Kirk Herbstreit posts emotional tribute to Lee Corso amid retirement announcement

As a 0-day veteran of the television business but a longtime television watcher, there are four elements that studio shows work: knowledge of the topic, passion for the subject, chemistry among the talent, and spectacle. Siskel & Ebert had the first three. So does Inside the NBA. Only College GameDay had all four. 

The spectacle was obvious -- the thousands of fans in the background each week, and the iconic headgear celebration to close each show, which will come to an end (at least in its original iteration) with the Aug. 30 show. But GameDay didn't become the institution it is on spectacle alone. You need another element to keep viewers engaged after they tune in to see what signs the college kids made that week and before the Corso headgear selection. That element was the show's unbridled celebration of the sport it promoted, and the enduring chemistry between its two mainstays, Corso and Kirk Herbstreit.

Herbstreit has spoken at length in the past on the father-son dynamic to their relationship. Herbstreit joined GameDay at age 27, and he's said those early years he relied on Corso as a father figure. From a 2023 GQ profile:

“Our relationship really changed from just being colleagues,” Herbstreit said. He would go to Corso with questions about being a young father, and Corso would share lessons and wisecracks: “He was basically a second father to me or a relative of some kind. And the fact he listened. My dad didn't listen great. I loved him. It wasn't like my dad was abusive or not a great guy. He just had a really hard time being in the moment and listening. And I think that's why I valued that so much from Lee.”

“I knew, when I first met him, that he would be a star in television."

When Corso suffered a stroke in 2009, the dynamic flipped, as it often does between fathers and sons. Again, from GQ: 

“The doctor called me in and he said, ‘Lee Corso, you'll never be the same as you were before you had this stroke.’ And that’s true. So basically, sometimes, I need some help. I rely on Kirk to help me a lot of the time.”=

“I don't want to ever make it look like he needs help or ever make it look like he's struggling,” Herbstreit said. “So I just try to do whatever I can subtly to just try to be there for him.”

After the news hit on Thursday, Herbstreit posted an emotional tribute to Corso on Twitter.

"I thank you for so many lessons you taught me. Almost 30 years together. I have enjoyed sitting next to you, watching you do your thing. We've had so many great moments together -- on the show, off the show. This is a celebration for everything that you did for the sport, for College GameDay. You're an icon. You're a once-in-a-lifetime person, a once-in-a-lifetime broadcaster... You and I have a special bond and always will. I just wanted to say how much I appreciate you and love you."

Now that we've got the sappy stuff behind us, let's not overlook Herbstreit's role as the straight man in the times Corso went off the rails.

Corso made his first headgear selection outside Ohio Stadium on Oct. 5, 1996, with Herbstreit seated at his left. On Aug. 30, Corso will make TV magic for the final time, almost certainly back at Ohio Stadium, and again with Herbstreit at his side.