Guitarist Matt Watts and drummer Mike Golla met while at a mutual friend's band practice.

[7] The band recorded an album's worth of material with producer Chris Badami,[8] which was due for release in early 2001.

[6] We the People Records, who had ties with Drive-Thru, had arranged a showcase for the label's founders Stefanie and Richard Reines.

With help from a guidance counsellor, Vasoli graduated early, finishing his last high school year and two semesters at community college.

[9][10] The band changed their name to the Starting Line following threats from a Missouri-based act also called Sunday Drive.

[12][13] The Starting Line cancelled their tour dates in January 2002 due to Vasoli contracting mono.

[14] Later that month,[15] the band began recording Say It Like You Mean It at Media Vortex with producer Mark Trombino,[16] who Golla said brought "an extra set of ears to the table".

[10] They went with him as all of the members' all-time favorite album was Clarity (1999) by Jimmy Eat World, which Trombino produced.

[19] "Leaving" and "Saddest Girl Story", two tracks that originally appeared on the With Hopes of Starting Over... EP, were re-recorded for Say It Like You Mean It.

[26] In April and May, the band went on tour with Brand New and Finch; the trek included an appearance at Skate and Surf Fest.

[29] Between late June and mid-August, the band performed on the Warped Tour,[30] appearing on the Drive-Thru stage.

[33] The video starts with a guy attempting to impress a girl by playing music from a boombox outside of her residence.

[39] The band performed a few shows with Mae and River City High and Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer in early and mid-July.

[40] In mid-July and early August, the band appeared on the Warped Tour,[41] playing on the main stage.

[33] AllMusic reviewer Kurt Morris said the record was "full of bubbly, positive lyrics", amidst "plenty of upbeats and catchy hooks.

Considine noted that the band had based their sound on the Green Day "blueprint, with plenty of bright, singalong choruses and hyperstrummed power chords.

[47] Ultimate Guitar Archive noted that Vasoli's was deeper compared to the band's earlier works, and called his lyrics heartfelt.

[48] In October 2012, independent label SRC Vinyl released the We the People album under the name The Early Years.

[53] In a 2016 listicle, Rob Rousseau of A.Side TV viewed the album as a "masterwork" of the "era-defining Drive Thru Records ouvre.

[56] Writing in 2022, Andrew Sacher of BrooklynVegan said Vasoli's "yearning, yelpy delivery separated The Starting Line from their snot-nosed pop punk forebears, and when you listen the newer generation of pop punk and emo-pop bands, I'd say you hear even more echoes of Kenny's voice than of Tom DeLonge's or Jordan Pundik's".