Does anyone care about the ESPYs? Seriously, this event is almost 30-years old now and it remains nothing more than an afterthought. Its sole purpose is seemingly to remind sports fans that this is the absolute worst time of the year. Forget about caring. Does anyone even know what ESPY stands for?
Apparently, ESPY stands for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award. But that doesn’t make any sense because there is an “A” at the end. And Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly is just a fragment. Look, we’re getting sidetracked here. Let’s focus on what really matters.
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The ESPYs are nothing but a boring show of self-indulgence no one cares about outside those in attendance. You’d be hard pressed to find a normal sports fan who could name an award category let alone a winner. That’s probably a good thing given how stupid and confusing ESPY categories are.
Seriously, there is both a Best Male Athlete Award and a Best International Athlete Award. However, these distinctions don’t actually mean anything. In 2019, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the basketball player born in Greece, won Best Male Athlete. You would assume he automatically took home Best International Athlete, right?
Wrong.
That title went to soccer star Lionel Messi. What makes this more ridiculous is the fact the same freaking thing happened in 2018 and then again in 2022. Forget about trying to answer the question of: Does anyone care about the ESPYs? Do the ESPYs even care about the ESPYs? (Yes, I know how ESPN tries to justify this. No, that does not mean it makes sense)
This nonsense runs rampant across the entire event. It is just a slapdash production designed to kill a few hours in July. Which would be fine if ESPN didn’t jam this down our throats like this was in any way, shape or form important. The ESPYs are certainly not that.
There are two ESPY moments that are remembered by the public. The first is Jim Valvano’s “Never Give Up” speech and the second is the Stuart Scott speech. But very few, if any, folks associate these with the ESPYs. It just happens to be where they took place.
So, does anyone care about the ESPYs? Maybe athletes who score some freebies for attending and ESPN staff who get to hang out with sports stars do. But fans themselves can’t be bothered with this pointless, soulless affair. At least with the ceremony over, the so-called worldwide leader in sports can go back to doing what it does best–ruining college football.
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