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...
⚽🇫🇷Two Headers for One Crown: Zinedine Zidane & 1998 World Cup Final 🇫🇷⚽
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 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials: Facebook Instagram Send us Fan Mail Support the show
10 Oct 2026
🤸♀️🥇 Vaulting in History: Kerri Strug and the Magnificent Seven at the 1996 Olympics 🥇🤸♀️
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 doi...
2 Oct 2026
🏒 Climbing Hockey's Highest Mountain: The Rise of Cale Makar 🏒
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 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials: Fa...
30 Sept 2026
🎧 Listener Highlights and Episode Requests
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 possi...
24 Sept 2026
Showdown in the Desert: Games 6 & 7 of the 2001 World Series
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 Shou...
16 Sept 2026
⚾ Welcome to November Baseball: Games 4 & 5 of the 2001 World Series ⚾
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...
11 Sept 2026
⚾ The Night Baseball was More Than a Game: New York City & Game 3 of the 2001 World Series ⚾
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 u...
4 Sept 2026
🏀✨Captain Clutch: Jalen Brunson and 2026 NBA Finals🏀✨
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 ...
31 Aug 2026
🎾🏆A Queen's Quest for Tennis's Crown Jewels 🏆🎾
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 ty...
22 Aug 2026
⚾🎌🏆 The Two-Way Samurai: Shohei Ohtani at the 2023 World Baseball Classic - Part 2⚾🎌🏆
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...
22 Aug 2026
⚾🎌 The Two-Way Samurai: Shohei Ohtani at the 2023 World Baseball Classic - Part 1 ⚾🎌
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 brighte...
15 Aug 2026
🏈❄️Kickstarting A Dynasty: Adam Vinatieri and Tom Brady in A Winterwonder Land 🏈❄️
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 ar...
7 Aug 2026
🏈⚜️ A Win to Help a City Heal: The Saints' Drew Brees and Super Bowl XLIV⚜️🏈
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 O...
5 Aug 2026
🏊♂️🏅 Going for 8 in 2008: Michael Phelps at the 2008 Summer Olympics
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 mo...
29 Jul 2026
⚾ Starting to Steal the Series - Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS ⚾
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...
24 Jul 2026
🏒 2026 Stanley Cup Finals: Bussi the Backup Saves the Series 🏒
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 ...
20 Jul 2026
🏀 The Flu Game - Game 5 1997 NBA Finals 🏀
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 g...
17 Jul 2026
⚽ Messi & Mbappe at the 2022 World Cup Final ⚽
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. Send us Fan Mail Support the show
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5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
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