ESPN Personality Stuart Scott’s Legacy

Monday meanderings: Stuart Scott wasn’t for me. Then again, he wasn’t intended to be. The ESPN anchor, who died Sunday at 49, was intended for a younger, hipper demographic than the one that I was (and still am as far as I know) in. And that’s OK.

Stuart Scott at the 2014 ESPYS, where he was honored.

He brought an element — call it whatever you want — that had been absent at ESPN. And he and ESPN were quite successful with someone who was not like the other anchors. He was what he wanted to be. He was different. And that’s OK.

In his death, ESPN telecasts may make him out to be larger than life. And perhaps history will judge him to be exactly that.

Like a lot of other people, I did not know Stuart Scott. Our paths may have crossed a few times in the hallways of the bowels of the United Center at a Bulls game during NBA Finals or in a locker room after a game. I have no great tales to tell about the man. If memory serves (which occasionally it does), he dressed well. Of course, when the competition is other media, that may not be saying much.

Video below of Michelle Lewin to start the week.

Unlike a lot of other people, I had been on this earth for years (OK, decades) before Stuart Scott was an ESPN presence. So it’s not as if I had grown up with him as my main man on ESPN. But to some out there, he was. He gave voice not only to a younger generation but to also to African-Americans.

If Scott wasn’t a revered personality before he had to deal with cancer that eventually took his life, he certainly became one once his battle with the disease went public.

As a broadcaster, he could be entertaining. As a human being, he couldn’t be anything but mortal.

When news of his death came, Scott received kind words and heartfelt messages from athletes, fans and others. Included was President Barack Obama, who issued a statement:

I will miss Stuart Scott. Twenty years ago, Stu helped usher in a new way to talk about our favorite teams and the day’s best plays. For much of those twenty years, public service and campaigns have kept me from my family –- but wherever I went, I could flip on the TV and Stu and his colleagues on SportsCenter were there. Over the years, he entertained us, and in the end, he inspired us – with courage and love. Michelle and I offer our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, and colleagues.

One other thing. In addition to his trademark “cool as the other side of the pillow” catchphrase, Scott was known for punctuating his ESPN script reading with “Boo Ya!” Except we found out Sunday that it really was “Boo Yow.” Not that it matters much, if at all.

If the life — and death — of Stuart Scott is to have a message (other than to fight cancer as mightily as you can), maybe it simply should be this:

Be who you are.

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