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Did the Eagles Predict the Rise and Fall of Boise State Football?
Will the “New Kid in Town” stay around forever?
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The year was 1976. The Eagles (Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and company) released their hit single “New Kid in Town”. It rose to No. 1 in the charts and is widely regarded as one of the band’s greatest hits.
1976 was also the year a small school in Idaho that, believe it of not, named Boise State (Boise is a city, not a state) joined Division 1-AA. Was this song a prophetic warning from Henley and the boys about the New Kid in Town? Let’s dive into the lyrics.
There’s talk on the street; it sounds so familiar.
Great expectations, everybody’s watching you.
Boise has joined Division 1 football! It’s the Big Sky Conference, it ain’t intramurals. As the program started as a JUCO program, joining Division 1 football is a big deal.
People you meet, they all seem to know you.
Even your old friends treat you like you’re something new.
Idaho and all of their Big Sky friends probably
Johnny come lately, the new kid in town.
Everybody loves you, so don’t let them down.
Ok big shot Broncos, show us what you’ve got. (They proceed to win the 1980 D-IAA Championship)
You look in her eyes; the music begins to play.
Hopeless romantics, here we go again.
The Broncos were happy to be with their Big Sky brothers but let’s be honest, the company in the conference were never pretty enough for these boys from Idaho (the state that is home to the city of Boise). This hungry junior college still wants more glory.
But after a while you’re looking the other way.
It’s those restless hearts that never mend.
Boise soars to great heights with their new girlfriend, the WAC, and the BYU/Utah/TCUless Mountain West
Johnny come lately, the new kid in town.
Will she still love you when you’re not around?
What happens when Boise State falls off and newer, prettier teams come around? Will the fans still be there? Has the nationwide luster that came with Boise State football already worn off?
There’s so many things you should have told her,
But night after night you’re willing to hold her, just hold her.
Tears on your shoulder.
Why were the Broncos so quick to jump on new opportunities? Do they have no loyalty? Will their lack of appreciation of their peers come back to bite them?
There’s talk on the street; it’s there to remind you
It doesn’t really matter which side you’re on.
You’re walking away and they’re talking behind you.
The Mountain West was always going to be a better landing place than where they came from but would it ever be enough and can they really leave now? How resentful are the rest of the programs in the conference?
They will never forget you till somebody new comes along.
Where you been lately? There’s a new kid in town.
UCF, Memphis, North Dakota State??? Some other school named after a real place?
Everybody loves him, don’t they?
And he’s holding her, and you’re still around. Oh, my, my.
There’s a new kid in town, just another new kid in town.
Ooh, hoo. Everybody’s talking ’bout the new kid in town.
Ooh, hoo. Everybody’s walking like the new kid in town.
Boise State, your run will be over one day. Are you gonna find the one to be with forever or are you going to follow the ways of your vagabond BYU brethren?
There’s a new kid in town. I don’t want to hear it.
There’s a new kid in town. I don’t want to hear it.
There’s a new kid in town. There’s a new kid in town.
There’s a new kid in town. Everybody’s talking
There’s a new kid in town. People started walking
There’s a new kid in town.
There’s a new kid in town.
In conclusion, it’s impossible to know if the Eagles were writing about the rise and fall of Boise State football. Who will the New Kid in Town be? Have we already seen the passing of the torch?
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