Erin Andrews Q&A

SI.com: Thanks so much for getting in touch with us. This is causing quite the stir in the SI.com offices.

Andrews: What do you mean?

SI: Well, everyone's a big fan of yours.

Andrews: Oh gosh, give me a break.

SI.com: And you're especially a big hit on the 'net. You must read a lot of it, no?

Andrews: I said [in a recent interview] that I do read you guys and Deadspin, but all the other stuff is just too much. With half of it, you just have to be like, "are people serious?" I just keep in mind what a nerd I am. Who the hell am I?

SI.com: Well, this is the time we live in with the Internet. If sports fans find someone attractive, their life is over because anything they do will be covered.

Andrews: You're right.

SI.com: Just look at what happened when you ate that sandwich on the air.

Andrews: Oh my God. You know what, right after I did that, I thought to myself, "Oh, crap. What did I do?" But it's funny.

SI.com: Obviously being at college games most of the time leads to thing like this happening.

Andrews: That's the funny part of it because a lot of my friends who are pro athletes, they'll come to the college games and they'll just be like, "E.A., I can't believe you're that big of a deal." The reaction is totally different at a college game. The fans don't act that way when I do the pro sports, which is basically just baseball. It's very funny, though, because it's just so different.

SI.com: So we were thrilled to see you like Extra Mustard, especially since you're one of our go-to "celebrities" who we can always count on to generate lots of hits.

Andrews: My girlfriend and I always go to it. She religiously goes to it and I started going to it because it always has good scoops on the boys and a lot of people in sports. My girlfriend sent me a link to Hot Clicks the other day because you had an item about a contest on sideline reporters. She said I better hope I get some votes.

SI.com: I'm pretty sure you were winning by a wide margin.

Andrews: Wow. Well, we'll have to see what happens in later rounds. What's important to me is proving myself to people. I'm a big nerd because I do so much studying for my job, more than I ever did in college and high school. The amount of prep work that I do that goes into all this is really personal, so I look at people like Lesley Visser and Michele Tafoya and Pam Oliver and I want to be them. So just to be compared to them is very flattering.

SI.com: But you wanna to win, right.

Andrews: Well, you wanna win everything but I don't think I will.

SI.com: So you mentioned us and Deadspin. What are your other daily Internet stops?

Andrews: I always go to [the New York Post's] Page 6. I'm a People.com reader. Like I said before, I love Extra Mustard because it leads you to funny Web sites. And then Deadspin. Those are my two favorites. Some of my friends will send me some wacky rumors or wacky pictures of me and stuff like that. It starts to get dangerous when you read it because you start thinking to yourself, "Oh my gosh, what are people saying about me. What are they thinking? To be honest, it can take a lot of time out of your day and it could make me second guess some things so I've tried to stay away from it. I hit my reliable or fun sites that are on my favorites and keep it at that.

SI.com: What's the most ridiculous thing you've seen written about you on a blog?

Andrews: I think that picture from the Iowa basketball game caused the most stir. For a while there was a question about whether it was real or photoshopped. And it was CLEARLY photoshopped because I know exactly how it happened. I was taking a photo with a young girl, maybe 4 or 5 years old, so I was bending over to take the shot and that Iowa kid obviously photoshopped himself in that spot. So it was this huge stir, but if you look at his arm, it's at such an awkward angle anyway. And believe me, if that picture was real, he wouldn't have left the arena with his camera because it would've been lodged somewhere else.

SI.com: We found a great photo of your head blown up and a couple of Michigan State fans kissing it. That one was pretty cool.

Andrews: That one is so funny. I took a picture of the fans with that photo, which was hilarious. I worked that game where they had those heads and it was just so weird to look up in the stands and see a giant Erin Andrews head. I just kept thinking, "Oh my gosh, my nose looks bigger than life." But that's a real funny photo.

SI.com: Do you get a lot of inappropriate comments when you're at a game or are people usually cool?

Andrews: For the most part, people are really great. I cover the same schools a lot, so a lot of the people at those places are almost like family. There have been a couple of times lately when I've heard things and turned around and just said "Oh my gosh, that's disgusting." But a lot of the times, it happens at schools I haven't visited before. I just went to Penn State this past Saturday and they were so cute. They were singing me songs. The kids just like it when you wave at them or turn around and smile and acknowledge them.

SI.com: What about some funny or offbeat signs? Do you see many of those?

Andrews: There have been some funny ones. There was one during College GameDay this past weekend right over Herbie and Corso's head that said "Marry me, Erin Andrews." What was interesting about that was that was the show was in Oregon and I never do Pac-10 games. At Indiana last year there was a row of students that spelled out "Marry Me, Erin" spelled out on T-Shirts.

SI.com: So fans are big on marriage proposals, huh?

Andrews: I get quite a few but nobody has shown up with a diamond ring yet. The big winner that does that may get the prize. I heard in Omaha this year that there were a couple of fans wearing shirts that said "Mr. Andrews." I didn't get one unfortunately. I wanted one.

[Editor's Note: If anyone from Omaha is reading this and has the shirt and wants to send it to Erin, e-mail us and we'll try to get it to her.]

SI.com: I'd like to change gears now and ask you some rapid-fire questions that cover a broad range of mostly silly topics. Ready?

Andrews: Definitely, shoot.

SI.com: Well, I guess I should start with sports. Who will play in the national title game?

Andrews: Ohio State and LSU.

SI.com: Who will win?

Andrews: LSU. It'll be a home game for them. The place [the Louisiana Superdome] will turn into Tiger Stadium.

SI.com: Will the Patriots go undefeated?

Andrews: Yeah, I'd bet on it this year.

SI.com: Where will Alex Rodriguez end up?

Andrews: Somewhere on the West Coast.

SI.com: OK, now for some important stuff. What were the last couple of songs you bought on iTunes?

Andrews: I just downloaded Britney Spears' new album. I love her. I'm sad about the VMAs. I grew up as a dancer. I've danced my whole life, so my lifelong dream was to be a backup dancer for Britney. My sister is a professional dancer, so we're still hoping Britney gets her act together so Kendra, my sister, can dance with her. I also just downloaded Stronger by Kanye West.

SI.com: What shows are on your TiVo season pass?

Andrews: Grey's Anatomy. I love the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader show on CMT. I think it's hilarious. And The Hills. People magazine and reality television are my two opportunities to be a girl.

SI.com: Does it bother you the The Hills is fake?

Andrews: Yes and no. I think L.C. is so cute. I'm sure it's all staged but what isn't anymore on television?

SI.com: Tom Bradywas reportedly offered more than $1 million to become a Calvin Klein underwear model. Would you like to see him take the gig?

Andrews: Hmm. I'll say that I'd be interested to see what the ads looked like.

SI.com: You appeared on the Who's Now series that was ripped to shreds by most people. What did you think about that?

Andrews: It did get ripped. But let me tell you, athletes watched. I actually had Charlie Manuel say something to me about it when I did a Phillies game. He said to me, "E.A., you'd rather go to Shaq's party than LeBron's?" So many guys watched it. It ran during baseball, so I had so many players asking me, "who wins it," and "is it fixed," and saying "if Tiger doesn't win it, it's so wrong." It was unbelievable. So while people trashed it, it felt like people watched it. I was just excited that they asked me to be a part of it. It was something new to debate. And no offense to Jessica Biel, I thought she was great, but I thought they needed a woman's perspective up there instead of having all these guys debate how cool other guys are. Come on.