emma brown
SOCIAL MEDIA & PHOTOGRAPHER
Hello! My name is Emma and sports have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.
My dad has been a big hockey fan since the Colorado Avalanche arrived in Denver in 1995. In 1974, my grandparents moved to Denver from Omaha, Nebraska. My grandpa bought 4 things when they got here; a house, a car, a loaf of bread, and Denver Broncos season tickets.
When I look back at my childhood, I always wanted to work in sports but because I didn’t have a lot of women in sports to look up to, it wasn’t until my freshman year of college that I realized that could be more than just a daydream. Less than two years later, I was sitting in a dorm on Long Island, New York with a new major; Sports Management. I met some of my best friends in the whole world and I got to spend as many nights in New York City as I wanted. I went to countless Ranger, Knicks, and Mets games and even made it to a handful of Yankees games. Being in one of the world's greatest sports cities solidified my desire to be in this industry forever.
This all sounds fine and wonderful, but it didn’t come without its struggles. I had a professor for a handful of classes who was extremely condescending to any female who walked into his classroom. He would overexplain simple concepts in golf, baseball, soccer, etc. When he finally got to the point, he almost always called the girls by name and said “Emma, does that make sense?” - This went on for several semesters and didn’t stop until I rolled my eyes so hard, I think the class next door heard it.
I grew up watching Colorado Avalanche hockey. When I got to LIU, I knew I wanted to work for the hockey team because they were the newest program in NCAA Division 1 hockey. There weren’t any catastrophic events that happened, but an endless stream of comments were made alluding to the team of three media girls not knowing much about hockey. “You guys don't understand. Hockey is a business.” This is an all-time favorite of mine because, as previously stated, I was a sports management major... along with half of the players on the team.
One weekend in New York, we had a series versus Stonehill College. It wasn’t a very memorable game but there was a little girl who was standing outside the locker room during intermission. There was a big group of boys out there too and they had made a high-five line. The problem was this girl was smaller than the rest and no one could see her. I bent down next to her and told her to lift her arm really high so they would be sure to notice her. I think most of the guys saw me on the floor before they saw her but every single one of those Long Island University hockey players gave her a high five. She was there the next night too, in her bright pink coat standing at the very front of the handshake line. To any of those boys, (players and kids) she was just another kid in the line. But for me and I hope for her too, it was her being seen in a place she normally wouldn’t have been.
I graduated in May of 2024 and moved back home to Denver. In August I started working for an ACHA Division 2 hockey team. I was in culture shock for months. One night after a game on my first trip, I was asked what I saw in the defensive zone. I was shocked. Stunned, even. Is this a trick question? I thought to myself. It wasn’t a trick question. I had been standing on the glass in the D-zone for the entire game and he genuinely wanted to know what I had seen. I don’t remember how I answered his question but it turned into a 15-minute conversation about the entire game. I was being seen in a place I normally wouldn’t have been.
Now, I have women like Jessica Campbell, Cammi Granato, Kate Madigan, Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser, and so many others to look up to. My story is far from over and I know I’ve only brushed the surface of trials and tribulations but I hope I can help more little girls be seen.
