Sideline Reporter Taylor Rooks Dishes on Her Viral Gameday ‘Fits: ‘Love Serving the Look’ (Exclusive)

Taylor Rooks has become known just as much for her viral gameday outfits as her sideline reporting skills — and she’s just fine with that. 

Rooks, 32, who will be part of Prime Video’s coverage of the NFL’s Black Friday game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders on Friday, November 29, routinely shows off her flashy ‘fits during broadcasts and for her over 730k followers on Instagram.

In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Rooks explained why she doesn’t shy away from the attention. 

“I love fashion, I love getting all dressed up,” Rooks said. “I think it’s so much fun and it is never something that I have ever seen as a frivolity. What I’m going to wear is not frivolous at all to me. I actually think it’s a large part of it.”

Rooks continued, “You are on the screen for a short time. When you pop up, it needs to feel like a moment. I believe that. I believe that’s good TV. You want people to stop what they’re doing and watch what you have to say. You want them to watch your interview. The key to television is to make people want to tune in and want to listen to your stories.”

When it comes to popping off the screen, Rooks has mastered the utilization of the numerous tools at her disposal.

“The way you catch that person is them being intrigued by the color that you’re wearing, or the texture, or the subtleties of the makeup,” she said. “It’s not as much about wearing an outfit as it is giving a whole look.”

Rooks added, “I love serving the look.”

As for the clothes themselves, Rooks explained how putting together her ensembles is a carefully curated process. 

“We have a big fitting right before the season starts that gives us an idea of the direction we’re going in this year,” Rooks said. “You know, which outfit you wanna wear for each game. And then we have a second fitting in the middle of the season to get me through the rest of the year.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rooks is also well prepared in case the weather elements come calling. 

“You also have your emergency rain fit,” Rooks explained. “If it’s one of those weeks, you have to pivot. It’s the same thing for snow. A lot of it is like, ‘OK, which shoe is going to be comfortable on that field?’”

She joked, “On my weather app on my phone, every week I just add the game city so I know what I’m getting into. That’s TV lesson number one!”

Rooks will be on the sidelines for Prime Video’s Black Friday game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders — which features an interview with Rooks and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes  — when coverage kicks off at 1:30 ET.