December 16, 2020
Imagine… you’re 15 years old and you’re at the University of Texas at Dallas Women’s Basketball game with your grandfather, and he hands you an extra broadcast headset.
That was the day Emma Tiedemann, Broadcaster for the Portland Sea Dogs, fell in love with sports broadcasting. Proudly following in her grandfather's footsteps, who broadcasted for the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and the Dallas Cowboys, Emma joined the Portland Sea Dogs at the height of the pandemic. She joked, “My first day was so surreal. We were in a meeting and we were told we’d be working from home going forward.”
A Texas native, Emma was looking forward to enjoying New England in the Spring and Summer months. While she couldn’t explore as much as she’d have liked, she made the best of the situation relying on locals recommendations for the best take-out (she won’t disclose her favorites, but she is trying just about every lobster roll she can get her hands on).
When the realization came that the 2020 baseball season had a grim fate, Emma watched the players’ social media videos where they were making pitching mounds in their backyards and training any way they could. “As an athlete,” Emma said, “they are thinking about losing this year of development. They are so eager to get back!”
Keeping fans engaged was one of the biggest challenges this year. Emma’s boss spent time ruminating, and pitched a Sea Dogs Podcast. Emma was given full reign to make it her own. The segments further engage baseball fans with past player interviews and they dive deep into the history of the sport.
While facing the challenges with creativity has ended in some fun projects, Emma is excited to get back in the booth. “Once I sit down after the National Anthem, just minutes away from the first pitch - that’s when the excitement hits me. I have a moment of peace, right before I get to broadcast the game.”
The most rewarding part of the job for Emma is seeing and talking to females and girls who are playing softball after their parents reach out to her requesting to meet her at a game. “It’s pretty powerful when parents want their daughters to know they can do this too. As much as I don’t like to bring attention to myself in that aspect, it’s so rewarding to see little girls look up to me.”
To catch the podcast, visit: https://www.milb.com/portland/team/seadogspodcast
