Q
&
A
football, even in2015.Doesgender ever
come intoplay for youwhenyou’recovering
theNFL?
I’venever really felt that anybody treatedme
differentlybecause I am agirl. I’m very lucky
in terms of thewomenwho camebefore
me—HannahStorm, RobinRoberts— and
reallypaved theway for women in this arena.
Also, theNFLhas become very awareof
their female audience andhow it’s their
fastest-growingdemographic, and they’re
doing agreat job, I think, of connectingwith
women. Formepersonally andprofessional-
ly, I am very aware that there are some very
goodmale reporterswhowouldhave killed
for this gig, and also that I’mworkingwith
these veterans, these absolutemasters, Jim
Nantz andPhil Simms. So thegender thing
forme is really just an invitation towork
really, really hard andmake sure I’m at the
topofmygame.
You seem tobehaving fun.
I’mglad that shows. I am. I’ve always loved
sports. I played soccer andbasketball and
volleyball and tennis from the time I was a
littlegirl, and it’s always been ahuge source
of joy inmy life. But it’s also just so fun to
cover something so all-American as football.
I lovewhat football is toAmerica. It’s about
excitement andpassion and competition and
community.Wewatch thegamewith all of
our regular-lifeworries left at thedoor. It’s a
release for people.
56
DECEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
PHOTOS
KRI STY BELCHER/KRI STY BELCHER PHOTOGRAPHY; RI CK DIAMOND/GETTY IMAGES
You’vecoveredpresidential elections in the
past.Asa journalist,what areyour thoughts
on the fact thatmorepeople seeyouon
ThursdayNightFootball
thancast aballot
in2012?
That’s anexcellent point, and it’s not just
football. I think it’s shows like
American Idol
too.As ahard-workingAmerican, I certainly
understandwhypeople tune in to football
andwhy it’s important for people to forget
their troubles and fears and just invest in
agame. As a citizenof this great country,
though, it does concernme a little—well,
maybe a lot— thatmygeneration is soblasé
about theprivilege and responsibilityof
voting. I’mhoping it’ll bedifferent in the
upcomingelections.
You’ve hosted award shows in the past,
and you alsodid somewriting andper-
forming at one point. All of thismakes
us wonder: Arewe ever going tohave
the pleasure of listening to aMegan
AlexanderCD?
I’ve thought about it before.When I first
graduated college, Imoved toNashville,
Tennessee, topursue countrymusic. I quickly
realized that therewere amillionother people
doing the same thing, and themajorityof
them sangbetter than I did, so I needed
topay thebills inother ways. I got agood
job in radio, which led to television, but oh
yeah,makingmyown album, that was on the
bucket list. I would love to. I would absolutely
love to. That wouldbe very fun. I coulddo
a coupleof songs andput themout there.
Maybe someday. This is the city for it, so you
never know.
What isyour favorite song to sing? Is there
ago-to track for you?
For karaoke, it’s “Heartbreaker,” Pat Benatar.
—
TODDAARON
JENSEN
“THENFLHAS
BECOMEVERY
AWAREOFTHEIR
FEMALEAUDIENCE
ANDHOW IT’STHEIR
FASTEST-GROWING
DEMOGRAPHIC.”
FROMBELOW
:
Alexander
swamwith tigers inSouth
Carolina for
InsideEdition
in2008. “Itwasan
incredibleexperience.
Theyhavepaws thatare
likewebbed feet.”Sheand
StormeWarrenhosted
the InspirationalCountry
MusicAwards inNashville
in2012.
