I would like to preface this article by saying I have never met or spoken to Katie Nolan in my life. I’ll also admit that, before a few weeks ago, I had never watched a full episode of Garbage Time (GT). However, that episode wasn’t my first time hearing about the show’s host. Whether it’s on internet podcasts, write-ups in Sports Illustrated magazine, or plastered across the pages of the Boston Globe as “The Next Big Thing” in sports media, Katie Nolan seems to be everywhere.
If Nolan isn't pointing out professional athletes for their poor on-field performance, then she is probably calling them out for being terrible human beings. In doing so, Ms. Nolan has redefined what it means to be a sports talk show host. How does she do this? Nolan takes sports news and puts a filter on it. By filter, I mean she takes the major (and sometimes not so major) sports headlines and gives her audience the information in a clear, concise, and realistic way. Realistic being the key word. This filter is not just any basic cliché; this filter has grit, passion, and truth behind it. Katie Nolan captivates her audience by putting sports through the human filter.
Many sports talk shows only look at the athletic side of sports. Topics such as game outcomes, stats, and some players' dance moves dominate the headlines. Now, are these justified headlines? Of course, but what these shows sometimes forget is that these men and women are humans too – just the same as you and me. Sure, not all of us are 6’7 – 257 pounds and can run sub 4.5 second forty-yard dash times; but even if we could, how does that give us the right to beat on other people and continue our lives as if nothing happened?
The domestic violence issue in the NFL was my first encounter with Katie Nolan. She was sharing her view on Dallas Cowboys' defensive lineman Greg Hardy's response to a question following his return from suspension for domestic violence problems that included throwing his then girlfriend on a couch full of assault rifles (Hardy made reference to the fact he had hoped to return to the game "guns blazing"). As you can tell from the hyperlink above, Nolan was not pleased with the word choice and made her feelings quite clear. “Finally”, I thought to myself, “Someone went for it and said what needed to be said”. She doesn't give the audience the runaround, just straight forward honesty. That single video got me hooked. Before I knew it, I found myself on an adventure through the wide reaches of Google. I spent the next several hours pining over articles, blogs, videos, and podcasts. I even took a trip to the Hofstra University website, Ms. Nolan's alma mater. (Shout out to the next Joe Montana - Giovanni Carmazzi and the Flying Dutchmen).
If this piece happens to find its way to Ms. Nolan, it is my hope she won’t take it in a negative fashion. One of her first web shows was called, “No Filter with Katie Nolan,” so you can see where a conflict could arise. Maybe saying "Katie Nolan has a conscience and uses it" is a better way to put it rather than using the constricting binds of the word "filter." The anchorwoman doesn’t leave out the everyday person. She thinks, analyzes, then shares her thoughts and doesn’t just read from a teleprompter (although, she has been known to make an occasional “I’m Ron Burgundy?” joke). Nolan implores her audience to think deeper than the playbook. She allows her viewers to question the reports rather than accepting what they are given, and the best part? She does it with a laugh.
GT is the funniest sports talk show on television due to it's unapologetic, flat-out blunt humor (also the fact the show's developers aren't afraid to dabble in sketch comedy is a huge plus for the inner classic SNL fan in me - and by classic, think Belushi, Aykord, and Morris even though the new stuff does have some good sketches). Whether Nolan is showing the world what its like to be a Patriots fan in New York or telling Jerry Jones and the Cowboys to find their own Jiminy Cricket and do something about Greg Hardy, she finds a way to incorporate her dry and sarcastic humor in every statement she makes. Even when her joke seems to fall flat, she’s quick to jump in with a save to keep the show moving. Unfortunately, this humor isn’t always widely accepted. It can be hard for a show with straightforward humor to catch viewers in this modern society where being politically correct somehow outweighs human moral senses of right and wrong. Be that as it may, Nolan has gone for it and taken the risks. For some, this may seem like a dangerous leap, but for Katie Nolan, this was the easy part.
It’s obvious to see the sports media world is a male dominated industry. Almost all talk shows, radio broadcasts, or sports network breakdowns are anchored by men. Katie Nolan is one of, if not the only, female host that has her own nationally televised sports talk show. It wasn't easy for her to get GT either. It took her publicly calling on her own network to make it happen. I’m not going to cover that too extensively because it seems every article about her dives into that in some form (I encourage you to take a look at those) but it was important to touch on it because this is such a huge part of who I perceive Katie Nolan to be. She is proud of her knowledge and opinions. Nolan is not one willing to back down from a fight.
Katie’s beliefs and her vocal outrage for the treatment of women in the professional sports world spread faster than a Chip Kelly offense (but like the good kind, say the Marcus Mariota or late Dennis Dixon Oregon years, not the Eagles). Before the world knew it, numerous major media outlets had something to say about the Fox Anchorwoman who talks about sexism in sports. Magazines, websites, and newspapers all wanted a piece of Katie Nolan. She had started the conversation and is currently a driving force in bringing gender equality in sports media into the 21st Century. All the while becoming the new face of broadcast sports.
For the longest time, sports shows were simple. Anchors would sit at a news desk reading scripted words off a teleprompter, then making the off-color pun or witty catch phrase, followed by a throw to commercial. No one saw outside of the way that things were. No one ever thought about doing satirical sketches, hosting a night at a local comedy club, or even using some utterly fantastic dance moves to end a show as a way to educate a national audience on sports. But Katie Nolan and her team did. She took the mold of what it meant to be a sports news anchor and flipped it upside down, thereby creating and attracting a whole new audience for sports programming.
I used to tell everyone I wanted to work in sports broadcasting because I loved everything about sports; the competition, the stats, and the magical moments always seemed to be my go-to lines. Through the years, I’ve watched the moments, I’ve collected the stats, and I've enjoyed every bit of the competition. However, in that time I’ve also found a new reason to pursue sports media. The people. The people who care just as much as I do about the game, but also realize there is more to it than that. The innovators who take the cookie cutters and bend them out of shape. The conscience society that speaks out when they find an error, because they believe in something more. The people like Katie Nolan inspire me every day.
Plus anyone who loves Tommy Brady as much as I do is obviously 100% a great person in all facets of life.
