Pat Mcafee, Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Nick Saban, Desmond Howard, and many more are contributing to the largest advancement in the college football world. Their mix of humor, exclusive events, inclusivity of the fans, and Pat McAfee’s shenanigans are not just entertaining, but also significantly increase the viewership of college football. But what about this pregame show with sports analysts so different from the NBA, NFL, and MLB?
On October 5th, 1996, a fired-up ex-Indiana coach, Lee Corso, was selecting who would win the Ohio State versus Penn State game. However, no one would expect Corso to put on the Ohio Buckeyes mascot “Brutus” to show his support for the team. However, the Penn State fans wouldn’t know that the headgear selection would carry on a tradition that would last another 20 years. Ironically, Corso’s choice would be correct, with Ohio State beating Penn State. Throughout his 28 years of selecting, Corso has dressed as a Trojan, fired shotguns for OU, and rode motorcycles with Puddles the Duck. Yet, still to this day, on Saturdays, Lee Corso chooses his selections by creating new, unique traditions and ways of selecting teams.
Although Lee Corso paved the way for College Gameday’s rise in the media world, the show’s recent addition of former NFL punter Pat McAfee has been a game-changer. His new segment of kicking at each college has given the show a new element that other sports shows lack. The inclusion of the fans and audience is put on full display. McAfee chooses one college student from the designated college a week to kick a 30-yard field goal. In front of hundreds of fans, the kickers have a chance to win tens of thousands of dollars. Along with this, fans have built a tradition of creating humorous signs to hold up and display to the camera, often mocking the rival team that week. The fan inclusion of college gameday is unlike any other show. The wild and college-behaving Pat McAfee, with his unique segment, connects with college students and fans like nobody else in the sports world.
However, what ties the show together is the laid-back and collective retired Alabama head coach Nick Saban. A general perspective of the former coach is strict and few-spoken due to his immense respect in the football world. With 7 National Championships, most viewers believed Saban to be an awkward figure in a rowdy game show. However, Saban’s elite knowledge of the game has lightened the show and showed a side of Saban that many fans have never seen in his coaching uniform. He’s also come around to Corso’s unique mascots to choose selections.
These new additions and former traditions bring a different taste to this pregame show. College Gameday is revolutionizing the media world, and college football is booming. Viewership is climbing with more entertaining battles and coverage of these events. Behind Saban, McAfee, and Corso, these stars continue to light up the college world.
