Michael Strahan Previews Nick Kids Choice Sports Awards

As kids, we don’t get to vote for much. But thanks to Nickelodeon, we have a chance to weigh in on who the top celebrities are with the Kids Choice Awards. And now we have our voices heard when it comes to sports, too!

Tomorrow, Nickelodeon will air live the first ever Kids Choice Sports Awards. The show gives us kids to tell the world who our favorite athletes are and who we think are the king and queen of swag. There are 14 categories in all, like Sickest Moves and Clutch Player of the Year, and kids can cast their votes on the Nickelodeon website.

The results will be announced at the live awards show, airing July 17 at 8 p.m. on Nickelodeon. The host of the party will be hosted by Michael Strahan, the former New York Giants linebacker who is now an analyst for Fox Sports and co-host of Live! with Kelly and Michael. SI Kids caught up with Strahan recently to talk about the Kids Choice Sports Awards and his post-football career in broadcasting!

Why were you interested in hosting the Kids Choice Sports awards?

I have kids who love sports, and I love kids who love sports, and to be able to host a show where the kids get the opportunity to be heard and vote who they think are the best in all these cool categories sounded fun.  And I like to have fun!

What makes this awards show different from other sports awards shows?

Here, the kids are allowed to do the voting.  It’s for the kids.  What also makes this show different is that we have a ton of slime.  A lot of people are going to get slimed. Maybe I’ll even get slimed!

When did you realize you wanted to get into broadcasting?

Probably the day I retired from football.  It looked like something I thought I could do, so I said, “Hey let’s me give it a try!” Just like anything else, if you try it, and you enjoy it, and you apply yourself and work hard at it, you’re probably going to be successful.

What was the experience like the first time you co-hosted Live!?

Scary. I was extremely nervous and scared. Actually, when the show was over, it felt like we didn’t even do the show. I was like, “That’s it? It’s over? When are we going to start?” It’s very, very scary anytime you’re in a new situation like that.  You’re not sure how it’s going to go; you’re always going to have a little fear.

How different is preparing for a show from getting ready for a game?

You know, with Live!, it’s more like I’m in a different mood. I’m happy and I’m laughing and I’m joking, and I get to go on TV and laugh at myself, and all that is good stuff.  With a football game, it’s serious.  It’s like “grrrrr!” and put your growl on, and I start getting that mean look in my eye.  So it’s a completely different mindset, except it’s the same in ways because you still have to work well with other people.  You have to be a teammate, and you have to go out and do your best, no matter if its football or on Live!

How will you use your experience co-hosting Live! when hosting the Kids Choice Sports Awards?

We host Live! in front of a live audience every day, so I think that being in front of a live audience won’t scare me.  It’s going to be great to get silly, be laughed at, and laugh at myself. 

What has been more challenging: football or broadcasting?

Football is more challenging because I had to get hit in the head for living. I was sore the next day.  With broadcasting, nobody’s hitting me when I’m talking and I hope they don’t start that part of broadcasting!  Definitely football is more challenging. But broadcasting is challenging in a different way.

One of the categories for the Kids Choice Sports Awards is the king and queen of swag. Who do you think the king and queen of swag are? 

You know, I don’t know! We got some crazy guys and girls out there, dressed all swagolicious right now. I don’t know. I can’t tell you who because I don’t want to be biased. But if I was in the category, I would vote for myself.  I’ve always been the king of swag!

As a kid, what was the most important life lesson that your parents, coaches, or teachers taught you?

First of all, you have to be kind to people and kind to yourself.  You have to work hard because if it were easy to do something then everybody would be doing it.

For more information on the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Sports Awards — and to cast your votes — head over to the awards website!

Photos courtesy Nickelodeon