Kirk Herbstreit sat on to Lee Corso’s left in 1996 when “Coach” donned a mascot head on ESPN’s “School GameDay” for the primary time.
“He did the Queen Elizabeth wave with the Brutus Buckeye head on, and I simply bear in mind watching him and pondering how foolish it appeared,” mentioned Herbstreit, Corso’s longtime GameDay sidekick. “It was loopy and humorous, however I figured it was a one-and-done. I didn’t assume it might ever turn out to be a factor.”
Thirty years later, it’s nonetheless a factor. The headgear picks are an iconic piece of school soccer lore, a second synonymous with Saturday mornings within the fall. And the identical goes for the person with Bucky Badger, the Sooner Schooner or the Oregon Duck atop his head, wagging his No. 2 pencil and warning, “Not so quick, my good friend!”
On Saturday, Aug. 30, at age 90, after 38-plus seasons on the desk and 430 headgear choices, Corso will retire from tv and “School GameDay.” ESPN’s Week 1 episode in Columbus, Ohio, for Texas versus Ohio State can be his final, an opportunity for the residing legend to bid farewell to the present — and sport — he helped elevate.
A former faculty soccer participant and coach, Corso joined ESPN in 1987 as an analyst for the brand new and first-of-its-kind faculty soccer preview present. Over the following 4 many years, GameDay developed right into a touring paragon of sports activities tv, barnstorming its method throughout faculty campuses every week, with Corso serving as grasp of ceremonies. Regardless of struggling a stroke in 2009 that impacted his speech, he’s remained a beloved Saturday staple.
Earlier than Corso takes a remaining bow — and makes a remaining headgear choose — The Athletic requested his GameDay co-workers, previous and current, on display and off it, for his or her favourite tales in regards to the “Grandfather of School Soccer.”
Rece Davis, “School GameDay” host: What separates him? You imply aside from a totally grown grownup man placing on a mascot head each week?
Chris “Bear” Fallica, former “School GameDay” researcher: He’s a creature of behavior.
Jim Gaiero, “School GameDay” producer: Coach calls me each Monday morning at 9:30. Tuesday at 9:30. Wednesday at 9:30.
David Pollack, former “School GameDay” analyst: He barely is aware of the right way to use his mobile phone, which is a flip cellphone.
Fallica: Monday morning, I’m moving into work my first season there (in 1996), and I get a voicemail: “Chris Fallica, that is Lee Corso. I’m on the lookout for the next info for the present this week.” He would rattle off his checklist of notes and stats, issues he wished. That very same message got here each Monday or Tuesday morning from 1996 till 2022.
Davis: Coming downstairs within the lodge on Friday morning, seeing LC together with his briefcase and occasional cup and him saying, “Hey, sweetheart, how we doing?”
Fallica: He had his blue, black and purple Sharpies. And naturally, the Dixon Ticonderoga No. 2 pencil.
Pollack: The very first thing he does each journey he goes on is he finds the native church.
Fallica: That was a giant duty for our operations individuals: to search out the closest Catholic church and what time the mass was.
Gene Wojciechowski, former ESPN reporter and “School GameDay” contributor: On Friday after the manufacturing assembly he would do his fly-by on the snacks tables.
Derek Volner, ESPN Director of Communications: He’s legendary for bringing what we name “the manufacturing meals” again to his lodge room.
Maria Taylor, former “School GameDay” contributor: At all times grabbing one thing, strolling backwards and forwards to it. He by no means met a snack desk he didn’t like.
Kirk Herbstreit, “School GameDay” analyst: He has this old-ass satchel.
Pollack: Black leather-based, worn all over.
Herbstreit: And he goes proper down the snack desk they’ve arrange: Mr. Goodbar, Hershey, Snickers, he’ll seize three of these, he’ll get 4 luggage of chips — Doritos, Lays, BBQ. All of it goes into his bag.
Wojciechowski: Like a farmer with the autumn harvest.
Pollack: It wasn’t like taking one or two. The Twenties briefcase is extensive open, arm scraping throughout the desk, shoveling it into the briefcase.
Chris Fowler, former “School GameDay” host: So he doesn’t have to purchase dinner.
Herbstreit: Then he goes to the fridge and he’ll seize a Mountain Dew, Dr Pepper, Root Beer, Sprite and a Coke.
Desmond Howard, “School GameDay” analyst: It’s like an SNL skit.
Pollack: Then he’s again within the lodge at 4 p.m., and he’s in his PJs and prepared for mattress.
Tim Brando, former “School GameDay” host: The one factor Lee would virtually by no means do was come out on Friday night time for dinner.
Herbstreit: He would say, “Sweetheart, I’m not going to dinner. It’s recreation night time. I gotta prepare for the present.” One time I needed to drop one thing off in his room and certain sufficient: white T-shirt, blue pajama pants, footies, and all these drinks and snacks are lined up on his window, an enormous sub sandwich.
