Sports' Niche Award Shows

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Kids Choice Sports

Big Wheel races, high five challenges, giant bullies, and that iconic slime, the kids choice sports awards were all that and more. Tailor-made for kids' short attention spans (adults, don’t even try keeping up) the award show was an excellent showcase of two aspects of athletes lives we barely get to see 1) their kids and 2) their competitiveness in every day life. NBA golden boy Steph Curry swept three of the awards but was overshadowed by the night’s star, his daughter Riley. Steph’s teammates Draymond Green and Klay Thompson challenged USA golden girls Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd in a Big Wheel race throw down, resulting in the girls smoking the two NBA champs. And leave it to Derek Jeter to almost get overshadowed by his adorable nephew, all while delivering the best advice to kids of the night:

“To all the kids out there: dream big, set your goals high, work extremely hard at it and surround yourself with positive people.”

ESPN Sports Humanitarian of the Year 

Heavily edited for tv - seriously, the entire show was a half-hour with a musical performance - the most important part of Sports Humanitarian of the Year Awards was that they actually aired on tv. First of its kind, this show honored the social impact of sports, from the teams who improve their communities every day, to the athlete pioneers using their platform to improve the lives of others. It was great to see You Can Play honored for the movement that they’ve created, and likewise Chicago Bulls Charities - truly a philanthropy leader for professional team charities around the nation. Cheers to ESPN for recognizing the power of sports as whole away from the actual competition.

The league specific awards

The NHL and NBA each held their own respective awards shows to different levels of success. The NHL’s show continued it’s tradition as a snoozefest, hockey players are too modest for these types of shindigs, with the exception of PK Subban (the NHL’s Mr. Charisma) and Jiri Hudler (who knew?). Still, it was great to see the players cleaned up and off the ice, something we rarely see.

The NBA’s show was produced by the NBAPA and continued to cement NBA players as Hollywood’s newest darlings (see: Steph Curry). BET only enhanced the show with spot-on musical guests, but the most glaring omission was actually by the guy not in the room, LeBron James. Both shows made major strides, but still have a ways to go.

Why I Love the ESPYS

I've heard a lot of flack over the years about the ESPYS - they're hokey, they feed ESPN's ego, etc - but I have to admit, I love them. I love when Hollywood merges with sports, when actors and athletes geek out over each other (a common theme I think you'll see) and I love that it's one of the only times of the year that athletes of ALL sports are brought together. But those tidbits aren't the main reason I love the ESPYS. The reason I love the ESPYS is the stories that the the show tells.  It's the story of perseverance of Lauren Hill and her triumph of will over ability in order to play her first college game.  Or the story of resiliency told through Devon and Leah Still, not only to beat the ugliness that is cancer, but to keep an unbreakable bond between father and daughter stronger than ever. The story of humility told through Peyton Manning and Ronda Rousey, both sharing that without their coaches patience or parent's sacrifice, neither would be in the position they are today. And even the story of courage from Arthur Ashe Courage Award winner Caitlyn Jenner, courage to truly live a life that reflects ones true self.

Secondary to the amazing stories, the ESPYS also let us in on a side we rarely see of athletes, their human side. For all of their glory on the field, we only really get glimpses of their humanity off of it. It's a delight to see athletes freak out over meeting each other across different sports, and it great to see their humility in accepting an award outside of their every day greatness. One of my favorite award speeches was from Stephen Curry at the end of the night - his "who would've thought" line was a great insight into the psyche he himself had to overcome.

"Being a part of the larger community of sports is a gift and an honor" - Derek Jeter

To me though, Derek Jeter summed up the feeling of the athletes that evening the best, reminding the room that for all of the glitz and glamour afforded to athletes, the road they traveled to get there is the best gift of all. And isn't that why we love athletes to begin with?

So yeah, for all the cheese and the bravado of ESPN outside of the show, I really do love the ESPY awards for the incredible stories they tell and show us about the sports and athletes we love.

But seriously ESPYS, please do whatever you can to bring back Justin Timberlake as host. He was the perfect combo of fanboy and charisma. Please, please, please - just do it.