Today’s big winner: Stuart Scott
For 21 years, Stuart Scott has been a ubiquitous presence on ESPN. In that time he’s anchored countless SportsCenter broadcasts and talked to audiences from most of the stadiums in the NFL and NBA.
But he’s never been better on television than he was last night.
The ESPY Awards are a unique mirror and representation of the company in general. At their worst, they’re self-promoting, forced, repetitive and unappealingly corporate. But at their best, they have the ability to create amazing sports television like no one else can.
In the introductory video that detailed the daily routine of his fight against a rare cancer, viewers got to see a private side of Scott rarely captured by ESPN cameras. Sure, his enthusiasm and humor were still present, but in his acceptance of the Jimmy V Award, Scott showed himself as a patient, a father and most importantly, a fighter.
As Scott graced the stage at the Nokia Theatre, there was no need for his usual catchphrases and any sort of shtick. He spoke as a man constantly reminded of his own mortality, one who had just been through four surgeries in the past ten days and wasn’t even sure over the weekend if he would have the strength to be at the show.
It was raw, it was honest and it was inspiring.
“When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer,” Scott told the audience. “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.”
One of the hardest things to understand as a family member, friend or co-worker of someone with a terminal illness is often times why routine is so important. Why wouldn’t you want to travel? Why keep working so hard?
Scott answered that question in the video before coming on stage.
“I have to feel as much as I can as though I don’t have cancer, although I think about cancer 20 times a day,” he said.
As his speech went on, Scott mentioned how much assistance he’s had from his co-workers, family members and loved ones over the past few months.
“This whole fight, this journey thing, is not a solo venture,” he said. “This is something that requires support.”
After last night’s segment, he’s going to have a lot more of it as he continues his fight.
[sigallery id=”0d51887e145e5936c086d60acf631935″ title=”Stuart Scott” type=’sigallery’]
