 One more time to entertain you coming back to the stage is our co-editorial lead Lisa granite scene in conversation with a true True trailblazer Broadcaster from Fox Sports Aaron Andrews Hi, wow. I really walked in at the wrong time, huh? People are gonna come back. Did you get gifts? I heard there was a grab bag a gift bag You know the bar is high right very high. So cocktails Sex toys right I was brushing my teeth when my hair and makeup came into the hotel room And I left the door open and they're like Aaron and I was like I'm just brushing my teeth. That's all I'm doing so nothing else All right, we're talking sports different kind of sport. Oh, yeah All right, so you you've done a ton of different sports you grew up around sports You watch sports with your dad. Did you play sports? I never played. I was just fully a spectator Mom and dad married. I'm the oldest. I'm a younger sister and I was telling Lisa earlier today my dad is He's still on television. He works for an NBC affiliate in Tampa and my mom when I was growing up She was a public school art teacher. So my mom was at work Monday through Friday My dad had me and then when my dad went to go host or anchor the weekend news My mom had me and so Monday through Friday was my dad's time to make me a hardcore sports fan And I learned all about the Boston Celtics the Boston Red Sox the Green Bay Packers So yeah, and the coolest thing for me was because my dad's such a great storyteller and that he does it for a living He told me all about you know the players and just what drove You know what drives them and the teams and the organizations and the coaches And I just grew to love all the stories with all those guys and knew right away I wanted to work in the industry So how did you break in and what was it like being a woman back then on the sidelines to be honest? Well, how I broke in my first job out of college. I was the ring side reporter traveling sideline reporter for the Tampa Bay Lightning Who broke my heart this year? They were absolutely fantastic during the regular season and fell flat on their face during the postseason and then I Laid on my kitchen floor for two hours after game one after they were up three nothing and then lost So that's how I broke in and then I only had my job for five months and Turner sports came and hired me to go National to do the Braves broadcast. That's when they were on TBS for two years. I got fired from that They I didn't get fired. They didn't renew my contract because I sucked. I was horrible I knew nothing about baseball, but because Turner came calling and they were national and I was with the You know just the hometown NHL team my dad's like you can't let national TV go by You know, this is baptism under fire. You got to get out there. You got to cut your teeth and I cut my teeth I was freaking horrible. I mispronounced guys names. I froze up on stage. I sucked and They I just wasn't casted in the role that I needed to be in I didn't excel in what I was doing And and they let me go and the cool part was that's Charles Barkley was you know He still is that Turner and I became friends with him and and he said y'all are gonna regret when she leaves and they did I went to ESPN in a tryout role. They hired me for the NHL playoffs and I Was hired. Yeah, just for the NHL playoffs Tampa Bay Lightning went to win the Stanley Cup playoffs the year that I was working as the Reporter which was freaking awesome and I signed a three-year deal after that and then I signed another three-year deal And then from there I went to Fox But you asked me and that was a really long answer about being a female in the industry I have since day one just kind of put my nose to the grindstone and when I was with the ESPN I worked every single sport. I did numerous games a week. I did two football games a week I did three college basketball games a week I did one major league baseball game and then did the college World Series and the Little League World Series And then that turned into the spelling bee and then back to college football So I'm exhausted. I don't know about you guys I worked my ass off because I said when I was in my 40s I wanted to have a family and a baby and never look back. I'm 41 We're trying to have a baby and I have 15 other projects going and I'm not ready to quit So I never ever once thought about being a female in the industry because I really never had time And I didn't care that I stuck out. I thought it was cool. Did the guys care that you stuck out? I mean guys care, you know, they care No, I was never given a hard time because I think guys know right away You know, there's not a lot of fluff to me. I'll tell you right away if you know I didn't put enough deodorant on or god I'm tired and these bags have never looked worse under my eyes So I think I kind of cut through all the BS with that. Yeah, there's always like the guy that's like, hey Are you for real? And yeah, I've gone through my stuff But I have been so lucky that people really haven't harassed me that bad for being a female in the industry And I think when it's been finally time to realize god I'm I'm one of 30 that travel for college or college football. I work in the NFL now. Hello Thursday night football and for Sunday football. I'm I'm one woman out of 30 to 40 men that travel with our crew I'm the only one at dinner. That's a female But it never really bothers me The only time it bothers me is when I want to talk about Kardashian gossip and none of them have anything to offer Do you go into locker rooms and what do you what's your I used to when I was younger I used to when I was interning I don't anymore not because you know, I don't I'm not supposed to be in there But it's because my interviews are done right after the game right right as the game ends So I don't need to go into the locker room We when we come into town and we meet with the teams Tom Brady gets sent to us