Sports betting is beautiful but the face of Olivia Moody is breathtaking. A Black woman like Moody has the look, class, walk and voice the sports world is missing. No worries…the alarm will sound and wake up the critics in quarantine to a queen who is the future of sports hosting.
Moody, 22, can hook fans with her lovely smile, positive energy and unbiased picks on games when she’s on Twitter. On the Play It Her Way podcast, Moody delivers insight and analysis covering a variety of sports featured on the newest sports betting site Bookit Sports, Spotify and Apple. Bookit sports launched Nov. 1 spearheaded by Founder and CEO Trent Attyah.
In an interview with BSO, Moody gave details prior to her rise within the sports betting industry. Moody faced an unfamiliar challenge as a recent graduate from TCU.
“The pandemic struck and I was feeling very defeated…not really feeling like I had an opportunity to pursue my sports career because sports wasn’t happening for a while. I’m a graduate of college and I have no job and we’re in a pandemic so what I’m supposed to do.”
Moody was blessed and fortunate to have Bookit Sports COO and Co-Founder David Bolisomi believe in her. When she returned home to Colorado, Bolisomi reached out and encouraged her to get on a call with him followed by his faith in her work ethic. Her knowledge was subpar and Attyah took a chance on the TCU grad who in her own right is a legend in the making.
“David didn’t talk to me like I was a woman…and I was new to this. He talked to me as if I was professional handicapper and I had been in this business for years. They didn’t doubt me for one second even when I was doubting myself I was like you guys I know nothing about this. I don’t know the lingo, language or terminology,” Moody said.
In the industry, Moody continues to polish her betting techniques while betting with logic rather than emotion.
“That’s a huge rule I have to live to by and I often forget about it and my team is like drill it in Olivia,” Moody said with enthusiasm.
“The reason that I think that’s a really hard thing for people to remember in this industry is because our heart is half of the reason we watch sports. It’s half the reason we enjoy the game because we get this emotional attachment to players, teams and organizations. We just follow them and no matter what…win or lose…we ride them all the way home.”
An interesting take was Moody’s philosophy of not betting on your own team. At times she can be tempted when her Denver Nuggets, Denver Broncos or TCU Horned Frogs are scheduled to play.
“In terms of betting… just sports betting use your brain. When you’re watching and you don’t have to bet on it, use your heart. I’m a very emotional person you know. When I’m emotionally invested in something, I’m 100 percent there. I went to TCU for crying out loud…the sports are like a roller-coaster…you never know what you’re going to get so you have to be a die-hard frog fan. We have loyalty to our team and so just don’t bet on your team it’s too hard.”
Moody loves to tweet her sports picks even when the haters disagree. Let’s be honest, in a male dominant field such as sports betting, men are intimidated by a woman with knowledge that a man by nature should possess.
Moody during her college days was a sideline reporter covering TCU Athletics and worked with Fox Sports. She spoke on the difference in a fan who place wagers on sports and how that person differs from a sports bettor.
“I do think there’s kind of value in both. Obviously I’m dissecting the game and players on a different level. When you’re a fan it’s more surface level. Now that’s not to say every fan use it that way because some fans are sports reporters from the couch. They’re analyzing and they’re digging into it and they can probably do my job for me half the time because they study it just like I do.”
Therefore, one mistake Moody at times make is over-analyzing which can cost money on a potential pick.
“There’s a thing as over analyzing and sometimes I catch myself doing that. I’m looking at little tiny stats and I’ll go to my team and say hey how these bets look?”
“So sports betting had never been on my radar. To be honest with you I didn’t even know it would be possible to have an on camera job in the sports betting industry. I didn’t that was something was even a job offer. It’s interesting because I started off actually wanting to do news.
I wanted to be an investigative reporter. I graduated TCU with a journalism major and a criminal justice minor. So…nothing about my major was sports related or my minor.”
In her senior year at TCU, Moody was approached with a shot at a sports host position. With her resilience and hard work noticed, Moody understood the importance of networking.
“The advice I want to leave people with is connections. Making connections with people and I’m not saying dressing up in a business outfit and dressing up at these different conventions. I’m talking about being a good person and having genuine conversations with people. That is how I landed by sports host job.”
Education is important and the moment Moody understood the little things mattered as a professional, it’s worked in her favor since joining Bookit Sports.
Haters come and go but for Moody, she’s used to the trolls on Twitter. Moody is a threat to the sports betting world in a great way. When a woman has the upper-hand and can break down a money line what NFL, NCAA or NBA team covers the spread, tweets come from men who have no aspirations in life.
“Honestly I’ve gotten to a point now where I kind of view the people that doubt me are the people that hate on me as motivation. They just feel my fire. I’m getting to a point now where I got the trolls on Twitter that tweet me and say all the sexist things and rude things. What I view that as now is you’re still getting me views, you’re still on my page, you’re still commenting on my stuff so I’m getting your attention. That’s my goal…I am an attention. I’ve been an attention seeker since I was 2-years-old… it’s just how I am and I like to be in the spotlight.”
Moody is like purified water. She’s refreshing and when you get a taste of her perspective, you’ll want to go dehydrated on purpose and get a drink from her cup of knowledge in betting. The reporting is unmatched at her age and she’s on a mission to prove why she belongs in the sports betting industry. Moody wants the world to salivate over her and say “she’s just so fun to watch.”
“I want to be that real raw face on TV where people are like how we refreshing.”
Not only did Moody allude to being herself on TV because journalism takes away the identity for some, she loves to see Black people succeeding despite the racism and COVID-19 pandemic.
“Seeing people of color putting their face out there, being vulnerable and great at what they do is awesome and I know you probably feel the same way.”
Moody is a name people better pay attention to because every year someone new changes the landscape of how reporting could be done. The last name has a ring to it and Moody acknowledge how she prides herself on entertainment, making people smile, cracking jokes and changing the energy if it’s dull in a room.
Legacy is status and the beautiful Moody knows how she wants to be remembered someday.
“There is so much value in believing in yourself and that’s all it takes. I believe in myself and I know what I can offer and I know how hard I can work. I’m not perfect…I have a lot to learn and I know that. Being able to admit that is also crucial in my step to being where I want to be,” Moody said.
Being that light to people on TV, and being something new, refreshing and different that’s who I hope to be. I’m all about leaving a legacy. By the time I’m gone whenever that may be I just want to leave my mark.”
Moody is a special woman, talent and fun person to be around. She’s not the next ESPN’s Mariya Taylor or Erin Andrews. She’s the one and only Olivia Moody who’s next to carry the torch.
Follow Olivia Moody @livmoods on Twitter and flip the pages for video interview segments.
