3. Ali Ridgeway - New Orleans Saints

0:22The game's on. Hey, I'm Victoria and welcome back to another episode of your new favorite podcast, The Game. Today, we have our very first interview, and I'm so excited to bring you this conversation with Allie Ridgway. Her plus one is Saints defensive tackle John Ridgway. Now, John was originally selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the draft and then was released onto waivers, ended up on the Commanders, and now is going into his second season on the Saints. So Allie has seen a lot of the NFL, a lot of different organizations, and today we talk about how it is moving, what kind of perks she gets as an NFL wife, kind of her dreams and desires.

1:02She's a new mom as well. We talk a little bit about college athletics, how she met her NFL husband, and overall, she's just a really great time, and I think that you're going to love listening to her. Let's get into my interview with Allie. Allie Ridgway, welcome to the game. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here. I'm so excited to have you talk all about stay-at-home mom life, WAG life, your moves through the NFL, and kind of what you have going on right now. So we know your alley and your plus one is John Ridgway on the Saints. Yeah, great plus one. He is. He's one of the good ones. So I want to get started by just by asking, how did you guys meet?

1:45Well, I feel like you hear a different story depending on who you ask. If you ask him, he claims he asked me to write a paper for him and he was going to pay me and I said no. So don't tell our teachers back in the day that. I think that I met him because he dropped his pocket in the parking lot and I told him that. And he looked around like, where's my pocket? And realized I was joking. Wait, what's a pocket? Like on your pants, you tell someone, hey, you dropped your pocket. And they look around and realize you can't drop your pocket. It was... I was like, is this a word for wallet from Illinois that I don't know?

2:21No, I told him that. But really, we, I mean, both playing sports in college, I played softball, he played football. So we just had mutuals and eventually met. He's two years younger than me. So we didn't really cross paths until my senior year and his sophomore year. So I was like already out the door. He was still going to be there for two more years. And then we didn't start dating until after college. So I didn't realize you played. Well, I know because I stalked you on the Internet, but you played softball like NCAA D1 softball. Yes. That's so badass. Yes, sure did. But don't ask me to throw a ball.

2:55I was a pitcher. Don't ask me to underhand toss a ball. I have no coordination anymore. So it's all left left the party. Yes. Yeah, that's like I was a gymnast and I do do like a backflip every six months just to like double check. I love that. But I'm like, ask me to do routine, ask me to get on a beam. Like, I don't know. It probably take me like a couple a couple weeks to be like comfortable again. I get that because I was a cheerleader way back, way back in the day. Whoa. Okay. So my party trick in college was I could still do the splits. Don't know if I could do that anymore, but I did pull that out at least, yeah, once every six months.

3:33That's so funny. I, yeah, I feel like I use the splits as my party trick too because when I got to college, I was like, I'm never going to do gymnastics when I drink. Like if I've had any sip of alcohol, no one is convincing me to do a flip. And I don't know how I got through college, like maintaining that rule, but I did. And so I'd just be like, I can't do a backflip, but I can do the splits. And usually people would be like, OK, love that. Well, maybe you'll have to pull them out, pull them out sometime soon. No, I got I got to work on it. Got to get stretching. So after college, did you go through?

4:07I feel like a lot of athletes who if you go from high school athletics to college, then you kind of just like go to college and kind of let high school athletics go. And it's not it doesn't feel like as dramatic as like you leave college and then you kind of are like, what's my routine? What kind of fitness do I do? Oh, yeah, that was like the biggest wake up call shock of my whole life. It was like you go from someone telling you exactly what to do every single day for four years straight to being like, oh, I have to work out on my own now. and I have to actually make myself get up and go. And yeah, it takes me, I mean, I go through cycles of what workouts I like to do because I think I'm permanently scarred from athletics.

4:55We've tried to ball at this point. I'm the same way though. Like I feel like, you know, you're onto something if the hard choice feels easy. And I feel like in sport, the hard choice of like showing up to conditioning and waking up early, like when you're in it, it's not like actually hard. It's just like what you do and then you become an adult. And it's really hard to find hard things that feel easy that will actually push you forward. And so we end up going from like, we walk five miles a day to like, we do Pilates to like, we do CrossFit. Actually, I'm running a marathon. Actually, I want to do a triathlon.

