Interview: Erin Andrews Talks Michael Jackson and Her SNL Dreams

Wonder if you can find a woman in this world who loves watching sports as much as you do? Your search may be over. Well, kind of. ESPN's sideline reporter Erin Andrews may be just the lady for you...but also may be just a little out of your league. But can't we all aspire to have a girl that loves sports, music and laughing at herself? We sure hope so. During the ESPN College Gameday media event in New York City last week, we spoke with Erin about her love for pop music, sports in the home, and her take on the Justin Bieber craze. 

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What song do you have on constant rotation?
Erin Andrews: That’s a great question. “Dirt Road Anthem” by Jason Aldean.

Would you consider yourself a huge music fan?
Erin Andrews: Yes, I am.

Who are your top five favorite artists of all-time?
Erin Andrews: One definitely would be Michael Jackson. Two, Justin Timberlake. I’m a very pop girl, so pardon me for being like that because people like to have fun with it. I love Taylor Swift right now. I’m obsessed with her, I think she’s phenomenal. Whatever, poke fun, I love Britney too. And five would have to be Beyonce.

Yeah. Definitely a very pop girl.
Erin Andrews: I’m also a big country music fan as well.

What are the country music artists that you’re into right now?
Erin Andrews: Taylor Swift. Jason Aldean. I love Rascal Flatts. Carrie Underwood. Keith Urban. Lady Antebellum. Blake Shelton. Miranda. I’ve actually had a chance to work with a couple of these people and they’re just great people to be around. A lot of them are huge college football fans, which is pretty cool.

What is the most money you spent on an article of clothing?
Erin Andrews: I feel like that’s so embarrassing. I would say it was something now that I regret that I didn’t just ask if they could allow me to wear it. It was for a big event that I later learned, you can get people to ask if you can wear it. It was a lot. More than I expected.

What’s your favorite part of covering college football?
Erin Andrews: Just being around the passion and pageantry. Where I grew up in Florida, they just live and breathe college football. It’s like a religion, and it basically makes or breaks your year. People hold off having weddings during the college football season because it’s just what they'd rather be doing with their time. So I love that and I was a huge sports fan growing up to the point where I would be crying for weeks if a team I was invested in lost the championship game.

When you’re not doing sideline reporting for a sporting event, do you still want to go check out a game?
Erin Andrews: Unfortunately for me, that’s kind of all I do. And I’ve had moments where people will be over at my house and they’ll be like, can we watch something else? I don’t think people realize that about myself. Sports are my life. It’s what I turn on when I’m doing the laundry, cleaning up or paying bills. It’s all I do. It’s very consuming.

That's great. With a sports figure appearing on the show every year, how was your experience with Dancing With the Stars?
Erin Andrews: It was amazing. It set up a lot of opportunities in my life. It wasn’t something I was expecting to open a lot of doors, but it did. Now I’m trying to take full advantage of them, whether it be on the advocacy side or trying to do certain things for certain charities that I’m really excited about. My dad and I have teamed up with a charity to help educate people on prostate cancer awareness. My dad is a survivor, and we want to let men know that you need to get checked.

Do you have a celebrity crush?
Erin Andrews: Yeah, I do. I have a few of them actually. I have been very vocal about both of them. I’ve had the opportunity to meet both of these people, and when they walk in the room, it’s just like, Oh wow. I got to meet Bradley Cooper at the White House Correspondents Dinner. My dad actually took the photo because he was my date. My dad was my date. Well, you could say Bradley Cooper was my date, I don’t care. I was so excited to meet him. And Ryan Reynolds is just a beautiful man. He was at the ESPYs and I acted like a 10-year-old around him, maybe a 13-year-old. It brought me back to my Jon Knight days with New Kids on the Block.

[Laughs.] New Kids on the Block…
Erin Andrews: But I will say this, apparently when I was doing the ESPYs Red Carpet Show, we were talking about having Justin Bieber there. And I was talking about hearing all the young girls scream when he got out of the car, and I said, “It brought me back to my New Kids on the Block, Jon Knight phase” and I just got excited. And someone told Jon Knight that he tweeted me, and I freaked out. He said, “Hey Erin, thanks for the shoutout. I thought I recognized you from 1989. Good luck with ESPN.” I screamed for about 5 minutes, like all the Justin Bieber fans. It was a huge moment in my life.

And then you added it to your favorites, right?
Erin Andrews: Holy cow, I will favorite it. Great idea. I’m doing it right now.

So you can understand all of the Bieber fever?
Erin Andrews: I was that way with N’Sync, and New Kids on the Block. My parents videotaped us coming home the first time from our New Kids on the Block “Step By Step” Tour, and it is one of the funniest videos. We have the shirts, and the pins. I made a “Jon, I Love You” sign. My sister had an “I Love Donnie” sign. I mean, it was dramatic. My parents were holding that concert over my head for months. If I didn’t behave or if I talked back to my mom, I was not going. Yes, I get it.

Do you have any other career paths that you would like to take?
Erin Andrews: Well, I did just get to make a cameo in an Adam Sandler movie. That was pretty cool. I had like four lines, and it was the coolest thing ever. But I don’t think acting is in my future. I have a couple buddies that work in Nashville. Jim Butler, who is a big-time agent with CAA, is trying to get me to come in his studio and record a demo for a country music album because I always try to imitate Taylor Swift’s voice. He’s like, “Yeah, let’s get you in the studio. Come on, we can do it.” My tone is okay but my range is awful. I like to imitate the song “Mine” and “Mean,” so we always joke about going into the studio

Well, hopefully this singing career works out.   
Erin Andrews: Yeah, I don’t think that’s all for me. I like to joke around and have a good time. One thing I would like to do—I don’t know if I could get through it without cracking up—but I would love to be on a skit on Saturday Night Live. I think it would be hysterical. Seth Meyers is a great guy, and he’s been really cool with me. I told him that I could do a good Nancy Grace and I have so many stories from living in an airport. He always says to me, “Write them down, tell me when the show comes back and we’ll think of a way to get it in or something.” So, that would be really cool to do.

So we may see you in an SNL skit next season.
Erin Andrews: I doubt it, but it would be pretty fun.

Since you’ve met so many celebrities, athletes and icons, who would you say is the most famous person you met?
Erin Andrews: He was a big thrill for me to meet because we love him so much and we kind of relate him a lot to my dad. I had a chance to meet Tom Hanks at the Oscars and he was so nice. I was so excited because I didn’t want to be let down by him. I just wanted him to be amazing and he was. It was so cool to call my sister and parents and tell them that Tom Hanks was so cool. And Oprah Winfrey, too. I did her show and I would say the same thing, I didn’t want to walk away from her show and think it was a bad experience. But she was amazing, her staff is first-class, I adored her and I’m thankful that I got a chance to spend time with her.

What would say is your favorite sport?
Erin Andrews: College football. Just because of where I grew up in Florida, and like I said, it’s a passion. It’s the way people eat, breathe and live in the South. It’s one of the coolest experiences of my life to be able to cover it.