This content was created by Corwin CJ Moneyway Johnson. This content was uploaded by Corwin CJ Moneyway Johnson. This is a YouTube video titled "Inspiring Journey of a Trailblazing Sportscaster! 🌟🏆" (created 2024-11-19). The excerpt is an interview-style segment with an interviewer (SPEAKER A) asking 'Ann' (SPEAKER B) about her background; Ann describes growing up skating and playing around hockey players, her experience as an ice dancer, the barriers women faced in hockey before Title IX, and her early aspiration to become a sportscaster despite there being few female role models.
Chapters
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.