Rain-soaked fan finds solace in ‘Mr. Brightside’ at dreary Fenway Bowl

It’s hard to imagine there’s anything a little “Mr. Brightside” can’t fix.

Even if the ailment is the dreary, rain-soaked Fenway Bowl between Boston College and SMU, you can always count on the debut single from The Killers to be of remedy. And that old wives’ tale proved fortuitous during Thursday’s broadcast of the 23-14 Eagles victory.

There's nothing a little Mr. Brightside can't cure. pic.twitter.com/tZemkGJgwV

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 28, 2023

Chris Cotter and Mark Herzlich were on the call for ESPN on Thursday, as nothing quite screams bowl season like a matchup between two future conference mates at 11 a.m. during the week at a baseball stadium. Both broadcasters acknowledged that some amongst the crowd were inappropriately dressed when considering the weather, as the camera panned to the stands in the final minute of the Fenway Bowl.

Cotter and Herzlich asked their camera operators to focus on a rather miserable-looking fan wearing a thin, red poncho. They had seen this fan before and described him as a “meme.”

“That’s like, my son wanted to come to this game, and boy, does he owe me one,” said Cotter.

As the officials reviewed what would be a game-ending first down, Herzlich asked for another shot of this guy. And that’s when the crowd began to be serenaded by the playing of Mr. Brightside, and the fan began to come out of his cage. Now, he was doing just fine.

“Yeah, you play a little Mr. Brightside out here; The Killers can do wonders for a crowd,” said Herzlich.

“He went from misery to elation in a matter of seconds,” added Cotter.

Cotter said that if they hadn’t already given out the Capital One Player of the Game, this fan sitting in the Green Monster seats in left field might’ve been it. As he began to bang his head to the electric sound of Brandon Flowers and the Killers, the broadcasters noticed that he was sporting a Boston College hoodie underneath his paper-thin, red poncho.

And in case you didn’t know, Boston College plays Mr. Brightside after every win. So, yes, in the eyes of that BC fan, there’s nothing a little tradition-backed playing Mr. Brightside can’t cure.

Sometimes, all it takes is a little “open up my eager eyes” and a chorus of “Cause I’m Mr. Brightside” to turn the tide.