Del Potro, Pujols, Messi… and Miss Ecuador

Alessia Andrade

Ran across a news item about a Hispanic sports awards ceremony last Thursday, which I reported on over at Baseball Digest.  By all accounts it was a great event and helped benefit The Ganley Foundation, a worthy cause.

My favorite part was not that U.S. Open tennis champ Juan Martín del Potro beat out crazy good baseball player Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals and emerging 22-year-old world superstar Lionel Messi, among others, for the Athlete of the Year award.  Or that they included Outstanding Service and Paralympic categories.  Though I love both of those.

No, what I like best is how the Award presenters, Premios Fox Sports, a Hispanic sports network, tied in its viewers and expanded the reach of the award with a unique addition to its program.  For the first time in the seven-year history of the awards, the network crowned a Miss Premios Fox Sports.  Billed as “first-ever sports-themed pageant recognizing the beauty and grace of female sports fans throughout the United States and the Spanish-speaking Americas,” the selection was based on online votes and judge’s scores from a live swimsuit and evening gown competition during the telecast.

Your winner is Miss Ecuador — Alessia Andrade.  Her prize?  Well, she won’t live long on the cash, just $1,000.  But Miss Andrade earned a one-year spokesperson contract and the chance to join the Fox Sports en Español and Fox Sports Latin America on-air team.

If Miss Andrade and the other contestants were truly sports fans — and not just talented in swimsuits and evening gowns — it’s an interesting twist on the sports awards format and an incredible opportunity for her.