ESPN Should Keep Gameday on Campus Locations
By Kyle Kensing
on Wednesday that its flagship pre-game program College Gameday would emanate from Arlington, Texas and Cowboys Stadium for Week 1 of the 2012 season.
Talk about starting on the wrong foot. College football has sold out on traditions little-by-little in the name of progress. Now, comparing a TV show like Gameday, which has been aired for less than two decades to history rich bowl games or decades old rivalries is a stretch. But it has become a big part of the sport’s public face in the 21st century.
Michigan and Alabama is the premiere season opening match-up, a clash of 2011 season BCS bowl game winners and highly pre-season foes from two of the elite conferences. If you need further convincing, read BamaHammer.com’s breakdown. But Gameday should not exclusively be limited to which FBS match-up is deemed the best. What makes the program special isn’t featuring Saturday’s marquee game per se, but rather capturing the essence of a campus game day and bringing it to the viewers’ homes.
Jerry Jones’ Dallas Palace is a terrific venue, by all accounts. But it’s a terrific NFL venue, catering to the corporate set. It’s a shiny, cosmetic veneer. It’s more “Real Housewives of Dallas” than it is Cotton Bowl.
A key difference between college football and the NFL is the former’s atmosphere. The exuberance of undergrads packing into bleachers provides a much different feel than the luxury boxes and pricey season ticket packages that make up an NFL stadium.
My beef is not with Gameday broadcasting from a neutral site location. The Red River Shootout should be a seasonal requirement of Gameday, but the Cotton Bowl and Texas State Fair convey the collegiate atmosphere.
More of the high profile Week 1 match-ups are going to neutral venues every season. In addition to UM-UA, Atlanta’s Georgia Dome is host to Auburn vs. Clemson. Northern Illinois, a double digit game winner each of the last few seasons, faces Iowa at Soldier Field. And then there is the once-in-a-lifetime tilt pitting Navy against Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland. ESPN’s parents at Disney have deep pockets, but probably not that deep.
That leaves fewer options for on-campus broadcasts. Furthermore, the Worldwide Leader typically stages Gameday at the locale of its prime time game, in which co-host Kirk Herbstreit provides color commentary. Not always, though. Last season, the crew went to Tuscaloosa for LSU-Alabama, a CBS game. An excited Lee Corso dropped an F-bomb from the University of Houston, where FOX Sports handled coverage of the undefeated Cougars against Conference USA rival SMU.
So if not the Dallas Palace, where could Gameday broadcast you might ask. Because of the proliferation of neutral field games, and other high profile match-ups spread throughout the weekend (Boise State-Michigan State & Tennessee-NC State on Friday, Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech on Monday), it would take some creative planning. Iowa State is rarely at the center of national attention, yet typically draws impressive crowds. The Cyclones host consistent bowl-bound program Tulsa, and ISU pulled off a BCS championship-altering upset in Ames a year ago.
Nevada and Cal are two teams that return experienced rosters and could make noise in their respective conferences. Further, the Golden Bears are christening a completely overhauled Memorial Stadium. What more appropriate opening than with Gameday in Berkeley? Staying in Pac-12 country, Arizona had a lively crowd on hand for Gameday’s Tucson debut in 2009. The Wildcats host 2011 bowl game winner Toledo in the first game of the Rich Rodriguez era. Or perhaps a short jaunt from Tucson, pre-season national championship contender Oklahoma is visiting El Paso and UTEP.