Podcast
Once Upon A Game: True Sports Bedtime Stories
What if the greatest bedtime stories weren't fairy tales at all?
Here at Once Upon a Game, we believe the best stories are true stories—and the sports world has provided some of the best!
Tune in at bedtime—or anytime—to hear about some of the most unforgettable games, legendary athletes, and iconic moments in sports history.
Perfect for introducing young fans to the biggest moments in their favorite team's history—or reminding the young at heart why they first fell in love with sports—Once Upon a Game is filled with stories the whole family can enjoy together.
Real sporting events into exciting, family-friendly bedtime stories told with the wonder of a classic "once upon a time" fairytale. Each episode is filled with examples courage, perseverance, determination, belief, and teamwork. Incredible comebacks, and last-second victories that sometimes seem too amazing to be true take center stage.
Whether you're winding down before bed, listening on the go, or sharing your love of sports with the next generation, every episode begins the same way...
Once upon a game...
- Episodes
- 19
- Releases
- Weekly
- Typical length
- 24 min
- On air since
- 2026
- Latest episode
- 6 days ago
Episodes
19 episodes, newest first
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23 min
🏀👑 A King, His Kingdom, and A Long Awaited Crown: LeBron James and the 2016 NBA Finals 👑🏀
Episode 18
Show notes
LeBron James is one of the most famous and influential basketball players in the world. He has been playing in the NBA for an incredible 24 seasons! During that time he has changed teams four times. Every time he moves, it sends shockwaves across the league. His new team becomes an instant contender for the next year’s championship.
Tonight we will travel back to the early days of LeBron’s career and hear about his first team-change decisions and his ultimate quest to deliver a championship to his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.
Settle in for the incredible story of the 2016 NBA Finals, when LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers battled the mighty Golden State Warriors in a winner-take-all Game 7, tonight on once upon a game!
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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29 min
⚽🇫🇷Two Headers for One Crown: Zinedine Zidane & 1998 World Cup Final 🇫🇷⚽
Episode 17
Show notes
Travel back to the 1998 World Cup Final and hear the story of how legendary French superstar Zinedine Zidane led his team to its first World Cup championship in front of a home crowd!
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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24 min
🤸♀️🥇 Vaulting in History: Kerri Strug and the Magnificent Seven at the 1996 Olympics 🥇🤸♀️
Episode 16
Show notes
No matter what sport or activity you do, you have probably had a moment where you tripped up and fallen down.
When you do, You might think the mistake is too big, the challenge is too difficult, the pain is too great, or maybe you're just not good enough.
But sports can teach us a special lesson. They show us that the fall or the fail isn't the end of the story. What matters is what we do next.
The story you're about to hear is about a group of young women who dreamed of doing something that no American women's gymnastics team had ever done before.
At the center of that story is a gymnast named Kerri Strug, who will give us perhaps the greatest example of pushing through a fall and finding the courage to keep going.
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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37 min
🏒🏔️ Climbing Hockey's Highest Mountain: The Rise of Cale Makar 🏔️🏒
Episode 15
Show notes
Young hockey players around the world grow up dreaming the same dream: to one day make it to the National Hockey League and win the Stanley Cup.
Tonight you will hear about one player’s journey, from his home town in Canada, to college in the United States, and eventually to hockey’s biggest stage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This is the story of the Cale Makar, tonight on Once Upon a Game
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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1 min
🎧 Listener Highlights and Episode Requests Trailer
Show notes
Would your young athlete like to have their own achievements mentioned on our show? Personalized highlights and shoutouts are now available!
Click the Link Below!
Do you have a favorite team, athlete, or moment you would like to hear featured as a full length story?
Full length story requests are also available for purchase!
Stories can take some time to research, write and record, your request will be made into a full length episode and uploaded as soon as possible!
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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25 min
⚾️🌵Showdown in the Desert: Games 6 & 7 of the 2001 World Series 🌵⚾️
Episode 14
Show notes
After a week of back and forth battles the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees are closing in on the conclusion of the 2001 World Series.
Arizona had jumped out to a 2 games to zero lead but had watched their lead disappear when the Yankees won Games 3, 4, and 5 in New York.
Now it's back to the desert for the finals games of one of the most epic World Series in Baseball history!
For the full check out our last two episodes!
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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19 min
⚾🍂Welcome to November Baseball: Games 4 & 5 of the 2001 World Series 🍂⚾
Episode 13
Show notes
It was October 31…Halloween… the last day of the month… the day after the New York Yankees’ emotional win in Game 3 of the World Series. Now, they needed to do it again.