5:30And then you just kind of like rotate through. You've basically summed up my last like six years. yeah on the fitness note do you have access to the saints facilities do families have access not the actual like saints facilities but but the saints are different than other teams we've been with oh actually the cowboys were the same way they have access to like or they give us a free membership to a gym in town so there's this really big fitness center and i'm actually going to sign up this week so okay i'll probably give the full tour on tic tac but it's a big gym it's basically like a lifetime, but whatever their version of it is here.

6:09And spouses get free memberships there. So super nice. Cowboys was the same way. They had a gym right there, like at the star that families got into. Commanders might have had something, but I didn't access it if they did. You're like, I did not get that email and I did not ask. Yeah. Nope. I think that it's really interesting just kind of coming from the family perspective. I have a friend who her husband's a college coach and she has like really random perks and you kind of always wonder around the NFL like what's actually going on over there and like what services do they have so do you have like a best service or like perk of being the partner of a player that you can kind of think of I was gonna say the only thing I can think of that is nice that we get to utilize this year is on game days at the stadium.

7:00They have childcare for us. So I can drop my baby off and then go enjoy the game, which I think is super nice. Not all teams have that, but I mean, the Saints do. And they actually have actual preschool teachers come in and watch them. And they have them separated by age group and everything. It's super nice. So it's like an actual, it's not like a 14-year-old watching your kids. They're certified. They're doing it right. Oh, that's a great perk because I feel like every six weeks we get a like engagement announcement, baby announcement, pregnancy announcement from a player because most of them, I mean, you get to like your mid to late 20s and you're starting to like think about it.

7:40And then I do love though, those baby headphones. Yes. It was like really get me every time. Yeah. Johnny didn't have a problem with them. I've heard some babies absolutely hate them, but he put those things on and he slept the whole game that we like had him out for. It was amazing. 10 out of 10 recommend. Have you been with a team that played the Lions in the last couple of years? If we did, I think it was at the Lions. Okay. Because at Lions, they have like a Simba cam essentially. And so then all the like parents hold up their kids and then all the kids have the little headphones on. Ah, that's cute.

8:20Yeah, it's so cute. Let's go back to John. So he was drafted by the Cowboys, went to the Commanders, and then now is at the Saints. Yeah. What are some of the lifestyle pros and cons of being a family in the NFL and then also the moving side of it? Some of like the most famous NFL players are like resident players. Like we think about Patrick Mahomes. He's at the Chiefs forever. Travis Kelsey, like 13 years at the Chiefs. But then probably the majority of players are kind of moving around from place to place. So how has that kind of affected your life? And then what are some like pros and cons that maybe you've experienced through that?

9:09Well, we've lived in Texas, in Virginia, and now Louisiana, just for the NFL, not even counting college. So five states in the last five years for everything. A lot of moving, obviously. Pros, I try to look, you know, glass half full. We've got to see all parts of the country, which have really helped me narrow down where we want to live long term, which I think is good. But it is fun to go to different cities and kind of explore different parts of our country and see different things, see different stadiums. The moving part is obviously a con because when the players get moved, like the first time my husband was cut and then picked up on waivers.

9:47So he got a call at three o 'clock, was on a flight by 6 p.m. And I was left to pack up the house because it's middle of season and he had a game to play that next weekend. So that and even with him being traded last year, it was the day after 53 deadline. And then he left the next day and then I was left to pack the whole house within two weeks. So there's a lot of stuff that goes on that people don't see because the players just go. I honestly don't know how players without a significant other or family do it because I've had a lot of stuff I've had to do. So if the players are gone, I don't know how they're getting all that done.

10:25Yeah, you're like, I'm very busy. So what are you guys doing if you're just on a flight? Or maybe they're just dropping a crazy amount of money for people to like move them. Yeah, I will say the one perk that we've gone through, because he went straight to 53 both times, the teams pay for the move. So the first time the team just straight up like covered it, I think the second time we paid and they reimbursed us for everything. So that makes it a little less stressful because you know that You're not having to cover the thousands of dollars that it costs to move your stuff in your cars and everything.

