Ever wanted to know what it would be like to have Bill Cosby give your football team a locker room pregame speech?
Should’ve gone to Temple, Cosby’s alma mater (Class of ’61). On a Thursday conference call, he had one word to describe the memory of his own football career — “fumbling” — but plenty of motivation for the Owls, who’ll face UCLA in the EagleBank Bowl at RFK Stadium on Dec. 29.
Cosby said for years he’s watched the Midwestern kids come out to Southern California for the Rose Bowl: “They load ’em up with steak, and then they take them to Hollywood and Vine, and they show them the stars on the street, and the kids get all excited, and it breaks their concentration. And then they take them to Disneyland and they meet Mickey Mouse, Snow White, Pluto, Dopey and all those, and they lose. That change in the temperature is so nice, and people riding around in convertibles in January.
“We got ’em now because in Washington, D.C., we got enough politicians talking to drop the temperature to 16 degrees Farenheit at RFK Stadium. It’s going to be 16 degrees. These California kids are not used to this, and then, even though the Potomac is not the correct river, we’re going to reenact George Washington crossing the Delaware. We’re going to put the whole UCLA team in an open boat with somebody dressed like George Washington. That’ll take the place of the Disneyland visit.”
Cosby’s recommendation for the long-distance travelers?
“The little avocado people will have to go to Ben’s Chili Bowl and warm up.”
