By TEDDY ALLEN/Designated Writers
It was big doings back on August 30, 2003 when the Miami Football Hurricanes, still very much The U, cruised into town for what proved to be a day at South Beach against Louisiana Tech, a 48-9 loser in what was still, somehow, a semi-glorious night before 43,279 fans in Independence Stadium.
Miami would lose back-to-back mid-season games but still finish 11-2 as Big East Co-Champs and Orange Bowl champs with a win over Florida State. Tech finished 5-7 and won back-to-back games just once, immediately after losing to Miami.
Lot of talent of the field that night. Names like Gore, Winslow, Rolle, Vilma, and Wilfork in Miami jerseys. Tech had a dude named Luke McCown at QB who would play 14 years in the league.
But the magic for many that night was in the booth. ESPN was in the house, and so was Lee Corso, the guy who puts on a mascot head each Saturday morning on College GameDay for ESPN. Or sometimes, as pictured here in a photograph by Craig Jones/Getty Images, puts on a Florida State (his alma mater) headress. In 2003, my then 13-year-old son Casey and I were Saturday morning disciples of the GameDay team of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Corso, then a relatively new phenomenon in college football. And they are the ones who called the August 30th game in Shreveport.
I wrote in a column that Thursday before the game that Corso was the college game’s version of Santa Claus coming to town, and then my fingers wrote the following “song” that you can sing to that familiar tune. For Casey and all the other “little” dudes that got a charge out of him, I was pretty juiced that Corso’s trademark “Whoa!” and pencil were coming to town.
He’s bringing his guys
On his left and his right
Gonna talk football
Argue and fight
Lee Corso is coming to town.
His suit and his tie
His pencil in hand
Game day’s like Christmas
Wherever he am
Lee Corso is coming to town.
(Chorus, everybody!)
He knows when you are blitzing
He knows his offense too
He knows if you’re team’s bad or good
And he’ll share it all with you.
(“Whoa!”)
He’s the main man
The backbone and glue
Of the best football
Team on the tube
Lee Corso is coming to towwwwwn!
True, it’s not Hail to the Victors, but you get the point, which is Merry I-Bowl to all, and to all a good fight come December 26 when LA Tech and Miami meet again, this time at 3 pm in the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl.
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