{"id":4125,"date":"2015-01-06T08:48:17","date_gmt":"2015-01-06T13:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=4125"},"modified":"2015-01-06T09:04:38","modified_gmt":"2015-01-06T14:04:38","slug":"great-scott","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=4125","title":{"rendered":"great scott"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"stuart-scott-293x350\"<\/a>I suppose it\u2019s true that most of us will go out not with a bang but a whimper. Longtime ESPN anchor Stuart Scott was right when he remarked the following to the watching world last July: “When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.” <\/em><\/p>\n

Stuart Scott passed away Sunday morning after a seven year, ongoing battle with cancer. He was 49.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve thought about how to best honor Scott here. I did not know him. Granted, I have heard his trademark \u201cBOO-YAH\u201d for years — and chuckled almost always right on cue. Scott joined ESPN in 1993 when they established ESPN2. His colloquial style and honest approach caught the eye even of the less traditional sports fan. He had an authentic warmth that seemed to exude through any screen.<\/p>\n

My heart is perhaps most touched thinking of an exchange\u00a0Scott offered some five years ago. At the time, Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was attempting to transition from the college to professional grid iron. Tebow, ever a gentle gentleman, often found himself the center of controversy by his choice of eye black — the small black patches many football players don beneath their eyes in order to reduce the glare. Like many, Tebow was intentional in placing a message on his eye black. His contemporaries — players such as Rey Maualuga, DeSean Jackson, C.J. Spiller, and multiple others — also customized the patches — highlighting everything from\u00a0their parents, high school nicknames, and even Spiller\u2019s hometown church.<\/p>\n

But Tebow consistently wrote scripture references on the glare-reducing tool. In fact, in the 2009 BCS Championship game, Tebow wrote \u201cJohn 3:16\u201d on his eye black. In the succeeding 24 hours, the scripture reference was the most searched phrase<\/em><\/strong> on Google, generating over 90 million searches. That much attention generates even more controversy.<\/p>\n

A man named \u201cDave\u201d from Maryland questioned the practice in an online ESPN chat room. He wrote: \u201cWhat\u2019s with the Bible citations on Tim Tebow\u2019s eyeblack, Stu? If I were a player and had \u2018There is\u2019 written on one side of my face and \u2018no God\u2019 on the other, would that be okay?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Stuart Scott minced no time nor words in his gracious response…<\/p>\n

\u201cDave, if that what you want to do, I don\u2019t care. But Tim and I and billions of other believers in the world know you\u2019d be wrong.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen the workings of God many times in my life, like when my two daughters were born.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t believe in God, watch a child be born.\u00a0 Then if you still say you don\u2019t believe in God, that\u2019s okay. The thing is, I think He\u2019ll watch over you anyway!\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Boo-yah, Stuart Scott… boo-yah.<\/p>\n

T.S. Eliot may have been right when he ended his infamous \u201cThe Hollow Men\u201d poem years ago:<\/p>\n

This is the way the world ends <\/em><\/p>\n

Not with a bang but a whimper. <\/em><\/p>\n

Stuart Scott was also right; the bang or the whimper doesn\u2019t matter. What matters is how we live.<\/p>\n

Respectfully…<\/p>\n

AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I suppose it\u2019s true that most of us will go out not with a bang but a whimper. Longtime ESPN anchor Stuart Scott was right when he remarked the following to the watching world last July: “When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, … <\/p>\n

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