Blog on Jimmy Valvano ESPY Speech

       In 1993, Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) started an award ceremony that recognizes teams and individuals’ athletic achievements during a calendar year.  These awards range from specific awards that pertain to a certain sport sometimes broken down by gender (Ex. Best Jockey, Best Female Golfer, Best NFL player, etc.) to other awards that aren’t necessarily based on just athletic performance (Ex. Arthur Ashe Courage Award, Outstanding Performance by a Sports Personality in a Commercial).  These awards are special awards because they do not just celebrate athletic achievements but also personal achievements met by athletes and coaches. 

       At this first ESPY, the Arthur Ashe Courage Award was given to Jimmy Valvano.  Jimmy Valvano was a very well-known college basketball coach and broadcaster.  In 1983, he took his North Carolina State University team to the NCAA Basketball Tournament and won the champioinship over some highly favored teams.  Jimmy Valvano was diagnosed with bone cancer eight months before this event and died two months after he presented his acceptance speech. 
 

      Valvano's acceptance speech was a story filled speech that left many people in tears. He captured many people's emotions by his body's current state, but also in his speech by the stories he told. He cracked the audience up with his first experience as a head coach and his remarks to the man blinking the time.  The way Jimmy Valvano spoke to the audience seemed as if he was just talking to them as if they were in his living room. Nearing the end of his speech he delivered his overall message perfectly with the use of statistics and facts to sway his audience to donate to his new foundation that's partnered with ESPN. This speech was a great speech that will go down in the history of sports in the United States.