Stuart Scott's battle with cancer has been well-documented, but the true essence of his spirit was on full display Wednesday night.

The vibrant ESPN personality took the stage last night to accept the Jimmy V Perseverance Award and delivered a speech that will live on well past the cancer that has weakened his body.

Scott was truly inspirational. You could feel how delicate his future was just by listening to his passionately delivery. As he talked about fighting until he needed a rest and having loved ones pick up the fight for him, you could sense that his body was struggling much more than his confidence and optimism would ever have you believe.

He thanked his two daughters for providing the motivation to live each and every day but he didn't try to hide his vulnerability. He talked about having to cry and needing that release from time to time. The fact that crying doesn't occupy much of his free time speaks to how hard he fights and how much he truly believes he can beat cancer.

But the reality is cancer sucks. It forces us to face our own mortality, which is terrifying. It takes a special person to be able to put that into perspective enough to keep living, and Scott did just that with the most powerful line of the night.

“When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer,” Scott told the audience. “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.”

Those words reverberated through millions. In the audience. On social media. The next morning. It was impossible to hear that and not think about the night Jimmy Valvano touched us all 21 years ago.

Just days before his 49th birthday, Stuart Scott showed us all what the Jimmy V Perseverance Award encompasses and he'll forever be remembered for it.

 

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