Ann's Journey: Breaking Barriers to Become a Sportscaster

So, Ann, let's start. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background and what inspired you to get into the world of sports.

Like every kid who ever played a sport, I was going to be a star, right? Like every kid. But I was an ice dancer and I was not good at all. But you know how you get that? I want to be— I want a gold medal in the Olympics or I want to be a pro, whatever. And I wasn't any good. I was way too big to be an ice dancer. You wouldn't want to lift me over your head, trust me. And so the bottom line was I got that desire to be an athlete. Like, I started skating at 5. But I grew up in a hockey— in a rink where there were hockey players, too. And so I learned to love hockey. And the bottom line is, today, I would play hockey. But in 19— early 1970s, women weren't allowed to do that. Title IX hadn't been implemented yet. And so, you know, I grew up loving to skate, and I skied, and I swam. And so, I enjoyed athletics. But when my mother stood up next to me and said, "What do you want to be when you grow up? We have to pick a college for you." And I said, "I want to be a sportscaster." She said, "Don't be ridiculous. I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you." Because quite honestly, there weren't any women sportscasters.