ESPN’s Holly Rowe has had a 35-year broadcasting career that’s allowed her to rub shoulders the sports elite across the U.S. all thanks to a father in Utah who exposed her to college football at an early age.
Speaking Monday night at the 14th Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl kickoff dinner in Shreveport’s Convention Center, Rowe talked about getting a box of apples from Nick Saban during her battle with cancer, having the late Pat Summit cook her dinner in her home, visiting one-on-one with Keith Jackson before working the Rose Bowl and nabbing possibly the only selfie ever shot with the late Bobby Knight.
“Look what this dorky girl from Utah has done,” she said. “I’ve never worked a day in my life because I’ve had so much fun. I get paid to watch sports, which may be the biggest scam in the world.”
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Rowe may not have had as high an athletic profile compared to past I-Bowl keynote speakers such as Marcus Spears, Devin White, Drew Brees, Steve Spurrier, Herschel Walker, Archie Manning, Emmitt Smith, Jason Witten, Lou Holtz, Bobby Bowden, Terry Bradshaw, Kim Mulkey and Paul Skenes, but she was easily the most engaging.
She let a few curse words slip, then apologized, while announcing that she would be covering the LSU versus USC football game this fall before asking fans to forget it because it hadn’t been officially announced.
Rowe spoke highly of her relationship with former LSU standout Angel Reese and how she’s taken to task some social media pundits who have posted ugly comments about the current WNBA All-Star. She developed her talent for football covering Division III games then moving to the WAC. She once was paid $25 to cover Micheal Jordan for a Chicago radio station.
“I always tell people to make it big time wherever you are,” Rowe said. “If you work hard, you get to do things other people wish they could do.”
Rowe’s battle with desmoplastic melanoma, a rare invasive form of cancer, caused her to lose her hair and at one point had her flirting with death, but college football and her interaction with friends helped her through it. She now has her hair back and is cancer free, while serving as an inspiration to others.
“I had a 16-year-old girl come up to me at a Kansas Jayhawk game and she had lost her hair. She said she had worn hats and had tried to hide at school and be embarrassed about her bald head,” Rowe said. “And then ‘you went bald on TV and now I walk around my school and I feel proud.’”
Rowe said she has been inspired by women like Summit who would stomp around on the court but still be feminine.
“I’m from Utah and a Mormon, but Pat introduced me to moonshine,” Rowe said. “If I could have grown hair, that would have put it on my chest.”
Rowe’s career as an announcer shows little sign of slowing down and she’s ready for another football season, which brought her to Shreveport for an event that annually kicks off the season locally.
“I’m a freaking football fan and I’m the luckiest girl in the world,” she said. “I will die for you on the sidelines to get you the story.”
Jimmy covers Louisiana sports him for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: ESPN’s Holly Rowe says her job may be the ‘biggest scam in the world’
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