Beadle and co-host Colin Cowherd on location for Veteran's Day at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Washington, D.C.
Beadle and co-host Colin Cowherd on location for Veteran's Day at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Washington, D.C.
Michelle Beadle 鈥�02 still giggles about her job at ESPN. On a recent Tuesday, she looked around the Bristol, Conn., newsroom and realized she was sitting next to three Harlem Globetrotters.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so weird,鈥� she said quietly into the phone as she sized up the 7-foot-8-inch Tiny Sturgess, recently named the tallest professional basketball player in the world. 鈥淭here are days when you will be sitting by your computer and someone famous will walk by. Or Arnold Palmer will be sitting in the cafeteria. It鈥檚 like a weird Disney World for sports fans. It鈥檚 kinda fun.鈥�
This life-long sports fan, who once cried as a teen when her beloved Spurs lost to Portland, has worked as a co-host at the network鈥檚 SportsNation since 2009. She is also the co-host of Winners Bracket, part of the new ESPN Sports Saturday on ABC.
She still can鈥檛 believe her luck.
鈥淚 am always knocking on wood,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or me it was just a spur-of-the-moment career decision that I threw myself in as quickly as I could and I had some really good opportunities that led me here. It鈥檚 hard and you audition your butt off and you hear 鈥榥o way鈥� more often than you hear 鈥榶es.鈥� But for me it has been really fun.鈥�
After graduating from high school, Beadle attended the University of Texas at Austin. Just a few courses shy of graduating, she left school to do odd jobs across the continent. For a while she lived in Pensacola, Fla. Then she traveled to Canada to help breed Great Danes. She waited lots of tables along the way.
Three years later she returned home and decided to finish her communications degree at UTSA.
鈥淚 had no idea what I wanted to do,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he TV thing wasn鈥檛 even something I had ever thought about. I wasn鈥檛 outgoing in school. I was kind of quiet and sarcastic. So I think a lot of people that I went to high school with find this funny, what I鈥檓 doing now.鈥�
An internship with the San Antonio Spurs gave Beadle her first experience in front of the camera. It didn鈥檛 go well.
鈥淲hen I tell you it was horrible, I鈥檓 not even doing it justice,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 looked like someone who didn鈥檛 even know her name was Michelle.鈥�
She took a cameraman鈥檚 advice to heart and it鈥檚 served her well ever since: relax and be yourself. The internship led to sideline reporting for local channels then eventually Fox Sports Net.
鈥淎nd that was it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was like, this is an awesome, fun way to make a living.鈥�
Michelle Beadle '02 on set at SportsNation in Bristol, Conn. Courtesy of ESPN.
The girl from the 鈥檅urbs who had never even been to a rodeo started reporting on professional bull riding for TNN, now known as Spike TV. She had other jobs along the way, including stints with Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Major League Baseball and the NFL. But it was her job with College Sports Television, now called CBS College Sports, that finally took her to New York City, the place that she鈥檇 dreamed of calling home for years
Since then, Beadle has worked for the YES Network, the New Jersey Nets and People Magazine and has been a Red Carpet reporter for the Golden Globes, Grammy Awards, SAG Awards and the Tony Awards. She has appeared on Today Show, The Early Show, Extra, Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight.
When she鈥檚 not chatting about sports on national television, Beadle likes to watch wrestling and 鈥済irlie鈥� shows like Gossip Girls. She admits to getting a kick out of the violence of mixed martial arts, a new obsession. But there鈥檚 nothing like getting together with her girlfriends, ditching the sports-talk and bonding.
鈥淚 really don鈥檛 live sports,鈥� she said, adding that much of the appeal of covering sports are the stories behind the stats. 鈥淚 feel like to do my job well, I can鈥檛 just know sports. You鈥檝e got to be a good human. You have to know what鈥檚 going on.鈥�
鈥擫ety Laurel
