With ESPN play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins “I understand the significance”
Bethmowins is a big deal and on Sept. 11, she will be an even bigger one. The veteran sportscaster, who recently signed a multiyear contract extension with ESPN, will join Rex Ryan in the booth and do the play-by-play for the Broncos’ season opener against the Chargers, the second game on the network’smonday night doubleheader.
Since 1994, Mowins has called college football and basketball games for ESPN, as well as NCAA titles games for basketball, softball, soccer and volleyball. She has called more than 20 years ofwomen’s Collegeworld Series games and has even been in the booth for Oakland Raiders preseason broadcasts. But never has she been the lead announcer on a nationally televised, regular-season NFL game. No woman has since Gayle Sierens in 1987.
A former college basketball player and all-time assists leader at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., Mowins received her master’s degree in communications from Syracuse University before beginning her media career in 1991 with WXHC-FM radio in New York.
When news became official ofmowins’ historical jump to NFL playby-play, she spoke to The Denver Post about calling the BroncosChargers game, her early idols, howshe handles the negativity that often comes with being awoman covering an NFL game and more.
Q. How did you find out you landed the play-by-play role for the Broncos-chargers game?
A. “I got a call in late March and ESPN said theywanted me to call the secondmonday night game on openingweekend. I was thrilled about that and very excited having grown up an NFL fan, and certainly the franchise of ‘Mondaynight Football’ is one of the biggest in television history. Growing up, I alwayswanted to be a sportscaster and started early on in my career leaning toward playby-play. Any chance you get to do big games like this, it’s a thrill andwe’ve got a really good team of people, including Rex Ryan, on the broadcast. We’re excited to be coming to Denver.”
Q. What goes into preparing for calling an NFL game, and when do you begin?
A. “It actually is already underway. We have a game board that’s in front of us with the
two-deeps on it with names and numbers, and we start to collect information through the draft and OTAS and right up through minicamps and into August, watching how things are shaping up for the Chargers and Broncos in their preseason games. And then ultimately the week of, you check in with the local writers on Twitter, you check in with local sports radio to hear what the big stories are in Denver and you kind of piece together all the information. Then the big thing, as you get closer to game time, is sifting through all that information and working with your analysts and our production crew. What’s important? What do we think is going to play out here? Then, depending on how the game goes, be ready to just toss all that aside and call the game as it unfolds. You always want to be ready for anything that might happen. It’s certainly better to over prepare.” A. “I knew at a very early age. I remember watching ‘The NFL Today’ show when I was younger and watching Phyllis George. I saw a woman talking about the NFL and talking about football. I love sports and I love talking, so it was a good marriage for me, and I realized I wasn’t going to be the former star player or the former coach. But that other guy, if I work at it, I might be able to be that guy. So I was drawn to play-by-play early on and figured if there weren’t any other women doing it, I might have a unique talent that people might be interested in. So I took it from there and tried to get as many reps in as I possibly could as a play-by-play announcer on any sport that they would throw my way.”
Q. How do you deal with negativity fromthose whomay not be in favor of a woman
calling an NFL game?
A. “I try to just stay away from it. I got some good advice early on when social media was taking off to not respond when stuff comes your way. I certainly don’t search my own name. I try as best as I can to stay focused with my own preparation and, honestly, nobody is a tougher critic of me than me. I think that is what has driven me to excel and to keep trying to get to get better day in and day out. I try to watch all the games that I do, or at least parts of them, on replay to see what we could have done better and how I can continue to grow as an announcer.”
Q. Do you view yourself as a
pioneer?
A. “I understand the moment and I understand the significance. But, honestly, it’s been my day-to-day life. I think a lot of women in this industry that I’ve worked with and have sort of gotten jobs that women haven’t had before— Jessicamendoza, Doris Burke— it’s all we’ve known and it’s all we’ve ever known. So it’s not out of the ordinary for me and I don’t worry a whole lot about the bigpicture stuff.”
Q. Who were your broadcasting idols, in addition to Phyllis George?
A. “I came up through the Syracuse ranks and have been really fortunate to have been mentored and watched the way that Mike Tirico and Seanmcdonough have done it in the ‘Monday Night Football’ role, and certainly as a kid, I was blessed to be able towatch people like Pat Summerall and Keith Jackson and Marv Albert and Dick Stockton and a lot of those guys, who I thought did it right and did it well. You document the game, you inform and entertain, but it’s not about you; it’s about the game. That’s what I’ve always tried to do.”