Aren't southern gentlemen supposedly chivalrous? Yet Joe Scarborough, son of the Florida Panhandle, today exploited Mika Brzezinski's less-than-encyclopedic knowledge of sports to lure his Morning Joe colleague into agreeing that the famous former coach of the Indiana University basketball team was none other than . . . Bear Bryant.
The jumping-off point was Joe's wearing of a red sweater today, which as a running gag he claimed was in solidarity with the workers of the world on this, May Day. But when Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, a Hillary supporter, came on toward the end of the show, Scarborough pressed the sweater into double duty.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: You do though feel the momentum breaking [Hillary's] way?
EVAN BAYH: Well she was a little behind; she's caught up. If I had to guess right now, yeah, I think momentum's on her side, but you know five days is a long time, Joe. This is truly as we would say in our state, being a basketball state, this is a jump ball.
SCARBOROUGH: It is a jump ball. And you notice, by the way, I'm wearing my Hoosier sweater.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Yeah, we noticed, I can't miss the sweater.
SCARBOROUGH: More about the Hoosiers than May Day, at least while I'm talking to the great senator there. Alright, thank you so much senator, great talking to you. Senator Evan Bayh. And of course the Hoosiers, Mika--
BRZEZINKSI: Yeah, teach me, teach me, you know so much about sports.SCARBOROUGH: It's the Indiana Hoosiers, and of course you know their great basketball coach, Bear Bryant, right?
BRZEZINSKI: Right, of course.
WILLIE GEIST: Come on, Mika.
SCARBOROUGH: It's Bobby Knight. Good
BRZEZINSKI: Why would you do that? You're next; you're next!
The late Bear Bryant was [1958-82] of course the legendary football coach of Joe's alma mater, the University of Alabama. And rather than the red sweater Bobby Knight famously wore at Indiana, Bryant's signature piece of apparel was the houndstooth hat.
