Bleacher Report's Rachel Roderman on 'Sneak This' and Rooting for the Other Team

Rachel Roderman is a creative executive and producer at Bleacher Report who lives in New York City. She’s a two-time Edward R. Murrow Award winner for Best Sports Journalism. She roots for the New York Giants, Rutgers basketball and, sadly, the Mets.

We spoke to Rachel for our Time-Out series, where we chat with folks in the sports world about their favorite athletes, teams, sports movies and shows, and their love of sports generally.

Rachel, tell us…

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

Grew up in Highland Park, New Jersey, and currently live in New York City.

Your earliest sports memory.

I was a softball pitcher growing up, and when I was around 10 years old I got absolutely slammed in the mouth with a ball, smashed my teeth through my bottom lip and had to go to the ER to get stitches, earning me my forever softball nickname—Stitch.

Your favorite sports teams.

New York Giants.

Your favorite athlete.

Anyone but Tom Brady?

Your favorite sports show or podcast.

Ted Lasso, if that counts as a sports show. It embodies the human aspect of sports, the friendship and the healing that comes with a team and the impact a coach can have. Plus, you just feel good watching it, even though they’re a team that’s kind of getting dragged through their seasons. Gotta believe!

Your favorite sports movie.

Little Giants.

A recent project you’re proud of.

We got a comedy sketch show, Sneak This, off the ground for one of our portfolio brands, BR Kicks. Definitely the biggest swing we’ve taken with the Kicks channel and it’s not only been an absolute joy to make but people have responded really well to it. Always feels good to see fans as excited about something as the creators.

Someone else’s project that you admired recently.

To call it a project is an understatement, but I have really loved watching Togethxr bloom into the company it’s becoming. It’s really inspiring to see women-forward content created and nurtured in such premium ways. Looking forward to watching them take over the sports media space.

What sports can do that nothing else can.

Root for the other team. In real life, people rarely cross the line to root for their rivals. In sports, there’s always a moment where the player you hated gets traded to your roster and now you love them or you have to root for your opponent to take down an even more unlikable opponent. It’s a good lesson in practicing not hating anyone—you never know who will be on your team one day, pro sports or other.

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in the sports world.

I love getting to tell stories, finding commonalities between people, sharing their humanity—so whatever is next, it will be with people who want to connect with others, have a sense of humor and don’t mind signing an on-camera release.