Column: Fans should capitalize on College GameDay opportunity

When ESPN announced that Indiana would host “College GameDay”, I remember having a conversation with my mom about its significance.

Living with two sons and a husband, my mom has always enjoyed learning about sports, but she had never heard of ESPN’s Saturday morning pregame show.

Naturally, she asked two questions.

What is College GameDay and why is it such a big deal?

I had to think about the questions for a moment because College GameDay is one event that can be important in so many ways.

And to understand what College GameDay means, you have to know about where it comes from.

In 1993, ESPN began sending their college football crew, filled with entertaining former players and coaches, to different universities for a live pregame show that would spotlight that week’s most enticing college football matchup.

Each week, Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and former IU  Coach Lee Corso broadcast in front of thousands of students, some of whom might have been camping there for days.

Before long, hosting College GameDay became a prestigious honor that was not bestowed upon just any program — especially not many non-BCS schools.

Just ask Assistant Athletics Director for Media Relations, J.D. Campbell, who worked at the same position for Bowling Green when BGSU became the first non-BCS school to host GameDay in October of 2003.

“At the time, it was a big deal because Bowling Green and Northern Illinois University were the first non-BCS schools that weren’t military schools to get that kind of attention,” Campbell said. “It was a great honor. It changes the dynamic of a regular season game into a big time event that everyone can identify with.

“GameDay is such a staple of college sports fans that having it here really brings so much attention to the program.”

In 2005, the show’s popularity was skyrocketing, so “The World Wide Leader in Sports” decided it was time to take GameDay from the gridiron to the hardwood.

Since 2005, Rece Davis and company have college road-tripped across the country from Gonzaga located in Spokane, Wash., to the Florida, making stops at basketball powerhouses while igniting college student fan bases.

In 2010, I was lucky enough to experience my first College GameDay as a freshman at the Illinois, when the Illini hosted No. 5 Michigan State.

Months of build-up led to students lining up as early as 3 a.m. in below-freezing temperatures just to get the best seats in the house.

Remember: this is all for a pregame show, not even a game.

To quote Allen Iverson, “not a game, not a game, not a game.”

Once inside the Arena, students packed the place for a 2-hour long showcase of chants, school colors and clever signs.

Once the show is over, everyone is ready for a nap, but realistically, you don’t have much time before you have to get back in line for the actual game.

College GameDay makes the idea of waking up early just to cheer on four guys talking seem sane because the show is more so about giving students the rare opportunity to prove their school spirit on national television than it is about the actual analysis.

“Just the attention that you receive and the atmosphere that it creates is unbelievable,” Campbell, who is preparing to host College GameDay for the third time, said. “To see that go from early in the morning to a 9 o’clock game with Dick Vitale here and the GameDay crew, it’s very special.”

Special things happen when GameDay is in town.

If you watched Butler’s dramatic comeback against Gonzaga in Hinkle Fieldhouse two weeks ago to kick off the GameDay season, you know what I’m talking about.

One of the most special moments of my life was the game between U of I and MSU that followed College GameDay.

After an improbable win, the Illini student section rushed the floor.

Because I waited out in the cold for what seemed like hours on end, I was one of the first people on the floor and before I knew it, I had Brandon Paul on my shoulders in a sea of orange.

Unbelievable.

That’s what GameDay is about and Bloomington is no stranger to its magic.

In February 2008, the No. 9 MSU Spartans came into town to play the No. 12 Hoosiers, led by Eric Gordon, in College GameDay’s first trip to Bloomington.

The Hoosiers overcame an early deficit to beat the Spartans 80-61 in front of deafening Assembly Hall crowd.

“It was great to have what I call ‘the center of the college basketball universe’ focused on us,” Campbell said about his first GameDay experience at IU.

On Saturday, Bloomington will once again be “center of the college basketball
universe”.

In a gift from the basketball gods, the No. 1 and the No. 3 teams in the nation will square off against each other in a game that will put the winner on the fast track to the Big Ten regular season championship.

And for the first time in five years, Hoosier nation will be given the chance to show the rest of the country why there is no harder place to play in the country than IU’s Assembly Hall.

ESPN’s College GameDay represents much more than just a nationally televised pregame show and primetime game.

College GameDay epitomizes the college spirit of youthful exuberance and obnoxious school pride that college sports fans — myself included — can’t get enough of.
That’s what makes College GameDay significant, Mom.

­— mdnorman@indiana.edu