Had it not been for “The Jerry Springer Show,” Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns may not have beaten USC to be crowned national champions in 2005.
In a recent interview for CBS Sports’ oral history of the 2005 BCS National Championship Game, former Texas coach Mack Brown spoke about his lack of experience at the time on that big of a stage. The night before the game, Brown sat in his hotel room wondering what to say to his team. It wasn’t until he watched three episodes of “The Jerry Springer Show” that it hit him.
Brown needed to find a way to get his players to relax. Here’s what he recalled telling them.
“I’m going to tell you something that’s going to change your life and it’s going to help us win this football game if you’ll just listen,” Brown told his team 10 years ago. “If your girlfriend or your wife ever asks you to go on ‘Jerry Springer,’ don’t go. It’s not good.”
He said the Longhorns took it quite well.
“They died laughing and I said, ‘That’s right. Let’s have some fun,'” Brown said. “We’re not gonna get up here and work this hard and lay an egg. We’re not gonna go out there uptight.”
It must have worked, because Texas defeated USC 41-38 in one of the best national title games that has ever been played.
And that, my friends, is why Brown is still reportedly receiving offers like this at age 64. Being a great motivator is more than half the battle in college football. Anyone who thinks of using Jerry Springer to motivate his players is doing something right.