10:59But it's a lot. When you, obviously, you guys met in college. And then after college, you went on into like a career role. And then you've recently become a stay-at-home mom. Yes. If you would have told me that five years ago, I would have said, you're crazy. Really? I was a businesswoman ready to take on the world. I so like I said two years older than john got my master's in health administration graduated when he did his fifth year at arkansas So then I was working that first year And I worked remotely and then kind of worked my way up in that company But I thought I was gonna go be a ceo of a hospital which is still possible someday But for now not happening But then obviously we met and football was the priority at the moment and i'm here to support his goals and dreams So I knew remote work was the way I had to go and we've made that work.

11:55And now he told me to quit for like a whole year and just enjoy the lifestyle. I could not give it up. And then finally I quit and I was pregnant. And so that worked out well. He's like, relax. And you're like, I'm going to be the CEO. I can't relax. Yeah. I was like, I need my own money. Like it was an ego thing for sure. I just could not separate myself from having a job. But now I'm like, man, where did all my money go? Like, what was Amazon was coming every day. And I'm like, sorry, now you got to fund that. Yeah. Yeah. You're like, are you aware of my costs? Yeah. Exactly. Like, are we on the same page?

12:37When you guys met, it sounds like the NFL was like always the plan or the desire. Is that correct? It was the desire. So I will say like the college you went to originally, Illinois State, that's where we both went. They're an FCS school. So D1AA. So like North Dakota State, if you heard of them, they usually win the championship every year for their divisions. Still really competitive football, obviously, but it's not like your SEC. So at that level, you know, you might get a couple guys from that level that make it every year, but it's not as common. but he did his fifth year he went into the portal which was the craziest experience he put his name in the portal and the next day had like his phone ringing off the hook i kid you not from like 8 a.m till 11 p.m and we were sitting there like oh my god like what's gonna happen where are we gonna be moving all of that and we're a year into dating at that point so he's like you're coming with me wherever we go we're going yeah he's like we're in love so get ready to move yeah and he decided on Arkansas, which was, we were both like, Arkansas, we've never been there.

13:42Why would we go there? But it was the best year of college football for Arkansas. Like, so much fun. They did really, really well. He did really, really well. Obviously, it helped with the NFL dream going to an SEC school. So, yeah. Yeah. What a, what an awesome story, though. You know, because you see so, like, so many players don't make it. Even players at the top of the top D1 schools aren't getting drafted can't become free agents. And then if they do, they might play a couple games and get cut and not actually have financial support. And so you think about like, okay, this is a dream, but then to actually have it come to fruition.

14:22Yeah. And then like he's in the NFL now. Yeah. It's crazy. It's crazy to look back on, you know, what, five years ago, whatever it was, like going through transferring and then draft day. Draft day is not for the week either. Let Let me tell you, it was a long weekend. Were you in real life or were you at home? We were at home. We had like a little party that we held. So it was just a long day of waiting. You never know where you're actually going to get called. From what I've gotten from your TikToks, and if you're not following her on TikTok, go follow her. We'll put her handle in the show notes.

15:00But it seems like you've done, you're kind of constantly in a waiting phase. kind of for everything, like waiting for a 53-man roster to come out, waiting to see if you're getting traded, waiting to see where you should move, when the movers can come. How do you kind of deal with that, especially now that you have a baby and you're responsible for your house and your guys' entire lifestyle outside of the team? I think that going through it rookie year was like Like the biggest wake up call in the NFL is a business and everybody's kind of a number, a transaction. Like nobody's guaranteeing you a spot anywhere, no matter if you're drafted or not.

15:41So because he got cut week two with hopes to put him on the practice squad and then bring him back to active later on. And when you're a rookie or first four years of contract, you have to go through waivers if you get cut. And he got claimed on waivers. So obviously had to move then. So we're moving week three into season. I'm, what was I, like 23, 24 at the time. I'm like, I have to pack this house and move across the country. So we both had to grow up real quick. Like, it's just the harsh reality of they control your life pretty much. And then the trade, same thing. It's, I don't know, it's hard mentally just because you can never feel settled.

