The Body Issue
Best-selling of six alternative covers of ESPN The Magazine's original Body Issue in 2009 featuring Serena Williams | |
Frequency | Yearly |
---|---|
First issue | October 9, 2009 |
Company | ESPN |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Website | ESPN The Magazine |
The Body Issue is an edition of ESPN The Magazine that features dozens of athletes in nude and semi-nude photographs, which is intended to rival the annual Swimsuit Issue from Sports Illustrated. The first issue debuted on October 9, 2009.[1] The issue was a response to the decline in advertising spending resulting from the financial crisis of 2007–2010 and late-2000s recession that saw a 24 percent decline in ad revenues for the first six months of 2009 compared to the same six-month period in 2008.[2]
The 2009 edition had six alternative covers featuring Serena Williams (tennis), Carl Edwards (NASCAR), Adrian Peterson (NFL), Dwight Howard (NBA), Gina Carano (mixed martial arts) and Sarah Reinertsen (triathlons).[3] The Serena Williams edition sold the most copies.[4] The 2009 issue was a financial success, achieving double the normal edition sales, greater sales than any bi-weekly issue in over two years and 35 percent more ad sales than comparable issues, which led to plans for extended marketing of the 2010 edition.[4]
The edition included the regular sports coverage. In the bodies section athletes were featured on and off the field. Even a picture during a knee surgery was included. The "Bodies We Want" section was a feature of the best bodies in the world of sports all posed nude but with strategic coverage of private parts.[5] Another section showed the damage done to the human body in athletics such as Laird Hamilton's cracked heel and Torry Holt's crooked middle finger.[2] One action photo captured six members of Major League Soccer's D.C. United simulating a free kick defensive wall while covering their genitalia.[6]
2009
Some of the 2009 covers were revealed on shows such Monday Night Football and Good Morning America. The 2009 edition included the following:[5]
- Surfing: Claire Bevilacqua
- Track and field: Sarah Reinertsen
- Baseball: Nelson Cruz
- Hockey: Zdeno Chára
- Tennis: Serena Williams
- Soccer: Oguchi Onyewu
- Table Tennis: Biljana "Biba" Golić
- Basketball: Dwight Howard
- Sumo Wrestler: Byambajav Ulambayaryn
- Soccer: Natasha Kai
- Track and field: Michelle Carter
- NASCAR: Carl Edwards
- Rock Climbing: Steph Davis
- Olympics: Susan Francia
- Horse racing: Alexis Solis
- Track and field: Lolo Jones
- Swimmer: Ryan Lochte
- Mixed Martial Arts: Gina Carano
- Boxing: Manny Pacquiao
- Football: Adrian Peterson
- Tennis: James Blake
- Football: Casey Hampton
- Football: Torry Holt
- Basketball: Cappie Pondexter
- Baseball: Joba Chamberlain
- Baseball: Iván Rodríguez
- Ice Hockey: Chris Higgins
- Ice Hockey: Sheldon Souray
- Ice Hockey: Bill Guerin
- Ice Hockey: Mike Komisarek
- NASCAR: Mark Martin
- Olympics: Jessica Mendoza
- Olympics: Shawn Johnson
- Olympics: Allison Baver
- Olympics: Johnny Weir
- Olympics: Cheryl Haworth
- LPGA: Christina Kim
- LPGA: Sandra Gal
- LPGA: Anna Grzebien
- Mixed Martial Arts: Randy Couture
- Surfing: Laird Hamilton
- Soccer: Chris Pontius
- Soccer: Bryan Namoff
- Soccer: Clyde Simms
- Skiing: Kristi Leskinen
- Skiing: Julia Mancuso
- Beach Volleyball:Eddie Matz[7]
- Beach Volleyball:Tim Struby[7]
- Beach Volleyball:Carol Hamilton[7]
- Beach Volleyball:Michele Rauter[7]
- Beach Volleyball:Noah Kaiser[7]
- Beach Volleyball:Greg Hunter[7]
2010
The 2010 edition included the following:
- Basketball: Diana Taurasi
- Football: Patrick Willis
- Alpine skiing: Julia Mancuso
- Soccer: Tim Howard
- Mixed Martial Arts: Evangelista Santos
- Mixed Martial Arts: Cristiane Justino
- Surfer: Kelly Slater
- Basketball: Amar'e Stoudemire
- Golf: Camilo Villegas
- USA Women's Water Polo Team
- Swimmer: Jeff Farrell
- Javelin Thrower: Rachel Yurkovich
- Wheelchair tennis: Esther Vergeer
- Figure skating: Evan Lysacek
- Volleyball: Kim Glass
- Track runner: Philipa Raschker
- Bobsledding: Steven Holcomb
- Billiards: Jeanette Lee
- Football/Mixed Martial Artist: Herschel Walker
- Archery: Erika Anschutz
2011
[8] The 2011 edition included the following:[5]
- Skater: Apolo Ohno
- Snowboarding: Gretchen Bleiler
- Ice hockey: Julie Chu
- Basketball: Sylvia Fowles
- Surfing: Stephanie Gilmore
- Roller derby: Suzy Hotrod
- Mixed Martial Arts: Jon "Bones" Jones
- Baseball: José Reyes
- Gymnastics: Alicia Sacramone
- Soccer: Hope Solo
- Ice hockey: Ryan Kesler
- Runner: Ryan Hall
- Basketball: Blake Griffin
- Paralympic: Jeremy Campbell
- Track and field: Natasha Hastings
- Race driver: Hélio Castroneves
- Football: Steven Jackson
- Bowling: Kelly Kulick
