Watching Lee Corso struggle through the first College Gameday was genuinely upsetting
By Josh Hill
Lee Corso was a tough hang as he struggled his way through the first College Gameday of the season.
There’s really no delicate way to get into it; Lee Corso’s return to College Gameday this season was really rough to watch.
It took less than one segment with the Gameday icon for fans to begin wondering aloud why Lee Corso hasn’t retired yet and openly worrying about him as he struggled through the points he was trying to make.
Corso’s segment in which he tried to explain his SEC title game prediction and the path to the National Championship Game was particularly alarming and painful to watch.
I love him to death. Hes a legend. But Lee Corso needs to retire. What did this man just say?! pic.twitter.com/NUQvR0EXOs
— Brutus Wayne™ (@BuckeyeBat) August 27, 2022
There’s nothing fun about this. Everything about this sucks, and Corso deserves better.
Corso’s cognitive function hasn’t been the same since he suffered a stroke in 2009. He made a miraculous recovery and return to College Gameday just a few months after his stroke, but his trademark zip has faded. He’s also nearly 90 years old, and while there’s no doubting his enthusiasm for College Football, little evidence exists to suggest we all keep doing this.
It all reeks of exploitation and it just feels extremely dirty. For all that Corso has done not only for the game but for how we savor the flavor of feasting on Saturday slates, he deserves so much more than to be someone we awkwardly wait to stop talking.
Rather than troll Corso for mumbling and stumbling through what he had to say, Twitter showed something it rarely seems capable of in tabling the snark and showing genuine concern.
That’s how bad things have become, Twitter was in universal agreement that what is happening to Corso is sad, sick, and unfair to everyone involved.
It’s painful watching Lee Corso on College GameDay.
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) August 27, 2022
He can barely string a sentence together. It’s time for him to retire. This is borderline cruel.
sheesh lee corso is a tough watch right now
— charles (“you look good” - andy reid) mcdonald (@FourVerts) August 27, 2022
https://twitter.com/BPage15/status/1563542208997126145
I’ve always said, repeatedly, that I’ll retire from this gig when they pry the mic from my cold, dead hands. I just love it that much. But watching Lee Corso right now on Game Day is……tough. He’s a Hall of Famer and that’s how I’ll remember him. But it’s just time.
— Jon Williams (@radiojondeek) August 27, 2022
Watching College Gameday and...
— Steve Bishop (parody (am I doing this right?) (@SBisho12) August 27, 2022
Look, I love Lee Corso. The mascot headgear pick is an institution. But somebody at ESPN has to have the "tough conversation with Grandpa" here.
The man can barely speak. It's more noticeable than ever.
I literally cringe listening to Lee Corso on College GameDay.
— Chase Donahue (@ChaseDonahue18) August 27, 2022
Man ESPN has been throwin Lee Corso out there for the last few years and dude can barely string together a coherent sentence. I really hope it's just because he still wants to give it a go...
— Bobby Golden (@BGolden33) August 27, 2022
Watching Lee Corso on GameDay is sad. It’s time to let him go. #espn #GameDay
— Ken Gibson (@kgibson1952) August 27, 2022
Come on @espn stop rolling Lee Corso out there. This is awful.
— It’s only orange (@theishayas) August 27, 2022
It’s very difficult to watch Lee Corso like this. Hopefully he will retire if not ESPN needs to do it for him.
— Josh Davis (@joshBdavis) August 27, 2022
It breaks my heart but it's time for Lee Corso to ride off into the sunset. He doesn't need to go away forever, he's still young and coherent enough to run for President, but he doesn't need to be on TV on a weekly basis anymore.
— #LiveLikeLucas (@VegasRebs) August 27, 2022
No one wants to see the Lee Corso era end — not fans, likely not ESPN, and most certainly not Corso himself — but it’s time. For the sake of everyone, most notably Corso, the legend needs to be allowed to ride off into the sunset as the icon he was and we’ll always remember him as and not whatever is happening now.