Kara Wagland 20 Questions: On TSN coffee, her perfect fantasy team name, beer snobs and more

Before Joseph Tothfaluse died, in 2012, he told his granddaughter about his next grand vision. It would be a theme park based on the notion of Arctic adventure, with simulated northern lights, dogsled rides and an array of animals for visitors to admire.

He had already dabbled in tourism, with a small shop off the main strip in Niagara Falls, Ont., where a honeymooning couple could stand against a green screen to pose for a happy, kitschy video souvenir.

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“It looked like you were flying over the Falls,” the granddaughter said. “You could pick your background, if you wanted to be in a barrel or on a magic carpet ride.”

That granddaughter developed her own entrepreneurial streak before landing on screens across Canada as a host of SportsCentre on TSN. Kara Wagland went to the University of Guelph with the goal of one day moving into law but moved through several jobs and side ventures on her way into television.

During a gap in post-secondary education, she would help friends buy and sell items in the relatively new marketplace of the internet, taking a modest percentage from completed transactions. She tended bar, pursued her real estate license and turned a hobby into the sale of a couple of cakes.

After working her way through volunteer positions and jobs outside Toronto, Wagland landed on the air at TSN in 2014, and has been a mainstay on its flagship highlights show. The 39-year-old is also host of CTV’s NFL coverage.

Wagland took time out of her schedule to field 20 Questions from The Athletic, talking about coffee at TSN, fantasy football team names and beer snobs.

(This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)

1. You are narrating a highlight pack featuring the St. Benedict Saints high school basketball team: How prominent is the name Kara Tothfaluse in your script?

When I think back, I would say not that prominent. I was the captain of most of my teams, not because I was the best player, but because I was probably the most vocal one with leadership qualities. And that tended to get me the “C” most years. We used to have this tournament when I was in elementary school with a team in Michigan. One year, they’d come here and we would billet them, and one year we would go there. I had a billet here one year. I think I was in Grade 7 or 8. I had the best run of 3-point shooting in this one game. I think I hit seven threes. It was the happiest I’ve ever seen my dad in my life, of any accomplishment I’ve had in my life. I looked up in the stands, and I swear he had tears in his eyes. … That was probably my one shining moment.

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2. One shining moment: Nice touch.

I don’t even know if I started half the time. I came off the bench a lot. I was a wing player. I would go on hot streaks and things like that. But I was more the glue guy on the team. I wasn’t at the top of the boxscore. Let’s say that.

3. What was your signature move?

Oh god, I don’t think I had a move at that point. Don’t lose the ball. That was my signature move.

4. Athletes usually give each other nicknames: What was yours?

I never really had a nickname growing up. A lot of people think the reason I took my husband’s name when I got married was because it’s a better on-air name. And I think it is. Like, if Tothfaluse pops up on your screen, no one knows how to say that. I actually wanted to take his name because it kind of leads into a natural nickname, with Wags. Now that’s all anyone calls me. So for the first time in my life, I have a nickname. I’ve taken his nickname, and people know me better for having his nickname, which has really pissed him off — which is kind of a nice little side benefit. We’ll be out with people from work and, “Wags, Wags,” and he’s like, “They’re not talking to me!”

5. You are captain for a SportsCentre pickup game: Who are your first two draft picks?

Regular SportsCentre anchors? I’d probably take Kate (Beirness), because she’s a really good basketball player. I need some height. … Oh my goodness. Out of SportsCentre anchors. That’s a tough one. … I’ll maybe say Kelcey (Brade) because he’s got some height and I can stick him down low.

6. In 2007, you wrote a column in The Guelph Mercury about “numerous dead-end job interviews” and “countless unanswered phone calls” two years after graduating university: What kind of jobs were you looking for?

I don’t even remember that article. That’s how good my memory is. (Wagland reads printout of article) … I remember coming out of university and thinking — I think like most people — people would be knocking down my door for jobs. Like, “I’ll be making six figures; someone’s going to hand me a job right out of university.” I think the year after university was probably one of the toughest years of my life. I felt so aimless. I had been so centred on law and pre-law, and then decided that wasn’t the direction I wanted to go. Then it was like, what do I want to do?

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7. Where did you look?

I went on interviews for advertising, PR, marketing. I went and interviewed with a special effects film company that a friend of mine graciously set up even though I had absolutely no experience in that area. I bartended for seven years, because that was a great way to make money while you were trying to figure it out.

8. Where do you think you’d be today had one of those phone calls been answered?

I have a lot of interests outside of broadcasting. I often think about how long I’ll do this for a career, because I love it, and I love that it’s constantly changing and I’ve already had a number of different jobs in the seven years I’ve been doing it. But it wouldn’t surprise me if one thing had gone different and I was doing something completely different. I remember getting my real-estate license during my one-week spring vacation in (journalism) school. I’m the person who likes to have so my different things in different places, just in case something doesn’t work out.

9. You work with noted wine connoisseur Matthew Cauz and your partner is a beer aficionado: Which group can be more snobby — Team Wine or Team Beer?

That’s a tough one. I feel like most people think Team Wine, because there aren’t as many beer aficionados out there. I remember somebody gave me some Coors Light. I think I was at a beer-league baseball game and there were some leftover. I put it in the fridge. And the look on my husband’s face when he came home and was like, “How dare you bring macro beer into this household? We are a microbrew family.” And it was out of the house in 24 hours. … If you could see the beer collection, it takes up half of my basement. Things that he’s aging, and has already put aside for my son for when he turns 19.

