Bad weather in the Northeast last Saturday canceled seemingly every flight out of New York. Ryan Ruocco and Rebecca Lobo, ESPN’s lead tandem for WNBA games, weren’t going to be able to join sideline reporter Holly Rowe in Dallas for a noon tipoff Sunday on ABC.
Rodney Vaughn, ESPN’s coordinating producer for WNBA coverage, had to figure out a solution. For a play-by-play replacement, he flew in White Sox TV voice John Schriffen from Las Vegas, where he was calling NBA Summer League games. And for an analyst, Vaughn felt he didn’t need to fly in anyone.
“We said, ‘We’ve got Holly Rowe,’ ” Vaughn said. “There’s not going to be another analyst that knows this league that could come in and do something in a one-game situation better than Holly. We felt that she could help carry the telecast and wouldn’t need a third person.”
So Rowe called the Sparks-Wings game as a first-time national WNBA analyst. She had been an analyst for college basketball, the NBA’s Jazz and the WNBA’s Starzz, but never on less than 24 hours of notice.
“I was super nervous,” Rowe said. “I had butterflies in my chest.”
Wings veteran Alysha Clark told Rowe what former WNBA star Tina Thompson told her when she joined the league: “Trust the work.”
With 30 years of experience covering the WNBA, Rowe did just that.
“Holly was great,” Vaughn said. “Holly could step into an analyst chair and still drop nuggets, like [Wings guard] Arike Ogunbowale’s brother being a football player. On a replay, she’s describing how Arike’s cradling the ball like an NFL running back coming through the lane. That’s only because Holly is flexible enough where she could adapt that story into the role of an analyst.”
Rowe won’t have to be so nimble Saturday, when she’ll return to the sideline for ABC’s broadcast of the 30th WNBA All-Star Game at 7:30 p.m. at the United Center. She’ll be joined by Ruocco and Lobo, who don’t expect any problems flying to Chicago.
“She shouldn’t even be identified as just a sideline reporter,” Lobo said. “What she brings to a game is a lot more than what a typical sideline reporter would bring.”
Indeed she does, and it’s evident in her interviews. Players and coaches enjoy talking with her. Even when she’s on a college football sideline for ESPN’s biggest games, Rowe can unwind the most wound-up coaches. That comes from the relationships she has developed, and it’s displayed most with WNBA players.
“One of the biggest things is, I show up,” she said. “I show up to practices. I show up to press conferences. If someone’s having an event, I show up. I want them to know how deeply invested in them and this game I am. I make sure that they know I’m shining a light on them in every possible way. I think they appreciate that.”
“Part of that, too, is trust. They know that I’m going to have their best interests. I do ask hard questions when I need to. But I think they know I’m going to do it in the most respectful way.”
Despite her credentials, Rowe said she’s the one person on the broadcast who is never guaranteed airtime unless she sells the producer on a story. One story she has lined up for Saturday is a conversation with Tempo All-Star and former Sky guard Marina Mabrey, who’s working with an “energy coach” to ensure her fiery manner doesn’t hurt her team.
Though she’s prepared for countless possibilities, Rowe wants most of her contributions to the broadcast coming live, whether it’s information she’s sharing or passing on to Ruocco and Lobo.
“My job is access and observation,” Rowe said. “I am down there to tell fans something that they can’t see at home. So I want 70% to 80% of my content to be something that I have observed and only I could observe because of where I’m at. I need to be the eyes and ears of the fan.”
Rowe has been involved with the WNBA since its inception. Just to be a part of it, she began by pulling cables and serving as a stage manager for the Starzz, who are now the Aces.
She worked her way to the top telling the stories of others.
“It’s never been about Holly,” Lobo said. “She’s motivated completely by these athletes having interesting stories to tell, and I think sometimes she feels like, ‘If I don’t tell them, they’re never going to get told.’ And I think that’s why she’s better than anyone else at that.”
WNBA ALL-STAR GAME
The facts: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at United Center, ABC 7.
Pregame show: “WNBA Countdown” at 7 p.m.
Broadcast highlights: Coaches Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon and select players will wear microphones during the game.