Craig James, former “School GameDay” analyst: One time within the early days we have been on the highway, and we have been really sharing a lodge room. Lee at all times claimed that he appreciated to put on a gown earlier than mattress, smoke a cigar and take a shot of NyQuil and fall asleep. So he’s sitting on his mattress smoking a cigar, finishes it up, slams down the NyQuil and appears over at me and says, “Goodnight, sweetheart.” I virtually peed my pants.
After Corso began the headgear custom almost a decade into the present’s run, each episode of “School GameDay” builds to the climactic remaining second: Which headgear will Corso put on? That call alerts his choose for winner of the marquee matchup from the place the present broadcasts every week. Corso’s all-time file getting into his remaining GameDay is 286-144. He has picked Ohio State a file 45 instances over his tenure.
“Stanford” Steve Coughlin, “School GameDay” contributor: School soccer is Lee Corso placing on the headgear on the finish of GameDay.
Patrick Abrahams, former “School GameDay” producer: It was assured that my cellphone would ring at 11:02 a.m. each Sunday, with coach Corso telling me who he was going to choose that week. He knew instantly.
Pollack: Throughout the Friday manufacturing conferences, he’s pacing backwards and forwards till the headgear will get there. Then he’s cool, then he’s good.
Abrahams: It’s what he lived for.
Davis: You may’t kick off faculty soccer on Saturday till LC places the headgear on.
Marisa Dowling, “School GameDay” researcher: The gang is locked on every thing that he’s doing.
Taylor: If he raises his hand to his ear, everybody goes wild. The entire crowd melts at his ft.
Fowler: The entertainers we had on as visitor pickers knew who they have been taking part in with. That they had a good time with it.
Howard: We had Invoice Murray on the present, and Invoice Murray physique slammed Corso on our set. Corso was laughing and guffawing, and I requested Lee afterward if Invoice advised him he was going to try this, and Lee was like, “Hell no!”
Howard: The Katy Perry one is known. She snatched that mascot head (Alabama’s Huge Al elephant) off of him and messed his nostril up.
Fowler: It minimize his nostril. These issues usually are not made to be yanked off. Blood was drawn that morning.
Abrahams: We’re doing footage after the present, however Coach didn’t wish to make her really feel like she did something fallacious — he cherished that second. So he’s shooing the make-up individual away as a result of he didn’t wish to make Katy really feel as if she didn’t belong or had finished something fallacious.
Gaiero: He was by no means afraid to say what was on his thoughts.
Herbstreit: We have been in Miami, late Nineties or early 2000s. He mentioned one thing that basically upset the Miami fan base, I don’t bear in mind, however they confirmed up on the set and have been booing the entire present. We had a few 200-foot stroll from the set to the automobiles that have been going to take us to the airport. They tried to line up safety to virtually make a human tunnel to the automobile, and the group is yelling issues and throwing issues. Fowler is in entrance of me, Corso is behind me, and we’re all holding arms and crouching down attempting to get by means of. And somebody will need to have grabbed Corso, as a result of I really feel him let go of my hand, and I flip round and Corso is squaring up, Jack Dempsey-style, saying, “Which one among you sons of b—-es grabbed me? Which one?” He was able to struggle.
Pollack: He’s such a visit. I’ve by no means seen anybody like him.
Certainly one of Corso’s most memorable headgear moments got here on Nov. 19, 2011, for a recreation in Houston between SMU and the undefeated hometown Cougars.
Herbstreit: We get to the picks and (visitor picker, Olympian and Houston alum) Carl Lewis makes his choose, I make mine — Houston was the large favourite, there was no shock. However Corso likes to wind up the group earlier than he makes a choose, so he grabs the SMU megaphone.
Fowler: His “fake-left, go-right” plan (to fire up the followers) wasn’t actually going to work.
Herbstreit: Often, individuals boo when he does one thing like that, and in his head, he’s like, I gotcha, then he pulls out the Houston Cougar head and everybody loves him. However nobody reacted. So in the course of not getting a response, he simply throws the megaphone and says, “Ahhh, f— it.”
Fowler: Like, f— it, I’m going to choose Houston.
Fallica: I instantly look over at Kirk on set and begin mouthing, “Did he simply say…?” Kirk’s eyes get large; he’s staring proper at me.
Herbstreit: I feel I threw my pen up. I’m wanting contained in the (Houston Cougar) head like, “I can’t consider you simply mentioned that.”
Howard: The funniest half was the apology. They’ve this apology cue card, and while you do one thing on air like that, it’s important to learn the apology on air.
Herbstreit: He has an enormous smile.
Fowler: Can I say a s–t-eating grin?
