STANFORD JUST MET USC WITH AN ENTHUSIASM UNKNOWN TO MANKIND. 

OH

MY

SCIENCE!

WHAT A GAME!  And LSU is down 10 (although there is plenty of time left there).

Could Cal be #1 without lifting a finger?  GO BEARS! 

So, my friend Tivoed ESPN GameDay last weekend, and apparently, our sign did appear on national television.  Here’s a picture of his TV:

Thanks for Tedford indeed!

So, if you do end up in the second level, they do take cameras around to the front of the second level to get even more screaming fans to lift their index fingers in a ‘number one’ sign.  Stay alert, and you too could end up on TV.

Everyone is understandably excited when ESPN chooses their school to host their ‘College GameDay’ show, and for good reason:  it’s a validation of your program and your standing in the college football world.  Your campus, your team, and your best players all get showcased for a national cable audience.  However, there’s an added bonus:  it’s really really fun.

The giant yellow ‘O’ was added to the stadium earlier this week by a specific request by ESPN.  Looks good, doesn’t it?  Ah, Nike money can do anything.

Attending the live taping of the GameDay show requires getting up early; on the West Coast, the show begins at 7am, and those with any shot at getting on TV get there quite a bit earlier; I’d recommend between 5 and 5:30am.  Because we got to our hotel so late the night before, we only managed 3 hours of sleep before heading over to the stadium; however, getting there just before 6am was not early enough.  After a certain number of people show up, the GameDay staff fences them off, presumably so they won’t be crushed by everyone else trying to get up front.

Because we’re behind this barrier, this is as close as we’re going to get.

When we arrive, we’re already 3 deep behind the fenced-off portion, and it’s still completely dark out.  (Later that day, I would remark to one of my friends, "Remember that guy we met at GameDay last night?")  Also, my attempts to buy beer had been a failure, as markets in Oregon won’t sell alcohol before 7am.  Still, up way too early and completely sober, with the show not to begin for another hour, we’re still having fun.  There’s a palpable excitement in the air that only presents itself at big games like this.  Fowler, Herbie and Corso take turns coming out early to rile up the crowd.  There’s a lot of very funny, very creative signs out there, way more than you can see on TV, and we all get good laughs at them as it gets light enough to read them.

That’s dedication.

Another great part of the show is that we get to watch along as it happens via the giant jumbotron that ESPN (or, apparently, Home Depot) set up especially for the broadcast.  Plus, because this is the biggest one of the day, there are a lot of features on both Cal and Oregon, and lots of cheers every time a Duck is shown on screen.  There are fewer cheers when Cal players are shown, but for the most part, Oregon fans are pretty respectful and don’t drown us out in boos (they boo, of course, but not too much until Herbstreit picks Cal to win).  Contrast this to when a preview of that day’s USC-Washington game is shown.  I’m booing USC, and I instinctually presume everyone else is booing them as well, and it takes me a second to realize that all the Oregon fans are booing Washington, shouting things like "Huck the Fuskies!"

Our sign wasn’t that big, but we did have one thing going for us:  a telescoping pole on which to mount it.  Thus, despite being behind several other people with larger signs, we were able to hoist our sign above the others.  (Thanks to, ummm, Tom Holmoe for the sign idea.)  When the GameDay camera was showing all three analysts, you could clearly see our sign rising above Chris Fowler’s shoulder.  However, for as far away as we were, you couldn’t actually read our sign, even on an HD TV. 

Our sign was double-sided.  You can see how the telescoping pole helped out immensely.

Still, we learned some important lessons, so I’m presenting here my tips for getting your oh-so-clever sign seen on ESPN GameDay:
- Get there early.  I recommend 5am.  Only the first couple hundred will be allowed to get close to the stage, so if you want to get right in the face of the camera, you’re going to have to get up well before the sun.
- Write big.  Small signs, especially on zoomed-out shots, just won’t be readable.
- Use black or blue ink on white paper.  Our sign was sorta thrown together at the last minute, so we wrote on the back of some cardboard.  While clearly readable by everyone in attendance, it didn’t show up well on TV.  (Although I should point out that the very white signs reflected a bit too much light in the early morning sun.)
- Get it up high.  Tall friends are one thing, but large poles are even better.  Plus, by getting the sign up to 10′-12′ high, you don’t block the view of the people behind you, which is always appreciated.
- Position yourself.  There were lots of great signs that were big, up close and readable, but didn’t get on TV because they were in the wrong spot.  For the most TV time, get yourself right behind one of the talking heads, especially Corso and Herbstreit, who get the most face time.  An added bonus of this is that those shots are zoomed in, so your sign doesn’t have to be all that big to be readable.

Of course, there’s plenty of other stuff to entertain you during the show.  Both bands showed up to battle it out behind the crowds (the Oregon band featured quite a few selections from their ‘Journey’ halftime show), as well both schools’ mascots and cheerleaders.  And of course, there’s the anticipation for which mascot head Corso will end up donning.  Herbstreit picks the Bears (you know, he’s the one who’s usually right), but Corso goes with the home team Ducks, donning a giant duck head (copyright Walt Disney Co.) to the jubilant cries of the crowd.

All in all, it’s a great time out, and hopefully I’ll get to do it again soon — perhaps on November 10th?  Here’s hoping.