We don't go to his locker, you know, like I sit with Antonia Brown. They come to us We sit in a big formal meeting room and and everything like that. How do you prep? How do you get ready for a game more than I ever did when I was in college, which is unfortunate I would have been able to wear one of those cool like ribbon things or lavaliers around my neck when I graduated Mine was absolutely bare Thanks, mom and dad I study my rear end off. I you know this day and age with social media and you know There's NFL live is on an NFL network I'm just reading as much as I can so, you know doing two games a week is wicked hard But what we all do is you go back like three to four months in advance like right now on my flight home tonight to LA I've got to start digging into training camp because we have the third preseason game of this season against Miami We've got a time, you know, you just got to start following guys. You got to see once they start reporting to camp Who's doing well who's got an injury that's lingering who's you know, pissed off about their contract So you've got to read far back and there's just so much information right now It's kind of crazy and it's a lot my husband's always like are you on Twitter? I'm like not for gossip. I'm on for football news and sometimes gossip. How do you stay pumped? Like how do you how do you stay motivated and we were talking a little bit music? So how I see motivated I love the sport so much So it's not really hard for me to stay motivated because I love it so much week five week six your bums dragging a little bit I also do dancing with the stars as well. So you get a little exhausted. It's a lot of back and forth that you know I'm flying all over the country, but You realize when you know, it's it's game time and the coin flip happens And it's the national anthem and when they're getting ready to throw it down to me And I'm like getting ready and I'm like And then after my first hit I'm like this because I still love it so much They still get nervous. Oh my god. Yeah, my first hit that I'll do right after Joe and Troy go Joe Buck Trey Akeman let's send it down Aaron Andrews I am crapping myself like And this you know It'll be my my seventh game of the week, but I heard the season So yeah, because I love it so much and you work your ass off And I have 15 seconds not to screw it up and you better hope you go before the ball is snapped Or before the national anthem is sung or holy crap a linebacker is coming Let me get out of the way and you better not screw it up You better not say someone's name wrong and it's awesome. How do you say? How do you stay warm Um Warm is not the issue going to the bathroom is the issue. So think about it Let's say I have a one o'clock game, right one o'clock game. We are picked up at the hotel 845 a.m. One o'clock game. So that means hair and makeup done The outfit that you're wearing better not get wrinkled before one o'clock and me I have to wear like what I'm wearing I can't go change because this just in there's no dressing room down in the stating like down You know stadium. There's one bathroom for all the people down on the field. That's not the players. That's the officials That's the photo. That's the media and those bathrooms are Saturday night live skits. They are Disgusting and so I usually get to pee no joke 10 o'clock in the morning kick is at one I have no time you can't I can't go at halftime because I have to run in with the coach Then run out with another coach barely have time to maybe like blow my nose eat a granola bar Walking out do my hit and then out right after the game I have to rush to get on a plane because I have to get either to dancing with the stars or my next game So literally it's been 10 hours and I'm like I'm gonna lose a kidney. This is really really bad not to mention go have a cocktail on a plane when you have impede all Day, you're wasted Good to know All right, so so we talk sports. Let's talk dancing a little bit Dazzlers, what were they? So I was on it. I went to the University of Florida SEC up in here Vols love you Your stadium is amazing one of the best your dance team one of the greatest too I was always very jealous of their outfits So I was on the college dance team and we were called the Dazzlers That was basically that I loved it because I got to be down on the floor Florida went to the national championship got their butts kicked against Michigan State my senior year of college It was so awesome because not only was I excited to be there and dance for halftime But I also knew all the players on the opposing team So I was the dancer that was harassing like you know, Jason Williams on Duke. I'm like you suck You only scored this amount and he remembers me to this day. He was like, oh my god You were that mouthy annoying dancer on the floor of his team Yeah, is that how you got your gig at dancing with the stars? No, I'm kidding. No, but how how did you? How did you make your your way on there as a contestant? Well? I just I loved dancing and it was the hot show at the time And I had wanted to be you know a part of it and hoped my legs would look like Stacy Kebler when she did it back in the day pre George Clooney and Yeah, I just wanted to be a part of it And I finally got my shot and then the cool thing with our show is once you're a part of the dancing with the Stars mafia, you're always a part of it So they wanted a new co-host and I was up for it and yeah, it's been a good time. How long have you been doing that? I don't know. I think since 2014 so and we go to show the year. Yeah, it's been a while So what's it like? I mean shifting gears, you know, you're dealing with testosterone and like on the field and then you're in ball gowns and It's totally different so Sundays are wild because we'll have like a 330 or 430 kick, right? So if I'm in Green Bay, we don't get out of there till 730 get on a flight Usually