16:21We ended up buying a house in our hometown for offseason, which was the best decision we ever made. If you're an NFL person, you can do that. We highly recommend. Just because we had a stable home. So when he was going through the trade, he was living in a hotel. I could go back there. I could live there all offseason while he was living in the hotel here. You just have that stability in a world that is just so up and down and all over the place. Yeah, because I feel like being able to have like, like the feeling of home is something that I really cherish to like go into my own space where it's like you just like exhale the second you get there.

16:59And just to be able to have that, even if you're just like, I'm just having a bad week. Like, I just can't with this right now. Like, I want to go be near my family. I want to go to my bed. Like you can just go back if you need to and like take a beat. I hate renting. It is the biggest pain. So having a place that we own and we can go to and I can put nails in the wall and my dogs can tear things up if they want to. Nobody can yell at us. That's the best thing ever. We've had some pretty good landlords. It's so hit or miss depending on where you live. So finding a new place with dogs that you want, like we did a short term six month lease here.

17:36That's hard to find. A lot of landlords want you there for a year or two, especially with dogs. Or like short term, yeah, with dogs. People will be like, oh, we want you to pay more if you're not staying as long. And you're like, okay, I guess. Yeah. Do you know who I am? I'm a very important person. Yeah. I will say dropping the saint's name this time did help us get our lease. I usually don't like to tell people who we are when we like move around. And I had to name drop this time and it was great. Our landlord's amazing. I'll say that. Probably because you name dropped. And so now they're like, well, we better be nice to them because we don't want bad press from the entire Saints organization.

18:19No kidding. We wouldn't do that, I promise. Yeah. Okay, so speaking of kind of like moving, I've moved a ton. Like I told you before, I lived in D.C. I lived in, actually, I lived in Dallas as well. are you coming to new orleans next well i was just in new orleans for a bachelorette this weekend and i like loved it what do where like what'd you do we went on a swamp tour which was insane i held a baby alligator which is like really cool also i kind of felt guilty i was like should i be holding this baby alligator i don't know they like farm raised them there so This was like a farm-raised one that they raised for like three years and then they let it go into the marsh or do other things with it.

19:10I don't know. But this guy has an entire wild, because he told us how to tell if they're farm-raised or wild. This alligator is on our boat. No, that would, I don't know how I feel about that. It was crazy. It was one of the coolest experiences that I've had. It was really, really awesome. And I didn't know, like, the girls were telling me, like, oh, there's a big fan on the back. And I was like, that's fake. That's in movies. One of those airboats. Yeah. And so then we get out there and there's a giant fan. You're like, oh, wait. I was like, I actually thought this was fake. Like, this is not real life.

19:54That's cool. I went on a swamp tour. So we played at LSU in college for softball. And we went on a swamp tour one time then, but it was like not prime gator season, I guess, because we only saw like one from a distance. But I wanted to go last year and they don't let pregnant people on the airboats. So I was pregnant all last season. So that's on my to-do list. You'll have to send me the place you went. I will. Yeah, because it was we had a really good experience. Our guide was the perfect amount of like funny and dad. He didn't make anyone feel weird. He was so cool. And he had like the perfect amount of talking.

20:28He was fantastic. So I'll text you who it was. Didn't Lana Del Rey marry a gator guy down here? Was that real? That story? I gotta look that up. It was rumors for sure. Honestly, I kind of get it. We were ripping in that boat. And if that guy was young, our guy was 65 probably. But if he was young and hot and charismatic, I don't know. If he asked me on a date, I'd probably say yes. chau you're gonna be moving to louisiana with a gator guy no oh my god don't dm me i don't i can't survive in the heat so we did that and we got beignets we went to a little art market we did a ghost tour oh you gotta send me that too yeah our ghost tour so my mom went maybe six months ago.