The Yankees still trailed in the series. They were trying to keep their championship hopes alive—and give the people of New York another night to smile and cheer.
The Arizona Diamondbacks meanwhile were still up in the series. They needed just two more victories to become World Series champions.
What followed were two of the most dramatic games ever played at Yankee Stadium.
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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21 min
⚾🇺🇸 The Night Baseball was More Than a Game: New York City & Game 3 of the 2001 World Series ⚾🇺🇸
Episode 12
Show notes
Tonight's story is about a baseball game played 25 years ago, but it ended up being about much more than who won or lost.
The game was played in late October 2001, just weeks after the United States had been shaken by the attacks of September 11. New York City was still grieving. Families were still searching for ways to move forward, and many people were still trying to understand how life could ever feel normal again.
In the weeks after September 11, New Yorkers had shown remarkable unity, resilience, and determination. They had faced unimaginable sadness, yet they continued to support one another, return to their communities, and look for ways to move forward.
Then On that cool October night, more than 55,000 fans gathered inside Yankee Stadium. They came to watch the New York Yankees battle the Arizona Diamondbacks. But even before the game began, there was an emotional victory of sorts for the people of New York. For a few moments, an entire stadium—and a country—stood together united.
As this game unfolds, the final score will become only part of the story. This night would remind people that sports can be more than games and championships. They can bring people together, give people something positive to believe in, and provide moments of joy, hope, and connection—even during some of life’s most difficult times.
This is the story of Game 3 of the 2001 World Series, tonight on Once Upon a Game…
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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28 min
🏀✨Captain Clutch: Jalen Brunson and 2026 NBA Finals🏀✨
Episode 11
Show notes
Every basketball player dreams of playing in the NBA Finals.
It’s the last series of the season. The brightest lights. The loudest crowds. The time when the pressure is most intense, and the place where legends are born.
For some, this pressure is too much. They get stressed or nervous and play poorly, knowing their teammates and fans are depending on them.
But for others, these pressure-packed moments bring out their very best. You are calm. You are confident. You play your very best.
Being able to do this in a game’s most critical moments is called being clutch.
Tonight, you will hear the story of a player and captain of the New York Knicks basketball team who had done this so much that he had earned the nickname “Captain Clutch.”
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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24 min
🎾🏆A Queen's Quest for Tennis's Crown Jewels 🏆🎾
Episode 10
Show notes
Right now the US Open tennis tournament is being played in New York City. Known as a major championship, it is one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world.
There are four total major championships: The Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, the US Open. Together they are known as the Grand Slam Tournaments.
Year after year tennis pros travel to these events. Each played in a different country at a different time of year.
Their skills are tested on different types of courts against the best players in the world.
winning just one of these events would be a dream come true for any tennis player… imagine trying to win all four… in the same year!
This is the story about a Queen of the Court and her quest to capture all four of tennis’s Crown Jewels.
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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23 min
⚾🇯🇵🏆 The Two-Way Samurai: Shohei Ohtani at the 2023 World Baseball Classic - Part 2⚾🇯🇵🏆
Episode 9
Show notes
There are baseball players who can hit.
There are baseball players who can pitch.
And then there is Shohei Ohtani.
Part 2 of our two part story tells the story of Shohei and his Samurai Japan teammates as they advance through the knockout round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, eventually to a championship game when the entire baseball world seemed to stop and watch.
The game would come down to the final at bat.
Where one pitcher and one hitter who were professional teammates took the field as international rivals carrying the hopes of two baseball loving countries with them.
For the full story of Shohei Ohtani's rise to stardom be sure to listen to part 1 of this story found here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2630057/episodes/19685066
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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23 min
⚾🇯🇵 The Two-Way Samurai: Shohei Ohtani at the 2023 World Baseball Classic - Part 1 ⚾🇯🇵
Episode 8
Show notes
There are baseball players who can hit.
There are baseball players who can pitch.
And then there is Shohei Ohtani.
For more than a 100 years, young baseball players had been told that if they wanted to become truly great they would need to choose a path. A player could become a great pitcher, or a great hitter. But they could not do both.
But Ohtani never seemed interested in choosing.
He believed he could do both.
And his journey would take him from a small town in Japan to the brightest stadiums in America—and eventually to one unforgettable tournament and a championship game when the entire baseball world seemed to stop and watch.
This is the first part of a two part story about Shohei Ohtani and the 2023 World baseball Classic.
