You know what’s crazy? I’ll tell you what’s crazy™
The fragile filament of life.
It’s not fair. It’s not predictable.
We are born with the expectation that we will live a long life and die in our sleep with dignity.
But life is a street hustler who often deals aces from the bottom of the deck.
Life is a shadow in an alley that knocks you in the head and leaves you wondering what happened.
Sunday morning I wake to the sad news that Stuart Scott is dead at the age of 49.
Life mugged Stuart Scott.
Even if you don’t know who Stuart Scott is, the fact that a man died at the age of 49 should grab your attention.
Even if you don’t know who Stuart Scott is, Cancer reaching out from the shadows and grabbing another life in mid stride should make you pause.
Scott was only 49 years of age. He had 2 daughters he loved like the day is long.
Life is a ruthless assassin who doesn’t explain its actions.
Stuart Scott was taken home Sunday morning. It should make all of us stop, pause and reflect on the day-to-day operation of life that we so often take for granted.
BOO YAH!
Who was Stuart Scott?
If you are a sports fan that’s a no brainer.
He was an ESPN anchor who brought an urban flavor to the SPORTSCENTER set.
He was hip and black and connected to the streets.
In a vanilla world of sports broadcasting, Scott was Rocky Road set to gangsta rap.
He was an educated man who broadcast sports with the flavor of the hood. The King’s English was always an option, but not usually his 1st choice.
Scott invented sports sayings that just felt hip.
COOLER THAN THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PILLOW
What a great metaphor for an athlete who is in the zone or hits the shot or blasts one out of the park.
Scott might not have been the 1st sportscaster to use urban colloquialisms, but he was certainly the most memorable.
He was entertaining and dynamic like a street performer banging a plastic tub. He was hip like a rap video with explicit lyrics.
Boo Yah.
I don’t know what it means, but he said it after a crucial home run or a 3 pointer at the buzzer.
It became synonymous with something electric.
Stuart Scott, dead from cancer, at the age of 49.
Wow.
I turn on NFL Game Day to watch the previews.
Instead I get Chris Berman and the Game Day guys remembering Stuart Scott.
They are fighting back tears and remembering a colleague who spent nearly 2 decades at ESPN.
Chris Berman says “He was a dad to 2 daughters. He was full of life. He lit up the TV screen. Stuart came to ESPN in 1993. He was energy and fun. He died at 49, after fighting cancer 3 times.”
Tom Jackson said; “I will remember him for the pro he was. The kind of person he was, the dad he was. As cool as the other side of the pillow will always be engrained in my heart.”
Chris Carter “It is very tough. As a player, I met Stu. He was a role model. He talked on sports center like my friends and I talked. As a colleague, and before that, I am not ashamed to say, he was a role model for me for African-American journalists who want to be legit and be taken seriously.”
Perhaps the most emotional on the set was Keyshawn Johnson. With tears in his eyes, clearing his throat constantly, Johnson said this. “It was my rookie year. My first commercial was with Stu, for ESPN. He told me not to change who I was. He was able to bring the hip hop culture, the urban feel to tv broadcasting. It had not been done before. He gave me the hope, that I didn’t have to be a corporate guy, to wear the white shirt with the red tie and talk a certain way.”
STUART SCOTT
1965-2015
Somewhere in heaven someone just made a 3 pointer. Scott smiles and turns to the ethereal light that now bathes his face with answers.
A man who died at age 49, who fought cancer 3 times, who leaves behind an iconic career and 2 daughters suddenly understands his higher purpose, even if we don’t.
“Cooler than the other side of the pillow.”
Life’s Crazy™