Beautiful Street Art Tribute to Late ESPN Anchor Stuart Scott

Yahoo Makers
Updated

(Jonas Never/Twitter)

A newly unveiled painting paying tribute to former ESPN broadcaster Stuart Scott may just be cooler than the other side of the pillow.

The recently deceased sports broadcaster skyrocketed to fame with his unique style that blended catchphrases and language from modern, urban culture that would quickly go on to reshape the landscape of a medium rooted in buttoned down culture.

So, it was fitting that last week Scott literally became a fixture in urban Los Angeles culture when acclaimed street artist Jonas Swyer, aka Jonas Never, unveiled a giant mural of Scott accompanied by the words, “Boo Ya!” towering above the Melody Bar & Grill in Westchester, a predominantly African American neighborhood.

“Stuart Scott is a legend,” Never wrote in a tweet posted to his account. “Had to honor the man.”

"When you’re a bartender, most of your night is spent with SportsCenter on," Never said in an interview with the L.A. Times. “I felt like I spent more time with Stuart Scott than I did with my family. The moment the news broke, I knew I was painting him.”

Never, who works as a bartender to help supplement his artists endeavors, has created a number of painted murals across Los Angeles. Never says he and two friends completed the painting in a period of just over six hours after receiving permission from Melody co-owner Christian Warren.

The painting became an instant hit both in person and online. Locals snapped up pictures of the Scott mural, and even ESPN’s Sports Center got into the effort, praising the handcrafted tribute through their Twitter account:

"I had no idea this would have this big an impact," Never told the Times.

Since Scott’s passing, a number of moving tributes have been offered from his colleagues and fans across the world. But many are pointing to Scott himself for inspiration, perhaps most notably his speech this past July at the annual ESPYS Awards, in which Scott rushed to the stage less than two days after major surgery in order to accept the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.