|
Granato continues to prove that she can
By TOM JONES © St. Petersburg Times, published October 23, 1998 Cammi Granato has heard that nearly every day of her 27 years. Not because she lacks talent or experience or intelligence, but simply because she was born without a Y chromosome. Her response? Why not. When her older brothers went across the street to play hockey in the frozen field, she followed. When the boys formed a team in her neighborhood, she joined. When the Olympics added women's hockey, she led. And when the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings were looking for a radio color commentator this season, she signed on, even though she knew what was waiting. You can't do that. "I know there are people out there who will never like me or respect me or think I should be broadcasting in the NHL because I'm a girl," said Granato, in town to broadcast tonight's Kings-Lightning game. "And the call-in (radio) shows are not as easy on me because I'm a girl. But this isn't a new concept to me. All my life, people have been telling me that I can't do this or that, that I picked the wrong sport to play and all those things. No matter how good I am, I will always have my doubters." Which is strange considering she probably has more hockey knowledge than perhaps 100 percent of her listeners. Like nearly every other color commentator in sports, Granato is a former player. After playing soccer, basketball, tennis and volleyball at Downer Grove North High (Ill.), Granato played four years of hockey at Providence College and was a three-time MVP in her conference. She became the marquee player of the gold-medal winning U. S. women's team at the Nagano Olympics. And her brother, Tony, is an 11-year NHL veteran. As she says, "hockey is deeply, deeply intertwined in my family's lives. . . . It's done so much for us." Look at it this way: She has the same experience as 1980 Olympic hockey hero Mike Eruzione, who also went into broadcasting. But she's a woman, and just the second woman to broadcast NHL games. New York Daily News hockey writer Sherry Ross did radio work for the New Jersey Devils from 1992-95. But being a woman is enough to dismiss Granato in many people's minds. "That's true, but I can't help those views," Granato said. "If someone is judging you on what you are instead of who you are, then there's little you can do. It's no different than racism or any other issue where people have a viewpoints driven into them by society that will never change. It's frustrating, for sure, when people think that way. All we can do is educate, but in the end, a large part of society will never change." It doesn't help that she's a rookie again, making rookie mistakes. Tonight's game will be just her 15th behind the microphone. Every word she utters is dissected under a microscope. Every blunder is met by taunts. Every stutter is criticized. Admittedly, she doesn't know the league as well as she should, but only because she has spent most of the past 22 years playing instead of watching. Her league knowledge, she said, will come with time. And, yes, she admits, she makes mistakes. She's not used to jamming a minute's worth of thought into an insightful 10-second spot. Plus, once a mistake is out there, it's out there forever. There are no do-overs in live radio. "Cammi is simply going through what every rookie announcer goes through," said her broadcast partner, Nick Nickson, in his 18th season with the Kings. "Most broadcasters will tell you that it isn't until you come back for your second season that you really feel comfortable. Cammi, though, is a very confident individual and she knows the game. She understands what she is seeing and what she wants to say. Now she just has to learn how to verbalize her thoughts quickly and that's the toughest part for anyone breaking in. Every former player I've worked with went through the same thing. "Considering she has no previous experience doing this, I think things are going extremely well." Granato will continue playing. She skates daily and has a tournament in December. She expects to play in the 2002 Olympics. But, for now, broadcasting is her focus. She's attacking it like it's hockey, with meticulous and relentless preparation. Reached by telephone on Wednesday, Granato said she only had a few minutes because she was getting ready for that night's broadcast between the Kings and Panthers. And it still was seven hours until game time. The Kings are easing her into her new role, keeping her away from intermission interviews with players and limiting her pregame spots. As she grows more comfortable, her workload will increase. Granato said she's trying to remain patient, and credits Nickson with helping her through the awkward stages as they try to build an on-air chemistry. But Granato also admits she wants to prove immediately that a woman can do the job. "Everyone keeps telling me it's not an overnight thing, that I'm going to feel uncomfortable and that it might take a year," Granato said. "But I realize I'm carrying a flag, a big flag, and I want to take it and I want to prove so much that we can be good at what we do. I want to prove that I am good at what I do. I've done it all my life and now I just have to do it again."
Business |
Citrus |
Commentary |
Entertainment
|
AMPA -- You can't do that.
