right? For a common goal, brotherhood. Like it's just, it's such a beautiful thing. And I think like sports really emulate life and society. And I think you go into a football locker room and you really, you see the stories some of these guys have in the situations they uplift themselves and their family out of, out of pure grit alone.

51:32You can be the most talented individual, but if you don't have it right up here with your mindset and your mentality and your work ethic, you're not going to make it. So it's like being around that is so, so inspirational and the way it can inspire you youth and children and like really anyone in their everyday life. Like it's just such a beautiful thing. And there's, there's no locker room, like a football locker room. You could argue like soccer too at a global level for sure. But in the United States, it's the NFL and it's college football. Yeah. It's so interesting to hear this side of it, especially like from your perspective, obviously you're like boots on the ground, but when you like really think about it and then even like coming full circle to just talking about like bringing like variable bringing in good quality players who are the kind of people who are going to be stand up people on and off the field.

52:25And then you think about the amount of organizations, like all of like the top, most famous players have organizations, foundations, donate a ton, you know, like Stefan digs showing up for the community and like, yeah, all of that. And you see them play on the field, but you, yeah, you really don't always see all of the extra that goes on. And also like how genius the players are on and off the field, which I think is underrated that to like be the top of the top in the league, you also have to be able to be in the community and be a good person. And I think it's a requirement for the Patriots.

53:08It's in their contract. Like, and that's again a credit to Mr. Craft and his late wife, Myra Craft. Like if you're a member of this team, it's written in your contract that you have a certain obligation to the community. You need to be making appearances with the Patriots Foundation. You need to be giving back to the community that gives so much to you. Right. Right. Okay. I want to make a small pivot because we are a show for the girls. And so I want to do a little bit of a pivot because obviously you found yourself in a highly male-dominated environment. We're watching a male-dominated sport, although like women's flag football, women's tackle football is coming up.

53:48Like the NFL is a male-dominated organization, mostly male run. Even in media, most talking heads that we see are men. And a lot of times there's like a token woman on a panel. So can you talk about your experience being a female coming into this situation? It seems from what you've told us that the Patriots organization is very like welcoming and uplifting of you, but I'd love to hear about your experience there. Yeah. It's interesting because like my first job in the industry for full time, at least, like I had a Nesson internship, but then I went to an outlet called MassLive up here. It's just a regular news outlet, but they cover a lot of pro sports.

54:25But my first job was high school sports coverage. And the woman that hired me, Meredith Perry was a woman. She was a high school sports editor. And then, and then I go to Nesson and I'm only one of two women on the sports desk desk surrounded by men. And that's where I started to see like, just like differences and not necessarily like ethics. I think I worked with good people, but they just thought of things from a different lens than me. So we're like, say there's a player that's in the news and he's getting put on this team or getting traded or this, but he's also in the news for like a domestic violence situation.

55:07So I'm logging on at 4 PM and there's four stories about the player's contract situation and not a single one about any allegation that he's going through. So it's like, why aren't we also covering this? Right. Little stuff like that. And then like, not that they're like microaggressions, but it's just like, I see the good in people. I want to believe that people aren't like purposely discriminating against women or being like prejudiced, but it's just a different way of thinking. So I've always kind of looked at it and I'm so lucky because I came into this industry at a time where like people wanted to make hires for women.

55:48They wanted to bring really diverse, unique perspectives into the newsroom and to coverage. So I benefited from that a hundred percent. Like I will never be like the woe is me. It's so hard. Cause I'm a girl one that comes from my delusion, but two, like I'm really realistic that these hires were being made. People were really just waking up to the fact that like your coverage is better when it's more diverse. That's just a fact, you know? And I also, that also came with the mentality that I knew from day one, before day one, day zero, that I need to be the most prepared person in the room. And like I'm putting maybe more work in than the guy next to me.

56:38But at the end of the day, like I might have to put in more work, but that's not going to be a detriment to me because it's just going to make me better. So I've always tried to have just a super positive outlook about it and just like really use my differences to my advantage. And like, I grew up with a brother and talking sports with my dad. Like I knew I could walk the walk and talk the talk. So I just didn't let being a female surrounded by men hinder me. And like, I also, I think back, like this is another like butterfly effect thing where Like I worked as a bartender at a country club before I broke in full time into this industry.

57:20Like you're really talk about a boys club. Like I'm at a bar surrounded by men. And if you can cut off a drunk rich man at a country club, you can do anything. Yeah, you can literally do anything. In the world. So like I think back to bartending and working at sports bars and just like all these little things that I was like that really gave me the confidence to like talk shop with men. Like I can hang with the boys, I can hang with the girls and I can find a little bit of meaning ground in the middle. Part of that I think is being a Libra too. Like you're balancing the scales if you're into astrology.

57:56But so I just, I knew I could use it. I could think of it as like a disservice to myself or I could use it as an advantage. And I think if you're using it to your advantage and your differences and you're just being the most prepared person in the room, like in general, not just the most prepared woman, the most prepared person, you're going to be okay. Granted, like there are like little things where I'm like, sometimes I wish I was a dude. Like I have to get here on Monday mornings after a game, 7am to do my hair and makeup to record our shows, you know, where the boys just roll in and sit down in their polo.

58:36Like there's not as much that goes into it. Right. So there's stuff like that where it's like, damn, like, should I do a bob to just take a quick half hour off my getting ready time to chop my hair? Like you think about that stuff and you're like, oh, I wouldn't have to worry about this if I was a dude, stuff like that. But I've had honestly like a pretty good experience up here. And that's all goes back to like the women like Jackie McMullin and Doris Burke and Karen Garigian up here in Boston. Like Like I'm forever indebted to those women, like the Leslie Vissers, the Melissa Lutkes, because like they went through the mud.

