FILE PHOTO: CADY HERRING Kirk Herbstreit asks fans if they want photos while leaving the ESPN College GameDay set in the Grove Saturday.
A historic upset was not the only thing that occurred last Saturday. The weekend also marked the very first time ESPN’s College GameDay has been broadcast in Oxford. Analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Fowler and Desmond Howard and producer Lee Fitting had a press conference Friday before the show to discuss their trip to Oxford.
“Every year we are looking to be here and we are thrilled to be here. It re-energizes us whenever we go somewhere for the first time,” Fitting said. “This week feels different than all the other weeks, and in turn the show is typically better because of that. It’s exciting to see how excited the fans and the people are here.”
Herbstreit shared Fitting’s excitement at finally having the show in Oxford.
“What better place to celebrate a college football Saturday than Oxford, Mississippi, with a huge showdown, arguably one of the biggest games in school history,” Herbstreit said. “We kind of feed off of the energy of the crowd and I think this crowd will be one of the best that we have all year.”
Fitting talked, explaining why GameDay was just now making its first appearance to the Grove, which he called the most famous tailgating spot in the country.
“(Ole Miss) didn’t win the games they needed to win. Timing has something to do with it too,” Fitting said. “There were plenty of years where they did win the games but there was a better game or a bigger story that day.”
“We were itching to get here. I’ve been producing the show now for 11 years and there aren’t many spots that are on the GameDay bucket list, but this was one of them,” Herbstreit said. “It’s just a matter of timing and winning the right games.”
Fowler explicated on this point.
“We go where the game is. We’ve wanted to come here for a long time,” Fowler said. “There have been some close calls, but then the results didn’t quite fall the right way, namely Ole Miss stumbled before the big game we had circled.”
College GameDay was held on the Grove Stage in front of packed rows of fans, many holding up signs to show their support for the Rebels or to joke about the Crimson Tide.
Ole Miss junior Ryan Beamer was in attendance and said he was thrilled with the show and celebrity guest-host Katy Perry.
“You hear everything about GameDay, and just being able to experience it for the first time and us winning the game just makes it even more special, especially with Katy Perry picking us to win and being the only one,” Beamer said. “She was hilarious and seemed to really connect with the crowd.”
Ole Miss sophomore Banks Carlisle also said he enjoyed seeing College GameDay live.
“It was amazing being in Oxford for College GameDay. The atmosphere was electric, it was crazy,” Carlisle said. “I’ve never seen that many people in the grove or in the stadium before. I was glad to be a part of it and glad our team got the job done. It was just an all-around amazing time.”
