After an undefeated season in the Mountain West Conference, the San Jose State Spartans were just one win away from capturing their first ever conference title in program history. Waiting for them at the finish line of this historic season was famed boxing and fight sports MC, Michael Buffer -- the man who turned "Let's get ready to rumbleeeee" into an iconic catch phrase.
Prior to the game, Buffer provided an intro for the team that was meant to get them hyped up for their "rumble" against Boise State.
Posted by San Jose State Spartans on Saturday, December 19, 2020
The Spartans would go on to defeat the Broncos 34-20, holding off a late second-half push from Boise State to secure the victory, and a spot in the Arizona Bowl at Arizona Stadium in Tucson on New Year's Eve. Once again, it was Buffer whose voice was their to greet and congratulate the team on their athletic achievement.
By knock out.
— San José State Football (@SanJoseStateFB) December 20, 2020
Your new heavyweight CHAMPIONS of the @MountainWest! #SpartanUp pic.twitter.com/MIU2Si79l8
If you'll notice, there's a particular watermark in the bottom left corner of both videos. That's because both of these clips were purchased on the website Cameo, a place where people can pay celebrities a fee to say almost anything you want them to say -- within general reason -- and the rules they've set on their particular site.
Buffer is worth $295 according to his page, meaning that nearly $600 dollars was spent for these two clips. It's an interesting approach to get a big name to celebrate a team's incredible season, but how many other programs can say they had Michael Buffer call the intro and victory of their team's championship game? The question now becomes whether San Jose State prepared for a potential loss in the championship matchup.
To give you an idea of how hard the season had been for them up until this point, here's a quick rundown, courtesy of The Mercury News.
San Jose State shouldn't have been here.
Not after traveling more than 300 miles north to Humboldt State to practice in the middle of a semester to prepare for the season because of Santa Clara County COVID-19 restrictions.
Not after missing games in back-to-back weeks last month because of opponents' coronavirus issues.
Not after setting up its home base in Las Vegas the past two weeks because of more coronavirus orders.
Not after being picked to finish near the Mountain West's cellar.
But, the Spartans, in defiance of logic, climbed the mountain.
It's certainly a lot easier to believe in a team's chances heading into a championship game when they've gone through all that and come out looking like the team of destiny. That it also saves nearly $300 for the program is a nice added bonus.
