A lot of people will not admit this, but I will.
ESPN College Gameday is one of my 5 top favorite shows on television. For the past 7 or 8 years, I have gotten up most Saturday mornings to watch the dynamic threesome of Chris Fowler (a hero from his days with "Scholastic Sports America"), Kirk Herbstreit (what dreamy eyes) and Lee Corso (the true star of the show) entertain me. Sure I have to deal with some flaws.....there are the corny Chris Connelly pieces (justifying his large contract) which are supposed to make people shed a tear (and occasionally do with me), there is Desmond Howard or Rocket Ismail (I never know which one) jabbering on about something and then there was Nick Lachey....which was just a bad idea.
But overall the show is brilliant. Three guys talking college football, one of whom is very goofy. But what takes it to the next level is its ability to be on location at the BIGGEST game of the week. See College Gameday has for years signified relevance and if your school was on the show, for that week, you mattered. I loved when the Gameday crew would be somewhere odd, like the Air Force when they played Notre Dame or Bowling Green, Ohio when Northern Illinois was undefeated. That atmosphere and significance made it great.
However this may be dying. On one of the greatest weeks of college football ever, College Gameday has sold out. Rather than be at LSU-Auburn, Florida-Tennessee or Notre Dame-Michigan, Gameday is choosing to attend Nebraska-USC. YEs you read that right....Nebraska-USC. Why? Because it is on ABC you see (a partner to ESPN) while the other games are on CBS and NBC. I am not the first one to complain about this.
Another blog has made the case that Gameday has sold its soul....and it is right. Picking the best game has gone by the wayside....now you get the ABC game so Herbie can do color commentary.
There is only one solution. Lee Corso, show some guts. When it is time to put on the headgear, take a stand. No Cornhusker or Trojan hat....put on the Auburn or LSU Tiger and show the suits at ESPN that you know what Gameday is about. Or dont....its up to you.
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