Herbstreit: Like he’s promoting a House Depot product.
Howard: He’s laughing and smiling, they usually needed to cease him and make him do it once more. They have been like, “Lee, it’s important to learn this such as you’re actually apologizing.”
Herbstreit: Only a piece of labor.
Fallica: I used to be touring with Kirk to the ABC prime-time recreation that he was calling (at Oregon) that night time. We lastly get to Autzen Stadium, and as quickly as (then-Oregon coach) Chip Kelly sees Kirk on the sphere, Chip makes a beeline to Kirk and says, “Are you able to consider what Corso mentioned (this morning in Houston)? God, I like that man.”
Brando: He’s a nationwide treasure! The person can say no matter he desires.
Fallica: Lee Corso, the one man who may drop an F-bomb on nationwide tv and never solely stay to inform about it, however turn out to be extra beloved within the course of.
Corso’s energetic mix of irreverence and showmanship broke the mildew amongst faculty soccer commentators.
Abrahams: Coach is the last word entertainer.
Brando: We have been strolling out of our first present (in 1987), and we have been all very excited and thought it had gone properly, and Corso says to me, “Hey, sweetheart, I’m gonna be the Dick Vitale of school soccer.” Holy s—! One present, and we had already created a monster.
Herbstreit: My first impression was: “This man is nuts.” That’s the half I want youthful individuals realized. He was the Pat McAfee of his time. He would do issues that nobody else would do.
Abrahams: He would at all times say, “It’s leisure, sweetheart. Soccer is only a automobile.”
Davis: His mantra.
Pollack: He’s at all times ready for a “Not so quick!”
Fowler: He taught me to take your work severely, take your job severely, however don’t take your self severely on a regular basis.
Gaiero: We went to Penn State, and Penn State has this nice custom the place the scholars will seize the mascot and crowd surf the Nittany Lion throughout the recreation. So we determined to have Corso crowd surf on GameDay.
Abrahams: Coach would say sure to every thing.
Davis: Safety was apprehensive, and we advised them, “When you guys really feel like you’ll be able to’t get him again to the set, simply scrap it.” The Lion was nonetheless going to crowd surf. So a few minute earlier than air, manufacturing says we’re not doing this.
Gaiero: Our director hears from safety that it’s not secure.
Davis: I’ve them patch me into LC, and I advised him safety is apprehensive the followers gained’t put him down. “They may crowd-surf you all the best way to the creamery, they love you a lot. Simply come again as much as set and we’ll play it straight.” And Lee goes, “Hell no, sweetheart, we’re doing this.”
Abrahams: One 12 months, we have been opening in Sundance Sq. in Fort Price, Texas, (for Alabama versus Wisconsin) and Coach wished an elephant. A stay elephant.
Gaiero: The crazier the concept, the extra he was into doing it.
Abrahams: So I contacted a circus that was a few states over, and we acquired the elephant transported to Fort Price. The present was going to finish with Coach driving an elephant down the center of the principle road with the Alabama headgear. We begin getting calls from PETA and Disney, and we ended up shutting it down. From that time, Lee was at all times like, “We inform nobody.”
Fowler: You need to see the promos we shot in the summertime. I don’t know if individuals would get excessive and give you concepts of the right way to promote GameDay, however let’s put Corso in a Twenties striped swimsuit and floating on a duck in a swimming pool at USC.
Jen Lada, “School GameDay” reporter: He’ll gown up as James Madison or the Statue of Liberty. That’s such a great lesson for individuals who get into this trade or any trade.
James: His character is so distinctive, and never simply the headgear, however being witty and sharp.
Pollack: Every thing was simply, “Inform me what to do.” When you advised Coach to get in a pair of Whitey Tighties and sit on stage and eat a Twinkie, he would do it.
Brando: Corso embodies discovering the enjoyable within the sport.
Davis: At the same time as he acquired slightly older — had the stroke, missed some exhibits a pair years in the past — he was so aggressive. He wished to be a part of every thing.
Pete Thamel, “School GameDay” insider: When the definitive historical past of school soccer is written, there might not be a extra essential individual in serving to popularize the sport than Lee Corso.
Taylor: School soccer is a faith, and he’s the patron saint. I don’t know what Saturdays can be like with out him, however I do know they gained’t be the identical.
Davis: He’s the favourite uncle. Your grandfather. The man you wished to share your Saturday with and watch the sport with. That’s the sweetness and magic of Lee Corso.
Herbstreit: On the finish of the day, while you carry up Lee Corso and also you’re beginning to inform somebody a narrative, everybody begins to smile. That’s what he did for all of us. He made us smile.
(Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; Icon Sportswire / Getty, Ric Tapia / Getty, Ted Warren / AP, Rogelio Solis / Getty)
