ESPN Body Issue: Hope Solo Latest Gold Mine for Magazine's Controversial Issue

When you hear the words "Hope Solo" and "naked" together in the same sentence, it's not hard to imagine that the attention of the masses will be sufficiently grabbed.

Now, the Body Issue of ESPN the Magazine isn't exactly Playboy. PG body parts, inanimate objects, and lighting are just a few things that are used to block the right areas of the body.

ESPN knows what they're doing with this issue. They are an absolute giant in the sports world and know what athletes are popular and why they are popular.

That's a little unfair. These are great athletes and people do pay attention to what they do on their respective fields of play, but the looks are no small factor into maintaining their popularity when they are not playing.

That's where the Body Issue comes into play.

But while this is the third Body issue, we could have seen this coming a long time ago.

Back when ESPN the Magazine was in its early stages, then Minnesota Timberwolves teammates Kevin Garnett and Stephon Marbury made this commercial, giving ESPN a suggestion if they ever wanted to answer Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit issue.

If you really take a look at those issues, that's pretty much what ESPN has done. These may not be what pop into your mind when you hear "all nude," but this is nearly exactly what K.G. and Starbury were asking for.

In all seriousness, this is something that you can expect will continue. For one, if it's the third edition of it, it's a general sign that it's making money for ESPN.

With the ever changing culture that we live in, things like this are just going to get more prevalent. If ESPN finds a way to sell magazines without actually doing anything all that controversial, they are going to keep doing it.

Frankly, I am surprised that it took this long to do it.

As long as there are athletes like Hope Solo, magazines like this will be alive and well.