Childhood dream turns into reality for ESPN's Sage Steele

Sage Steele was 12 years old when she told her family she wanted to be a sportscaster.

Growing up with a father who played college football and two brothers, Steele remembers conversations in her household often consisting of, “Did you see that play?” or “Wow, what a catch!”

Steele watched the 1984 Olympics from her home in Colorado when she made the announcement to her family of her future aspirations. As she watched athletes compete in the 100-meter dash in Los Angeles, she couldn’t help but think about how a lifetime of hard work came down to 10 seconds on the track. She was intrigued.

“I remember watching on TV and being in awe of not just their physical gifts, but their mental strength.” Steele said. “They worked their whole lives for this one moment. I really thought the best way to be around sports and these amazing people would be to cover them as a journalist.”

Thirty-two years later, she is the face of ESPN’s “NBA Countdown” and “SportsCenter on the Road,” covering major sporting events from baseball to basketball, football to golf.

“I am doing exactly what I set out to do when I was a kid,” Steele said. “The fact that I am able to live my dream is still sometimes kind of shocking to me even though I’ve been doing it for a long time now. Twenty-one years in the business. Plus, every day is really different.”

On Veteran’s Day in 2016, Steele honored the long line of veterans in her family and across the world as she took “SportsCenter on the Road” to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Steele’s father Gary, a 23-year Army veteran, joined his daughter on set for the live broadcast.

Sometimes Steele’s job as a sports reporter stretches beyond the boundaries of a court or field.

“My grandfather was buried right over the hill from where we were standing,” Steele said. “To be able to talk about my late grandfather on live TV and have my dad there was so surreal and emotional. This little dream about me wanting to talk about football players has turned into this. Being able to honor the people who have meant the most to me in my life. It really trumps everything for me.”

Before she appeared on TV screens across the world, Steele spent five years covering the Baltimore Ravens for Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. When she wanted to interview a player, she had to ask permission from her younger brother, Chad, the man in charge of public relations for the team. The siblings worked together for four years in Baltimore and had the opportunity to witness each other grow up.

“It was incredible,” Chad Steele said. “It was awesome at times and it was hard at other times. It was great because we got to know each other all over again. Seeing how hard she worked and how she handled tough situations was one of the highlights of my career so far.”

Only 22 months separate the Steele siblings, but Chad will never get used to seeing his older sister on TV. On his honeymoon in Croatia, he remembers sitting in a bar with his wife, listening to natives talk about Sage while she appeared on the screen above.

“I don't think you ever get used to hearing your sister’s voice and seeing your sister on TV,” Chad Steele said. “We’re halfway around the world and these random Croatians know who my sister is.”

This story was an assignment for J326F – Reporting Sports at the University of Texas.