KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County, including Independence. Share your story idea with Tod.
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Bridget Howard is living a dream, and she’s become an inspiration, thriving in her first year on Royals TV broadcasts.
Howard, a 2016 Blue Valley graduate and 2019 Kansas State graduate, grew up a Royals fan and dreamed of a career in sports broadcasting.
Her dad, David, played for the Royals from 1991-97 before she was born, and working for the club became a goal.
“I always knew that I liked to talk, and then I realized I liked talking about sports, too,” Bridget said. “So, it really just felt like this perfect intersection for me.”
The Royals announced in March that Bridget was joining Royals TV as a sideline reporter and host, making her the first full-time female member of the team’s broadcast crew.
“Driving up to Kauffman Stadium every single day, I still pinch myself, and I'm like, ‘Wow, we did it,’” she said. “This has been my north-star job ever since I got started in broadcasting.”
She remembers watching as female broadcasters broke into the sports world and made a mark — Erin Andrews, Jenny Dell, Taylor McGregor, et al. — and that fueled her desire to do the same.
“Those were women that I looked up to, and I saw them in roles like this and was like, ‘Hey, I can do this, too,’” Bridget said.
Now, she’s one of those inspirational women whom little girls with big dreams watch during Royals games.
“I would like to be a sports broadcaster for baseball or football, or just big sports like that,” said Londyn Edwards, an eighth grader at a game last week.
She did a report on female sports broadcasters for a class project.
“It means a lot,” she said of seeing Bridget on Royals broadcasts, “because I've only seen a lot of men and guys who do this. And I think it's really important that she's doing this so everyone knows, oh, it's not just for guys.”
She’s not alone.
Izzy, a second grade Royals fan who also attended last week’s School Day at the K, is becoming a big baseball fan and started watching games on TV.
“With my dad,” she said. “When I started liking baseball, it was just, I think, last year, but my dad loves baseball a lot, and I sat down next to him in our living room. He asked me what I was doing, and I said, ‘Watching the baseball game.'"
Izzy, 7, who said Kyle Isbel is her favorite player because her “real first name” is Isabelle, isn’t sure what she wants to do for a career, but she appreciates knowing sports broadcasting is an option after seeing Bridget on TV.
After graduating from Blue Valley, Bridget played on the Kansas State women’s soccer team and worked for K-StateHD.TV.
She credits Brian Smoller, the senior director of Wildcats broadcast services, for his mentorship and helping launch her career. He credits Bridget’s hard work and talent.
“She deserves every bit that she's gotten; she's earned it all,” Smoller said via Zoom. “... We gave her the opportunity, and she ... took it and ran.”
Smoller said it was clear early in Bridget's days in Manhattan that she had the “it factor” to succeed. Early gigs with TNT Sports, covering the Unrivaled Basketball League or college football games, proved him right.
Now, seven years after spending a weekend shadowing Joel Goldberg and Royals Hall of Famer Jeff Montgomery on pre- and post-game shows, Bridget is their colleague on broadcasts.
“It was pretty surreal when I got to tell them, and they found out that I was going to be a part of the team,” Bridget said.
But she’s only getting started.
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