July 15, 2010

Los Angeles, Calif - Having the opportunity to win a worldwide award as the best play of the year, Fordham shortstop Brian Kownacki didn't know what his competition was at the 2010 ESPY Awards in Los Angeles. After a valiant push by Fordham fans, it was a neck-and-neck vote, but it was only a future hall of fame quarterback, that denied Kownacki the ultimate prize, as Brett Favre's game-winning touchdown pass to Greg Lewis, beating the S.F. 49ers, edged the Fordham Flip as the 2010 Play of the Year.

The night started with ESPN's Chris Berman and the Top Ten Plays so far in 2010, with Kownacki being #8 on the countdown.

The voting which opened with Kownacki in third place at 21% at 7:00 PM, saw the Fordham faithful push his highlight ahead and then even at 29% with Favre's pass, by the time voting closed at 10:15 PM, meaning that just a fraction of a percent was going to decide the winner.

At approximately 10:35 PM, the time had come as ESPY presenters Brooklyn Decker, Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Cover Model, and John Hamm, a Golden Globe Award winner for his show Mad Men, came out to announce the nominees for "Best Play".

The highlight reel began with Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle on Opening Day, having a ball deflect off him into foul territory, where he flipped the ball through his legs to record an out.

Then, Favre's highlight touchdown pass to Lewis was next, as Lewis scored with two seconds left in the back of the end zone to pull out a 27-24 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Kownacki and the "Fordham Flip" was next, followed by a strong hustle play by Boston Celtics' guard Rajon Rondo to score a basket against the Orlando Magic.

The camera then peered at Kownacki as he awaited the final vote, but Decker and Hamm announced that Favre and Lewis had won the popular vote of over 75,000 cast since voting began earlier in the day.

Though, he did not come away with the final prize, for Kownacki's effort to be along side a future hall of fame quarterback, a baseball pitcher who has a perfect game to his credit, and a future NBA All-Star, is quite the accomplishment, and one that won't soon be forgotten.

Congratulations to Brian for representing Fordham University and the baseball team, and thanks to everyone who supported and voted for Brian on Wednesday.