Canadian-born ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky brought his own personal fan club along to share his red carpet moment on Wednesday night. The dad-of-five was accompanied not only by his beautiful wife Janet, but eldest son Ty, 17, and youngest boy Tristan, six, at the annual ESPY Awards in Hollywood. And the family, who are based in LA, seemed to be loving every minute of the sports equivalent of the Oscars at the legendary Kodak Theatre.
Wayne, known in hockey circles as 'The Great One', was on presenting duties at the ceremony - handing out the best male athlete award to NFL star LaDainian Tomlinson with the help of R&B songstress Mary J Blige. Adding some high octane glamour to the proceedings, which will be televised on ESPN on Sunday evening, were tennis sensations Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
While LA newcomers David Beckham and his wife Victoria were not at this year's bash, Wayne - who moved to the sunny state in 1988 from Edmonton to join the LA Kings - will no doubt be able to share some helpful tips with the British expats. And despite not being an expert on David's sporting specialty - unlike his son Tristan - Wayne has nothing but praise for the talented mid-fielder.
"I don't know anything about soccer except that I have a six-year-old who loves the sport and he understands what California and the Galaxy are getting," he says. "There's no player more charismatic in the world today than David Beckham. He's got as much charisma as Tiger Woods and he's right up there with any great athlete you can name."
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
