I’m sure Lincoln Riley knew there were going to be some cultural adjustments as he moved from Oklahoma to Los Angeles, but I don’t think anything could have prepared him for this.
Nothing can prepare you for how cringe Lincoln Riley’s USC introduction was
What even is this?
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
I swear to God I watched this four times not believing it was real. Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. USC is a big school, one of the biggest in the nation, yet somehow they made Riley’s introduction look like it was filmed in the conference room of a Ramada Inn at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon in order to get a reduced rate.
The camera never shows anything beyond the stage, which makes me feel like there was nothing else around. Also, who conceived of this being the way to wow Lincoln Riley? Yes, USC, we get it, your band played “Tusk” with Fleetwood Mac back in 1979, and you keep making the song a thing for some reason.
You know who wasn’t around in 1979? LINCOLN RILEY. The dude is 38-years old. Have you met a 38-year-old who can’t wait to get down to some Fleetwood Mac? They don’t exist. If you claim they exist you’re lying.
More importantly, a huge part of building a successful program is the ability to recruit. To wow teenagers. To show that you understand their generation. This celebration of 1979, organized by, what I can only assume, was a booster in his 60s whose prized possession is a 2003 Mazda Miata with the license plate “TRJNS” has set back Riley’s recruiting by three years with this video alone.
Other schools will use it to mock USC. The school that thought “sunglasses on a band, now that’s some far out fun!” And what are you going to do if you’re Lincoln Riley? USC is paying you huge money, I mean hell, maybe that contract is part of the reason your bare bones introduction was hastily thrown together like a surprise party devised on three hours notice. You can’t mock what’s happening, because you’re the new guy in the office — and you can’t just run away, because this was organized for you.
I have nothing else to say. Wow USC, y’all really outdid yourselves. That’s sarcasm. This whole thing sucked.
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