The release of joy and pride will arrive after diligent preparation, because the work is always the priority. They will be at the Wells Fargo Center to provide the television soundtrack for the massive regular-season game between the 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks, teams with identical 46-28 records as a tightly packed Eastern Conference playoff race hits the stretch run.
Added Byington: “There’s only one person on this Earth who understands everything I’m going through, and that’s Kate Scott.”other last fall. When Byington’s came first, Scott playfully said, “Screw you, Lisa! Screw you, Milwaukee!” When Scott’s news landed shortly after, Byington let out a relieved, “Oh, thank you, because now I have a friend.”
They have shared text messages of praise and encouragement about calls they enjoyed. They had lunch together when the Bucks hit Philly in the middle of an early-season road trip; that game was nationally televised, which kept them from working alongside each other. After floating between sports and events — Scott finished her prior commitment to a national college football radio slate early in the Sixers’ season, and Byington weaved in calling the NCAA Tournament again earlier this month — broadcasting every game for one team is a different challenge.
That approach has contributed to some of Byington’s and Scott’s favorite calls this season.
The next step, Byington said, is to squash the impulse for outsiders to peg women in the industry against each other, or to always use the “female” criteria when discussing accomplishments. Scott and Byington counter that by actively supporting other women pursuing similar paths. Eventually, Byington’s dream is that “a female voice on a men’s game becomes background noise.”