Some recognize the Toronto native Paige McGowan as a sideline reporter, however some recognize her as a model, former athlete, and future sports personality. Originally, McGowan was born in Witchita, Kansas, but she quickly moved to Toronto, Canada when she was young. She admits that she’s been fortunate to grow up in such a diversified demographic and consume multiple customs and different traditions. Today, this upbringing has helped shaped McGowan into a lively, unique, personable, and vibrant individual.
Paige McGowan’s Origin into Basketball
At the age of three, McGowan began getting involved in sports and participated in gymnastics, soccer, volleyball, and basketball. Like many, she began playing sports at her local YMCA and recreation center, however it never appeared to be a direct reason or inspiration for her to transition from sport to sport.
Until middle school, McGowan didn’t truly feel connected to the game of basketball. However, this all changed once she began finding joy in all of the small details surrounding the game of basketball. For example, McGowan expressed how the fans cheering, and the close games began giving her an adrenaline rush.
“I genuinely had so much fun playing basketball,” McGowan stated. “There were so many opportunities to make plays and the games were so fast. When I was younger, it gave me the most joy as a child, and I’m glad I stuck with it.”
As a child, McGowan always had an aptness for being in front of a camera. In fact, one of her lifelong dreams was to become an actress and perform for millions. McGowan understood her future in the pros was slim to none, however she remained passionate about the sport. One of her lifelong goals was to always do something for a career she looks forward to. Naturally, she combined her two desires and became interested in sports reporting.
Obstacles McGowan has Overcome
Oftentimes, in this industry one builds their reputation through credibility, accuracy, and consistency. However, as time progresses, people begin to come around and usually accept the individual. Like many, McGowan constantly is fighting for credibility and respect amongst her peers, as well as the masses.
The Toronto native explains in great detail that this isn’t a foreign experience and feeling to her. She’s been battling this throughout her whole life. In fact, when she was an undergrad at Humber College in Toronto, Canada, she was assigned a group project with three other of her peers. They were told they must assign each individual to an anchoring position (sports, weather, director, and news). Prior to assigning positions, she left to use the restroom, and once she returned they all agreed that she’d be the weather anchor while all of the other positions were occupied.
Naturally, this mindset from her peers truly saddened her and still at times plagues her to this day. In spite of not being given the sports anchor position, she internalized this as fuel and attempted to be the best she can be with whatever opportunity she was presented.
“I feel like I’ve done a good job of proving myself, while my counterparts don’t have to prove themselves as often,” McGowan expressed.
Paige McGowan’s “SH3GotGame Moment”
Oftentimes, many people have a complex named fraud syndrome. Meaning, tons of people don’t believe in themselves and often question whether they belong or not. At Sh3Gotgame, every feature has a moment within their careers that they understand they do belong and their confidence begins to grow. Oddly, McGowan’s “Sh3GotGame Moment” took place while reporting.
Due to her innate ability to be on camera, she’s found immense success at an early stage in her career. McGowan has been reporting with the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) for over a year now, however she still at times gets nervous. During this game, exciting moments happened often and she didn’t get much prep time before the post-game interview. Luckily, her understanding and ability to play the game proved to be in her favor. Throughout the interview, she "freestyled" questions to the player and it went smoother than she could have expected.
At that point, when she saw the playback and realized she was better than she ever expected. McGowan idolizes and often compares her style to broadcast legend Doris Burke, Kayla Grey, and Malika Andrews. While executing this interview, it’s safe to say, she may have channeled a bit of all three.
“My ‘Sh3GotGame Moment’ came when I was reporting for the NBL,” McGowan emphasized. “I didn’t get much time to prep, however I still had to deliver. Throughout the game, I based my questions on the game and his moments and it went nearly perfectly. That’s when I knew I arrived!”
Creativity is Power
McGowan admits a huge part of her greatness stems from her ability to be creative. Oftentimes, as adults, some forget how to utilize their creative abilities. McGowan relies on her hobbies to help always keep her creative flows flowing. Some of the things she truly enjoys doing are painting, journaling, swimming, hiking, and modeling.
Creativity is a branch of one’s passion and excitement for one’s art. McGowan suggests that younger writers out there looking to separate themselves from the pack are to write about something they care about and truly love. Once someone begins writing about something they’re not moved by what’s evident on the paper and will read as boring.
In conclusion, when asked, if there is any advice she would offer to any young aspiring broadcasters and journalists out there, she responded:
“My biggest advice for anyone out there would be just to try it. Literally, you have nothing to lose and you only live once. For example, I went out for a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model shoot and somehow made the top 60. That memory and moment would’ve never happened if I didn’t just try it. At times, when you feel you aren’t ready, you are!”