10 Years of the Body Issue

When I checked my mail today, there was my favorite issue of ESPN The Magazine.  I'm, of course, talking about the Body Issue.  It usually comes out around this time, and they posted all of the photos online earlier this week, so it wasn't at all a surprise to see it.  And, since this is the 10th anniversary of the Body Issue, they included all of the photos from the past, as well.

There are a number of reasons (beyond the obvious) why I like the Body Issue.  It's much more than ESPN's answer to the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.  It's also much more than a bunch of naked athletes.

It's a celebration of athletics.  It shows that athletes come in all shapes and forms, and proudly puts that on display.  You've got men and women of all ages and body types from all different sports.  The message is the same: they're all athletes.  And this is what an athlete looks like.

Sure, there's the Wow! factor of having the "pretty" athletes pose nude.  But the Body Issue has nothing to do with sex appeal.  If it did, they wouldn't agree to be in it.  And they get a ton of A-list athletes to pose every year (some have done it more than once).  They don't just agree to pose, either.  They're proud to...and many of them want to.

Over the years, more than 200 athletes have been featured in the Body Issue, some as individuals, some as pairs/groups, and even some whole teams together.  And the key word here is "tasteful."  Not just that, but the athletes seem to have a lot of fun, too.  Sure, it's a long day and some awkward poses.  But the end result is usually something amazing.

In fact, I had trouble narrowing down my favorite Body Issue images to a manageable number.  When I started going thru, I had more than 30 selected, including a few from this year.  But then I went thru those choices again and trimmed the list to 10...including what I think is the most artistic photo ever to appear in ESPN The Magazine.

Yes, it's this one from 2013.  Kerri Walsh posed while eight months pregnant, then came back and posed again after the baby was born.  They did a side-by-side in the actual issue, but I just love the photo of her and her daughter, Scout, so much more.  If you didn't know she was a 35-time Olympian, you'd have no idea this was from a sports magazine.  It's just a beautiful image of mother and daughter that you could easily see being the center spread in a parenting magazine.

As for my favorite cover, that's also easy.  It's gotta be Ronda Rousey.  Again, if you didn't know this was a sports magazine, you'd have no idea.  This is just an absolutely gorgeous image.

The Aly Raisman black-and-white looks like something that was hanging on the wall in some photo exhibition at an art gallery.  Apolo Ohno is displaying perfect speed skating form.  I have no idea what Camilo Villegas is doing, but it shows some incredible flexibility.  Bernard Hopkins, that's exactly what you would think a boxer looks like.  Anna Tunnicliffe it's all about degree of difficulty.  I don't even want to know how long it took them to get that shot.  Jermaine Jones is another perfect photo.  I know it's staged, but it reminds me of the iconic Bobby Orr flying thru the air picture.  Prince Fielder shows us that it doesn't matter what you look like if you can hit a baseball.  And the one of the U.S. women's water polo team is just cool.

Happy Anniversary, Body Issue.  It has its critics, but it's not going anywhere.  A celebration of the athletic form has turned into so much more.  It's shown us that athletes come in all shapes, sizes and forms.  Which is a beautiful thing.