Lee Corso becomes hometown UCF hero
They don't call it Memory Mall for nothing. That's where about 20,000 people gathered Saturday morning to form a giant human backdrop for ESPN's College GameDay.
You think people are pumped about a play coming to town? “Hamilton” has nothing on Herbstreit.
As remarkable as the scene is every Saturday, the shows become one loud, crazed blur. UCF fans were determined to stand out, to prove they belonged behind college football's grandest stage.
Luckily for the Knights, they had a not-so-secret weapon.
“Lee! Lee! LEEEE!” The name echoed off the brick buildings circling the mall. Lee Corso was in town, which was historic in itself.
The Orlando area resident has been doing GameDay since its 1987 inception. The show had been to 71 different schools and 83 different cities over the years, but never Orlando or UCF.
“The thing I appreciate most is that I didn't have to go through a security line at the airport,” Corso said. “That drives me crazy.”
GameDay had never sniffed Orlando for a good reason. When Corso began doing GameDay, UCF's football budget could barely cover jockstrap expenses.
Now, as you may have heard, the Knights are defending national champions and the greatest team this side of the L.A. Rams.
At least that's what Kirk Herbstreit heard from the crowd on Saturday. He'd maintained the Knights' weakling schedule wasn't good enough to warrant a potential College Football Playoff semifinal spot.
That storyline is largely what brought GameDay to town ahead of Saturday night's UCF-Cincinnati game. You could argue that GameDay was actually bigger than the game.
It long ago went from being a pregame show to an event. Puny schedule or not, landing GameDay gave UCF a stamp of legitimacy. You could almost hear USF turning green with jealousy last week.
It was huge having Herbstreit, Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, David Pollack and the crew in town, though the show's trademark performer has been hitting the road every Saturday for 31 years.
What does Corso mean to GameDay?
“He's everything,” Davis said. “He's the conscience and the energy.”
If the cast starts taking itself too seriously or gets bogged down in football minutiae, Corso has corrective words of wisdom.
“It's entertainment, sweetheart,” Davis repeated. “Football is our vehicle.”
Being entertaining is not nearly as easy as Corso makes it look. He's in great shape for a man of 83, but he's still 83.
He's never quite recovered from a stroke nine years ago that left him unable to even speak at first. His words don't always flow, so he scripts his comments before each show.
He's become sort of a sports version of Bob Hope, who was entertaining audiences into his 90s. When the band cranked up his “Thanks for the Memory” theme song, the performer in Hope kicked in.
Things were cranking up outside the ESPN makeshift headquarters Saturday. But before Corso went out, he left the big conference area to find a secluded room.
he belted out.
Such were the sounds of his verbal exercises.
“After my stroke, doing this helps me speak,” he said.
Corso put on his coat and a security phalanx led him through the crowd to the set. He warmed up the crowd by holding up a Cincinnati helmet. Boooooo!
Then he held up a UCF helmet.
Yaaaaaay!
A sea of homemade signs whipped into waving gear.
“Knightmare on Herbstreit.” “Postgame Party at Lee Corso's House.” “Herbstreit = Fake News.” “I Had a Better Sign But the CFP Committee Didn't Let It In.”
And …
“Not So Fast. Sunshine Scooter is Here.”
That would be Corso's catchphrase and college nickname at FSU, which will not be hosting GameDay anytime soon.
Before taking his chair, Corso was reminded it wasn't just a routine Saturday. His daughter, Diane, showed up with her family.
Besides her husband, Kevin, and daughter, Lexi, there were 8-year-old triplets Max, Luke and Sam. Corso scooted over and gave each a kiss on the head.
He takes one of the triplets out for lunch every Wednesday.
“Wherever they want to go,” he said, “whatever they want to eat.”
Despite that, the boys seemed far more interested in playing a video game on his phone Saturday than hearing the debate about UCF. It's probably just as well, given what a lot of people heard slip out of grandpa's mouth.
“Is UCF getting its due?” Davis asked the panel.
“You have to play somebody to be able to climb up,” Herbstreit said. “I don't care if you win 50 in a row.”
“Let me tell you something,” Corso said. “These people don't give a s---.”
Oops. That wasn't in the script.
During the next break, Diane the dutiful daughter took a piece of orange masking tape and tried to place it over her father's mouth.The moment will live in GameDay history.
All of which just built up to the grand finale — prediction time!
The guest prognosticator was Maury Povich. Yes, the same Maury Povich who's made a nice career having not-so-loving couples argue on TV and then revealing the results of paternity tests:
“You ARE [or are NOT] the Father!”
This time, Povich opened an envelope to reveal UCF WOULD be Cincinnati's Daddy Saturday night.
The crowd loved it, though 20,000 people were really waiting for Corso's pick. He's famous for putting on the mascot head of the team he's picking, but that would not do on Saturday.
There was a special circular stage built in the middle of Memory Mall. It was draped in tall black curtains.
A voice boomed out three reasons UCF would beat Cincy.
No. 1 — The 22-game winning streak.
No. 2 — “I live in beautiful downtown Lake Mary.”
No. 3 — “UCF is Orlando's hometown team!”
With that the curtains dropped to reveal Knightro. Corso had gone full mascot from head to toe and was waving a sword.
“Lee! Lee! LEEEE!” the crowd roared.
Corsopalooza was complete — almost.
He still had to pose for dozens of photos and sign a bunch of autographs. The last one went to 7-year-old Kendall Norton.
“He lives the college football spirit,” said her father, Ryan.
Corso's spirit is always willing, but his flesh got a little weak Saturday. He almost overheated after being in the Knightro getup for a half-hour.
He made it back to the conference room and sipped down a bottle of water. The Ohio StateMaryland game was on TV, and he wondered whether GameDay would go to Michigan-Ohio State or USC-Notre Dame next week.
All of those cities or campuses are GameDay regulars. Saturday was UCF's debut, and there's no telling when or if ESPN's traveling circus will ever return.
So 20,000 people showed up to make an event to remember. That it was, though it would not have been nearly the same without an exhausted 83-year-old hometown boy made good.
Thanks for the memory, LEEEE!