Filial Piety 

“Lee Corso is a mixture of Don Corleone and Yoda.” For those unfamiliar, Lee Corso is a sports broadcaster who co-hosts the show “College Game Day” on ESPN along with Kirk Herbstreit, who likes to describe his colleague this way. Back in college, my roommates and I would gather around the television every Saturday morning in the fall to hear Corso, Herbstreit, and others analyze that weekend’s college football matchups. The show is now in its 37^th season and remains hugely popular. What makes it a fun show to watch is that it usually broadcasts from the campus of a school that is hosting an important game. Since our college did not have a big sports program, my friends and I would enviously watch the huge crowd of students gathered for the live show as they went wild at any mention of their school.  Each episode culminated with the hosts’ game predictions. The one that everyone waited for was Lee Corso’s prediction, because he would announce it by donning the helmet or mascot head of his pick, to the delight or consternation of the local student population and those gathered around the television in my apartment. 

Herbstreit likens Corso to Don Corleone for the way he relishes being the show’s “bad guy,” and to Yoda because of the mentoring role the 89-year-old Corso has played in his life. Over the course of their three-decade friendship, Herbstreit would go to Corso for career advice but also with questions about being a young father.  “He was basically a second father to me… He listened. My dad didn’t listen great. 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.” In 2009, Corso suffered a serious stroke that impaired his speech. Nonetheless, he remains a fixture on the show, though he has missed several weekends this season due to health. Talking about the experience of being an octogenarian stroke survivor who works in live television, Corso says: “Basically, sometimes, I need some help. I rely on Kirk to help me a lot of the time.” Some viewers have expressed great displeasure at Corso’s continued presence on the show, turning to social media to vent their frustrations, often using unkind language calling for his retirement. But Herbstreit takes care to sit next to Corso during broadcasts to help his friend when he needs it. “I don’t want to ever make it look like he needs help or ever make it look like he’s struggling. So, I just try to do whatever I can subtly to just try to be there for him.” 

Herbstreit’s consideration for his friend exemplifies what we call “filial piety.” According to the Catechism (2215), “Respect for parents (filial piety) derives from gratitude toward those who, by the gift of life, their love and their work, have brought their children into the world and enabled them to grow in stature, wisdom, and grace.” It’s a much-needed remedy for what Pope Francis often calls our “throwaway culture,” that values people based on what they can do rather than what they are. It seems what’s happening on “College Game Day” these days is making an important contribution to the moral education of our nation’s college students. Hopefully they are paying attention. 

posted 11/9/24