- Boxing: Sergio Martínez
- Golf: Belen Mozo
- Snowboarding: Louie Vito
- Tennis: Vera Zvonareva
2012
The 2012 issue featured the following athletes:[9]
- Mixed martial arts: Ronda Rousey
- Rowing: Oksana Masters
- Tennis: Daniela Hantuchová
- Soccer: Carlos Bocanegra
- Surfer: Maya Gabeira
- Gymnast: Danell Leyva
- Sprinter: Carmelita Jeter
- Basketball: Tyson Chandler
- Football: Rob Gronkowski
- Golf: Suzann Pettersen
- Soccer:Abby Wambach
- Ice Hockey: Brad Richards
- Baseball: José Bautista
- Football: Maurice Jones-Drew
- Jockey: Mike Smith
- Basketball: Candace Parker
- Sprinter: Walter Dix
- Decathlete: Ashton Eaton
- Fencer: Tim Morehouse
- Sailor: Anna Tunnicliffe
- Volleyball: 2012 U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team
- Volleyball: Destinee Hooker
- Volleyball: Megan Hodge
- Volleyball: Alisha Glass
- Volleyball: Stacy Sykora
2013
The 2013 issue featured the following athletes:
- NFL: Colin Kaepernick, Vernon Davis
- MLB: Giancarlo Stanton
- NBA: John Wall, Kenneth Faried
- MLB: Matt Harvey
- NHL hockey: Joffrey Lupul
- Tennis: Agnieszka Radwańska, John Isner
- Volleyball: Kerri Walsh Jennings
- MMA: Miesha Tate
- WNBA: Swin Cash
- Soccer: Sydney Leroux
- Boxing: Marlen Esparza
- NHRA: Courtney Force
- Motocross: Tarah Gieger
- Snowboarding: Elena Hight
- Rock Climbing: Chris Sharma, Daila Ojeda
- Golf: Carly Booth, Gary Player
2014
The 2014 issue featured the following athletes :
- Tennis: Venus Williams, Tomáš Berdych
- Basketball: Serge Ibaka, Angel McCoughtry
- Swimming: Michael Phelps
- NFL: Marshawn Lynch, Larry Fitzgerald
- Snowboarding: Jamie Anderson, Amy Purdy
- MLB: Prince Fielder
- BMX: Nigel Sylvester
- Bobsledding: Aja Evans
- Soccer: Omar Gonzalez, Megan Rapinoe
- Boxing: Bernard Hopkins, Danyelle Wolf
- Cliff Diving: Ginger Huber
- Surfing: Coco Ho
- Hockey: Hilary Knight
- Motocross and Skateboarding: Travis Pastrana and Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins
- Yachting: Jimmy Spithill
2015
The 2015 issue featured the following athletes :
- Volleyball: Gabrielle Reece
- Surfing: Laird Hamilton
- Football: Odell Beckham Jr.
- Soccer: Ali Krieger
- Baseball: Bryce Harper
- Basketball: Brittney Griner
- Basketball: Kevin Love
- Gymnastics: Aly Raisman
- Football: Jack Mewhort
- Swimming: Natalie Coughlin
- Basketball: DeAndre Jordan
- Wakeboarding: Dallas Friday
- Hockey: Tyler Seguin
- Skateboarding: Leticia Bufoni
- Tennis: Stan Wawrinka
- Golf: Sadena Parks
- Football: Anthony Castonzo
- Heptathlon: Chantae McMillan
- Hammer Throw: Amanda Bingson
- Football: Todd Herremans
- Field Hockey: Paige Selenski
- Soccer: Jermaine Jones
- Archery: Khatuna Lorig
- Rugby: Todd Clever
2016
Source: [10]
- Beach Volleyball (Olympics): April Ross
- Boxing (Olympics): Claressa Shields
- Diving: Greg Louganis
- Duathlon: Chris Mosier
- Fencing (Olympics): Nzingha Prescod
- Baseball: Jake Arrieta
- Motocross: Ryan Dungey
- Basketball: Dwyane Wade
- Football: Antonio Brown, Von Miller, Vince Wilfork
- Paratriathlete: Allysa Seely
- Soccer: Christen Press
- Steeplechase: Emma Coburn
- Surfing: Courtney Conlogue
- Swimming: Nathan Adrian
- UFC: Conor McGregor
- Basketball: Elena Delle Donne
- Wrestling: Adeline Gray
Notes
- ↑ Thomson, Katherine (2009-10-06 (updated 2009-10-20)). "ESPN's 'Body Issue' Of Naked Athletes (PHOTOS): Serena Williams, Dwight Howard, Adrian Peterson, More Pose Nude (PICTURES)". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2009-12-02. Check date values in:
|date=
(help) - 1 2 Clifford, Stephanie (2009-10-12). "Special Issues a Bright Spot for Magazines". The New York Times. p. B1. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ↑ La Monica, Mark (2009-10-09). "ESPN 'The Body Issue' magazine covers". Newsday. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- 1 2 Rovell, Darren (2009-11-30). "ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue: A Financial Success". CNBC. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- 1 2 3 McCarthy, Michael (2009-09-30). "First look: In ESPN's magazine, showing skin is no issue". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ↑ Steinberg, Dan (2009-10-08). "United's Nude Awakening". The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Matz, Eddie. "No shirts, no shorts ... lots of service!". ESPN. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
- ↑ "Galleries / The Body Issue / October 17, 2011 Hope Solo". ESPN the Magazine. 2011-010-17. Retrieved 2011-10-05. Check date values in:
|date=
(help) - ↑ "ESPN The Magazine Body Issue – ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
- ↑ Chiari, Mike (June 21, 2016). "ESPN Body Issue 2016: Release Date and List of Athletes Revealed". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 7 July 2016.