Asia Mape is a 4-time Emmy Award winning journalist and Sports Television Producer. She has worked for all the major Sports Networks: Fox Sports, ESPN, TNT, NFL Network and NBC Sports. She’s covered most high profile sporting events in the world, including five Olympics, multiple NBA playoffs, and 2 Super Bowls. She’s interviewed hundreds of athletes and has helped tell their stories of incredible talent, work ethic, and their journeys to become world-class competitors.
Growing up on the streets of Detroit, Asia played every sport possible, trying to keep up with her two older brothers. When her family moved to the suburbs of Washington DC, her competitive spirit persisted, and she began to channel her love into her favorite sport, basketball, spending every waking hour at the neighborhood basketball court. Youth sports planted a seed that would end up shaping Asia’s entire life. After winning a Virginia High School State Basketball Championship, she earned a basketball scholarship and a starting role as a freshman at Coastal Carolina College. Later, she transferred to the University of Michigan, where she earned a degree in Communications and began her path into sports journalism.
The mother of three daughters who play sports, Asia has dedicated the greater part of the last twenty years to her daughters’ various activities, a combination of club soccer, basketball, field hockey, volleyball, and water polo. She has schlepped her kids to some 7-8 practices a week, attended tournaments or games most weekends. Most of the time, she has loved it, but along the way, she often wondered whether there wasn’t a better way. This question was the genesis of I Love To Watch You Play. She hopes you will find in this website, humor, compassion, and guidance for raising healthy, happy and successful young athletes while maintaining some sort of sanity for your family!