th football season coming to a close and basketball just hitting its peak, you can find a sporting event on pretty much every channel. And these days its audience is getting more and more information thanks to one very important person-the sideline reporter

The sideline revolution began in 1974 when ABC sports leader Roone Arledge decided to add a little something more to college football telecasts. And thus, the sideline reporter was born. With mic in hand, the new addition braved the fierce television world ready to report injuries, breaking game news, and conduct sideline interviews with players and coaches.

Initially, the jobs went to men, but in the 1980’s women began to get into the mix. Now, a predominately female occupation, sideline reporting is being criticized for just that-female involvement.

A lot of complaints by viewers are stemming from their frustration in response to weak journalistic questions [pointless questions] continually being asked game after game by some sideline reporters-in particular, the female sideline reporter.

Maybe it’s their questions like ‘how did it feel to win the Super Bowl?’ or ‘how crucial was winning game one of the series?’ or ‘how big was the three pointer at the buzzer that won you the game?’ that irritate the knowledgeable sports fan, because the answer is clear. It obviously felt great to win the Super Bowl, was key to win game one of the series, and huge to hit the game-winning three-pointer.

Or maybe it’s the mere fact that the sideline reporter is female.

In 2002, former Pittsburgh Steelers President, Dan Rooney, expressed his feelings on the matter while on “The Boomer Esiason Show.” “The only thing that really bugs me of television’s coverage is those damn women they have down on the sidelines who don’t know what they’re talking about,” Rooney said. “I mean, I’m not a sexist person, but a woman has no business down there trying to make comment about a football game.”

To some, a female reporting on a sport in which she has never competitively played is worthless information.

On the other hand, some disagree with the assumption.

“There are plenty of football play-by-play announcers that have never played football as well. As far as I’m concerned, as long as they (female sideline reporters) know the language and technical aspects of the sport they are reporting on, they have just as much legitimacy as anyone else. As long as they’ve done their homework and know what they are talking about, it doesn’t matter if they’ve never played the sport.” Rich Waltz, play-by-play announcer for the Florida Marlins said.

“The sideline reporter’s job is to give you a different view of the game than, say the analyst or play-by-play announcer,” Aaron Blakely, UNCW communication studies major and sports fan said. As long as they [female sideline reporters] know what they’re talking about it doesn’t bother me. I don’t think a woman is better or worse at it than a man based on gender alone-what matters is knowledge. That is what makes a person credible.”