The History of the ESPY Awards on ESPN
The ESPY Awards are the official award show for sports as the Grammy Awards are for music or the Academy Awards are for movies. Many different categories pick the top players, the top teams, the top plays, and the top moments from the past year.
From 1993 until 2004, the nominees were decided by experts in sports journalism and at ESPN. These experts and fans then voted on the nominees to determine the winner. In 2005, fan voting became the sole decision maker for the ESPY Awards.
The different categories in which awards are handed out at the ESPY Awards are Best Coach, Best Male Athlete, Best Female Athlete, Breakthrough Athlete of the Year, Comeback Athlete of the Year, Team of the Year, Best Sports Movie, and Best Moment. However, the most popular and memorable award handed out each year at the ESPY Awards is the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is given to someone who has inspired not only the people around them but, at times, entire communities and even countries. In the past, this award has been given to a coach who was killed in the Columbine High School shooting while trying to save the students, the Tillman brothers who gave up their dreams of being professional athletes to help defend our country at war, and George Weah, an international superstar soccer player who helped end a civil war that had been brewing in his home country of Liberia for over twenty years.
The ESPY Awards are typically hosted by comedians. Jamie Foxx and Matthew Perry have been the hosts the past two years. The 2006 ESPY Awards will be the first time an athlete will host the event. The athlete, Lance Armstrong, is no stranger to the show, winning the Best Male Athlete Award the past three years.
The 2006 ESPY Awards will air on ESPN on July 16 at 9 p.m. eastern standard time. This year’s show should be one of the best to date as the Moment of the Year category is filled with some of the most memorable sports events over the past few years going against each other.
