Energizing a city

Fit Fest first-timer Jade McCarthy talks sports passion

 

By Joe Student

Philly EDGE Editor

 

Leave it to an Eagles fan to speak for the region’s sports minds.

“Finally a woman doing sports in Philadelphia,” an unidentified Birds fan yelled to Jade McCarthy minutes after the Eagles had been drubbed 42-0 by the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football at Lincoln Financial Field.

Given how Eagles fans sometimes react after a loss, the statement could have been a lot different. But in McCarthy’s case, pleasant surprises and acceptance have been the norm since the 25-year-old became the first female sports reporter at NBC 10 that snowy night outside the Linc.

“It wasn’t the best way, or the best night to make an (Eagles) debut,” McCarthy said. “It was nice that on my second day on the job they’d already noticed me.”

Since joining NBC 10 (WCAU), in December, McCarthy has already been able to experience Villanova’s run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA men’s tournament, John Cheney’s retirement at Temple, the end (so far) of the Terrell Owens saga, the hot and cold Flyers and Sixers and plenty of hot-stove banter about the Phils.

“Philadelphia has a great passion for sports. When people are talking over the water cooler, they’re speaking about sports-related topics, even when it is not about Philadelphia teams and athletes,” McCarthy said.

Growing up in Boston, and spending some time as intern at Fox News Channel in New York City, McCarthy has a sense of passionate sports towns. Her role at NBC is that of a news reporter who covers sports-related stories.

Another function of her position is to represent that station at events such as this weekend’s “Fit Fest,” which is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. McCarthy is slated to be there on Saturday morning. Other NBC 10 personnel, including medical reporter Cherie Bank, as well as former athletes and current entertainers are scheduled to make appearances at the two-day event.

“I’m curious to see it,” McCarthy said of Fit Fest. “Being a sports town doesn’t mean that everyone pays attention to fitness. I think it’s good that there’s an event like this to let people know that there’s more you can do to encourage fitness.”

McCarthy agrees that not every city in the country has as voracious an appetite for sports as Philadelphia.

“I have been in a few cities where you can go to the stadium and see blocks of empty seats…places where the fans don’t follow their teams, “McCarthy said. “Growing up in Boston and now working in Philadelphia, I have a hard time understanding that.”

She said that Philly and Boston fans share similar passions, and traits.

“They have the same level of passion. In Boston, it revolves around baseball. Before the Red Sox won in 2004, people used to say they’d trade one of the Patriots’ Super Bowls for a World Series ring, “ McCarthy said, before continuing the comparison. “In Philly, well… everybody tells me this is an Eagles town, but I think the Phillies, Flyers or Sixers fans are all hungry for a championship.”

At NBC 10, McCarthy joined John Clark and Vai Sikahema, both of whom possess experience that McCarthy has found valuable.

“They have accepted me with open arms,” McCarthy said of her sports co-workers. “John grew up here and Vai played here, so they each bring a unique perspective. I couldn’t ask for a better environment to walk into.”

Her gender has not been an issue. McCarthy said that with female sports reporters more commonplace on ESPN and national network broadcasts, she expects that most fans, coaches and players are used to what was once a rarity in sports coverage.

“There are many female beat writers…and reporters. It’s not like I’ll be the first woman ever into the clubhouse. That would be a bigger challenge,” McCarthy said.

Earlier this month, her assignment called for her to cover the Phils pre-season games against the Red Sox. Among the stories she uncovered was a father taking his 4-year-old son to his first big-league ballgame. The piece made McCarthy think back to her first sports memory.

“My great aunt got me started going to games when I was 5- or 6-years old,” McCarthy recalled. “She was a fan of the Boston Braves (prior to their move to Milwaukee and then Atlanta). When they moved she eventually, grudgingly, started to go to American League games to see the Red Sox. I can remember her taking me into Fenway Park.”

McCarthy said that, even more than game and team stories, some of the human-interest stories she’s done since joining NBC 10 have impacted her and garnered viewer reaction.

She noted one segment about a Web site (www.phillyboxinghistory.com) that was helping buy gravestones for the plots of deceased boxers, many of whom were known fighters in Philadelphia’s storied boxing history.

“There are great stories out there like that one that mean more to some people than game results. Hopefully we can do more of them,” McCarthy said.

While she doesn’t break with journalistic integrity and indicate that she’ll be rooting for the many Philadelphia teams she’s covering, McCarthy leans on her Boston-experience to acknowledge that following a winner can be exciting.

“You always want the team that you are covering to do well, because it gives you more to cover…A championship can energize a city. You get to see the glow on the faces of people who have stayed up late to watch their team win. They don’t care if they’re sleep-deprived; they won. I think it would be fun to see that in Philadelphia.”

 

GO

 

NBC 10 Fit Fest

 

PA. Convention Center

1101 Arch St., Philadelphia

 

Saturday, April 22, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

 

Jade McCarthy NBC 10

Betty DeGeneres of the “Ellen DeGeneres Show”

“Extra” host Michael Corbett

NBC’s “Biggest Loser” winners Matt Hoover and Suzy Preston

Members of the AFL “Philadelphia Soul” team

Grammy Award-winner singer/songwriter Shawn Colvin

 

Sunday, April 23, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

 

NBC “Tonight Show” Band Leader Kevin Eubanks

Singer-songwriter Lauren Hart

Philadelphia Eagle L.J. Smith

Former Pittsburgh Steeler Jerome “The Bus” Bettis

 

Watch “NBC 10 Fit Fest: Commit to Be Fit,” Friday, April 21 at 7 p.m.

 

Admission: FREE

1-800-BEFIT-10