College GameDay

In honor of College GameDay being in Austin today, I thought I would share my GameDay story…and my television debut.

Vanderbilt started their 2008 season with one of the best starts in history – undefeated after four weeks. No one really expected that out of Vandy, and ESPN deemed Vandy worthy of a GameDay visit in week five…Auburn at Vanderbilt. No question in my mind, I was going to GameDay, decked out in my burnt orange.

Previous to August 2008, I lived in Arlington, Texas. College GameDay has made many visits to Dallas for the Texas-OU game. So why did I not ever go there? Well, Texas-OU weekend has a history of being pretty rough, and at times, violent. As much as I wanted to experience GameDay, I honestly didn’t really want to deal with the craziness. There’s also something really fun about going to GameDay when your home team isn’t the host.

The morning of October 4, 2008, I woke up at 5:30a…yes, 5:30a on a Saturday! I couldn’t sleep. I was just so excited. I’ve watched season after season of College GameDay, and now I get to go! I donned my burnt orange Texas t-shirt and headed out. I found parking at Vandy and joined the line of people waiting to clear security and gather in the courtyard. People watching at it’s best. Students wearing in black & gold, wrapped up in the early morning chill. The occasional group of Auburn fans being taunted by Vandy fans. Local dads bringing their sons (and a few daughters) to experience college football at it’s best. High schoolers just hoping to be on TV. Fans, much like me, wearing their favorite school colors and soaking it all up.

Inside the gate, I was searching for the best place to stand. I wanted to be able to see everything going on, but I also wanted a place to possibly be on TV. I’ve never been on TV before and thought College GameDay would be the perfect debut. I wasn’t planning on doing anything stupid or crazy to get on. Just wanted to create the opportunity. My eyes landed on some crimson and cream…OU fans. The next weekend was the Texas-OU game, so I knew standing with them would probably be wise, especially since GameDay would be in Dallas for the game. These Sooners were standing pretty close to the front, along one of the Home Depot barriers. I slid up next to them and sarcastically asked “Is it okay if I stand here? We don’t have to talk or anything.” They laughed and said “Of course. We’ll definitely get on TV this way!”

People crowded into the courtyard, proudly showing off their homemade signs. (Some of my favorites are pictured below.) Word spread throughout the crowd – no one was to wear the Home Depot hard hats because they are the orange of Tennessee and Auburn. (Worked out well for me. I got a hard hat & was able to get some autographs after the show.) Cameramen scanned the crowd, looking for fans to highlight. The GameDay cast – Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, andKirk Herbstreet – arrived on set, testing mics, touching up their make-up, and interacting with the crowd.

The show starts, and the place goes crazy! All the signs are up, the cheerleaders are leading the chant “Who you with? VU!,” hands everywhere are displaying the VU sign (thumb & first two fingers up). Even some of the marching band came out and are playing the fight song. This is the passion of college football at its best.

One of the highlights of the morning came for me about an hour into the show. Before they broke for a set of commercials, Fowler teased on a story about Colt McCoy and the Longhorns. I threw up the Hook ‘em hand sign, started screaming and jumping. When I stopped, a cameraman (who I did not realize was so close at that time) said to me “Sweetie, don’t move. I’m coming back to you.” A little bit later, during the piece Texas, he came over and put the camera right in my face. Said he would give me a sign for when I needed to start cheering. You can see just how excited I was in this video…my television debut. (My dad sent me this video he took with his phone.)

The other highlight of the day came a little bit later. I stuck around after the show, really to see if any of the cast would come out to sign autographs. I must be honest and confess that I have a huge crush on Kirk Herbstreet. I really didn’t care about the others, just Kirk. Chris Fowler came over, Kenny Chesney came over (he was the guest host for the pics that day). Even Desmond Howard was out signing autographs. Then I saw him. Kirk was headed my way! I was excited and nervous all in the same moment. What was I going to say? I didn’t want to look like a complete idiot. As he signed my hard hat, we made eye contact, and I told him that I watch GameDay every week and am a huge fan. He said thanks and that he was impressed I watch every week. My day was now officially complete…College GameDay, being on TV, and meeting Kirk Herbstreet. I was a happy girl. (I know, I know, you are laughing at me, but I don’t care. I met Kirk.)

Oh, and by the way, Vanderbilt went on to win the game against Auburn, 14-13, continuing their winning streak.