MACY GOLDER
By GORDON GLANTZ
The date was August 18, 2008.
Macy Golder’s father, Chuck, called a last-
minute audible and took his sports-loving
daughter to a preseason game involving their
beloved New York Giants.
She can’t remember if they won or lost – or
much about the game – but she still recalls an
encounter that forever shaped her career path.
At that fortuitous place in time, Golder’s
childhood dreams of being the first female to
play in the NFL – something her mom, Joanne,
“was not too fond of” – had pretty much been
eclipsed by reality.
But that didn’t mean the league didn’t have a
place for her, other than as a fan. It would be
as a broadcaster.
That Monday night, before kickoff, she
spotted ESPN sideline reporter Suzy Kolber --
a Philadelphia native and graduate of Upper
Dublin High School in the suburbs – and took
off down the aisle to approach her.
“I saw Suzy Kolber on the sideline,” recalled the
graduate of Pennsbury High in Bucks County. “I
ran down to the edge of the railing. I said, ‘one
day, I’m going to take your job.’ I did know at a
young age that that is where I wanted to be. I
think that was the moment reality set in and I
realized it was a possibility.”
As Golder recalls it, Kolber was neither taken
aback nor bemused. She took the comment
seriously, and told the young girl that she could
have her job as long she worked for it.
“She said, ‘That is great, do it,’” said Golder,
who went on follow her family’s tradition and
earn a degree from Penn State. “From right
there, I had my motivation.”
And there are days when the only fuel Golder
has in her tank is that motivation, that will to
This would be the place holder for the caption.
photograph by @justinPrice
succeed, as she strives to eventually kick in
the door at ESPN or FOX or another “big-time”
network. She pursues her dream while working
40 hours a week for a pharmaceutical company
because “college wasn’t free.”
“The path is hard, and you need a lot of
dedication and belief in yourself,” said the
25-year-old. “If I don’t believe in myself, no one
else is going to believe in me.”
There have been peaks and valleys along
the way. The road has obstacles reflective of
current realities.
“I wrote a story at Penn State, and I knew it
was true, but I was seen as some girl on Twitter
and people didn’t believe me,” she recalled. “It
hurt, but it also pushed me.
“In newspapers, you can go from a small paper
to a bigger paper. For me, there is not much of
a clear path. The Internet changes everything.
Sometimes, it takes 10 minutes and you’re
there. It’s about being in the right place at the
right time. You just have to stay relevant every
day. You have to want it and have the passion.
“Some people, it’s just handed to. For them,
there is no path.”
Women have made major strides in sports
broadcasting, particularly in the new
millennium, but that is all relative. In the
four major sports, it has gone from virtually
nonexistent to where it is today.
In 2006, when ESPN took over broadcasting
Monday Night Football, Kolber and Michele
Tafoya were the sideline reporters. While
others are visible, including regular ESPN
SportsCenter anchor Linda Cohn, it is a
vocation where coveted slots are automatically
saved for ex-players with no formal training or
education.
SUMMER 2016
coachandplayer.com
21