By Devan Scott
SouthernPigskin.com

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This is not a piece about medicine; this is about a football fan who quite literally died from having too much heart.

Corey Schmid was born May 6, 1989. Some of you may recognize that this would be his 25th birthday. Like too many people, Corey was taken from us at far too early an age. Corey Robert Schmid died March 12, 2014.

Corey did not die in combat, he did not overdose, and he was not killed in a car accident. Corey was a warrior, Coreys personality was addictive, and Corey was head on with everyone.

Corey died of something most people, myself included, were quite unaware of:Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, aheart defect that affects mostly young athletic people. You know, like most of the people that read and write for this website. Google it, research it, do what you like. This is not a piece about medicine; this is about a football fan who quite literally died from having too much heart.

Corey was a football player – big, strong and athletic. If you could design a defensive end, hed be it. Youd have a tough time making him mean enough, but he had the build until his injury. Cut down due to a knee issue, Corey could not play and fulfill his potential. He channeled this into fandom.

Corey was born in Pensacola, Florida. He always had his heart set on the University of Florida. While not according to plan, he still landed at an SEC school: Mizzou. Corey lived through the Blaine Gabbert era (I still want my money back for the Insight Bowl, jerk) and the growing pains of James Franklin. He saw Chase Coffman catch everything in sight. I spent three hours with him at Bengals cWedding Crashersd style, undercover at a private party, before Henry Josey made the run that I will remember for the next 50 years. He told me Josey would be the gamebreaker. I spent 20 minutes talking about zone schemes to contain Johnny Manziel. His stance didnt change. Sometimes you just know.

The man went out on top. The last Mizzou game he ever saw was at Jerry Jones Space Palace for the Cotton Bowl Classic against Oklahoma State. He introduced me to some new friends who Ive gotten to know better under unfortunate circumstances. We loaded up the truck and we tailgated as hard as ever. Anyone who has ever tailgated with me (or generally been in the same room as me while football is happening) knows thats quite a statement. He saw Michael Sam carry the ball into the endzone to seal the game. He saw Mizzou in its unflinching glory, his last memory of Mizzou football. And Im glad he saw it.

Ive said enough about the man, so Id like to share some of Coreys best friends favorite moments of his fandom. If after reading a couple of these stories you dont miss the guy or wish you could have hung out with him, well, you, kind reader, are not getting a beer from me at a tailgate.

I’d have to say my favorite football story with Corey would be this past years SEC Championship Game. Corey and I had played with the idea of going to Atlanta for the game a few weeks before. We elected not to and decided we would instead get tickets for whichever bowl game Mizzou would be going to. I called Corey the day of the Championship Game to see what he was doing. He told me he was going over to the Muenchs to watch the game, and invited me to come with. As always, Bryan and Julie had plenty of cold beer in the garage. There was also a bottle of Fireball. I can’t attest to exactly how many shots we took, but I can say every time Mizzou scored we gathered around the table for a quick MIZ chant and to throw one back. We had a great day watching the game, even though Mizzou suffered an all-too-typical heartbreaking loss. On a day like this the football was almost secondary to the great company and great time we shared. I watched a lot of football games over the years with Corey and, like always, he seemed to introduce me to new people while doing so. No matter what he had planned for the day he did whatever he could to include everybody. 3 Brian P.

Corey always brought us together and that’s what I’ll remember most. We had a blast watching the Tigers beat OSU. I’ll never forget how happy watching the Tigers made us that day! He just loved MU football and I will always think of him fondly when I watch the Tigers march to victory! 3 Sarah Kate

For the Mizzou/Auburn SEC Championship Game, Corey was at our house along with Brian Peyton, Jacque Bardgett and Jon Cleair. We had lots of food, drinks and fun and we ended up losing both the football game and our voices from yelling at the T.V. Even though we lost the game, there was no shortage of enthusiasm for the black and gold. We have many Mizzou football-related memories with Corey, but this day was extra special because Corey and our little Joey got to hang out and watch the Mizzou game! Corey loved this picture and we are so happy to have it as a reminder of another great day of many with our dear friend. 3 Brian, Julie, and Joey M.

Corey and I went to every high school football game together. For the sake of everyone, Ill spare the details, but the two of us and some awesome friends otherwise knew how to have a good time. Ill never forget the day he helped me take 80 bars of soap on a rope to an away game so we could show our arch rivals, the greasy griffins of vianney, just how far we would go to taunt them. In his good nature, Cor was playing catch with some younger kids at halftime. He led one of them a bit too far and the little guy ran straight through, over, on, and any other preposition you could use, the trainers table. It was absolutely wrecked. Corey helped the kid up, dusted him off, and told him to keep his head up. Corey was always the type of guy youd want your daughter to marry. Fall wont be the same without him. 3 Devan S

Corey loved Mizzou football, and it was one of the many ways he brought people together. Whether it was tailgating, having friends over to his house, or going to one of his favorite Columbia bars; he always made sure to have fun and celebrate his Tigers on game days. The last time I saw Corey was at the Cotton Bowl this past year. I’m so glad to have that final memory with him, because it was just like so many of the great football games we shared together, even though we had graduated and moved on from Mizzou. Our win that day made the memory that much sweeter, and from now on I will cherish the memory of sitting next to him in Jerryworld, drinking a few beers and celebrating an amazing win with Corey surrounded by a sea of fellow Mizzou fans. 3 Kara H.

Let’s be honest, attending the University of Missouri meant football…every fall Saturday. I had the pleasure of spending the majority of my football seasons with Corey. The last time I saw Corey, we were at Mizzou’s Cotton Bowl victory in Dallas. There couldn’t be a more fitting final memory of the man. We spent this Friday the way we spent every Saturday back in Columbia, enjoying football and cheering on our Alma Mater. That day is by far one of my favorite memories with Corey. It was just a fun, carefree day; there is nothing better. I never knew Corey from his football playing days, but I have come to understand that he had loads of talent. Although his football playing days were behind him, the passion continued in his everyday life. It’s still so hard to believe that he won’t be there to greet me when I come back to Missouri for homecoming. Even though he is no longer with us, Corey will be present every fall day in Columbia. Corey will never be far from my thoughts, especially on game day. 3 Zach M.

I was so proud to attend Chaminade football games and be able to say that my brother was out on the field. I even brought our dog Chipper to games to cheer him on from the sidelines. His love of sports extended throughout his entire life. In the recent years, I enjoyed hearing all he had to say about the Mizzou football games he attended and how good the tailgate was. 3 Catie Schmid

Corey was so happy to be on the Chaminade Football team in middle school. He practiced so hard. I remember driving Corey and his buddy Tim Applewhite to the summer practices. It was so hot and they worked so hard. It was a hard job for this Mom to pick those two smelly boys up at the end of each session and drive them home. I had to leave the windows open!! It was so fun to listen to the two of them discuss the days torture.

Unfortunately for Corey, two knee surgeries put a stop to his football career and to all contact sports. The poor kid was so disappointed, but soon took up water polo and swimming. He still loved football and continued to go cheer on his Chaminade team. Corey went on to college and was so proud of his MIZZOU Tigers. He loved going to the games and, of course, the tailgate parties.

Such a sport’s fan!

Love you Corey,

Mom

– Mrs. Connie Schmid
–
M-I-Z, buddy. Miss you every day. We all do. If I missed your story, please share them in the comments.

If you would like to contribute to Coreys memory, his parents have asked you to donate to St. Jude Childrens hospital here: https://shop.stjude.org/GiftCatalog/donation.do?cID=14262&pID=24671

If you would like more information on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, you can find it here: http://mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypertrophic-cardiomyopathy/basics/definition/con-20030747