The Portland
Fire play at the Rose Garden. Tickets range from $15
to $60 and are available through TicketMaster
(224-4400).
The Fire's next
home games are:
June 8 vs.
Utah Starzz
June 17 vs.
L.A. Sparks
June 20 vs. Charlotte
Sting
June 13 vs. Phoenix
Mercury
June 23 vs. Seattle
Storm
(televised
on the Lifetime channel) June 28 vs. Cleveland Rockers
.
Up front, a disclaimer: The subject of this week's Q&A,
Ann Schatz, is a friend of WW staffer Byron Beck,
who conducted the interview. Byron met the local news personality
nearly two years ago, when she dumped a mug of coffee all
over herself (and him) at Starbucks. It was right about
the time when "Running Ann Schatz," as her colleagues nicknamed
her, was in the process of ending her 10-year stint as a
sports anchor for KOIN-TV--a gig that led her not only to
Lillehammer in search of Tonya Harding but also to the NBA
finals, various bowl games, Major League playoffs and loads
of local playing fields.
At the time of the spill, Schatz had no clue what she would
do once she left KOIN.
What a difference two years can make.
The 42-year-old Schatz is now one of the home-game, on-air
personalities for the Trail Blazers organization. She does
sideline coverage for the Blazers and is the color commentator
for the inaugural season of the WNBA's Portland Fire.
On the day after the Fire's first home game, Byron caught
up with Ann at the same Starbucks where they first met.
Willamette Week: Is it true you were pushed out
of KOIN-TV by Lars Larson's ego?
Ann Schatz: Hell, he wasn't even there when I was there.
So you can't pin that one on him or on me.
Why did you leave KOIN?
It was time to go.
How long had you been there?
It was approaching 10 years. It was enough of a good thing.
It was time to test new waters and branch out a little bit.
And do some scary things. Pass some of my own personal tests.
What are some of those tests?
I want to be able to answer the bell in terms of generating
and manufacturing and creating some work on my own. I want
to tap into having that little bit of panic and living on
the edge.
Did you have an edge at KOIN?
Yeah, I think so. But I was getting in a little bit of
a rut professionally.
What are the challenges that you presented to yourself
after KOIN? How have you been creative?
For instance, doing big event situations--whether I'm doing
sideline reporting for the Blazers or doing commentary for
FOX sports for women's college basketball, or doing PA announcing
for the women's college basketball association. One of my
favorite things is doing this Portland Fire gig. I'm doing
things I love. I'm dealing with athletes who are very positive,
fit, focused people, and I really feed off that kind of
energy and environment. My schedule now frees me up to do
those kinds of things.
What did you do with Portland Power?
It was very short-lived. I was doing radio home games,
radio color commentary. I had a quick little stint, then
the league folded.
The Power had an intense following of lesbian women.
Do you feel that this fan base will translate to the Fire?
I think it's going to be a different kind of environment,
and I think--as witnessed by the season-opening game at
the Rose Garden--you've got a different venue, you've got
different people marketing this. The NBA is making sure
that the WNBA is reaching out to potential fans and sponsors
and grassroots groups and basketball fans and non-basketball
fans. Gender doesn't matter. Sexual orientation doesn't
matter. And what you saw last night was not only a huge
crowd of over 10,000, but it had a different feel to it.
I'm not saying better or worse. I'm just saying it feels
a little bit different.
Is it more family entertainment?
I think it's a little bit more family-oriented, and I think
the ABL was very much tuned into the family as well. If
you go back to the ABL and look at the attendance, there
were many little girls and little boys and moms and dads
in that crowd. Now there's just more of them. I see more
teenagers. I see more young men and women in the crowd at
these WNBA games, and that's a great target audience demographically
for the WNBA to tap into.
Do you feel like you have to say certain things about
these teams because you're being paid by the same organization?
No, I don't. I understand where you're coming from, and
I think it's a fair question, but I also know that people
like me come and go all the time, and if I worry bout every
single thing that I say or feel then I'm in a lot of trouble.
I think the organization gives me a lot of leeway to completely
be myself professionally and as a person. They've never
asked me to change anything, and that's why I like working
for them.
What exactly is your job?
For the Blazers I do sideline reporting for the Blazervision
games at home and....
Slow down. What does that mean? What does a sideline
reporter do?
It's the greatest gig. It's so much fun. I get to be in
almost all of the huddles. Coach [Mike] Dunleavy and his
staff are very good about letting me get close without being
intrusive. I'm far enough away that I can only get bits
and pieces. I've learned how to read lips. Not every single
word, but I can piece things together very well. I pick
up a flavor of what's going on in their huddles and then
give the fans an idea as to what goes on, not only strategically,
but emotionally and how those guys interact. The trust and
the cooperation and communication they have in those huddles
is unbelievable. It's excellent.
Do you get to follow them into the locker room?
When the locker room is open, I'm in there, if I need to
be in there. They are professional people--they understand
that. There is no nickel-and-dime sophomore crap.
Are you tired of that question?
No, because I want to completely reemphasize over and over
until people get it through their thick heads that these
people are professionals and I'm a professional. I do my
job. They do their job. And that's that.
Do you think that male reporters will have some of the
same obstacles in women's locker rooms?
It's different. If the guys want to walk to the showers
with just a towel around their waist, or whatever, they're
going to do that because they know whoever's in there, male
or female, is doing a job. But it's going to take a while
before the women feel that comfortable. But, by God, it's
great.
How important is gender when it comes to sports?
Hugely important.
Why?
You can either look at it with your head or your heart.
My heart says that gender is extremely important because,
when you look at participation sports, when you look at
women who are involved in sports--either as a participant
or someone who used to play or someone who just loves sports--you
cannot deny the female presence in athletics. If you do,
you're a fool. I go out and buy a car, I buy groceries,
why wouldn't you want me to buy season tickets? Why wouldn't
you want me buying Blazervision? Why wouldn't you want me
getting Portland Fire or Blazer gear?
How have things changed?
There are so many women now. Not us baby boomers, but think
of the generation following us. They have participated since
they were little kids. They don't know the battle that we
had to go through, and it's as common for them to participate
and be accepted as it is to drink a glass of water every
day. So in terms of consumers, you'd better as heck target
women as fans who know a lot about every kind of sport.
It's beautiful.
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Willamette Week | originally
published May 10,
2000
|
