Somewhere, cooler heads are prevailing, and the hyperbole is fading away. It’s no more evident than by looking at one prominent former Ohio State player.
Kirk Herbstreit is the standard bearer of ESPN’s flagship pregame show, “College GameDay,” and the premier color commentator for the network’s game of the week, usually shown on ABC.
The former Buckeye, apparently, isn’t falling in line with all the pearl-clutching over Michigan football and the alleged sign-stealing scandal. While many of his colleagues on TV and compatriots in Columbus and beyond are screeching that Connor Stalions’ actions are unique and the “worst scandal in college football history,” Herbstreit wants no more of it. He’s done.
Speaking to the Washington Post, Herbstreit said he and former Michigan standout Desmond Howard, the former Heisman Trophy winner and fellow “College GameDay” host, they’d just like to move on.
Kirk Herbstreit is tired. He and his golden retriever, Ben, will have traveled about 6,000 miles to four cities over three days by the time the man and man’s best friend finally get to go home, only to do it all again a few days later.
But it’s not the travel that has worn out Herbstreit. It’s the Michigan sign-stealing scandal and the weeks-long coverage of a story that has rocked the sport that have left Herbstreit and others exhausted.
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“What’s it been like for Des and I — I think all of us got to a point as players where we’re like, ‘Can we move on?’ ” Herbstreit, 54, told The Washington Post. “At some point, you just get tired of talking about the same stuff.”
While that might ingratiate any Michigan football fans who may meander by Ferry Field to catch “College GameDay” on Saturday in lieu of going to Pioneer High School for Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” or the Barstool Sports pregame show just north on Main Street, certainly, Herbstreit’s comments are likely to draw ire from fans of his alma mater. In fact, it’s nothing foreign to the ESPN/ABC broadcaster, who supposedly had to move to Nashville from Columbus due to unruly fans who weren’t happy about him towing the line of all things scarlet and gray.
On Saturday, at approximately 4 p.m. EST, either the sign-stealing scandal will be given more life with an Ohio State win or it will be given the death knell, mattering mostly to rival fans but not at all to anyone who watched what happened on the field.
Only the Wolverines can determine their own PR legacy, and winning The Game will go a long way to quieting those screeching voices.