“Sports is the universal language so certainly, as a woman, sports has been able to bring me into many different conversations and has opened up so many doors for me.” - Marnie Schneider

Marnie Schneider comes from football royalty.  Her grandfather, Leonard Tose, was the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles and creator of the Ronald McDonald House.  Her mother Susan shattered glass ceilings as the first and only woman to be legal counsel, General Manager, and Vice President of a professional football team.  Growing up in this family, Marnie spent a lot of time traveling to games on a plane.  One day on a flight back to Philadelphia her Walkman ran out of batteries and her mom said, “Here’s a notepad. Start writing.”  And so she did.  On that flight she came up with the idea for her first book Football Freddie and Fumble the Dog. Now, she has turned the idea into an 8-book series, Gameday in the USA. Each book follows the loveable characters Football Freddie and Fumble the Dog as they travel to different cities learning about various NFL teams and the rich history and culture of each city. The books are a hit with kids and encourage them to experience the joy of reading, sports, and traveling to new cities.

In this episode, Marnie talks about the process of creating children’s books, embracing the challenges of being a caregiver to her mother with dementia and parent of a child diagnosed with cancer, the importance of giving back and being a cheerLEADER for others, and what it takes to embody that sports mentality and create a winning game plan to go after your dreams. She also talks about her appearance as Joyce the flight attendant in my favorite movie of all time, The Wedding Singer!