‘You don’t exactly know what’s going to happen’: Fox’s Jenny Taft looking forward to the unpredictability of the World Cup
The enthusiasm and excitement in her voice could lead one to believe that Jenny Taft will be covering her first World Cup this summer. But this is the sixth time the Fox Sports reporter and host is set to work the tournament.
Experience has taught her to expect the unexpected.
“I think the biggest thing about a World Cup, which I love, is this feeling that you don’t exactly know what’s going to happen,” said Taft, who graduated from Boston University in 2010. “There’s always a player or two, or a story, or a goal, or a save, or a team that has a Cinderella story, that’s what excites me.”
In at least one way, this will be similar to her first World Cup, when she was embedded with the US women in 2015 in Canada. The Americans went on to win, defeating Japan in the final. She’ll spend this tournament embedded with the US men’s squad. Although she won’t be traveling on the team plane, she figures to have plenty of access.
“It’s a marathon of every day, wake up, go to training, film interviews, live report from training,“ said Taft. “Then I get a player at the team hotel for a one-on-one interview, go do an interview for the match at night, so it’s long, long days with a lot of content. I mirror where they are, so if they’re flying to Seattle for that second match against Australia, I’ll be flying to Seattle around that same time, so just kind of a part of it in a weird way.”
But she is still a reporter, one who looks to break news and who has earned the trust of coach Mauricio Pochettino.
“He’s given me a lot of access to stay at training, like maybe when other reporters are kicked out, so I’ve earned that,” said Taft, “and that goes a long way, and I’m very grateful for the trust from US Soccer.”
This will be Taft’s third men’s tournament, with the first in 2018 in Russia. The United States failed to qualify, but what was a bad break for Fox Sports may actually have given Taft a chance to shine. She gained critical acclaim for being able to speak French when interviewing eventual champion France and its star player, Kylian Mbappé.
She credits the program she enrolled in from kindergarten through fifth grade in elementary school in Edina, Minn. She did an exchange program in middle school, living in France for a month.
“My parents were convinced it was the best thing,” said Taft. “I complained about it. I was like, ‘Mom, Dad, when am I ever going to use this?’ And I’ve now interviewed Mbappé in French. I guess they were right, and my mom loves to remind me of that.”
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It’s been quite a journey for Taft, who played lacrosse at BU. That’s where she met her husband, Matt Gilroy, who won the Hobey Baker Award while serving as captain of the men’s hockey team. After graduating, she landed with Fox Sports North back in Minnesota. She nearly returned to Boston in 2013, when she was offered the role of Bruins reporter for NESN.
“I love ice hockey, but I also felt like had I taken the NESN job, I think I maybe only would have been in hockey,” said Taft. “I was dating Matt, and I felt like I wanted to keep it separate. We dated in college, and he knew I wanted to do this, but I also didn’t want to be in his space. I felt like it was important to have my own career that was totally separate from what he was up to.”
Taft reached out to those at Fox to tell them about the offer from NESN. At that time, Fox was on the verge of launching FS1. She flew to Los Angeles for an audition, and by the time she landed back in Minnesota, she had a job offer.
Taft started as an update anchor at the news desk and worked her way onto the field, making her debut as a college football reporter in 2014. Three years later, she was promoted to lead reporter, working with Gus Johnson (who bestowed the “All-American Girl” nickname on Taft) and Joel Klatt.
These days, she is living in Boston with Matt and their daughter Gigi, 4. After a 10-year playing career in the NHL and Europe, Gilroy got into coaching. Last month, the couple visited the Boys & Girls Club in Charlestown and participated in a Q&A session as part of Soccer Forward Fest ahead of Fox’s announcement that it was committing $500,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
“I didn’t really tell him we were doing a panel,” Taft said with a laugh. “So after he was like, ‘You don’t want to give me a heads up?’ That’s our relationship.”
Taft is hoping they will be able to connect for one of the games, and there’s always a possibility that she ends up back home to cover one of the games in Foxborough. A week on Nantucket with family and friends is also on the schedule after the tournament, but for now, she’s embracing the opportunity ahead.
“Just thinking about the World Cup on home soil, because people don’t really know yet how special it is to experience the fans from all around the world, and they are going to take over Boston,” said Taft. “I just look forward to Boston experiencing that. They don’t even know what they’re about to see, and that’s really fun for me.”
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