Cowboys Legend Emmitt Smith Pays Emotional Tribute to Retiring ESPN Veteran Who Worked 38 Years Despite Health Scare

Saturday mornings in America have their rituals. Cold brew steaming in tailgate mugs. The crisp snap of a fresh football spiral. And for 38 years, a man in a mascot head turning stadiums into carnivals. Think of it like your dad’s ’67 Mustang—reliable, loud, and impossible to ignore. This wasn’t just pregame chatter, though. It was theater. A blend of John Madden’s playfulness and Johnny Carson’s charm, all stuffed under a duck costume or a buckeye helmet.

Then came the whispers. The kind that ripple through locker rooms before a championship game. A legend was stepping back. Not with a farewell tour or a mic drop, but with the quiet grace of a coach handing off the clipboard. Social media buzzed like a kicked hornet’s nest. Tributes poured in—raw, heartfelt, real. One, in particular, stood out: a Cowboys icon sharing a snapshot of pure joy, a gator head, and a grin. And the caption said it all…

“Leaving the game better than you found it,” wrote Emmitt Smith. On April 17, ESPN dropped the news: Lee Corso, the 89-year-old maestro of College GameDay, would retire after his August 30 swan song. So, for Gen X dads who grew up with his antics, Lee Corso’s retirement feels like losing a childhood friend. Besides, Corso wasn’t just an analyst.

He was Saturday’s hype man. His headgear picks—430 of them—became folklore. From firing Oklahoma pistols to cradling live gators, he turned predictions into art. Emmitt Smith’s viral 2019 moment? Pure Corso chaos: Smith fumbled a Big 12 pick while Corso grinned beside a baby alligator, picking Florida over Auburn.

“I think I got a schtick right here,” Corso once said about the mascot bit. Boy, did he. Starting with Ohio State’s Brutus Buckeye in 1996, he nailed 66.6% of his picks. For FSU, his alma mater? A rollercoaster 15-13 record, including a 13-game winning streak. But stats don’t capture the magic.

Remember when he tossed an SMU megaphone and shouted, “Ah, f— it!”? Or the time he called Georgia’s Uga “ugly” before hugging a bulldog puppy? That was Corso—unscripted, unfiltered, unforgettable. But the ride to Lee Corso’s retirement wasn’t all confetti and mascots.

Stetsons and strokes: The fight behind the fun

In 2009, a stroke threatened his career while doctors even warned about speech loss. But like a fourth-quarter comeback, he returned that season, slower but still sparkling. Kirk Herbstreit, his on-air “son,” became his anchor. “He’s been like a second father to me,” Herbstreit said. However, through health scares and shortened broadcasts, Corso kept showing up. Why?

“And they pay me! Why the hell would you ever think about retiring? It’s like stealing,” he joked in 2018. “It’s like stealing. Why would you ever think about retiring? I’m gonna be like that vaudeville act — the guy’s out there talking and talking and they get a hook and they try to hook him and bring him off the stage.” And now, he has finally decided it’s enough.

By the numbers: Corso’s legacy

• 430 headgear picks (286 wins, 144 losses).
• 45 Ohio State selections—his most frequent muse.
• 69 teams represented, from James Madison’s Duke Dog to Stanford’s Tree.
• 4 national title picks for FSU, nailing two (1999, 2013).

His final pick? Still TBD. Will it be Ohio State vs. Texas, Clemson vs. LSU, or FSU vs. Alabama? The suspense is pure Corso, though. And as the sun sets on his career, Corso leaves a blueprint: joy matters. He turned analysis into adventure, proving football isn’t just stats—it’s stories. In the words of Field of Dreams: “People will come, Ray. They’ll most definitely come.” And they did, every Saturday, for him.

So, what’s your favorite Corso moment? The time he dressed as Ben Franklin? Or the day a duck flew out of his hands? Let’s raise a glass—to the man who made Saturdays brighter, one mascot head at a time.