don't land till 1 or 2 in the morning Try to get to bed get to sleep after you've been jacked up on coffee all day And then you I have to be in my car ready to roll 815 get to the dancing with the Stars studios And we're there till 8 o'clock at night So I was telling Lisa earlier, you know, you go from being like on the road for Thursday night football Sunday afternoon, you know something always big happens on Sunday So I get to my dressing room at dancing with the Stars I have like the highlights on and I get in the hallway and we're going to dress rehearsal I'm like holy crap. Did anyone see Aaron Rodgers? You know ripped his knee open and then came back and won the game and they're like no But wait till you see Whitney Samba. I'm like Okay, let's see it. So I have nobody to talk to you about football at all. Yeah, but Damn it. She nailed it So let's talk about the other football women's soccer So what are your thoughts about what's been going on in terms of pay equity in terms of Megan and how you know, the team has been criticized and and celebrated. What's your take on this whole thing? Well, I'm so excited for them It was on Fox, so I was really happy that you know, the ratings were so great and foxed it so well Obviously excited for the USA. It's a fun time a year and and it's a bummer It happens only every four years because we were we were away and with a bunch of friends and had a really nice breakfast And watch the championship game and it's cool to hear all the chatter Like I said, it is such a shame that it only happens once every four years Could it be cool to celebrate those women all the time like that? Look, I wish them nothing but the best in their fight for equal play pay as a female Obviously, that's something I'm very into can get behind obviously Behind it as well and and they're all great women. I see them a lot of events probably gonna have one on dancing with the stars I'm sure Yeah, so happy for them. And so what's next for you? I mean you're you're busy You've done lots of endorsement deals. Are you doing anything for yourself now? Yeah, a couple of projects that we're working on. I'm trying to work on a scripted projects We're trying I would love to host a game show trying to get that to work somehow and Actually gonna tease right here coming out in October Going to be an hour releasing announcing. I guess Athleture line that's gonna be coming out can't really say too much about it, but check her out. I will we will For somebody that lives in athleisure as as a Not today As a trailblazer, what's the one piece of advice you'd give to this audience in terms of Blazing their own trail. It's what I'm still working on and I feel like I've had a tough lesson in it, but Being a female and you know male dominated industry You have to have thick skin and I remember one of my favorite NHL coaches said that to me Who was with the Tampa Bay Lightning at the time and won a Stanley Cup with them John Tortorello former New York Rangers head coach Just you have to have thick skin, especially now more than ever even when I started social media was a big deal but Everyone has an opinion Everyone has an opinion and what's so hilarious about the whole thing is they think it's so easy where I'd be like Okay, you're on and 50 million people are watching you go Try you asked Tom Brady that It's really hard and you know what we all try it's funny I was talking to JJ Watt about this one time and he was just saying you know Social media is just you have so many people in a stadium cheering you on and then you have that one person that rips You on social media and it ruins your whole day and it's like why are we letting people do this? I will tell you a little trick of what's changed my life for the last six months. Who's listening to Oprah soul sessions? Holy crap and especially here if I lived here, I'm doing it in LA like driving on the 405 the 101 you know, it just takes forever and True story. I listened to the one she had the other day about the Holocaust survivor I think it's called the choice unreal crying in my car miss the exit because I couldn't see through a tear I was like, oh my god. This is really like not safe at all But god, it's amazing and it's really made me look at things so differently You know, you don't have to play the victim card You just give positivity back so much toxic are in you if you're negative and you you know spew it back at people So I'm gonna try to remember that with social media, but that's a big one with me I try not to look at social media after my games or after dancing with the stars because you could work your rear end Off studying and one person just ruins it with their stupid comment that they ignorant comment that they have no idea How much time you've put in all three million of your social media followers? That's a lot to ignore Well, I wanted to thank you. I know you came yesterday or came going home today Really appreciate you being here and joining us before you go. We have three minutes I want to ask the audience if any questions Anything anything Sure Hi, I'm Lauren and thanks for thanks for being here today. Yeah, so you are so confident and very inspirational and Real talk, you know clearly you have always been in a tough environment We're as you said you have to grow a thick skin Can you talk about how you do that and still show up every day being your authentic self? Because you have to have an armor, but you don't want to compromise who you are Can you talk about that? Look, I faced the hardest thing ever I had a guy stalking me and put video of me all over the internet and I didn't have a choice And that's something I'm still dealing with and I think the crazy thing about it as much as you know I could have run and hide and not come back But my safe place which is so psycho when I say it out loud is on that football field with those players on Television, I mean I had cervical cancer