Askren's ESPY Adventure
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by InterMat
By Jason Bryant
jbryant@intermatwrestle.com
Ben Askren’s escapade to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood has come and gone.
The two-time NCAA champion from the University of Missouri was one of four athletes nominated at ESPN’s annual ESPY Awards in the category of Best Male College Athlete.
The show, taped on Wednesday and aired on ESPN on Sunday, was hosted by Cleveland Cavaliers guard LeBron James and comedian Jimmy Kimmel.
Askren was a long-shot in the minds of many sports fans – if they even knew who he was. To win, he had to deal with Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith of Ohio State and the top two picks in last month’s NBA Draft – Greg Oden, also of Ohio State, and Kevin Durant, of Texas.
The fun started early for Askren, who rode over in the limo to the red carpet with Oden and University of Florida quarterback Chris Leak.
“It was very interesting,” said Askren. “It was much different than what I’m used to. It’s completely different than anything I’ve ever seen before.”
Askren felt like a celebrity in a world where his name is known by few, but he’s accomplished celebrity status in the world of amateur wrestling because of his mop of hair, gumby-esque wrestling style and his affable, and sometimes flamboyant, personality.
“(Former Missouri assistant Bart) Horton was with me and when we were on the ride over, he said, ‘might as well write an acceptance speech … just in case’,” said Askren. “I knew I was a long shot, but when I walked down red carpet and they announced my name, it was awesome.”
“Carmen Electra came in right after me, I was like, ‘Holy crap, look at all these people,” he said.
Askren, with roots in the upper Midwest, will be on staff at the University of Missouri next season as a volunteer assistant coach and working towards his master’s degree, thought the Hollywood scene was a change.
“There’s so many cool things (about it),” said Askren. “It’s not something I want to do all the time. I’d rather be camping or in the woods than in Hollywood, but the most amazing thing is people don’t get to have this experience.”
“When you go to the hotel, they have spotters, they know who everyone is,” explained Askren. “They come up and go ‘Mr. Askren, what do you need?’.”
“What did you call me that (Mister) for?” recalled Askren.
So, was Askren rubbing elbows with the stars, sipping Cristal at the after party and making in-roads with movie producers?
Nah.
“I said hi to a lot of people; I said hi to LeBron – he’s the new king of the sports world,” said Askren. “So charismatic.”
Did Askren run into any familiar faces?
“Just Randy (Couture),” he said. “That’s probably it. I knew nobody. Me and Horton were just walking around talking to people. I should know this guy, but I don’t really know. That’s how I was the whole time.”
He also spoke highly of Oden, who’s bound for the multi-million dollar game of pro basketball.
“I was hanging with him in the limo and at the after party, but he got to go the VIP party where I couldn’t go, but he was really cool,” said Askren. “He’s 19 years old and he’s still a kid. It’s like talking to one of my teammates that was a freshman.”
On ESPNews’ Hot List earlier in the week, Askren told ESPN reporters he looked forward most to meeting Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, the current Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion.
“That was really good,” said Askren of his meeting with Jackson. “Iron Mike Tyson was sitting almost in front of me. I mean, it’s not like he’s that famous anymore, but I grew up watching him.”
“Couture was two rows in front of us,” said Askren. “… and there were two jockeys to our left and we didn’t know the people on our right.”
While Asken didn’t win the award – Durant did – he was just happy to be there.
“It’s great to be nominated,” said Askren. “What’s great about it is that I won the Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year (over Durant). I wonder if that’s ever happened before.”
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