ESPN analyst Stuart Scott died this morning at the age of 49. Scott had been battling cancer since 2007.
Scott was a wrestling fan when he was younger, and admitted that he was awestruck when he met Ric Flair at a golf tournament.
“I remember about a decade ago at a golf tournament I met Ric Flair,” Scott told SoulTrain.com in 2013. “And he knew who I was, and that just blew me away. There are so many athletes that I meet. A lot of the guys I know now. When I mention some of the people I’ve met to the younger generation, they’re like, ‘That’s so cool!’ But to me they’re my peers. If they’re good guys, they’re good guys.
“When Ric Flair walked up to me and said, ‘Hey Stuart Scott, I love your work,’ I got excited! Even though I’m an adult Ric Flair came from my childhood. I used to love when Ricky Steamboat would beat him down.”
Scott also discussed being an old-school wrestling fan when asked by ESPN Magazine if he would participate at WrestleMania XXIV if asked, where boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. faced The Big Show.
“I see why older athletes who still crave competition and want to keep their names in the headlines do something like this,” Scott said. “But I admit I was surprised to hear the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer had signed up. As for Vince calling me, I’d have to decline. I’m old-school. If I can’t get in the ring against Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, or the Road Warriors, then forget it. In fact, I’ll go even older-school here: Thunderbolt Patterson, Big Cat Ernie Ladd, the Mighty Igor – if I can’t wrestle the guys I watched as a kid, I won’t wrestle anybody.”
