Welcome to The Newsfeed.

Former ESPN host and Kent native, Kenny Mayne, has had a front row seat as professional women's sports leagues have built their foundations.

I spoke with Mayne earlier this month during a session at the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival, and asked him about why he thinks Seattle specifically has seen such success.

When we talk about the evolution of women's sports, this is also the city where we've seen in the last couple of decades, really, it take off from the Sue Birds to the Megan Rapinoes.

How have you seen it from the analysts side to now?

I think it's just grown and grown, not just Seattle, but nationally.

You know, when I was in high school, how many women's sports or girls sports, right?

It wasn't even a full roster.

And through time, partly Title IX and partly people just like, "it's a pretty good thing.

It's a healthy thing.

It's team building.

It gives you mentors to follow.

It gives you confidence."

All sorts of reasons why athletics are good.

And it's just grown in that respect.

But like you said, you listed it all.

We also got rugby.

We got a lot of good women's sports.

- The Torrent.

How about the University of Washington women?

The Western Washington women?

You know, all over.

Yeah, it's grown and the leadership- those models you talked about, Rapinoe and Sue, and again having that base.

What a what a great place to go watch anything.

I saw Springsteen there, the Kraken there.

- Of course.

And the women's sports there as well.

So it's a perfect venue.

And they've got a garden.

They have more plants than we got here.

All this week we'll bring you segments of our conversation with Kenny Mayne from the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival.

Tomorrow, you'll hear about how Mayne's foundation partnered with a prosthetics expert in Gig Harbor to help veterans with damaged limbs recover.

I'm Paris Jackson.

Thanks for watching The Newsfeed.