Lee Corso's Farewell: One Last Hook 'Em?
In the way the legendary Dan Jenkins once brought the larger than life characters of college football like Darrell K Royal and Bear Bryant to life, Lee Corso had a similar effect on the sport. For the last 38 seasons, Corso brought the theater of college football to fans’ television screens each Saturday morning prior to kickoff.
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With his farewell game occurring on August 30th, there’s a chance Texas fans will get to see him don Hook ’Em’s head one last time. It would be safe to assume Gameday will broadcast from Columbus, Ohio, for the Longhorns rematch with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
It’s worth noting that his first headgear selection in 1996 was the Buckeyes’ Brutus, but Corso did ride with Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns all of the 2024 season. One would assume he’d follow the Royal edict of “dancing with the one that brung ya” and continue riding the burnt orange bandwagon. He famously threw on the head of the steer before the iconic Rose Bowl versus USC, defying conventional wisdom that a Trojan dynasty would continue. But either way, no matter who he selects in August for his final game, Corso’s retirement will mark the true end of an era in college football fandom.
His iconic headgear selection at the end of College Gameday wasn’t about analysis, even though his record was impressive. It was about pageantry, euphoria and fun. His selection set the tone for whatever wild, incomprehensible Saturday slate of games would likely follow. He embodied the things that separate college football from other sports. It is a sport made better by irrationality.
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Corso has been a fixture of ESPN’s Gameday my entire life as a fan. I’ve never seen an episode where he wasn’t part of the cast, unless he was missing for health reasons. His age and health have caught up to him, but it’s been obvious he hasn’t wanted to hang up the mascot’s head because he loves the game.
It sounds ridiculous to say, but passion for college football by those who cover it can be a rare thing these days. I think back to the summer of 2020, when many national voices around the sport seemed to be rooting for the season not to occur. Now, with the chaos and change present in the sport, it’s easy to rag on it or cover it cynically with a constant attitude of “I told ya so!”
To that attitude, Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend!”
He never turned bitter toward the sport he once coached and later covered.
He always donned the headgear, no matter the environment, nor the crowd.
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The enthusiasm and passion for the fans, programs and games are elements of the sport Corso always championed. Though the headgear selection should retire with Coach, the mantle he carried will need to be picked up.
