Bigger than a Game: The Birth of Angel City
“Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it’s not possible. You have to have the courage to do it.”
When Julie Uhrman and her twin sister were nine years old, they brought a flier home to join the basketball league at their local YMCA. To which their mom responded: You know, the ‘M’ stands for Men’s, right? “We weren’t concerned by that at all," Julie reflects. "We showed up at The Y. There were 80 boys and the two of us. The first thing that went through my mind was: Give me the ball. Let me show you what I can do. Then, let’s win the game.” She’s been a fierce competitor and change maker since.
Julie went on to be captain of her collegiate basketball team. Yet, she still didn’t see a viable career path in sports due to the lack of visible pathways for women. Three decades later, she’s not only founded and runs Los Angeles’ new national women’s soccer team, Angel City. Alongside a passionate group of athletes, actresses, and investors, she’s creating a first of its kind platform to impact lasting change on and off the field.
Julie’s courage to be the first is inspired by her extraordinary mom. A former fourth grade teacher, she guided a practice we may all benefit from: The ‘I can’t’ funeral.
“Her first week of school, they would do this incredible art project that says: ‘I can’t.’ Then, they would put it in the ground and have a funeral for the words: ‘I can’t.’ Teaching her kids that ‘I can’t’ is not an option. You can. Now, let’s figure out how you can do it.”
The three generations of Uhrman women are a special highlight of our conversation. The day prior, Julie’s 13 year old daughter wrote in her mom’s birthday card that she is proud of her for being a role model.
“Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it’s not possible. You have to have the courage to do it. Angel City is an example of that coming to life every single day.”
Julie and her co-founders, Natalie Portman and Kara Nortman, didn’t have any experience in professional sports and launched Angel City as a startup. The second slide of their investor deck — Bigger than a game — continues to be what makes their team so invigorating to follow. In giving us a glimpse into the makings of a next-gen sports team — and the first ever that is majority women-owned — Julie illuminates what intention in action looks like.
What is one ‘I can’t’ that holds you back? How might you conduct your own ‘I can’t’ funeral to free yourself from it?
With gratitude,
Jenna