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Great Scott!
Thanks to the smooth delivery and cool catch phrases of Stuart Scott, ESPN celebrates its 25th anniversary in style.
Featured in Player Magazine April 2004
STUART SCOTT MAY HAVE RECEIVED HIS BEST BIT OF ADVICE about being a celebrity from the ultimate celebrity himself: Michael Jordan. Having grown up in North Carolina and Chicago, the two men have long been friends. So what did MJ tell one of today's top sportscasters at ESPN when it comes to autograph seekers? "Walk and sign," Scott says. "You can sign autographs and be nice, but you have to move, too. So Mike told me to keep moving in the direction I'm heading and sign as much as possible, but when I get to the door or car or whatever, politely leave."
While Scott acknowledges that he has never had to deal with the insane fanfare that is a part of Jordan's life, this mild-mannered sports junkie has had to make some adjustments. "The whole celebrity thing is weird," Scott says. "It's flattering, and it's fun because most people are very nice, but I still don't completely get it."
Working as a sportscaster for ESPN's award-winning SportsCenterfive nights a week guarantees a high profile, at least in the sports world. Factor in Scott's flamboyant delivery - he uses catch phrases such as "cool as the other side of the pillow" and "boo-yah" - and is it any wonder that he's become the talk of Monday morning quarterbacks from coast to coast? Scott jokes about the difference between his groupies and those that wreak havoc on the world of professional athletes.
"The professional players have young, beautiful women who are their groupies," he says. "For sportscasters like me, our groupies are 22-year-old college guys with baseball caps and sweatshirts." Scott has no problem with being the object of such attention. The happily married father of two girls enjoys a traditional home life in suburban Connecticut close to ESPN's Bristol headquarters. But when the popular on-air personality hits the road, things get strange.
"Here in Connecticut, people see me and the other ESPN personalities like Dan Patrick or Chris Berman or Linda Cohn so it's not a big deal," Scott says. "When we go out on the road, it gets totally different." This public/private dichotomy has its downside, which Scott has seen firsthand with the way the press portrays guys such as Tiger Woods and Allen Iverson.
Scott considers Tiger "a cut-up like everyone else. He loves to tease and clown around, but most people don't get the chance to see that side of him."
Iverson, Scott believes, gets an even worse rap. "Why is it that when Allen Iverson has his friends hanging out with him they're called his posse, but other professional athletes do the same thing and it's just the guy's friends?" he asks. "A.I. likes to travel with his friends. The same people who were with him before he was famous, the ones who don't care that he's famous. Those are the ones he trusts."
Insights like these are why millions of viewers readily relate to Scott and tune in to ESPN for more than just the latest scores.
Says Scott: "This is a great career. I'm having a great time."