On the other hand …

My DVD collection has more action pics than chick flicks and I’m absolutely passionate about the National Football League—which is why I have a special place in my heart for ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott. What football fan wouldn’t risk everything for one shot at playing with the pros?

Beating odds

Life as a big-time sports announcer didn’t come easily to Scott. The chief job of a sportscaster is to read the highlights on air. And in high school, Scott was diagnosed with keratoconus, a degenerative disease of the cornea, requiring him to undergo cornea transplants in both eyes.

Although surgery on his left eye was successful, vision in his right eye was only partially corrected. The situation was further complicated when he was accidentally hit in the right eye with a basketball, detaching his retina. After seven surgeries, his uncorrected vision was only 20/200. Fortunately, the vision in his left eye was 20/30. Scott was able to read the TelePrompTer—as long as they moved it a little closer or made the type a little larger.

For most sports fans, Stuart Scott was living a dream. His job at ESPN brought him money, fame, and the chance to hang out with the best of the best. His friends included superstars Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. But covering the game isn’t the same as being in the game. So when he got the chance to take the field, Scott didn’t hesitate.

Taking risks

In 2002, the New York Jets and ESPN arranged for the former University of North Carolina college football player to participate as a wide receiver in a three-day minicamp. And the 36-year-old took the opportunity seriously. He spent two months working with a personal trainer to get his running speed and bench-pressing weight up to NFL standards. Could he compete with the best in the game? Probably not. But could he be good enough to earn a spot on the Jets roster—and more important, earn the respect of the other players? Scott believed he could. And he intended to prove it. “I knew I’d worked hard enough that I wouldn’t embarrass myself,” he told TV Guide.

Scott was confident as he ran practice drills with the Jets’ receivers, confident as he ran out to catch passes hurled from machines at 30 mph. He was confident right up until a pass slipped through his fingers and slammed into his left eye. His good eye. The ball ruptured the globe of the eye, ending Scott’s adventure with the Jets—and possibly his career at ESPN.

A day after emergency surgery, Scott reported being able to see a pinpoint of light. Gradually he recovered enough vision to return to his day job. But right after the mishap, as people in his industry questioned the foolishness of gambling a career for a few moments of glory on the field, he said he couldn’t help lying awake at night wondering “What have I done?”

Making peace

The answer came to him as he spent time with his two young daughters, then seven and two. Though he realized that, due to the injury, he wouldn’t be able to roughhouse with them as much as he might like, he was proud he’d set an example of trying to fulfill his dreams—even if it meant taking risks. “I want to raise them to never be afraid to try something just because of what other people might say about them,” he said. “That’s what I’ve tried to do.”