You always have to go for bigger and better things.

I've come to understand over the years that you're not going to please everybody. Some people are not interested in seeing a woman in the role of a broadcaster. But there are a lot of people who do come into this with an open mind, and it's up to me to prove to them that I'm qualified for the job and can get it done.

Hopefully, there isn't any adjustment at all in terms of what I am doing and what I'm preparing. Obviously, there's going to be goose bumps. There's gonna be an adrenaline rush. I want that excitement. I want that anxiety. Because that lets you know that you're passionate about what you do and that this is important. I'd much rather be in that environment than not.

Initially, the only thing that mattered to me - I was too young to understand the politics of the day - was that there was a woman who was covering the NFL. I asked my mom if I could be a sportscaster when I grew up. My mom was an adventurous spirit herself. Much to my mom's credit, she said, "Yes, you can." It didn't matter to her that no other women were doing it at the time. It didn't matter to her that there was a double standard. It just mattered that her daughter had a dream and she was going to help her pursue that.

Growing up knowing that I wanted to be a sportscaster and knowing that the best school in the country was right in my back yard, I certainly knew all there was to know about Marty Glickman and about people like Bob Costas and Marv Albert and all of the other greats that have passed through there.

I haven't had anything said to my face. ... I don't know what goes on behind closed doors. I did understand it was out there. That's one of the reasons I like my partnership with Secret and calling the NFL: It's a chance to break through some barriers by showing what you can do, as opposed to telling people what you can do. That's the approach I prefer to take: Let me prove to you that a woman is capable of doing this. Then, hopefully, you won't have to ask that question ever again.

For years, more women were steered toward the studio or toward being a reporter. If that's what you want to do and that's what you love - by all means, go do it. That's OK to be ambitious and do things that are out of the norm if that's the route you want to take. We're already seeing women breaking down those barriers in what was once male-dominated. There are opportunities for women to fill those roles.