1-On-1 With CBS Sports Legend Lesley Visser
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- CBS Sports icon Lesley Visser is no stranger to Minnesota.
She spent much of 1991 and 1992 here covering the World Series, Final Four and Super Bowl 26 -- where she was the only woman to have ever presented the Lombardi Trophy.
"I was here so much that I was on the cover of 'Northwest Airlines Magazine' [laughs]!" Visser said.
She recounts her storied career in her new memoir, "Sometimes You Have To Cross When It Says Don't Walk."
The long-time CBS sports journalist is the only person to have covered the Final Four, NBA Finals, World Series, Triple Crown, Super Bowl, U.S. Figure Skating Championships and U.S. Open.
She has also been ice fishing on Lake Mille Lacs in the middle of the winter.
Visser was a teenager in the 1960s when her mother asked her what she would like to do when she gets older.
"I said, 'You know what? I want to be a sportswriter,' and instead of dissuading me … she said to me, 'That's great. Sometimes you have to cross when it says don't walk,'" Visser said.
That quote became the title of her new book. In it, she reflects on her 40 years of sports journalism, and writes about her favorite coaches, most embarrassing moments and covering the fall of the Berlin Wall.
There are so many stories to tell that "GQ Magazine" once voted her one of the five "ideal" dinner guests.
She says she wants her book to represent anyone who has a dream. She has been a role model for female journalists across the country, many of whom say they would not be where they are without Lesley Visser.
These days, she works on special projects for CBS, and appears on CBS' "We Need to Talk," an all-female weekly sports show.
After covering 35 Super Bowls, she is willing to predict a Patriots' win.
"You know, I think it's death, taxes and Tom Brady," Visser said.
