Sideline reporter, Samantha Steele, took a timeout to let us know how her first few weeks pulling double duty for both LHN and ESPN are going. Steele joined the company in July 2011 and can be found most weeks on the sidelines at Texas’ athletics events, and on weekends, chasing down stories at some of the season’s biggest football games. This Saturday night, she’ll be reporting from the Florida vs. Kentucky game (7 p.m. on ESPN).
Season has begun! Early thoughts on what it’s been like working for Longhorn Network and ESPN college football?
I love being a part of something that’s never been done before. There are plenty of challenges, but it has exposed so many areas I want to improve in, both personally and professionally. I really enjoy being a part of a group again. We have such a great staff working down here, and that’s made it fun. College football is always awesome. I still get chills when teams run out of the tunnels.
What’s your biggest challenge in doing your job the way you want to do it?
Other than the fact that I’ve been tackled and concussed? Probably the snap judgments… that I’m “another blonde on the sideline”. I get it. It’s going to take time for me to earn some credibility in this position, but I’m okay with that. I got into this because I enjoy talking ball and I love people. It’s been a way for me to feel like I’m still playing even though I’m not on a team. I get some of the same feelings and energy I used to get in competition when I’m out there. Hopefully, I can earn some trust and make the game day experience more enjoyable for people at home.
Do you have any mentors or people you look up to in the industry?
John Saunders, Craig James, Aaron Taylor and Doug Flutie were the guys who encouraged me from day one. When I was 18, interning for the ABC studio show, we would sit around in the green room and they always reminded me to just be myself if I ever worked on camera. That was, and is, a huge help. I also enjoy watching guys like Tony Dungy and John Gruden. Both guys seem to be fully themselves on air. Different, but comfortable and conversational. There’s some freedom in knowing that you don’t have to conform to any one path set before you. I’m grateful that trails have been blazed, but excited to venture off the path a little.
How do you see your role in terms of what it provides to viewers?
I’m a conduit. My job is to help people at home feel like they are on the inside, like they’re a part of the game. For me, it’s about getting to know coaches and equipment managers, talking to security guards who’ve been around for 50 years, and getting the pulse of the student population… it’s all about relationships. If I can make fans feel more connected to the game and give them some insight to enhance the game that they couldn’t get anywhere else, then I’ve done my job.
In your down time, what do you do to unwind?
Is there going to be down time?! Launching the network and covering college football hasn’t allowed for much of that yet. An ideal day would be riding my bike along the lake listening to a Matt Chandler podcast and drinking some Jamba Juice…although, I just bought one of those awesome Ninja blenders, so that would be a waste of money.
