Q&A With Big Break NFL Winner Emily Talley

Emily Talley Big Break Party

Note: Being one of my all-time favorite student-athletes to work with, and easily the most quotable IGÇÖve ever worked with, I figured the best way to write about Emily TalleyGÇÖs adventure on Big Break NFL was to let her do it herself, thus itGÇÖs a Q&A. Enjoy. GÇô Curtis Snyder, Associate SID.

BOULDERGÇöFresh off her amazing win alongside teammates Jerry Rice and Isaac Sanchez on Big Break NFL with the season finale airing on the Golf Channel Tuesday night, former CU All-American Emily Talley was kind enough to stop by for a Q&A about the show, to recap her 2013 season and find out what sheGÇÖs looking forward to in what will be a busy 2014.

Talley was on two seasons of Big Break in 2013, first Big Break Mexico where she was the first one eliminated, making her performance on Big Break NFL that much more satisfying for her fans. With the help of CU coach Anne Kelly and her boyfriend, CU Nordic skier Andreas Hoye, the two had a watch party for the finale at Fate Brewing Company in Boulder last night.

CS: Was it harder keeping this one a secret knowing you won?
ET: GÇ£I think with Big Break Mexico, it was a little embarrassing being the first one kicked off the show, so you donGÇÖt want to get peopleGÇÖs hopes up. I wasnGÇÖt going to have any viewing parties; it wasnGÇÖt great golf, any of that stuff. For Big Break NFL, we filmed it the first two weeks of June, so itGÇÖs been six months, thatGÇÖs a long time to keep a secret.

GÇ£I told Andreas right away and my parents, to see if they wanted to have watch parties and that kind of thing. This was a tough secret to keep, especially with Jerry Rice and Isaac, but it was a fun secret to keep. A lot of people tried to get it out of me. People would say GÇÿCongrats!GÇÖ and I would say GÇÿAbout what?GÇÖ and I could tell they were seeing if IGÇÖd slip up. It was just a hard but fun secret to keep.GÇ¥

CS: Are you relieved now that itGÇÖs over?
ET: GÇ£As of last night, my Big Break run is over. Normally itGÇÖs two and done, IGÇÖve done my two, and itGÇÖs over and it was a blast. ItGÇÖs been a year since I found out I was going to be on the first one, itGÇÖs been a fun and wild ride.GÇ¥

CS: Last year around this time we were talking about how good 2012 was for you, was 2013 better?
ET: GÇ£Yeah 2012 with graduation, being and All-American, going through Q-School and finding out I was going to be on Big Break, that was spectacular. This year, two Big Breaks, I was top 50 on the Symetra Tour money list; I get my Symetra Tour card again. Then meeting Isaac and Jerry, they are the two best teammates ever. This was a great year.GÇ¥

CS: Team Rice came across as the closest team on the show in my opinion, what was it like in reality?
ET: GÇ£We definitely had some chemistry. I talked to Jerry last night, I talked to Isaac last night; I texted them both today already. We shared a really special day with Jerry at Jerry Rice Appreciation Day when the 49ers played St. Louis on Dec. 1. He extended us that invitation and still thanks us for being a part of that. That was the most amazing day for us. I feel like I have lifelong friends from this.GÇ¥

CS: Team Rice had the first or second strike on the show, what was it like having to deal with that the rest of the way?
ET: GÇ£We filmed the entire show in 11 consecutive days and on Day 2 we have a loss and if we want to get to get to the finals, we have to make a run for eight straight days and not lose. I look back on it now and am thankful it played out in our favor, but our odds werenGÇÖt looking good in the beginning.