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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27 min
🏈❄️Kickstarting A Dynasty: Adam Vinatieri and Tom Brady in A Winterwonder Land 🏈❄️
Episode 7
Show notes
A football team has 53 players. Each player has to master unique sets of skills depending on their position: Throwing, running, blocking, catching, tackling.
Players move up and down the field showing these skills over and over again.
But perhaps the most unique skill on this 53 man team is the kicker.
He may only step on the field for a few seconds each game. Yet it is often in the game's tensest moments.
And each time the kicker is expected to be perfect.
All eyes are on him as he tries to blast the ball high in the air and between two goal posts.
A kick can often be the difference between a win and a loss.
Sometimes kickers become known more for a kick they miss rather than the kicks they make.
But not tonight. Tonight you will hear a story about one of the greatest kickers in NFL history. One of only three who have been elected to the hall of fame. And the game when he made perhaps the most difficult kick in nfl history.
This is the story of Adam Vinatieri and his winter wonderland kicks in what became one of the most famous, and controversial, playoff games in NFL history!
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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28 min
🏈⚜️ A Win to Help a City Heal: The Saints' Drew Brees and Super Bowl XLIV⚜️🏈
Episode 6
Show notes
Every fairy tale has a hero.
But the greatest heroes rarely begin their journeys as favorites.
Sometimes they're overlooked… Sometimes they're underestimated…And sometimes, just when their dream seems to be slipping away… A new door opens.
This is one of those stories. It is a story about a football quarterback, and a proud city that united to lift each other up to heights that neither could hardly imagine.
Its the story of the New Orleans Saints and quarterback Drew Brees, tonight on Once Upon A Game.
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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26 min
🏊♂️🏅 Going for 8 in 2008: Michael Phelps at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Episode 5
Show notes
Tonight you will hear about the greatest swimmer ever and his mission to do something no swimmer had done before.
Every four years, the greatest athletes in the world gather for one incredible competition.
The Olympic Games.
For more than one hundred years, runners have raced, gymnasts have flipped, swimmers have splashed, and athletes from every corner of the globe have come together with the same hope:
To win a gold medal.
Just winning one gold would be a dream come true for most athletes.
But in the summer of 2008, one swimmer arrived at the Olympics in Beijing, China, hoping to make sports history.
His name was Michael Phelps. And he was trying to win 8 golds during the Olympic Games. 🏊♂️🏅✨
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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16 min
⚾ Starting to Steal the Series - Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS ⚾
Episode 4
Show notes
When your team is down it can be easy to lose hope. As a player or a fan sometimes you may feel victory is too far out of reach. But it is important to always remember to believe.
Tonight we will hear the story of a baseball team and a city that refused to give up against their biggest rivals. With hard work, speed, and strength they began to overcome 86 years of history that had felt like a nightmarish curse for their fans.
This is the story of Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. ⚾ ✨
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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16 min
🏒 2026 Stanley Cup Finals: Bussi the Backup Saves the Series 🏒
Episode 3
Show notes
Every athlete wants to be the best. No matter what level you play at, being the star of your team, and playing every minute of every game is what every player wants.
But what if all of a sudden, after years of success you can’t even make it on the team you want? Would you keep trying or would you give up? What if you made that team, but were not given the chance to play and show your skills?
Would you get frustrated, lazy, or distracted? Or would you stay focused and be ready when your moment came to step up and help your team when they needed it most.
Tonight you will hear the story of Brandon Bussi, a hockey goalie who found himself in just this situation while his teammates were playing the biggest games of their lives!
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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11 min
🏀 The Flu Game - Game 5 1997 NBA Finals 🏀
Episode 2
Show notes
We all know what it's like to be sick. Aches, fevers, chills, dizziness, throwing up. Everyone knows that being sick is no fun. A sickness can come on without warning and all you want to do is curl up in bed until you feel better.
But what if a sickness like that hit right before the biggest game of your season? Would you be able to perform? Would you play at a high level knowing that all your teammates and fans were depending on you?
In Game 5 of the 1997 NBA finals, one of the greatest basketball players of all time was faced with this exact challenge.
Tonight you will hear the story of Michael Jordan and what has become known as “the Flu Game”
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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12 min
⚽🇦🇷 Messi & Mbappé at the 2022 World Cup Final 🇦🇷⚽
Episode 1
Show notes
As the world prepares for the World Cup Final this weekend, it seems fitting that our first episode tell the story of the last World Cup Final. Hear the tale of how two professional teammates took to field as rivals competing for soccer's greatest prize in what became one of the legendary World Cup Finals ever! Lionel Messi leads Argentina against Kylian Mbappe and France on this episode of Once Upon A Game.
🤸♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts
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