I’m a die hard sports fan since I can remember so it was nothing to watch ESPN growing up. It was nothing for me to get in trouble as a kid because I slept with the television on and the electric bill was higher than my moms would like. I must of been in middle school at the time when Sportscenter was just the way to end the day. I’ve had dinner…another serving of dinner maybe some dessert, homework done and ready for bed so my mom thought. She would say turn the TV off and I’m like ‘aight bet’ and it was always at 11:00 pm. Man my moms was cold blooded especially since she knew I loved ESPN. So one night I decide to turn the volume all the way down and put on closed caption. That worked for a while then one night I see a black man better known as Stuart Scott yell ‘booyah’ and my dumb ass repeated it loud enough for my mom to hear and I was busted. At the time I didn’t think that his impact was going to be so monumental but man I was wrong. I have been wrong about a lot of things but this might be top 5. Of course, I got in trouble. I got a double spanking for those that don’t know what that is, I got a spanking from my mom then I went to sleep but since my dad worked the night shift she would call him late at night get him all upset and before I could wake up I got another ass whipping.

I lose the TV for a few weeks but I couldn’t stop thinking about ESPN has a black man and he’s quoting slang. I mean Dan Patrick had ‘el fuego’ and Keith Olbermann had something but nothing left an impact like Stuart Scott. So I get my TV back and my mom is on to my scheme so she says ‘leave the door open when you go to bed…that way if the TV was on she could still see the reflection”. See my mom didnt know I was going to be an engineer so not only did I turn the volume to zero, I turn the brightness to nothing so I was basically watching black and white TV. It was just so cool to see something that looked like you actually talk like you as well. I’m going to school yelling ‘booyah’ looking for pookie, ray-ray and em at lunch time just so we can talk about the sports highlights. He was like the cool uncle that everyone has…no matter what problems he had going on if he stopped to talk to you, ya ass was going to listen. I will never forget it was like around 95 or 96 NBA season and Biggie’s ‘i got a story to tell’ song just came out. In Stuart Scott fashion the Knicks were about to fight and he says ‘and I can and I will tho I’mma chill tho even though situation looking kinda ill yo’. To hear a black man on ESPN quoting Biggie lyrics was something that even Kojak couldn’t solve.

Stuart Scott’s wordplay, clothing style and overall persona was just what the network needed and now you see all colors, creeds and genders quoting slang in their lexicon bringing more and more viewers to the network. I as a black man thank you Mr. Scott for being the trailblazer that brought the infusion of hip hop and sports to create such an euphoria in world filled with the opposite. When Stuart Scott was on TV, time stood still and even though we are all on borrowed time not a second went by where we didn’t want to hear the next thing Stuart Scott had to say.  We know Stuart Scott was as cool as the other side of the pillow but I want to know when he went to Heaven did God say ‘Booyah’.

RIP Stuart Scott

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