Rowan Kavner
PLAYA VISTA, Calif. – "Boo-yah.” “Cooler than the other side of the pillow.”
The catchphrases and memories of longtime ESPN anchor Stuart Scott will always live on for the Clippers and for everyone else who knew him or watched him, even after Scott’s passing Sunday morning at 49 years old following a lengthy battle with cancer.
“Everybody always says, ‘Cooler than the other side of the pillow,’” said Chris Paul. “Everything he did, just watching him, he made it fun to watch SportsCenter. I was watching this morning and one of the guys from NFL Countdown said that there’ll never be another Stuart Scott, and I think that’s the truth. You see it, SportsCenter, those people change and they go, but he’s a staple.”
Paul woke up in the middle of the night and noticed a tribute for Scott on television. He didn’t realize exactly what had happened at that point, but it didn’t take long to understand after tapping his wife to wake up and looking at his phone.
“It was tough,” Paul said. “Me and my wife sat there. I talked to Stu pretty often, just a text here and there. My wife had seen him at Pelican Hill right before the season started. It’s a blow. It’s a blow to all of us. A lot of us grew up watching Stu. He just transcended everything. It’s a huge loss to the sports community.”
Paul, a North Carolina native, knew Scott, who went to North Carolina for college, since the days when Scott attended Paul’s rival high school.
“He actually went to my wife’s high school his freshman and sophomore year and then went to R.J. Reynolds High School,” Paul remembered. “When I was a junior in high school, our high school Christmas tournament, Stuart Scott did the broadcasting for it. We played golf with him, and he was just an unbelievable guy.”
Paul posted a picture to his Instagram of him and Scott in golf gear. There are a lot of memories for Paul when it comes to Scott, but even more than the catchphrases, one thing will trump everything when Paul reminisces on Scott’s life.
“I think the thing I remembered most about him was how much he loved his daughters,” Paul said. “To have kids of my own, I did my first NBA commercial with Stuart Scott at ESPN. He definitely will be missed.”
Head coach Doc Rivers also knew Scott personally. He said everyone knew Scott was struggling, but didn’t realize the extent. Rivers said he was amazed how late Scott worked in his life and how no one would know the struggles Scott went through by the way he acted.
“My heart goes out to his family,” Rivers said. “He was a good man, and he celebrated sports. I love people who celebrate the game instead of trying to dissect and tear it down. He’s a celebrator of sports, and he’ll be missed.”
Rivers called Scott “one tough dude,” and someone who “brought a hipness and a coolness to ESPN.”
“I’ve had a lot of moments with Stuart, and most of them are sitting around joking about stuff that we can’t talk about, but I just loved his humor,” Rivers said. “He was so comfortable in his own skin, and to me, that’s what I will remember about him. He brought a style to ESPN. To me, it’s been imitated. When that happens, that means that you’re pretty much on top.”
The magic about Scott is it didn’t take someone who knew him personally to remember the swagger he brought to sportscasts and feel connected to him. He made every person feel like he or she knew him personally, just from watching him talk on television. For young sports lovers, Scott was a part of their lives.
DeAndre Jordan remembers Scott’s catchphrases, and he also remembers watching with his family as Scott delivered his memorable, inspirational and heartfelt speech at the ESPYs in July 2014 about fighting cancer. Just six months later, Scott’s passing has affected the lives of many.
“He’s definitely going to be missed,” Jordan said.