In this article: Big Ben & Jackson go one-on-one

ESPY Awards

What's the special bond between Hollywood and sports heroes?

By Dennis McCafferty

Tune in to the ESPYs Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN

We're fascinated with them, these jocks and stars. We bookmark websites such as TMZ and Deadspin, and -- when we know we're in a "no-boss zone" -- read the very latest news there about the athletes and performers who intrigue us the most. Was A-Rod really with Madonna? Is Tony Romo serious about Jessica Simpson? Was he ever serious about Carrie Underwood? What kind of sweet music does Enrique Iglesias sing for his tennis-playing squeeze, Anna Kournikova?

Discuss, please. Then discuss some more. And while discussing, here's a little secret you may want to pass along. These jocks and stars we're so fascinated with? Well, they're fascinated, too -- with each other.

This mutual air kiss has lasted for decades between stars and our sluggers, quarterbacks and other heroes possessing superior fast-twitch musculature. In the twilight of his career, Joe DiMaggio was determined to meet a beautiful rising actress named Marilyn Monroe. Even though he got the date, he didn't make a smashing first impression -- until Mickey Rooney joined their dinner table and gushed effusively about the legendary baseball exploits of Joltin' Joe. The couple's courtship and short, bittersweet marriage stirred a media frenzy. Today, such a pairing could possibly eclipse the moon, what with the abundance of 24/7 website reporting, E!, Access Hollywood, cable channels and Twitter feeds (thanks, Ashton and Demi -- and Eli and Shaq!).

It all comes down to this: Stars love jocks. Jocks love stars. And no event seems to capture this better than Sunday night's ESPY Awards. Now in its 17th year, the ESPYs is the singular broadcast that brings these two glittering universes together. On the surface, it's an awards show. Fans vote on categories such as "Best Male/Female Athlete," "Best Team" and "Best Play." But the real draw here is that two disparate but very compatibly cozy worlds of fame will be brought together thisclose for a night. Among the boldfaced names expected: Danica Patrick, Michael Phelps, Miranda Kerr and Seth Meyers.

And, of course, our USA WEEKEND Magazine cover guys will be there: actor Samuel L. Jackson, who's hosting the show for the fourth time, and Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback for the reigning Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

Jackson confesses that the show strikes at a primary -- even childlike -- source of joy for him. "When I'm at the ESPYs, the little kid in me who grew up watching sports in Tennessee comes out," he says, taking a break during our cover shoot. "We actors think they're something special, and the sports stars think that the actors are something special. Behind the scenes, you'll hear the top athletes in the world tell an actor, 'I could never do what you do.'

Then you hear an actor tell an athlete the very same thing. It's weird and funny and surreal all at the same time."

Roethlisberger has gone to great lengths to attend the show in the past. He appeared as a surprise guest after suffering serious injuries in a motorcycle accident in 2006. Now, he's returning as a two-time Super Bowl winner. "Sports guys like me get excited about this because many of us are huge movie fans," he says. "When I met Sam the first time, it was great because I know I must have seen 20 of his movies." (Only 20, Ben? The man has more than 120 movie and TV credits on his "IMDb.com" profile!)

For the audience, the show is pure voyeuristic pleasure, a celeb-filled sideline screen shot at the Super Bowl, multiplied by hundreds. "The ESPYs come along and, my, isn't it enough to make our heads explode with joy?" says Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. "Celebrities and athletes have such compatible blood types. They both get paid a ton of money and travel the globe and live a lifestyle that is so different from you and me that they can usually only bond with each other."

It's the kind of event that Ari Gold, the rabid, fictional talent agent on "Entourage," would kill (that's "KILL!") to get his clients on. "The platform is sports, but the show feels Hollywood," says Phil de Picciotto, president of athletes and personalities at Octagon, an agency that represents both athletes and stars. "If you are an athlete in the off-season, it's great to appear because the public forgets about you when you're not playing, and you don't want that. As for stars, they usually show up at premieres and talk shows promoting their latest movie. This gets them with the best athletes, so it's a great way to cross over."

It has gotten to the point where two universes have morphed into one. Garth Brooks has participated in spring training for the New York Mets and other teams. Kevin Costner fixes cars with NASCAR's Kyle Petty on TV ads. At last year's ESPYs, accepting Tiger Woods' male athlete of the year award was Will Ferrell -- who playfully pretended to be, as he put it, "the best golfer alive today."

Then there's Jackson and his sport: He's a celeb golfer with a handicap just under 4. People ask him whether he would rather win an Oscar or a green jacket at the Masters. Jackson says the answer is simple. "It would be a green jacket, easy," he says. "You win an Oscar often because you're getting a lot of support from everyone around you. But you're all alone as a golfer. You only win the jacket if you're the best. Nobody remembers who won Best Actor anyway one year later. But everybody remembers who won the Masters."

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Big Ben & Jackson go one-on-one

We caught up with Jackson and Roethlisberger as they hung out, getting their take on several areas of interest:

Jackson on whether they've golfed together: We've always wanted to. But we just never have gotten together. We did have a near-miss opportunity recently. Ben played in the U.S. Open Challenge. But I couldn't play because I had already committed to another tournament. So Ben played there with Justin Timberlake instead. That J.T. gets all the love!

Roethlisberger on whether he has ever acted: I never have -- unless you count that Disney ad I did after the Super Bowl. But that's not really acting. What Sam does is acting.

Jackson on their common job demands: Both jobs are about preparation. I read my scripts over and over, trying to understand my character. It's the same for Ben. He studies his playbook and practices until the entire complicated process becomes instinctive to him. In the end, we both go out there and perform acts that look spontaneous, as if they're happening for the first time.

Cover and cover story photos of Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Roethlisberger by David Yellen for USA WEEKEND

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