59:15They like the first one through the wall always gets a little bloody. Like that's what I think about. They went through the wall for me so I can just like do the gritty into it and skirt in. Be like, I'm really smart. I'm here. Yeah. Hey, what's up? So I'm, I'm forever indebted to women like that. And the women who really paved the way and were pioneers in this industry, because now we're in a place where like, it's so promising. You know, like everywhere you look, there's like Mina Kimes is so well respected. She's a pioneer in her own right. Like she can do it all. She can write. She can do TV.

59:48She's so brilliant with X's and O's. I would love to be in a place with X's and O's that she's at where she can just break down defensive coverages. And like our X's and O's guy, Evan Lazar, like this dude watches tape for fun, like even before he had this job, like he's a type, you know? And he looks up to Mina Kaim so much and respects her so much. So it's like there are women that have reached this level and broken that ceiling. A lot of the tropes of like, oh, girl on radio, go make me a sandwich. Those are really outdated perspectives. And I don't think any man worth his salt still carries those beliefs.

1:00:30Because it's too competitive to just roll out any woman as a token hire these days. Right. You've got to know your shit. yeah yeah yeah I think it's interesting to see too because like for me it was Pam Oliver growing up for me especially being yeah especially being you know a black woman and wanting to go into this industry even like Malika Andrews like people like that are who I look up to constantly and it's interesting because now I feel like we're seeing and Victoria likes to call it the renaissance and the NFL, but I feel like we're truly seeing like a change. Like people want to see girls and women on TV talking about football.

1:01:11Like they think it's like bad a for us to be out there and talking about X's and O breaking down defensive coverage, breaking down how the quarterback, you know, doesn't know look pass or breaking down how he's lining up under center and shotgun. Like all those things are so valuable. And then if you're a girl and you're, you know, pretty to look at, you know, it's, it's really cool to, to see how the industry is like shaping. And I do feel like as women, not being victims, but being empowered in the fact that like, Hey, the industry is going this way and I'm not going to sit back and like, similar to what you said, woe is me.

1:01:48I'm going to look at this as an empowering situation and have confidence walking into these roles that like, I know I can crush it. Cause I know what I'm talking about. and people are going to buy into what I have to say. So I think it's awesome that you've broken that barrier. And similar to all the people that we've mentioned, you yourself are doing that as well. So I think it's awesome. I think it's important to never be a victim to your circumstance, right? Yes, what happens to you is a big part of your story, but how you react is so much more important. And that's why I love what you guys are doing because like not every sports fan is a dude.

1:02:26There's so many women that love this shit, you know? Like look at us, right? I speak clearly soon. Like look at us, you know? So it's like, I think we can reach those demographics better than a traditional talking head male sports show. And that's the demographic that these sports leagues want to target. Like they have the men. They're not going anywhere. They want to be capturing the women and these alternative angles and these different ways to cover the story. Like, I was on a radio show this week. We were doing our weekly pick segment and we were talking about the Ravens and their struggles.

1:02:59And I was like, well, you guys, I saw on Twitter that some girl hired an Etsy witch to curse her ex-situationship's team. And ever since then, the Ravens have been down bad. And the guys were like, what? And next thing we know, we're on the radio trying to buy an Etsy witch on it. Looking up their prices and stuff. And my boss friend is like, should we get one? We could curse the Jets. No, no, no. Like we're making jokes out of it. So, you know, the Jets are already cursed. Yeah, I was going to say the Jets are already cursed. They don't need our help. But like, we're joking about it and we're laughing.

1:03:33And the women are like, oh my God, I saw that too. Like, ha ha. And it's just like, there's so many ways to cover this league. And the women help get a really important demographic that is growing. Like the men aren't going anywhere and the women are coming in droves and it's us who reach them the best, especially you guys. Like non-traditional media is so huge. Like I tell everyone, like start eight, like how do I break into this industry? Are you posting on TikTok? No, why not? Like citizen journalism is everything right now. There's literally nothing stopping you. Like get on TikTok, get on Twitter, X or whatever you want to call it.

1:04:12Get on Instagram, YouTube. Like you can just self-produce this stuff now. And even if no one ever sees it, it's practice. Yeah. Yeah. And like, you can DM anybody. People are like, how do you, how did you get Brooklyn Adams? I said, I DMed her. Yeah. How did I get you? Imagine that. We DMed from TikTok. Imagine that, right? Yeah. Okay. That's the way. Well, we know that you have the Halloween event to get to. So can you tell people where to find you, your show, Instagram, all the things? Yeah. You can catch us on Patriots Unfiltered, live on Patriots.com. all the Patriots social media channels every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

1:04:47I'm always on Thursday. Every other day of the week, I got some running around to do, so it's less consistent. But you'll always catch me there. Thursday, you can catch me on our YouTube channel, Patriots Unfiltered on TV. I will be interviewing Jalen Hawkins this week. I don't know when this will come out, but I have safety Jalen Hawkins. And then you can find me on my own social media channels. Search Alexandra Francisco. I think I'm Al underscore Francisco on Instagram. by Al Francisco on Twitter because some guy who hasn't used his Twitter in 10, 15 years has the handle I want. And his profile picture is literally like a Tasmanian devil.

1:05:24He hasn't posted since like 2009, but he's holding Al underscore Francisco hostage from me. Hopefully I'll get it one day. So, but for now it's by Al Francisco. And then on TikTok, I'm Alexandra Francisco. Yay. Well, thank you so much. You're the best. Thank you guys. Let's see this again. This was fun. yeah it's just so fun all right and we'll talk to you soon all right see you soon

1:05:56the game's on the game is oh my god the game's on the game's on the game's on the game's on the game's on the game's on