Interview by Reginald P. Matthews,
GET YOUR GAME FACE ON! THIS IS A GAME CHANGER FOR ALL NFL WOMEN!
THREAD IS A FREE, PRIVATE SOCIAL NETWORK FOR NFL SPOUSES (CURRENT AND FORMER), PARTNERS, MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS OF FORMER AND CURRENT NFL PLAYERS AND COACHES.
With personal profile pages, the ability to post, blog, email, direct message and live chat, THREAD is an excellent private resource for promoting individual business, building personal brand, social connection, and exposure to resources that are designed to empower league women by blanketing them with a support system as they navigate through the various stages of life during and after their league experiences.
RM: How did you get the idea to start this platform for the women of the NFL?
Since my husband’s playing days, I have been passionate about connecting league women. There are many great resources online, but no true way to connect one-on-one with each other. I knew that what we needed was a private, secure network where current and former league women could connect personally, communicate directly and advertise their businesses. THREAD offers a much needed tool to search for league women (by team, city, roster, name, interest) and to connect directly and privately. It acts as an excellent recruitment tool to attract new members to existing programs like Off The Field Players’ Wives Association. There is also a page dedicated to up-to-date NFL resources on the platform: the NFL RESOURCE THREAD. Here league organizations like NFL Player Engagement, will be able to post information about programs, events and opportunity knowing it will get to league women, directly.
RM: What NFL women will make up the THREAD network?
THREAD is a free, private social network for NFL wives (current and former), spouses, partners, mothers and daughters of former and current NFL players and coaches.
RM: How did you come up with the name THREAD?
The premise of the project showcases the important role NFL women tackle during and after their league experiences: a behind the scenes role that is reflective in the project title: THREAD. If you look at the craftsmanship in making a football – an essential component is the one least talked about. It holds the ball together, yet is hidden in the seams. It is not the leather or the laces, the markings or the signatures. It is the THREAD. THREAD also refers to lines of communication.
RM: As an NFL wife, what was your biggest fear when watching your husband play?
When you're young, they say ignorance is bliss. So, when my husband was playing, I never worried. I never thought about injuries. I honestly enjoyed the games without thinking about the possibility of injury. We had a huge circle of friends and family with us for each game and that wasn’t our nature - we just had a blast.
RM: As an NFL Mom, what was your biggest fear while watching your sons play?
I came to find that when it comes to your children, it is a completely different story. When it comes to your children, you take every breath with them. The trick is not to let them know that you’re worried.
RM: What advice do you have for NFL Drafts wives, girlfriends, and mothers as they get ready to possibly embark on this NFL journey?
To the girlfriends I would say, let him go for these next few months until camp is over and the roster is set. Do not take it personally if he is elusive, he is going to be completely focused on making the team. Just because he's drafted, doesn't mean the work is over, it is just beginning.
To the rookie mother, I suggest that she create a wall around him. Be that "NO" person in his life. Make sure he is surrounded by people that you trust - people that aren't going take advantage of him with emotional blackmail. Make sure those individuals are as committed to his dream as he is.
RM: What is the one thing you want NFL women to know about THREAD?
To the NFL woman I would say, “THREAD is not just a service; it is a tool and the platform is just the beginning. Phase two introduces THREAD workshops, boot camps and the pre-game lunches. What will we be talking about? Your businesses. your groups, your issues, your stories. THREAD is not competitive. If you have a business, blog, initiative, platform, promote it on THREAD and recruit new members. Post events to the THREAD EVENT Calendar.”
My message to NFL women is simple: Let’s grow TOGETHER!!
RM:Zordich also shared future plans for THREAD MAGAZINE, an annual magazine to be distributed to incoming league women and existing THREAD members.
The intention of THREAD magazine is to feature NFL life experiences so that current and former NFL women can discover that their situation may not be isolated, that others may be dealing with the same issues. Finding that you are not alone is paramount when you are thrown into new terrain and are adapting to life as a league woman. I regard former wives as the gatekeepers. We have the wisdom and it is up to us to light the way for the incoming women as they come in and exit the game.
To register log on to www.nflthread.net. THREAD is always free, private and exclusive to NFL women!
Cynthia Zordich is an NFL Engagement insider. She is the wife of former NFL Player/University of Michigan Coach Michael Zordich and the mother of free agent FB Michael Zordich (PSU '12), former UB Quarterback Alex Zordich ('13) and recent Penn State graduate Aidan Zordich (Advertising '14). www.cynthiazordich.com.
Reginald Matthews is a Journalism and Sports Intern at OMBI Group in Atlanta, Georgia. Reginald recently received his Bachelors of Arts from Morehouse College in Political Science and Journalism. Linkedin.com/in/reginaldpmatthews