Remembering Stuart Scott

by MICHAEL RAMOS

It's not a stretch to say Stuart Scott inspired me. Especially when you see the viral outpouring of support and grief at the news of his passing after 7 years of battling cancer.

Any time you humble Michael Jordan, have Tiger Woods call you a hero, or get the White House to issue a press release about you, you've done huge things. His witty, unorthodox and sometimes controversial delivery made him one of the best sportscasters ever. After seeing his peers, coaches and hall-of-fame athletes moved to tears, it's easy to see his lasting impact.

And for a young kid in high school, growing up with few minority role models, "Stu" was inspiring. He didn't glorify the hood life, or talk about spending all your money in the strip club. He didn't refer to women in demeaning terms. He was well-educated, dressed in sharp suits, and earned money with his mind instead of his body.

He got paid to be clever. He showed black kids you didn't have to play ball to be successful. You could make a living, even become a legend, by using your brain. More importantly, you could be successful just by being yourself. He used hip-hop and one liners to help build SportsCenter. When he started, he was criticized, mocked and even physically threatened. Instead of cowering, he continued to do it his way. Now, all those clever one-liners you hear in sports talk are a direct homage to the work Stuart Scott did.

His work produced something else, also. He helped reduce the racial gaps we sometimes see. White people were running around saying, "Boo-yah", and "Don't hate the player, hate the game". If a guy at church-ball hit a clutch shot, he was "as cool as the other side of the pillow". Not-so-hip guys became hip, and were running around the gym quoting Notorious B.I.G. To me, a guy like that is my brotha, even if he looks nothing like me.

Of all the things I've heard and read over the last couple of days, the most important thing I'll take away was how much he loved his two girls. He endured grueling cancer treatment and beat cancer, only to have it return. When it recurred, he endured more treatment and beat it again, only to have it return a third time. Stuart Scott was still battling when he finally passed away. Through it all, he attributed his fighting spirit to the love and devotion he had for his girls. He didn't want to leave them behind.

Better than all of his catch-phrases, were the words from his speech at the ESPY awards. Basically coming straight from the hospital he said, "When you die, it does not mean you lose to cancer. You beat cancer, by how you live, and the manner in which you live."

It made me grateful for the things I've been given. I've got a wife, and kids of my own, all of whom make my life more complete than I ever thought it could be.

It made me grateful for our very own Nell Robb, and her own heroic battle against cancer. My tear ducts don't work, but if they did, it would've been the time when Nell, who's faced more adversity than any of us can imagine, took the ball and ran it in to the end zone against the Rocky Mountain Thunder Katz. It was my highlight of our first year.

It made me grateful for Felix Falcon and the Mascot Miracles Foundation. All the work they do to provide comfort and compassion to those stricken with illness, it can't be measured in words. If you look up "hero" in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of Felix and his crew, silly string and all.

And I'm definitely grateful to be coaching the Falconz. Hoki invited me back, and even asked me to help with the team blog. She gave the go-ahead to write about anything I felt strongly about, including this post. Rick, the head coach, gave me autonomy to run the defense. I've been on teams where I've been told how to coach, and that I needed to play Player A over Player B. That's not for me. If I'm going to coach, I'm going to do it in a way that allows me to be true to myself. I learned that in high school, thanks to Stuart Scott.

Judging by the continuing tributes he's received, he's inspired more than just me. The things he did, and the love he had will live on with many of us. That's how you beat cancer.

Boo-yah