

An NCAA swimmer, she attended New York University in part for its athletics program but also because of its strong journalism school.
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“If anything,” she added, “it’s more because I'm young.”Ī lifelong sports fan from Boston, Stockmal was inspired to pursue a career in TV after getting a tour of her stepmom’s job at a local television station when she was 16. I don't ever notice that I’m looked at differently.

“Yes, there's less women than there are men, but. “I've never in my career felt like I haven't gotten opportunities because I've been a woman,” she said.
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She would get together with other trailblazers - such as CBS’ Suzanne Smith, the only woman currently directing NFL games NBC’s Andrea Joyce, who in 1993, with CBS, became the first woman to co-host World Series coverage and ESPN’s Suzy Kolber, the first woman to receive the Maxwell Club Sports Broadcaster of the Year Award, in 2006 - and wonder, “Why can’t we do a show? We have all this experience and this knowledge.”ĭecades later, Stockmal paints a sharp contrast. When she would cover games, some stadiums had only men’s bathrooms in the press box.
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Legendary sportscaster Lesley Visser - the first woman to cover the NFL as a beat, report from the sideline of a Super Bowl and be recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame - remembers how different the industry was when she broke into TV in the 1980s.īack then, Visser often would be the only woman on set. Such ascendant career paths haven't always been available to women. “I just want to prove myself as a production person.” “I never looked at it as, ‘Oh, I have to prove myself because I'm a woman,’ ” she said. At 32 years old, she’s one of the youngest directors of any weekly broadcast network show regardless of gender. Between herself and host Charissa Thompson, "Fox NFL Kickoff" is one of the few major network sports talk shows - and the only current network NFL pregame show - directed and hosted by women.

In a field dominated by men, Stockmal is one of the up-and-coming women following in the footsteps of the pioneers who came before her. I love the planning and the flexibility, and when things change, thinking on your feet.” So making sure that they feel empowered to do their job and speak up if they have any ideas. Being a director, you are only as good as the people on your team. “I love the adrenaline of live TV, I love the teamwork,” she said. Sounds like his post-playing career is back on the upswing as well.Saturday afternoon is like the walk-through, one last pre-show meeting where “we all go line by line over what is happening in a bigger picture,” she said.Īnd after sending out final instructions on Saturday night, Stockmal takes her place in a control room at Fox’s Los Angeles studios every Sunday, where meticulous preparation meets the unpredictability of live TV.

The 1997 Heisman winner retired with 65 interceptions, 183 passes defended, and 1,220 tackles, living up to the hype he brought with him as the fourth pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. It’s been a pretty good year for Woodson, who was announced as a member of the 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. In that case, it would make sense to bring in Woodson now to get him ready. Given that he already makes appearances there, it’s possible he could end up taking over one of the main seats for Terry Bradshaw or Jimmy Johnson if they retire or leave the show. It’s also possible that Gonzalez could be in the process of being groomed to move over to “Fox NFL Sunday” over on the main network. Marchand notes that it’s possible Fox will tinker with the format in order to keep things fresh and cut down on the overwhelming nature of so many studio personalities. That kind of analyst bloat can often spell doom for pregame shows. It remains to be seen if the show will present all of those hosts at the same time.
