Stuart Scott Booyah: Where Did He First Hear His Famous Catchphrase?

Tags: ESPN , Stuart Scott

When Stuart Scott passed away, support for the deceased anchor and his family poured forth from all around the world of sports. Scott was a legend in the sports news community, and he was arguably the first SportsCenter anchor that made the job seem cool.

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Aside from the shows that he hosted, Scott was just as known for the many different catchphrases he used while delivering highlights. But of all of those catchphrases, one stands alone as his most famous trademark: Boo-yah.

According to The Washington Post, now everyone finally knows where Scott's most popular saying originated. Scott completed his memoir shortly before passing away in January, and in it, he reveals how he and his best friend Fred came across the term during their high school days.

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From the memoir:

We'd hang out in the garage of one of Fred's neighbors, Gilbert Shelton, a kindly older black man. Mr. G. would spend the day making bamboo chairs there, and we'd sit around and soak up his wisdom. One day, Mr. G said, "Hey, fellas, did you hear that thunder last night?"

"Nah, Mr. G, I didn't hear anything," I said.

"You didn't hear it?" he said. "Goodness, it was loud. It was like: Boo-yah!" He yelled it so loud, it startled me as if it were real thunder.

Fred started laughing. "How'd that thunder go again, Mr. G?"

"BOO-YAH!"

And another of our inside jokes was born. On the playground or in our streets, it came to represent a blast of energy. Someone laid somebody out in the secondary? Boo-yah! Someone went yard on the diamond? Boo-yah!Someone said something about your mama that totally shut you up? Boo-yah!

Years later, when the phrase caught on and became part of my national identity, I was as surprised as anyone else, because I was just talking the language of my youth.

The memoir is called Every Day I Fight, and it details Scott's life, sports, and his battle with cancer. It will be published in early March.

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