Erin Andrews wasn't 'scared' during Richard Sherman interview
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Erin Andrews answers questions from the press during the FOX Sports media availability in the Empire East Ballroom, at Super Bowl XLVIII Media Center at the Sheraton New York Times Square. (Jan. 28, 2014) Credit: Getty Images
Erin Andrews has just one regret about her interview with Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman after the NFC Championship Game.
How she handled the situation is not it.
The Fox Sports sideline reporter fired back at critics Tuesday at a media event in the Sheraton Times Square, saying that she was never scared during the interview and that she was "proud" of the way she handled it.
"Did I look scared? There was nothing on my face that looked scared," Andrews said. "I was getting ready to ask another question. I was getting ready to ask him a follow-up question about the play that just happened, the play that you just made that sent you to New York."
Of course, Andrews was referring to the game's final play when Sherman tipped a pass intended for San Francisco 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree that resulted in a game-sealing interception for the Seahawks. An amped-up Sherman then went off afterwards, saying he was the "best corner in the game" and calling Crabtree a "sorry receiver."
Sherman's interview has been dissected ad nauseum since then, but there has also been criticism of how Andrews handled the interview. Andrews brushed it all off on Tuesday.
"It wasn't anything about, 'He's frightening me. He's scaring me,'" said Andrews, who will be on the Broncos' sideline for Super Bowl XLVIII (colleague Pam Oliver had her choice of sideline due to seniority). "It was more about, 'My follow-up question better be really good, because I know that this is going to go viral and this is going to be a big deal, and if I don't ask the right thing, then I'm going to be crucified.'"
So what was her regret? Phrasing.
"I asked him to take me through the play," Andrews said. "It wasn't even a question, which I was disappointed about because you need to ask, 'what, when, where, why?'"
As for the uproar that the interview has created, Andrews thinks it's because "athletes don't normally do that. We don't ever see that side of them. You never see Peyton [Manning] get emotional like that, you never see Eli [Manning] get emotional like that. [When] I grew up, Larry Bird was my favorite player ever. The only time you'd ever see passion like that is when he was going after guys on the court, not off the court."
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