To listen to the entire interview with Lauren Sisler, visit SportsSpectrum.com
Lauren with her husband John
WHAT HAS THIS YEAR BEEN LIKE FOR YOU AS A REPORTER AT GAMES WITHOUT MANY FANS IN THE STANDS, IF ANY AT ALL? It’s definitely a different deal. I will say on the front end of it, as I’m driving to the stadium, it is nice to be able to get into the gates and not have to deal with traffic, but obviously the atmosphere is so different. I’m used to driving in, seeing the fans tailgating, the tents all popped up, everyone grilling out. And now, with fans spreading out, the capacity of fans being around 20 to 25 percent, and not having the fans sort of right there on top of you with the energy is definitely different. When you don’t have the 80,000 to 100,000 screaming fans, it definitely makes for a different environment.
Photos courtesy of Lauren Sisler
BEFORE FOOTBALL SEASON, THIS YEAR WAS A BIG DEAL. YOU GOT MARRIED IN MAY AND YOU GOT BAPTIZED A COUPLE MONTHS BEFORE THAT IN MARCH. WHAT WAS THE REASON YOU DECIDED TO GET BAPTIZED AND TAKE THAT STEP OF FAITH? When I was younger, I was baptized. I think I was probably 10 or 11 at the time. I think when you’re young like that, you don’t quite comprehend it. I grew up in the Church and was very much a go-tobed, pray-to-God [child], my parents always tucking me in until I was 17 years old going to college. It was something so special to me. But I just felt that in my walk with Christ, my faith has grown so exponentially ever since my husband and I met a few years ago, and really proclaiming that faith. I think sometimes we get caught up in the [idea] of “we don’t talk religion and politics.” Those are the two things that you don’t talk about. But I felt like my faith was almost starting to seep out of me. Not that it hadn’t before because I was always vocal about my faith, but I just felt that I was at a place in my life and at a crossroads where I feel that I can be such a servant to others. And then I can use my story and use my skill set and use all the blessings that God has given me to bless others. And I wanted to proclaim that. And my husband, John, wanted to proclaim that. We had been talking to our pastor, Pastor Lane, and he told us he believed it was time to take that next step and it was just an amazing feeling to [be baptized] at the church in front of people and really just to have that moment to share, not only with the church, but obviously our followers on social media, and our family. And I hope it’s a strong message to others to have that faith to step out and to proclaim their covenant and their relationship with God, and what they hope to achieve in their life with God being at the center.
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AND THEN YOU GET MARRIED, IN A PANDEMIC. I’M GUESSING THERE HAD TO BE A PIVOT TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THE WEDDING AND CONTINUE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN? Oh my goodness, yes. Let me tell you. We got baptized at the beginning of March and things shut down a week or two later. We had a wedding shower and that’s where things started to happen. But we didn’t understand the magnitude of it at the time. We thought it just might be a few weeks — OK, no big deal. And then suddenly the mask mandates started happening and then they shut down restaurants and all this stuff started happening, but in my mind I thought, “It’s just the middle of March, we’re not getting married until May, we’ll be fine.” But then the governor of Virginia had mandated a stay-at-home order until June, and really that was the decision. I prayed about it. “Should we get married? Should we wait?” I was sad, cried; every girl grows up dreaming of that big traditional wedding. We had upwards of 200-plus people that were supposed to be at the wedding. But all of a sudden, all these dreams were crumbling right before our eyes. It was a pivot for us, though. We knew we were ready to tie the knot and be married. What is so crazy is that we were going to get married at the resort where “Dirty Dancing” was filmed; it’s up in the mountains of Virginia. We ended up getting married in the church where we got baptized.
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