When you think of an ESPN the Magazine cover model, the first thing that might pop into your head is a six-pack, muscles and a chiseled body. But this year the magazine's annual Body Issue celebrates the not-so-common bodies in sports. On the cover of the latest issue, out July 11, you're going to see Texas Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder in all of his husky glory. And guess what? There's nothing wrong with that.
Fielder is appearing on one of six covers for ESPN the Magazine's Body Issue. The first baseman, who's listed at 5 feet 11 and 275 pounds, is shown being photographed in several poses in a behind-the-scenes video posted to ESPN.com. And yes, some of them are not safe for work, so don't click that link too fast.
Fielder's goal is to dispel the notion that large folks can't be athletic. "Just because you're big doesn't mean you can't be an athlete," Fielder told ESPN. "And just because you work out doesn't mean you're going to have a 12-pack."
Hell, some of us just want a three-pack.
Fielder doesn't have the typical baseball player's body, and he's fine with that. "Obviously, I'm a big guy. But I also need to feed myself with the right things," he said. "I have a chef now, so it's definitely easier to make sure that I'm getting full off of the right foods. If I don't stay on it, it can get out of control."
In honor of Fielder's positive body image, the husky population on Twitter, who are thick and proud, created the #HuskyTwitter hashtag.
Take a look at a few of the funniest tweets:
https://twitter.com/KooolAidPapi/status/486514639669559296https://twitter.com/BlameOtis/status/486520121783898113https://twitter.com/BlameOtis/status/486520761784360960https://twitter.com/Pinky_Balboa/status/486535186884984832https://twitter.com/filthycharm/status/486544938947981313
There was even one person brave enough to put his huskiness on display:
https://twitter.com/DwayneDavidPaul/status/486543642673172481
To Fielder and all the other husky men of the world, we salute you and your huskiness.
Yesha Callahan is editor of The Grapevine and a staff writer at The Root. Follow her on Twitter.
Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.