21:24And she came back like spooked, like really kind of freaked out. And so I was really nervous. I was like, I had to work some of the weekend and I was like, I need to skip one event. What should I skip? And I was like, maybe I should skip this ghost tour because I also feel like I have a really intense sixth sense. I am like super intuitive and I can like feel energies really well. and so I was really really nervous but the lady that we went with was like very history forward she wasn't afraid to like talk about some of like the darker history of New Orleans which I really appreciated and thought was really cool and then she was just like she told us you know about some of the horror stories and blood dripping out the doors it like starts at a bar so you go and get drinks.

22:12Yeah, it was like 8 p.m. And then we went out on Bourbon Street and then we went out on there was like another, is it Franklin? Frederick Street? I don't know. Again, I was pregnant all last year. I did not make it out. So all of this is on my to-do list this year. Okay, so maybe when I come to a Saints game, we'll just go out. We'll just, yeah, we'll hit all the streets, Bourbon and whatever the other street is. Yeah, wherever else to go. If anyone listens to this, let us know what street because tell us what to do. Give us all the recommendations because we don't know. The ghost tour though, I wanted to do that.

22:48And again, John's like, you have a baby in you. You're not going to be haunted by ghosts with a baby. I was like, okay, I get it.

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23:35So I got into this because I was saying moving a bunch. And I think one of the hardest parts about moving, especially for women around our age, is making friends once you move. And so I asked the girls what they wanted to ask you. And one of their questions was kind of how is the like wives and girlfriends culture on each team? And has that helped you in moving so many times? That's like a two-parter, but. Yeah, I think so. I think luckily with the teams I've been with, I've been with, my husband's been with, but we've been part of. Well, two. Yeah, that's true. Come on. I'll give myself a little credit, you know, but we've been lucky.

24:19It all, I think, stems from if you have a good player personnel staff member on the team because they do a lot of the organizing for like communications to the families. And we were just shortly with the Cowboys, obviously, but they did a good job. But I was working at the time, so I missed a lot of things those first like few weeks that we were there, which definitely sucked. With the commanders, my girl Alexis, if she's listening to this, she is like the bomb, like the best at her job ever. So she was just super welcoming and gave me all the information I needed. The hard part with when we went there was it was already like three or four weeks into season.

24:55I didn't move out there until probably halfway through season. So at that point, iMessage only allows 32 people in a group chat. The group chat was full. So I'm like trying to get stuff from other people. That first year, I'm not gonna lie, sucked. The second year though, once I like knew everybody better, I had been to a few events. So much fun. Like love those girls there. Then coming to another team, you know, right at the beginning of season, also hard, but we didn't have a player personnel lady staff member for the ladies at the Saints last year. We do now. And her name is Courtney. She's awesome.

25:31Amazing. Like I've already seen the differences day and night from last year to this year. Like they're doing so much more, which is just great. What sucks is a lot of times you meet a lot of the women when you go to training camp and like open practices. So when we were traded, we obviously weren't there for training camp or any of those practices. So I didn't meet anybody until we really got thrown in there. Luckily, there was another guy at my husband's position whose fiance is now like one of my closest friends because they made us go to a game and sit together. We were both like, hi, nice to meet you.

26:07And now it's like a Bumble BFF date. It was. You're like, hey, do you want to be my friend? Like, are you cool? Do I want to be your friend? Well, we were both pregnant too. So we were both like, because they were rookies. So we were both new to the team, pregnant, had just moved there. Like, what's going on? But they did a good job then. Like the guys did a good job with that setup. They were like, you guys are going to be friends. And then now look at you. Whether you like it or not, you're going to hang out. Yeah. But what was good is, so all the teams do Bible studies. And my friend Mariah, who I'm talking about, she had already gone to some.

26:41So she was like, you're coming with me. Let's go. So I got to meet a lot more girls that way. And the Saints girls are all like amazing people, just a good time. So they all put on like different activities, but Bible studies every week. So just that's like one social opportunity every week that I had all last season, which was such a good way to meet people. It's also nice that it's like wholesome. Yeah. You know, like it's just like a whole, like a wholesome, like sober, comfortable way to meet people where you already have something to talk about as well. We have coffee and breakfast at all of them.