all throughout 2017 season of the NFL season I didn't talk about it or tell anyone except for my team my family a couple of my coworkers and I you know I had surgery on a Tuesday and I was back on the field on a Sunday and the doctors like don't do that That's not good. I was like, no, you don't understand. This is my safe place I feel my confidence and I feel my best when I'm just there I don't know what it is. It's just something that I thrive off of I mean I'm having a big discussion right now with my husband about having a high-risk pregnancy at 41 being a cervical cancer survivor And there's a lot of talk that I could be on bed rest and I literally looked at my husband I'm like I go on bed rest. I miss that Super Bowl baby this marriage I'm not making it like it is what makes me the happiest now again. I'll complain week eight week nine I'm exhausted these bags under my eyes are nasty, you know, like I don't know what's clean and what's dirty in my laundry basket But it is my happiest and that's where I know like I have still so much to grow and so much to do in this industry What the heck was your question? Yeah Yeah Hi, Erin. Thanks for being here. I'm Maya my Jones and have my own website shades of Long Island calm and I want to ask you because I've been trying to get back into like presenting in front of people and getting back comfortable with that So do you have any tips as to like get rid of like nerves or nervous energy or anything? Here for me what's crazy is I can do games and I know that they're going to a hundred million people 50 million people I'm okay talking to that Black circle of a camera lens, but if I were to stand up here and do a speech. I'm not good with that I can't do a speech. I'm better wrapping off of Lisa. I'm better wrapping off all of you guys It's hard. It's really really hard. I think the biggest thing which I never do my dad always tells me to do Take a deep breath slow down, which I'm not doing But yeah, I mean, you know Joe buck who I work with and I love so much I kept screwing up over and over in a rehearsal. We had at a Green Bay game Tell me if you've heard this before and Rogers had a calf injury. I say that I love him. I can say that He always has calf injuries So we were talking about his calf injury and I was doing a hit because he had just talked to me on the field and told Me he didn't know if it was gonna hold up blah blah blah blah So I was trying to give the report and this is just practice before this is our rehearsal before we go live And I was screwing it up. So finally my producer gets my air and he's like Joe's calling you What he can just talk to me in my ear. He's like Joe's calling you picked up the phone Joe What is wrong with you when I go? I just can't get it out. He goes, it's not brain surgery. It's Aaron Rodgers cat 15 seconds and throw it back up to me. Come on. And I'm like shit. You're right. Okay. So I you know what? It just practice I guess like my dad used to tell me all the time Read the paper over and over out loud like get get comfortable hearing your voice. I hate my voice So I don't even know why I'm telling you that but Just practice reading over and over Video yourself on your iPhone. I don't know Nervous all the time and I've been doing this for so long my first hit back like for our first game in the season Dallas Giants, I will like be dry heaving in my mouth like it's I Cannot give you any good advice. Sorry Being honest right I'm being true Anyone else I can stay for a minute sure Briefly about the the soccer team how Much immunity do you have to speak? You know coming from Fox Sports, you know You kind of puts you in a position and I you you you handle that question really gracefully because I know that There's probably a lot didn't I? You did it's hard With so many so much social media influence How much can you say how much can you do I? Can't you know It's just true and we ran into this a couple years ago with the players kneeling during our anthem and a lot of backlash And everybody wanted us to answer it. We can't we can't we work for a network that pays The national football league billions of dollars. We cannot comment on it It is our job to keep our mouth shut if I wanted to have an opinion I would go work for a network that did but I can't I have to report on it I have to see I have to talk to the players and see if they're affected by it It's it's not how I feel and I know that there are some people that maybe absolutely You know ticked off about that But as I would always say you don't come to me for your politics and what I feel you go to Fox You go to CNN for that you come to me to get My take on how Aaron Rodgers is looking on the sideline how Tom Brady is looking at it Like I'm not who you want to go to for politics. I can tell you what it's like to be a woman in the industry I can tell you you know what it's like if men, you know if I'm treated differently from men But yeah, you don't want to come to me for that stuff anyways, and we're really not Not I can't say allowed to speak about it, but it's looked down upon we have to be status quo It's interesting. It's like it's why you don't see you know, and maybe this is a bad example Somebody like a Robin Roberts or a Michael Strahan they can't do endorsements They can't talk about what they like on TV and sell it and get money for it because they're in the news They have to their reporters. They're not reporters. They're what are they? sure They are supposed to stay unbiased Hi big fan of dancing with the stars So to be biased behind the stage who should have won That didn't win on my season I'll tell you season 10. You should have won the girl who had no dance experience should have won I'm sorry. The pussycat doll should not have won So who should have won last year when Who else was competing oh Alexis and who else Alexa and who else I don't even Well, and then on that part I work for ABC