GÇ£Maybe in the end knowing what a loss felt like helped us. But Team Doleman was able to stay away from the losses throughout the show and they had gone to a lot of strike challenges and were able to come out clean, so that couldGÇÖve played to their favor, too, they knew how to not lose. Fortunately, in the end, we did it.GÇ¥

CS: What was your favorite moment with each of your teammates?
ET: GÇ£What I remember from Isaac was his amazing golf in the semifinals. Jerry and I were sitting on the bench, it was so emotional. JerryGÇÖs quote was always GÇÿThis is the Big Break NFL, you never know whatGÇÖs going to happen.GÇÖ He had these spurts of wisdom, he was really into it. ThatGÇÖs what I remember most about Jerry, he was always in the moment and he wanted to do his part, play well and be part of something great. He had such a great respect for Isaac and he wanted to help him succeed in any way. You saw this great side of the most decorated athlete out there. That was really humbling, to see somebody who has accomplished so much that still wanted to give back and help others. He helped both of us, that was awesome.GÇ¥

CS: This season of Big Break opens, you find out youGÇÖre going to play with an NFL player and then youGÇÖre last in line to find out who it is, what was going through your head?
ET: GÇ£Well, we were the last team, we were wearing red. In my head I was thinking it was weird. Maybe itGÇÖs weird of me to think, but I know the Golf Channel people liked me and I thought they wanted me to be prominent in the show, I thought I was somebody they could market pretty well. Then they put me in last place, I thought maybe they didnGÇÖt like me anymore.

GÇ£They started naming the NFL guys, and Isaac is elbowing me, he said GÇÿEmily, weGÇÖre both from Northern California, weGÇÖre both wearing red, weGÇÖre 49er fans, weGÇÖre going last. We are going to get Jerry.GÇÖ It was so funny, heGÇÖs doing these little guesses and putting two and two together and he was right. Meanwhile, it was all over my head.GÇ¥

CS: What was your favorite thing that didnGÇÖt get on air?
ET: GÇ£We were all throwing the football around and Jerry turned straight to the camera and said GÇÿHey Steve (Young), sheGÇÖs got a better spiral than you do.GÇÖ The show complemented my football throwing skills, but they didnGÇÖt include that little shout out to Steve, which I thought wouldGÇÖve been cool.

GÇ£I got really competitive in this show, a lot more than last time. Maybe I felt like I had more notoriety now, and I felt like I could talk more now to defend my team and defend myself and I they didnGÇÖt put any of that stuff in there. I couldGÇÖve been portrayed more competitive in a negative light, so IGÇÖm glad they didnGÇÖt show that, but itGÇÖs in the moment. I told Brian Cooper to back off one time, and he got into my face three more times that day how I should never talk to somebody like that.

GÇ£IGÇÖve never had these altercations before. We all wanted to win really badly and it brings out a different side of yourself. I felt like I could let loose a little more this time. You have to be a fighter out there; you canGÇÖt tiptoe around other peopleGÇÖs feelings when they shouldnGÇÖt matter. You have to do it for yourself and your team.GÇ¥

CS: Now that youGÇÖre a Big Break winner, is there a fraternity element there?
ET: GÇ£ItGÇÖs not a fraternity of winners, itGÇÖs a fraternity of Big Break people overall. A lot of time the winners arenGÇÖt supposed to be the winners. I met one of my best friends, Stephanie Kenoyer from Team Del Greco and Big Break Mexico, we just became close and traveled together last year, I stayed with her family last week, I talk to her every day and sheGÇÖs wonderful. Out of the six girls at Big Break NFL, four of us are on the Symetra Tour and we are all full cards, so every week youGÇÖll see that person. A show like Big Break, we are all girls who they designated to have good personalities and itGÇÖs fun to golf with people like that.GÇ¥

CS: Talking about Symetra Tour, how did your rookie year go?
ET: GÇ£I started my rookie year off in February, there were 15 tour events and I played in all but two, I missed two or three cuts and I finished 45th on the money list. I was top 10 for rookies for the year. I met a lot of good golfers; I got over a lot of my nerves and am starting to feel comfortable shooting under par and getting lower. I like winning money, playing for money is different, itGÇÖs my job now. I have sponsors now, so thatGÇÖs taking a load off my shoulders.

