My brother Bill makes the case for one particular example......
Saturday's College Game Day on ESPN. The regulars were back, namely Lee Corso (a quirky old guy) and Kirk Herbstreit (the dashing younger ex-Jock now TV stud) ...
They broadcast this show from a different game venue every Saturday morning during college football season. For this past Saturday's inaugural episode of the year, they were in Blacksburg, Va., for the home opener of Virginia Tech.
They covered the emotional opening ceremonies, which were heart-rending enough, but when they went back to the ESPN trio (including the host), you didn't know how they could top that, but they did. In only a couple of minutes, the two main guys said exactly the right words.
Every week, the climax of the show is Corso donning the headgear of the mascot for the team he thinks will win the game. There was never any doubt he would put on the turkey-looking head of a Virginia Tech Hokie, but before he did it this time, he stood up to show TV land the T-shirt he was wearing, and he read it out loud in case you couldn't see it:
"I don't know what a Hokie is, but God is one of them."
As the host wrapped it up quickly, you could see Lee and Kirk giving each other a high-five. Quietly, simply, and emotionally.
Wow. I have always loved tuning in to see these guys do their thing every week. They are under the radar as far as the big picture is concerned but this show should earn them some well-deserved recognition.
--bill
After he did a bit more research, he got back to me.....
Wow... I just did a quick check on the origin of that quote about what a Hokie is, and it was originally from Lee Corso himself, from 7 years ago...
Here's the rest of the story, which makes my previous note to you about this past Saturday's College Game Day even more amazing:
In 2000, ESPN College Football Analyst Lee Corso predicted Virginia Tech would lose the Black Coaches' Association preseason game versus Georgia Tech. Moments after he made that prediction, a lightning bolt struck and damaged his rental car sitting in a sea of nearly 25,000 other vehicles.
The following year, Corso shared that story as he predicted the Hokies would play for that year's national championship title. On the August 23 ESPN College Gameday Preseason Show, Corso said, "Last year when I did not pick Virginia Tech, lightning hit my car. And I said 'I don't know what a Hokie is, but God is one of them.' So I'm going with God. I'm going with Virginia Tech."
Fast forward to 2007. The man who first spoke those words found the appropriate time and place to repeat them.
[My thanks to TV Tan Line - link to the left! - for the screen capture.]
BCnU!Toby OB
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