DENVER — Brittnee Brooks, a Colorado native, sat down with Denver7 Sports to discuss her work on Radio Row at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
The experience came through The Empower Campaign and GALvanize, an organization founded by Laura Okmin, a longtime NFL sideline reporter. GALvanize empowers women in sports by fostering community and sisterhood.
"I went through a little application process and had to create some content and video, and I got selected to go. So it was me and four other girls, so about five of us total plus Laura," said Brooks.
However, as she was preparing to travel to New Orleans, Brooks's grandmother passed away.
"I was holding her hand and was telling her that I was gonna go, and I [knew] that she could still understand that this [was] a stoke of a lifetime, and she was super stoked for me. So it was really hard, and I kind of battled grieving, of course, and deciding if that was something I should do," she said.
Brooks continued on with the trip and was even able to bond with Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Cam Jones over recent loss.
"We had an interesting moment where we shared that we both had a loved one that passed, that was both our grandmas. It was just one of the best interviews I've had, probably since 2017 with GALvanize. And it was just one of those things where you leave and you have chills on your arms. So it was a really cool moment with him," said Brooks.
Now that the Super Bowl has come and gone, Brooks is soaking up everything she learned during that trip.
"My mom told me, after my grandma had passed, that she actually was from New Orleans, and so it was that thing of just like, 'Girl, you gotta go,'" said Brooks. "There was really no other place I'd rather be, so I didn't want to pass up that opportunity. But so many ties happened where I know my grandma was there with me."
