NOVEMBER 2011

Above: Lauren Bacall: “This is my primetime.” Left: Allison Ochmanek and Lauren Bacall – obviously not in game attire.
detroit’s brand
ambassador
Lauren Bacall shines on Fox Sports
By Crystal Kassab Jabiro
Lauren Bacall proves that honesty can get you
very far in a job interview. Just ask her boss.
While auditioning to work for a major
sports syndicate, she told him that she did not
know much about sports. He hired her anyway.
While Detroit made news in the national sports
arena this past fall, Bacall could be seen and heard
everywhere sparking up the action with her commentaries,
live tweets and video blogs. She is a Fox
Sports Detroit Girl, one of two brand ambassadors
to the franchise that is everything sports.
Bacall and her partner, Allison Ochmanek, attend
home games and other local events to rev up
the spirit of sports in the city. The two were the
first representatives of the local Fox affiliate, and five
regions have now duplicated Detroit’s success based
on the solid foundation the women have laid.
“From the moment we interviewed and met
with her, we knew she would be an ideal connector
with the loyal sports fans in Detroit,” said Greg
Hammaren, general manager of Fox Sports Detroit,
of Bacall. “She brings a vibrancy and energy
that the fans have grown to adore.”
Before her Fox Sports Detroit gig, Bacall modeled,
Lauren’s Favorites
Restaurant | Pegasus Downtown Detroit
Sports Arena | Comerica Park
Local Charity | Adopt-a-Refugee-Family
Detroit Native | Eminem
Starbucks Coffee | Two-pump Skinny Vanilla Latte
mostly for the auto industry. A couple of years ago,
she traveled with the North American Auto Show to
introduce the Chrysler concepts to car buffs. She also
acted locally, working as a featured extra alongside
Patrick Dempsey and Shia Lebeouf in Transformers 3,
and most recently with Hugh Jackman in Real Steel.
Though she has always loved the entertainment
industry, Bacall, 27, contends she would
never leave Detroit unless she got an undeniable
opportunity.
“This is my prime time and I should take advantage
of it,” said Bacall, who graduated from Oakland
University with a BA in Communications.
“But I can’t leave my family. They are my No. 1
fans. And I don’t want to leave my city. I’m content
with what I can do in Detroit.”
The Fox Detroit Sports Girls Facebook page
boasts nearly 20,000 fans, and the women really do
try to read and respond to every single commentary.
After all, if it was not for the sports lovers,
they would not be where they are today.
“Our fans are so supportive,” said Bacall, a West
Bloomfield resident. “We’re not sports broadcasters,
but brand ambassadors for Detroit. We’re here to connect
with them and keep the energy going in Detroit.”
Detroit fans are truly special because of their
loyalty to sports, and in Detroit there is no running
away from it, Bacall said. Even the college teams
are big. The Sports Girls can be seen lightheartedly
touting their favorites — Bacall as a Wolverine
and Ochmanek as a Spartan.
It is not only their presence on TV that has catapulted
them into Fox Sports success, but also their
social media power. They are constantly updating
their Facebook page and Twitter account and can
occasionally be seen on the Fox Sports website
with live commentaries and interactions with fans.
“It’s how we connect. People want to know we’re
real — and we are,” Bacall said. “We’re just like them!”
The job is certainly not about looking pretty for
the cameras and sitting behind a name on a Twitter
account. When Fox Sports is taping, Bacall works
12 hours a day. For game days, she has to educate
herself about the players, the opposing teams, their
records and up-to-date sports news. The job requires
constant learning.
“I used to enjoy going to games because I had
to — it’s Detroit,” she said. “But now I appreciate
it on another level.”
Follow the Detroit Sports Girls on FoxSportsDetroit.
com, twitter.com/FSDetroit_Girls and on Facebook.
38 CHALDEAN NEWS NOVEMBER 2011