Sandra on Sports

By Sandra Neil

What if I pass out right now? I think. What if I forget what I’m supposed to say?

“Thirty seconds to air . . .” the producer’s assistant counts down.

“Have a good show, everybody,” barks the producer.

“We are live in twenty . . .”

Breathe, Sandra, I say to myself. Deep breaths, in and out. Live television is just like life, you breathe in and out, and it just happens.

“Ten seconds . . .”

“I know it’s cold in this rink, Sandra, but don’t forget to smile,” the producer reminds me. His voice is way too loud in my ear-piece, but my hands are trembling, and I can’t find the volume knob to turn it down.

“Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . We’re on!”

“Hello, I’m Sandra Neil. Welcome to the Skate International Champions Series on Fox Sports.”

I’m clutching the microphone with both hands. Words somehow come out of my blue lips, painted red by the makeup artist. I can feel the blood slowly returning to my cheeks. I am in the midst of my first sports broadcast.

My Early Years
Long before that day in the ice rink, I began my career during college, reporting on news stories at a Toronto radio station. The station’s program manager was also a professor who taught one of my classes. I convinced him that he needed a youth reporter because that year was International Youth Year. After graduation, I took a job as a television news reporter and later, news anchor. But sports reporting was something different, so I decided to try it. Figure skating was my first assignment.

Getting Ready
I had two months until I began my new job. It was like waiting an entire summer for school to start. There was plenty of time to be reminded that instead of three hundred thousand viewers, I would be seen by millions of people across the United States.

	My first sports assignment, figure skating, was made easier by Olympic medalists Dorothy Hamill and Peter Carruthers.

I spent those two months talking to figure-skating coaches and judges. I read boring rule books. I drove to the rinks where the skaters trained, and made notes about our conversations. I even took a lesson, which made some of the skaters laugh. So on the night of my first broadcast, once the nerves left me, I relied on my new knowledge and told the stories I had learned.

Help from an All-Star
My second assignment was the National Hockey League All-Star game in Boston. I was to be the first woman on television to cover NHL hockey.

“What gives you the right to cover hockey?” said a stale voice behind my back during the morning practice session.

I turned around to face the veteran sports writer who had spoken those angry words, but I was too stunned to respond.

	The New York Knicks' Allan Houston is so tall the cameraman has to work hard to get us both in the shot.

A player shot the puck in my direction. Whack! It hit the glass beside me, rattling the boards. I didn’t flinch, but I’d had enough for one morning. Being a woman rookie sportscaster was tougher than I’d imagined. I didn’t know that my childhood idol, Hall of Famer Bobby Orr, would be on my side.

Some say Bobby Orr was the greatest defenseman to ever play hockey. He completely changed the meaning of his position. For a hundred years defensemen didn’t score. They stayed behind the blue line, goalies’ best friends. But Bobby saw things differently. He could get the puck, skate past opponents all the way to the other net, then score! He played for thirteen years before retiring because of a knee injury.

	Dirt-bike racer Jay Miron of Canada tells me about his performance at the Summer X Games.

I was standing near the locker rooms before the game when I bumped into Bobby.

“First time covering a hockey game?” he asked, smiling.

“Yeah.”

“Piece of cake. You’ll be great.”

Bobby Orr said I’d be great! That thought gave me a burst of confidence.

“And if anyone gives you a hard time, tell them to talk to me!” he added.
And with that, Bobby Orr walked out on the ice and dropped the ceremonial puck to start the All-Star evening. The fans let out a huge roar. Inside, I roared, too.
Then I heard my producer through my headset.

“Get an interview ready for the next whistle.”

A Tough Job
Being a reporter during a sports broadcast is tougher than hosting one. You do just as much preparation, but you only speak when someone gets injured or the game becomes boring. Then you have to get all the information out in twenty seconds.

	Here I am holding the Stanley Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame. If you think it looks heavy, you’re right. It weighs thirty-five pounds.

Later on, while reporting on my first NBA game, I was so pumped that I jumped over the bench and joined the huddle, listening to the home team’s instructions. The coach stopped talking. The players all started laughing. Then the coach told me to stay behind the bench, like the rest of the reporters, unless I could play point guard. I turned as red as a tomato.

But I don’t usually get nervous anymore. After four years, I’m a familiar face around rinks and courts. And you know, I’ve never heard from that sarcastic sports writer again. Most of the people I meet now are as friendly as Bobby Orr.