As Notre Dame plays No. 22 Ohio State on ESPN2, we’re reminded that we’re in the middle of V Week. Every year, ESPN takes time to remember Jim Valvano, the legendary college basketball coach and broadcaster who valiantly fought cancer before succumbing to the dreaded disease. A month before he left us, Valvano delivered his finest moment as he accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 1993 ESPYs. It’s a speech up there with the greatest ever delivered:
There is no reason for anyone not to watch this speech. It captures everything the human spirit strives to be, even as our bodies fail us. Though Valvano no longer is with us, the V Foundation he created along with ESPN has endured. You owe it to yourself to watch this speech and play your part in the fight against cancer so that one day, cancer won’t be a disease that can kill.