“As cool as the other side of the pillow.”

~ I grew up watching sports pretty religiously. Basketball, football, baseball. Naturally, this means that I ended up watching a lot of SportsCenter. One of the most memorable, influential and best {in my opinion}, anchors from all of ESPN was Stuart Scott. Four years ago today, he passed away. Rest in peace. Of all his many catchphrases (BOO-YAH! / It’s your world kid, the rest of us are just paying rent / Holla at a playa when you see ’em on the street), the one that has stuck with me the most and I still think about almost every day {by the nature of the quote itself} was:

“As cool as the other side of the pillow.”

Every time I think to flip my pillow over when going to sleep, it comes to mind. {The second thing that comes to mind: Why is the other side of the pillow so damn consistently cool?} During a highlight, Scott used it to pinpoint a player doing something smoothly, subtly, coolly dope.

I think there is also the seed of a kind of life philosophy in it. ~ No matter how things are going are in your life, there’s always something you can do, even if it’s as small as adjusting your pillow, that can make things just a little bit better.

I think Stu Scott embodied this kind of perspective, especially in the latter years of his life when he battled cancer with profound courage and a continued zest for his work and his life. I’ll never forget this, and I’ll always flip my pillow to its cool side.