Sexy sideline reporter Samantha Steele is often the subject of talk within the sports world; when the 26-year old blonde took over for Erin Andrews on “College GameDay”, ESPN was all aflutter. Now that it’s been confirmed that she’s dating Viking Christian Ponder, rumors and gossip are flying all over the place.

Both Steele and Ponder addressed the silliness that often comes with a relationship within a high-profile organization like ESPN, with Ponder saying, “This is big news, huh? Good Lord. There’s been a thousand articles today about it. You can’t really worry about it. You’ve got to try to keep it private, but that’s just part of the industry, part of the job. I don’t know. Comes with the territory.”

Steele tweeted about the fact that so many people are taking an active interest in every detail of her life:

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(image) Samantha Steele
@Samantha_Steele

S/O to all the grown men critiquing my wardrobe/relationship choices. If it werent for y’all, I might’ve forgotten how awesome JR High was;)

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While a relationship between a player and a reporter is always going to get headlines, it’s likely that the couple will get their privacy back once the news dies down and the focus is shifted onto someone else. As for Ponder, he’s not complaining.

“I’m proud of the relationship,” he said. “I can brag. I’ve got bragging rights, I believe.”