UFC and NFL broadcaster Megan Olivi joined Pete Hoffman on the latest episode of The Fight Fan to preview Saturday's UFC action, but the east coast native also took the time to look back on her love for New York sports.
Olivi, who does sideline interviews for Fox Sports' NFL coverage, grew up a fan of Big Blue and Eli Manning, which set up a memorable moment for her career when she interviewed Manning after a win over the Texans in 2018.
"The Giants for sure were my team growing up," Olivi said. "My first NFL game I ever did as a reporter were the Giants versus the Houston Texans. It was amazing. Here I was years before wearing an Eli Manning jersey, and here I am interviewing Eli on the field. It was a full circle moment for me."
The Giants will always be a special team for Olivi, even as her scope of the NFL continues to shift into her career rather than as a fan.
"I was a Giants fan my whole life," Olivi said. "The first jersey I ever had was a Tiki Barber jersey, and a big fan of Michael Strahan and those guys. Now I'd say because I work in the league, it's more 'Hey, who was nice to me in their interactions? I hope they do well.' It's a little more individual based or coach based, revolving around how experience was in person more than the hardcore Giants fan that I used to be."
Now, when it comes to baseball, that fandom hasn't faded. Olivi grew up a Yankee fan and has authentic dirt, brick and seats from the original Yankee Stadium, the cathedral of her childhood love.
"The Yankees are my first love in life," Olivi said. "My first love in life was New York Yankees baseball."
Some of Olivi's childhood traditions that stemmed from her Yankee fandom still persist even today, specifically when it comes to her all-time favorite player.
"My very favorite player probably as a whole was Paul O'Neill," Olivi said. "I wore No. 21 in everything when I played softball. I did a charity softball game last year and I wore No. 21 for Paul O'Neill. I loved Joe Girardi when he was a catcher, of course Mariano Rivera and then Derek Jeter as I got older. I actually loved Chuck Knoblauch. Just some random players. But the '96 team, the '98 team, I would fall asleep during playoff games and the World Series and my dad would wake me up for the last two innings to make sure I saw the win."
Olivi flexed her Yankee fandom as recently as last week when she was covering UFC 262 in Houston, the home of one of the Bombers' fiercest rivals, especially after the sign stealing scandal that broke in 2019.
"I don't watch as much as maybe I used to or as much as I should, but I was just in Houston last weekend for the fight and I was wearing my Yankees hat everywhere," Olivi said. "Just mean mugging people like 'let's fight.'"
Olivi won't be doing any fighting herself, but she talked about Saturday night's fights with Hoffman, which you can hear all about below!
