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About the only thing I get emotional about is sports. Each year around this time I get emotional because I watch the Jim Valvano speech from the inaugural ESPYs way back in 1993. Jim would pass two months later from cancer, a cancer that he fought valiantly until the end. Along the way he inspired so many people and with the help of ESPN he created the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. Jim was the inaugural winner of the Arthur Ashe Award that year, given in honor of another great man who succumb to a horrific disease. Fast forward to last night. I didn’t watch the ESPYs but got he gist of things from the interwebs. This year, Stuart Scott, who is in his own battle with cancer, was the recipient of the 2014 Jimmy V Perseverance Award. It’s a perfect fit as Stuart has battled cancer for seven years and one I’ve followed on twitter and through the rest of the internet. Scott got up on stage last night and simply laid it down. He talked about his experiences, what he fights for and what keeps him up at night, both positive and negative. He talked about his fight, his ups and downs and the impact that cancer has had on his life. He also talked glowingly about the support he has had, which may be the most important part in the fight against cancer. He nailed it, you should just watch the video.
And then you should watch Jimmy V’s speech from 1993. I’ll watch it probably 5 times today just because it’s that awesome. Sure this may take an hour out of your day but it’s better than playing candy crush.
Ps, on a personal note, it was pretty fantastic to see Doug Ulman up there on the video. I’ve been privlaged to get involved with the Ulman Cancer Fund this past year and they are a pretty fantastic group of people who I hope to continue working with. It really is the support that seems to be needed most when cancer strikes. We’ll be back with Beard Off 2.0 this fall! #FuckCancer
