MJ Acosta has come a long way since her days as a Miami Dolphins Cheerleader and news anchor. After making a switch to the west coast last year, she accepted a position as a sportscaster on NBC 7 in San Diego and scored a hosting gig on the NBC competition show, “Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge” premiering June 13th.
We caught up with the athletic Latina during the NBC Summer Press Day to hear all about what we can expect on the show.
“Every week the viewers will have a tough picking who to cheer for, MJ explained. “You’ll get to meet our teams and learn what’s pushing them to go through the most grueling obstacle I’ve ever seen. Their stories will inspire you and their fearlessness will leave you in awe.”
Not one to shy away from a challenge, MJ has competed in Spartan races making her the perfect person to host this show. “I’ve participated in several OCR’s (obstacle course races) including a Spartan Sprint and Spartan Super. I want to say it helped me prepare [to host the show] but honestly this course is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I need to step my game up!”
Since she knows how tough these competitions are, will she cheer even harder for the ladies? “I am absolutely cheering for my Spartan warrior women out there,” she said excitedly. “They are out on the course pulling their own weight and then some. As women we have to conquer obstacles every single day, be it at home as mothers, in the work place breaking glass ceilings and now out on the course literally climbing 18′ walls. The female competitors on this show pushed through this course and made mud look GOOD, honey!”
Deciding to compete in a race such as this is no small feat. There are a lot of elements, not just the physical that will matter when you’re in the middle of it all. What did MJ find she struggled with the most?
“Fear. You’re running through this course, totally in the zone and there’s always that ONE obstacle that stops you dead in your tracks. I remember having to climb on top of a trailer and freaking out because I’m afraid of heights! But there’s no time for that because you have people right behind you trying to get through. On ‘Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge’ you can see the moment our competitors freak out. For some it’s a water obstacle, for others, it’s fear of letting their team down. Whatever it is, you can see and feel their pain and emotion.”
MJ won’t be the only athlete on the hosting team. You can expect to see three others working alongside her including Dhani Jones, Kyle Martino, and Evan Dollard. “Dhani and Kyle will be up in on our host tower giving you the play-by-play throughout the entire competition. They’re holding down the fort at home base (as I like to call it).
Evan and I are out on the course introducing you to the murderous mile and the obstacles. Ill also be at the start and finish lines introducing you to our teams and their back stories as well as capturing the emotions from those who go through to the next round and those who are eliminated.”
Why should everyone tune in and support this new show? “There are a million reasons but the top reason for me personally would be to find inspiration,” she said. “We hear so much bad news on a daily basis and this show gives us all something to root for. The stories behind these teams and their determination and sheer will to make it to the finish line is enough to give you chills for a week.”
