Not so fast: The end of an era
by GEORGE SOMERVILLE
After 38 years as a broadcaster, the legend that is Lee Corso will hang up his headgear for the last time following College Gameday’s Week 1 show from Columbus, Ohio.
In a number of tributes paid this week to Coach Corso, he has been called, amongst many superlatives, the face of college football, and that his retirement marks the end of an era.
Which is about as accurate a summary of the situation as we can have.
Because no one reflects college football better than Lee Richard Corso.
Behind the fun, madcap, zany mascot headgear-wearing nonagenarian from Illinois is a sharp-brained, experienced football analyst. Just look back over the years at Corso’s pick success rate, and you will see that he is rarely bested.
Yet Corso is most remembered as the man who selects the mascot headgear as the finale to the hugely popular College Gameday pre-game show.
In fact, ESPN now publishes two viewing figures for the show—one for the mid-show period and one for the last hour, when the viewership inevitably spikes to watch Coach make his pick.
Like just about everyone, Corso has been a part of my Saturday during football season for as long as I have been aware of college football. In fact, Coach Corso is probably the reason that I became a fan of the game so quickly. So I could go on at length about why this truly is the end of an era.
But I thought what better tribute than to write about what I believe are the best Corso on-screen moments. So here we are, my favourite scenes from the long and fantastic gameday career of Lee Corso.
Thank you, Coach, you will be missed more than you realise.
Great Headgear moments in time
how it all began
Video credit: ESPN College Football
It is fitting that, after 38 years and 430 headgear picks, his last one should be a full-circle moment, back where it all began.
The idea first came to Corso when the Gameday crew visited Columbus, Ohio, on October 5th 1996.
The Gameday set has been at Columbus, Ohio, for Buckeye games more than any other venue in the show’s history – this will be the show’s 26th visit to The Horseshoe. So it’s no surprise that Corso has picked the Buckeyes’ headgear more than any other mascot – 45 times. With Texas visiting the Horseshoe on Saturday, Coach has a decision to make. Will he select the Buckeyes for a 46th time and end his headgear career as he started? Or will he pick the #1-ranked team in the country?
Not so fast midget!
Video credit: ESPN College Gameday
Instant TV comedy was born when Gameday invited a 5-year-old Oregon Ducks fan to be their guest picker during the Gameday crew’s visit to Oregon in 2012. Braden Pape, a confident young man and skilled game picker, called for a Yale victory over archrivals Harvard during the episode.
Except that Coach didn’t spare the young man by telling him he disagreed with the pick.
“Not so fast, midget!” was Corso’s response, and legendary live Saturday morning sports TV was made there and then.
Coach drops the F bomb...
Video credit: “Not so fast my friend” : ESPN College football
In 2011, the Gameday crew visited Houston, Texas, with Olympic sprint legend Carl Lewis as a guest picker.
When Corso does his picks, he sometimes adopts the “rope-a-dope” technique, where he suddenly chooses one headgear to change his mind in favour of the opponent.
In Houston, Coach was going down this road; however, for some reason, during the final pick on this occasion, Corso decided it wasn’t worth the energy.
“Ah, f**k it”, Coach said as he threw the megaphone prop to one side and chose the Cougars’ headgear.
You probably don’t get away with that on Saturday morning live TV unless you’re Coach Corso.
Luck of the Irish
Video credit: ESPN College Gameday
Two things are certain about Coach – he loves dressing up in character and he loves travelling to South Bend, Indiana.
So when the two collide, it is sure to be TV gold. Suffice to say, in this clip, Coach Corso is a better leprechaun than the Fighting Irish mascot version!
Go Irish!
Corso the cowboy
Video credit: Espn college gameday
Whenever Corso and Gameday travelled into the Sooner State, chaos seemed to ensue. After all, Oklahoma remains home to Cowboys and cattle, as well as some pretty good football. So this is a recipe for things to get a little wild.
I must also be honest in saying that I think this is my favourite clip. It makes me laugh every time. It’s unscripted, and you can see the look on Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit’s faces when Corso fires the gun. Mischief, panic and hilarity all in one clip. What it must be like to be on that set.
To me, this is vintage Corso. Listen to the crowd going wild. I hope this is how Coach is remembered.
Corso & Celebrity guest pickers
Video credit: Espn college gameday
As we know, Celebrity guest pickers are a staple of the show and the “target” that Corso bounces off when he makes his final headgear pick of the show. Guest pickers invariably root for their alma mater, so occasionally there is a difference of opinion.
There have been some significant “disagreements” on the set, but I have picked out two. When Katy Perry arrived on the set of Gameday in the Grove in Oxford, Mississippi, she was at the height of her success. What transpired was box office and a show that the Gameday crew still speak about today.
The other show people still talk about was when Bill Murray made an appearance on set, dressed as Florida State mascot Osceola, alongside Corso. Bill Murray is an off-the-wall comedian and unpredictable at best. Murray subsequently wrestled Corso to the ground as the show’s closing titles rolled. It’s a mystery that no one was injured during that episode, but it was epic TV entertainment.
Video credit: Espn college gameday
Footnote
I have written about my love for College Gameday a few times.
It was really Gameday that captured my attention early on in my college football-watching days. My formative years, if you will. Gameday was and remains an excellent way for people new to the game to learn about the teams and their traditions, as well as the history of the game. So, if you haven’t watched it yet, do it!
My first trip to see Gameday live was to Tuscaloosa in 2015. Country music star Eric Church was the guest picker that day, with Corso choosing the Crimson Tide over the Ole Miss Rebels. On that occasion, the Rebels shocked everyone inside Bryant Denny Stadium, including Lee Corso.
My second in-person visit to Gameday was also in Tuscaloosa. The much hyped LSU Tigers, complete with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, rode into town to face the Tide. On that occasion, golfer Justin Thomas was the guest picker & Corso wore the Tigers head. In what turned out to be a game for a generation, the hype and Coach were right, and LSU went on to win a National Championship.
I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to see Coach Corso in person. The atmosphere is incredible, sometimes even better than the game itself, and much of this is due to Corso’s relationship with the fans. It truly is an experience.
I’ve been privileged to be on the set of Gameday twice since then, and in a preview of things to come, Coach Corso wasn’t on the set. As much as the rest of the team put on a great show, with McAfee and Saban now on board, there will always be something missing after Columbus on Saturday.
Thank you, Coach. We will miss you.
Coach Lee Corso. A college football institution.
GEORGE SOMERVILLE
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER
GEORGE IS A LONG STANDING FANATIC OF LIFE AND FOOTBALL IN THE DEEP SOUTH AND WRITES HIS WEEKLY COLUMN CALLED “IT’S ONLY SEC” FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. HE IS ALSO CO-HOST AND ONE THIRD OF THE COLLEGE CHAPS PODCAST, THE UK’S FIRST PODCAST DEDICATED TO THE COLLEGE GAME.