As the second quarter opened up during the Ohio State and Michigan game, the broadcast gave us a heartfelt tribute to Stephanie Spielman, who passed away after a long battle with cancer this week.
Spielman was the wife of former Ohio State great and fellow ESPN commentator Chris Spielman, a colleague of announcer Sean McDonough and Matt Millen. As McDonough spoke about Stephanie and Chris his voice wavered and he struggled to contain his emotions.
Chris Spielman walked away from his NFL career when his wife was first stricken with breast cancer 11 years ago. Since then, Stephanie and Chris have been heroes in the local community raising millions of dollars for breast cancer awareness. She leaves behind four children and an incredible legacy of courage.
A nice (and incredibly sincere) tribute by the folks at ESPN.
Touching tribute to Stephanie Spielman
Posted by Keith Arnold on November 21, 2009 12:50 PM ET
I thought that was a great tribute.
Thanks for touching on this emotional story, her name is spelled Stefanie though.
Thank-you for a wonderful tribute to a courageous woman and her endless work on bringing breast cancer awareness to all women. My deepest sympathy goes out to Chris and his 4 children in this time of sorrow.
You can find more about her efforts for research and patient care:
http://www.jamesline.com/waystogive/funds/spielman/how_you_can_help/Pages/index.aspx
Sean McDonough's comments about Stephanie and his open display of emotions quieted our crowd and there wasn't a dry eye in the place. I want to thank him for recognizing my hero, Stephanie Speilman. He is now (and always will be) my favorite sports announcer. Very classy...