Now that Bill Cosby will no longer roam the Temple sidelines, the Owls need a new high profile face. Could it be Jeezy’s grinning mug taking over for the embattled Cheltenham based comic?
“I don’t know about that (replacing Cosby) but I do know I support the Temple football team,” Jeezy said while calling from Atlanta. “I completely back them.”
Jeezy, 37, formerly know as Young Jeezy aka Jay Wayne Jenkins, might not be young anymore (but he is 40 years behind Cosby) however, the intense rapper is still inspirational. LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Ricky Rubio have said the hip-hop sensation’s anthemic jams help take them to another place on the court.
Now, Jeezy has become the recording artist of choice for the Temple Owls football team a squad that’s been struggling since the Knute Rockne era.
Jeezy, who has recorded such soaring chart-toppers as “Sole Survivor,” “I Luv It” and “Go Getta,” shocked the Owls before the team faced 23rd ranked East Carolina University in early November when he gave a motivational speech.
“The coach asked me to come in because they all work out to my music,” Jeezy said of Temple head coach Matt Rhule. “They couldn’t believe it was me they were seeing. It was so cool.”
Jeezy rocked Owls jersey number 87, while giving a rousing talk about success and failure. The fired up Owls proceeded to upset ECU in their first ever win over a ranked opponent.
“It was awesome to have somebody that could just say to them, ‘whether you like my music or not, who I am or not, there’s two imposters in life, success and failure and you just have to fight through adversity,’” said Ruhle. “I say that every day to our team and he said it and they were like, ‘that’s good stuff right there.”
The Owls finished on a winning note to improve their record to 6-6 but they weren’t invited to a bowl game, even though Rhule’s squad was eligible. But there’s always next year.