10. You have free time and the Steelers are on TV: What is your beverage of choice?

It depends on what I’m eating. Any kind of salty snack, it’s got to be beer. I would say a nice cold lager. Although I’m starting to edge more into IPAs for my husband, even though I’m not typically an IPA person. During the game, it’s a beer. When I come home from work, it’s wine. If I didn’t have kids, it’d be vodka. I am a dry vodka martini person. But I feel like I need to have my wits about me a little bit when I have sleeping kids in the house.

11. How late are you usually on set when recording the morning loop for SportsCentre?

Oh gosh, that varies. It depends on which sports are going on. Any given night, we could get out at 2:15, or we could get out at 4:35 a.m. It just depends on if you have a late baseball game, or if Kawhi Leonard decides to go to L.A., or if Conor McGregor fake-retires again. Those are the really late nights.

12. What time do you get home the night Kawhi Leonard leaves the Raptors?

We were on-air until 5 a.m. We went live at 1 a.m. It happened when we were literally in the final block of our show. We were maybe a minute-and-a-half away from being done. My producer, Kyle Lawson, got in my ear and said, “Kawhi is going to L.A.” And the first thing I thought is: “Poor Lindsay (Hamilton).” Because Lindsay had covered someone else’s shift the show before at 10 or 10:30. And it was straight to 5 a.m., without a bathroom break or anything. On-set. Live. The adrenaline carries you through. So you don’t feel like you’ve been on air that long, but then you walk out the door and it’s starting to become light outside.

13. Do you designate someone to make a coffee run at that point, or is there a coffee machine on set?

(Wagland smiles) TSN is going to hate me to say it, but the coffee at TSN is undrinkable. I’m a little bit of a coffee snob. I will say there are people who drink it. I can’t. And no, because at that point in the night, there are so few bodies actually there, and they are just running like crazy to get things to air and get people on the phone you can talk to. There are no extra bodies to run for coffee. The adrenaline is keeping you awake and keeping your energy up. And to be honest, you want to drink as little as possible, because you don’t know when your next bathroom break is going to be.

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14. You host the network’s NFL coverage: What is the best fantasy football team name you’ve heard?

(Wagland laughs) I don’t know if I can say it. One of my old producers, his football team name was “Two Mannings One Cup,” and I thought that was … creative. My current team name now is “I Pitta The Fool,” which is based on Dennis Pitta. My fantasy baseball name, I’m so legitimately proud of, that I feel like I’ve peaked and I never should try and think of another fantasy team name because it will never be better. My baseball team name is “Billy Beane Is Not My Luva.”

15. Under what circumstances is it acceptable to discuss your own fantasy football team?

I think it’s always socially acceptable, because I do it. (Wagland laughs) I know that it annoys people, and people very readily tell me that on Twitter. But I feel like, with single-game betting being approved and betting in general becoming a lot hotter and more interesting, that it’s kind of made it a little bit of a safer space to talk about that stuff.

16. Why does a kid from Cambridge, Ont., become a diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan?

Troy Polamalu. The only reason I became a Steelers fan. My family was never an NFL family. I can remember watching a few Buffalo Bills games. But I didn’t really get into the NFL until college. That was peak Polamalu time, and I just love the way he played with this reckless abandon. He was just so dynamic to watch.

17. What happens if your kids grow up to be Ravens fans?

(Wagland laughs) It won’t. I’ve already ingrained them. My four-year-old, Jake, is already, “Mommy, is our black-and-yellow team playing?” And I’m like, “This is baseball, buddy, but we’ll get you there.” I’ve pushed it hard. My husband is a Lions fan, but he’s not very diehard. I would say he was more of a Barry Sanders fan. He’s a Senators and Lions fan, so it’s been tough for him.

18. Yeah.

That’s probably why I kind of acquiesced and let him pick Sanders for our second child’s middle name. Both of our sons are named after athletes. We went Sanders. I got to pick Robinson, after Jackie Robinson, for Jake. We’re both big baseball fans. We were trying to think of middle names for Casey, and I originally said Sanderson, which is Derek Jeter’s middle name. But we both agreed that we could never name our child after an AL East rival player. So that killed that notion. And we were both fans of Barry Sanders.

19. This is something my wife and I have discussed for ours: Would you let your kids play football?

My initial reaction is no, absolutely not. I can remember having this conversation with Chris Schultz. We did a weekly hit every week for three years when I hosted at 5 p.m. He even said to me, “If you are going to put them in football, don’t let them play football until high school.” I’ve always remembered that. It’s tough. I push golf, because it’s safe, it’s something we can do together, and when I go to watch you, it’s probably going to be in a warm climate. I’m not interested in sitting in cold arenas to watch my kid play sports, although I will. I’m already foreseeing me being an anxious mom for my kids when they play sports. I don’t think I would enjoy watching them play football. But if it’s something they really wanted to do, I would support them as they got older and their bodies were able to handle it.

20. Complete the following sentence: “By the time I’m done …”

I hope people don’t say I sucked. (Wagland laughs) I don’t know if that’s setting the bar low. I just want to be relatable, if that makes sense. I’m not looking to set any standards. I’m not looking to inspire the next generation. If I can help them, that’s awesome, and I’m happy to help. I’m happy to make their path easier, especially for young females. But yeah, if someone was sitting at home and chuckled because they could relate to something I said, then that’s all I’m trying to do. I’m not saving lives. I’m just trying to help people have a good Sunday.

(Photo: Courtesy of TSN)

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