CS: Any regrets from 2013?
ET: GÇ£I did make a big mistake in not signing up for Q-School. I was exempt to second stage after last year and I thought second stage had a different deadline than the first stage so I missed it by four hours and with the LPGA itGÇÖs black and white, youGÇÖre either in or youGÇÖre out.

GÇ£It was a big learning curve this year, a lot of times throughout my life I would be given a second chance, and this was a good year to understand you donGÇÖt get second chances in the real world. I learned the hard way, but I finished the year strong. My last three or four tournaments I went under par, I made the most money the last few tournaments and moved myself from the high 60s to 45 on the money list. I was on the borderline, if I had finished outside the top 80, I wouldGÇÖve missed my card for this year and had nowhere to play this year and that wouldGÇÖve been really bad.GÇ¥

CS: WhatGÇÖs on tap for 2014?
ET: GÇ£TheyGÇÖve added five more Symetra Tour events next year, and IGÇÖm planning on playing in 19 of the 20. ThatGÇÖs going to be a huge jump, the goal is to get to the LPGA, absolutely, but IGÇÖm going to have fun while IGÇÖm doing it.

GÇ£If you play the most tournaments, thatGÇÖs the best chance you have to get the most money. IGÇÖm missing one tournament for AndreasGÇÖ graduation, thereGÇÖs a rumor thatGÇÖs the biggest purse the entire year, so weGÇÖll see if I actually miss it (laughing). IGÇÖm going to play in the LPGA Shoprite, I get into that by winning Big Break, thatGÇÖs in May, the nice thing about that is I wonGÇÖt miss any Symetra events.

GÇ£It will be busy. Before the Shoprite, IGÇÖll have six tournaments in a row, thatGÇÖs a week people would normally have off, then we have three more in a row before the Fourth of July.GÇ¥

CS: Will you try for the US Open this year?
ET: GÇ£The qualifiers for the US Open are on MondayGÇÖs and TuesdayGÇÖs, and we have tournaments right before that so itGÇÖs hard to do a practice round. A lot of Symetra Tour girls show up and play the course for the first time, if youGÇÖre really organized youGÇÖll play a practice round there two months in advance, so when the dates and locations come out, IGÇÖll see which ones work best. I havenGÇÖt tried to qualify for the open the last few years; I will give it a whirl this year.GÇ¥

CS: Aside from Symetra Tour, the U.S. Open, The LPGA Shoprite, what else is on tap in 2014?
ET: GÇ£IGÇÖm going to just play a lot. I may try to Monday qualify for some LPGA events that donGÇÖt come in contact with Symetra Tour events. That would be a huge plus. IGÇÖm also going to send out sponsors exceptions to tournament directors.

GÇ£There are so many more Symetra Tour events that there are more events coinciding with LPGA events. The players that have LPGA conditional status, theyGÇÖll really have to pick their battles; they may miss some Symetra Tour events trying to qualify for LGPA events. Or a lot of girls will try to do both and spread themselves pretty thin, they could be back at square one by the end of the year. You want your full LPGA card or your Symetra card, you donGÇÖt want anything in between, because then itGÇÖs this thing dangling in front of you and asking for you to spread yourself too thin and asking too much from your body.

GÇ£I donGÇÖt know if there will be any LPGA events I can do, but if there are I will be writing those letters. I may also look at some European Tour events. IGÇÖm in this to make money, I canGÇÖt say IGÇÖm too tired this week, it is my job. I have a good feeling about what the tournaments will be like this year and IGÇÖll be going back to them feeling like I know a little bit more.

GÇ£But knowing itGÇÖs going to be such a busy year, IGÇÖve been enjoying my offseason right now. IGÇÖm going to try and take all the time off IGÇÖve had now and remember that next year. IGÇÖve had some really relaxing days, and IGÇÖll have to remember the three of four weeks I didnGÇÖt touch a golf club. At the same time, IGÇÖm really excited to get back to the tournaments and start making money. I feel like IGÇÖll have a bigger fan base this year and people will want to come watch and support me, that keeps me going, you donGÇÖt want to let your fans down, itGÇÖs fun to have attention out there.GÇ¥

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