CHARLOTTE — As he finished taping a couple of segments for ESPN’s weekend college football coverage — both of which only required he and his co-worker, Rece Davis, to wear shorts along with their shirts, ties and sport coats for the shoulders-up shots — Kirk Herbstreit rose from his chair on the College GameDay set and turned around to look in the direction of a voice he heard.
“Nice shorts!” a fan yelled.
Herbstreit acknowledged the good-natured ribbing and smiled.
“Only on Fridays,” he said through the grin.
Perhaps ESPN’s most visible college football analyst, Herbstreit then gave a thumbs up and thanked the small gathering of fans who’d come out to watch from the Romare Bearden Park lawn about 50 feet behind him. As far as Herbstreit was concerned, they could’ve shouted just about anything.
College GameDay, ESPN’s popular pregame road show, will broadcast live on site Saturday morning ahead of Clemson’s marquee opener against Georgia at Bank of America Stadium that night. The fact that Herbstreit was hearing more than just the show’s analysts talking among themselves leading up to it was music to his ears.
“We missed this so much last year,” Herbstreit said. “This sport missed this, and this is a great way to get it started.”
Last year, there weren’t hundreds of fans packed around the set with their usual made-for-television signs. Instead, fans of the show were relegated to virtual interactions amid the coronavirus pandemic, and even the Gameday crew, which includes Herbstreit, Davis, Desmond Howard, David Pollack and Lee Corso among others, had to be connected virtually at times to broadcast the show, which has normally traveled to a different location each week during the season since 1993.
“It’s like it’s own little fair that comes to town and sets up with entertainment and stuff,” said Pollack, who joined the GameDay crew in 2011. “It’s definitely been cool, unique and adjusting with the times.”
But fans are allowed to attend this season, which, for the show, began last week with a trip to Atlanta to broadcast ahead of the Alcorn State-North Carolina Central game in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. The top-5 matchup between Clemson and Georgia figures to bring out even more fans Saturday, which Davis said only helps the quality of the broadcast.
“It changes everything,” said Davis, GameDay’s host for the last seven seasons. “We would walk away from the show last year, and maybe the tape elements, the breakdowns, the discussions, that was really, really good. And when I would watch the show back on video, the soundtrack was missing. That buzz and that energy that comes from having fans there wasn’t there. And the same thing is true when you were watching games last year.
“I think the energy and the atmosphere that was such an integral part of college football will make certainly the game experience better and is going to make our show better.”
The three-hour show is set to air in its usual 9 a.m. time slot Saturday from Romane Bearden Park, which is less than a mile away from Bank of America Stadium. Social distancing is recommended, but with the show being filmed outdoors, masks won’t be required of fans who choose to attend.
“I hope we have a big crowd here on Saturday,” Davis said. “Safely, obviously.”
Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!
