20 Greatest Moments in ESPY’s History

From Madison Square Garden in New York to the Nokia Theatre in LA, the ESPY's has grown into a night of fun for athletes of all sports, not just the big four, and their fans. Sure, we probably don't need to hand out anymore awards to these athletes, they have enough already, but it is fun. It also gives life to sports we don't get a chance to see or people we will never have a chance to hear about. There were even moments that will go down in sports history, forever. 

Remember the famous Jimmy V speech? That was during the 1993 ESPY's. 

The ESPY's are more than just an excuse for athletes to receive awards, they are for the fans too. And us fans remember the best moments over the past twenty years of ESPY's. Here is the list of the 20 greatest moments of the past 20 years of ESPY's.

 

20. Will Ferrell and John C. Reily Audition to Host the ESPY's

Whenever Will Ferrell and John C. Reily get together, you mine as well invest in some extra movie film because they can spend hours shouting off one-liners, all worthy of being used in the movie. They were then approaced to host the ESPY's in 2008 and this is what happened.

 

19. Jamie Foxx Hosted the Show, twice.

And they were both awesome. He sang to Serena Williams and did it in a way that would make Andrew Dice Clay blush. It was epically awesome and it did it over the span of two years and two shows.

 

18. Pat Summitt: One of The Greatest Ever

Pat Summitt will forever be one of the greatest coaches ever to coach in the NCAA, men or women. She dominated the sport of women's basketball for so long, her story is about as sad as any other. She won the 2012 Arthur Ashe Courage Award.

 

17. Jeff Vuvuzela

If you haven't realized it by now, this list will be full of funny moments, most of which star Will Ferrell. In 2010, he showed up as the inventor of the noisy vuvuzela horn made famous during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

 

16. The Dark Side 

On the heels of Sandra Bullock's Academy Award win for Best Actress for her role in The Blind Side, ESPN decided to throw Peyton Manning in the mix and reedit the film, well, you just have to watch and laugh about as hard as everyone else did in 2010.

 

15. Lebron went Old School

Say what you want about this clip but Lebron James was simply hilarious in it. Most Athletes would have said no but one of the most recognizable athletes in the world chose to step up and perform Bobby Brown's My Prerogative.

 

14. The Director

Ron Howard hired to direct a Mets game? There is no way this could end up poorly. 

 

13. Why We All Love Sports

This is one of those reasons we love sports. Two college softball teams competiting for a conference championship reminded us that people are good and true character shines in moments of darkness.

 

12. Justin Timberlake Belongs on the ESPY Stage

If there has ever been one man that should host the ESPY's every year, it is Justin Timberlake. 2008 was the best ESPY's of all time and he had a lot to do with it.

 

11. The Decision

Steve Carell and Paul Rudd made a joke of Lebron James announcment. It is something that didn't need to be done but it worked anyways.

 

10. I Love Sports

2008 was the best ESPY's of its' 20 year run as apparent by the multiple clips that have made this list and no one forgot about JT's “I Love Sports” song that will probably go down as one of the funniest moments in ESPY history thanks to a Greg Oden sighting.

 

9. Samuel L. Jackson Plays Football

If you can stop laughing at this video, let us know because you might need to see a neurologist. This was hands down the funniest sports related skit Samuel L. Jackson has ever done. Ever.

 

8. Coach Do Dirty

Back in 2004, Jamie Foxx started a trend of making fun of athletes like a Dean Martin Roast.. This was the best moment of Coach Do Dirty that year and it is Jamie Foxx at his finest.

 

7. Norm MacDonald Rips Everyone

Norm MacDonald hosted the 1998 ESPY's and he decided to use the opening monologue to destroy just about everyone in the building. Sorry OJ but Norm Mac was perfection that night.

 

6. Mace Windu Made Derek Jeter

Star Wars is one of the biggest movie franchises of all time. So it is only natural that Samuel L. Jackson would play his famous Mace Windu character during an ESPY skit where he teaches a young Derek Jeter how to play baseball.

 

5. Will Ferrell Accepts an Award

In 2008, Tiger Woods won the ESPY for Best Male Athlete but since he wasn't there, Will Ferrell stepped in and accepted it on his behalf, or did he?

 

4. Peyton Manning Makes a Few Calls

When Peyton Manning gets behind a sketch, it is probably going to be awesome. He has a dry wit about him that is so subtle, if you weren't looking you would have missed it.

 

3. Justin Timberlake's 2008 Opening Monologue

In 2008, the ESPY's should have won an award for being the best ever. The show hasn't been able to come close to the levels of that year but with Jon Hamm this year, it could very well be close to this epic.

 

2. Dewey Bozella's Speech

Dewey Bozella was wrongfully convicted of murder back in 1983 and spent 26 years in prison before finally having a judge overturn the decison in 2009. He became a free man and was able to finish his boxing career with one last fight against Larry Hopkins. He never gave up fighting for what he always wanted to become, a professional boxer.

 

1. Jimmy V's Inspirational 1993 Speech

The ESPY's are the reason we have one of the all time greatest speeches known to man, the Jimmy Valvano speech he gave back in 1993. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1992 but made sure he would have one last speech before he died. He could barely walk but he found a way to walk on stage and give us something we will treasure forever. He passed away in April, about a month after this speech.