Erin Andrews had terrifying Week 1 experience: "Not the way I want to die"

FOX sideline reporter Erin Andrews had quite a car ride to the first game of the 2022 NFL season. Andrews was heading from Chicago to cover the Green Bay Packers vs Minnesota Vikings game on Sunday afternoon.

On her weekly podcast, Calm Down with Erin and Charissa, with Charissa Thompson, she told a story of how her driver fell asleep behind the wheel of the car.

She said she was sitting in the backseat on a Zoom call with fellow broadcasters Greg Olsen and Kevin Burkhardt, as well as Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Andrews said as she was taking notes, she suddenly heard him snoring. She said she pulled her headphones off and questioned him.

Erin: “I’m typing, headphones are working, we’re good. I hear snoring. I know it’s not Greg Olsen, Kevin Burkhardt, or Aaron Rodgers snoring. It’s my driver who fell asleep at the wheel. On a highway from Chicago!”

Charissa: “Timeout. What do you mean he fell asleep at the wheel?”

Erin: “Snoring. Sleeping,”

Charissa: “And the car is moving? We’re not parked?”

Erin: Moving. 65 miles an hour. I am so thankful I put my phone on mute because we’re on a Zoom. I put my phone on mute and I go “ARE YOU EFFING SLEEPING?!” Wakes up, Clark Griswold, it was awful. So now I have the quarterback of the team I’m trying to work on, I’m trying to take notes. I have full blown anxiety. This is not the way I want to go down. This is not the way I want to die…”

She then went on to say that she was worried about the rest of the car ride and insisted that the driver stop so that she could buy him coffee. She said she did, but he refused to drink it. She then kept talking and making noises to ensure that the driver remained awake.

“After Aaron gets off, I go ‘pull over at a Starbucks'. I make him pull over at a McDonald’s. I go in, I get him a coffee. He doesn’t drink it. The entire car ride I am like ‘ahem ahem ahem’ monitoring if he’s sleeping at the wheel.”

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How long has Erin Andrews worked at FOX Sports?

Erin Andrews started her career working at FOX Sports Florida for two years, covering mostly Tampa Bay Lightning games. In 2002, she moved to FOX Sports Atlanta where she covered all of the city's sports teams.

In 2004, Erin Andrews began working for ESPN, joining the National Hockey Night broadcast. She then began working on ESPN College Football and Major League Baseball games.

In 2012, Erin Andrews announced that she was leaving ESPN to join FOX and became the first host of the network's College Football show. In 2014, she replaced Pam Oliver as the FOX sideline reporter for the lead NFL broadcasting crew on Sunday afternoons.