She's In It To Win It

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NEW YORK - Minutes before 7 a.m. on most weekdays, a flurry of organized chaos surrounds Robin Roberts.

There are makeup touchups, hair primping and voracious perusing of the ever-changing script.

On a recent Thursday in November, a day when the news is filled with information about increasing nationwide foreclosures and updates on Hurricane Noel, the "Good Morning America" co-anchor finishes her final prep work before flashing a bright white smile.

Just before the camera's red light indicates she's on the air, Roberts tells her colleagues, "In case I forget to tell you, I had a great time today."

Only a few days before, Roberts wasn't feeling so great. Her latest round of chemotherapy knocked her on her butt. Too physically ill to work, let alone move from her couch, Roberts was off the air for a week.

Friends and colleagues sent well wishes, including a DVD filled with bloopers from various "Good Morning America" shows. Fellow co-anchor Diane Sawyer stopped by her New York City apartment, but Roberts, so out of it, couldn't recall the visit.

Small victories included finding the strength to take a shower.

"I was kind of like a boxer with a standing eight count," Roberts revealed to the GMA audience.

It's during those down times that Roberts pulls strength by recalling one of the biggest basketball games she played during her college career at Southeastern Louisiana State.

LSU, the basketball powerhouse and school that recruited Roberts, was in town. Down five points in the closing minutes, Roberts, then a junior guard for the Lady Lions, wasn't about to let a talented team stand between her and victory.

"They had the swagger about them and they were angry that we were hanging around and making a game of it," she said. "I remember distinctly this really cocky player, and I purposely fouled her so we could get the ball back. I remember she was a wreck at the line.

"Right then, I knew, 'Gotcha, you're not so tough, you're scared.'" And we won. Winning that game was like David vs. Goliath. I just remember that player and that I got that it's a façade. People kind of act tough, but it's really what's inside of us."

Basketball is Roberts' touchstone. It's an experience she draws from often to help her in her ascension as one of the premiere female broadcasters and now in her fight against cancer.

"I think those of us who played sports have an advantage when it comes to facing life's challenges," Roberts said. "We've got this built-in something that really helps us apply it to whatever it is. It's just something that kicks in."

Putting On Her Game Face

Diane Sawyer has interviewed heads of state and countless celebrities, but she admittedly doesn't get sports.

"Don't ask me anything about sports," Sawyer said. "I use Robin as my sports guide."

Roberts can't get enough of basketball. She served as a commentator for the women's game during her 15 years at ESPN (1990-2005). Even when not working, she attends the Women's Final Four to get her fix.

"I just love the game," Roberts said. "I see from the top teams of Tennessee and Connecticut to Baylor winning a few years ago and Maryland, the biggest difference is you see 10 players out on the court that are exceptional. When I played, you might have one or two per team."

Roberts was one of the exceptional ones. She left Southeastern Louisiana in 1983 as the Lady Lions' third-leading scorer. More impressive, she graduated cum laude with a degree in broadcast journalism and a desire to make her mark in the sports world.

"I know because of my sports background I would have done something well in life," Roberts said. "I just know that, without a shadow of a doubt. It's the teamwork. It's the sacrifices and setting goals. It's what I'm going through right now in my life."

In July, Roberts discovered a lump on her breast that proved to be ductal carcinoma in situ, a non-invasive form of cancer. She told her family and friends of the diagnosis on July 17, a date noted with a big letter "C" on her calendar. On July 31, she revealed the information to the "Good Morning America" viewers.

Roberts puts up a brave front, her game face actually, for the viewers. She wears a wig to hide her bald head, one she had shaved when her hair began to fall out from the chemo treatments. A private person by nature, Roberts invited GMA cameras to document the shaving of her head.

It wasn't the first time she shared her personal side. In 2005, Roberts touched the audience with emotional reports from her hometown of Pass Christian, Miss., following Hurricane Katrina.

Pass Christian High, where Roberts was voted Most Likely to Succeed and Most Athletic and graduated as salutatorian in 1979, was destroyed, as was most of the town.

"As journalists, we're supposed to be detached. We're not supposed to be emotional or show feelings," Roberts said. "How can I not care that 90 percent of my hometown was wiped out? How can you go there and say, 'In the news this morning ...' I couldn't do it. I broke down and cried on the air. What really warmed my heart was the reaction from the public because I thought I was fired."

Competitive Skills Come In Handy

Roberts attributes much of her success to the skills she learned playing and excelling in basketball. But most of the credit, she says, goes to "being born to Lawrence and Lucimarian Roberts." Lawrence Roberts was an Air Force colonel and a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen who served in three wars. Lucimarian Roberts became the first woman to chair the Mississippi State Board of Education.

Her father passed away in 2004, but her mother remains one of her biggest fans and ardent critics.

Roberts stood in her office after her first day back on the set in November, surrounded by balloons, streamers and homemade welcome back signs. It was mere minutes after the show ended and her cell phone was ringing.

Roberts recognized the number as her mother's - she calls after almost every show - and pointed to a pink heart pendant dangling from the phone.

"I've become one of those people," said Roberts, whose surroundings have been overtaken by pink since her breast cancer disclosure.

Cancer hasn't changed Roberts, but actually has helped reaffirm the lessons she learned on the court.

"I learned from playing athletics and particularly basketball that we're all a little bit stronger than we think we are," Roberts said. "There were so many times when maybe I didn't want to go to practice or I didn't want to play this team and I go through those memories in my mind and remember that I did it and succeeded. And then I remember the joy and how much I loved to compete.

"This is the biggest competition of my life and that's how I look at it. I look at it as it's LSU and I'm not going to be intimidated."

HOW I GOT STARTED

She Just Loved To Run

No matter the sport, she participated just to see ''how fast I could run.''

Tennis was her first passion, but basketball soon took over when she sprouted up in junior high.

''People were like 'you should play basketball,''' Roberts said. ''I liked the teamwork aspect of it.''

Compared with today's standards, Roberts was a late bloomer in basketball, not picking up the sport until eighth grade at Nichols Junior High in Biloxi, Miss. Had she known what the standard uniform was, she might have changed her mind.

''We had this one-piece leotard that was our P.E. uniform and they'd tape the number on the back of us,'' Roberts said. ''That was our uniform and we played in them. We had maybe six games.''

Roberts went on to excel at Pass Christian High School in Mississippi where she cultivated her skills and drew interest from various colleges, including a scholarship offer from LSU. Opting for a smaller school, Roberts chose Southeastern Louisiana University, arriving on the cusp of Title IX, when opportunities for women athletes really began to open up.

''I've always been coachable,'' Roberts said. ''I know that's set the tone for everything I've achieved in my life.''