I never went into it [the business] thinking 'I'm a female sports reporter'. I just went into it thinking 'I'm a sports reporter'. No chip on the shoulder, no feeling like a victim when you walk in, no feeling entitled when you walk in. You've just got to do your job and work extremely hard. I think it's very basic. There's no magic to it. I think honestly it comes down to how badly do you want it. How hard are you willing to work?

I never went into it [the business] thinking 'I'm a female sports reporter'. I just went into it thinking 'I'm a sports reporter'. No chip on the shoulder, no feeling like a victim when you walk in, no feeling entitled when you walk in. You've just got to do your job and work extremely hard. I think it's very basic. There's no magic to it. I think honestly it comes down to how badly do you want it. How hard are you willing to work?

I feel so fortunate, Because some people think, well you're just relegated to the sideline. But I feel valued there. They trust me. We work very, very hard at making it worthwhile. We are not going to just be down there spewing a bunch of blah. With our halftime talking to the coaches we are really trying to get something meaningful there and something that helps spin the game forward.

Relatively speaking, I know what my other deficiencies are. Cosmetically, I'm not 28 and stunning. The fact that NBC appreciates what I do means a great deal to me because I know that without my reporting skills and my experience and all of that, I might not have a fighting chance.