Gameday sells out

Many criticisms are being hurled at ESPN Gameday's upper management for obviously giving in to the competitive network urge and setting up shop 45 minutes from now at 7am local time in LA before a few sleepy Californians instead of before some already drunk Tiger fans (both kinds) in Auburn, Al. or at their initially chosen destination of Knoxville, Tn.

Here is a blog article that is typical of what is being said:

"Let’s begin with a few assertions.

First, that Gameday was originally destined for a September 16th date with the respective fanbases of Florida and Tennessee at Knoxville. It’s a traditional favorite of everyone on the Gameday crew, who historically hold great sway over where they go for the show. In fact, asserting this is just repeating fact; until Monday, that’s where Gameday was in fact headed.

The second assertion we’ll make is that for the most part, the talent decides where to roll on the weekends. Until this year, that’s been the case, even with the strange visit up to Boston last year for the FSU/BC game, a place that didn’t exactly reek of traditional tailgate. (It’s Boston, and yes, we know, the parking is hell up there.) They usually make the calls on where to be, even when the game they’re appearing at doesn’t sync up with ABC’s coverage.

The third assertion we’ll make is that ABC/ESPN/Commandante Mickey/Cthulucorp completely and utterly put the kibosh on that practice this year and has gone full party-line with its college football coverage, meaning the game of the week–the one ABC hypes full-bore across its many-armed beast of networks–will unfailingly be the one they happen to cover. Which this week will be Nebraska/USC, which OMG JUST HAPPENS TO BE THE GAME OF THE CENTURY11111!!!!

 

It's bidness, just bidness. But it's too bad that some of the great games at Notre Dame and around the SEC will no longer be visited by GameDay.

 

Where's the issue here? It's TV entertainment for those who cannot attend the games. I've never cared where they are located, and I don't think most viewers care either. For all I know they could be in Idaho. It doesn't bother me in the least that they won't be at ND. It's TV entertainment, period. Like Terry said, it's just bidness. That's all.

 

Not just bidness. Corso is afraid to come back to Knoxville. :twisted:

 

If ND and SEC fans will be honest, having GameDay at your game sort gave it that extra special something, but not enough to really make your day or not make your day. I've seen the set numerous times at ND, once at Ohio State a couple of times at Texas, it was interesting but I'm not one to hang around it to hold up a stupid sign or anything.

If they want to come fine, if not that's fine as well.

 

It's not the end of the world to be sure if they never show up again but it was always a little extra when they did. You already knew it was a huge game but they validated it on a national scale.

On the other hand some of the real magic of Gameday was the fact they would be at a gamesite where ESPN or ABC was not affiliated just because it was that important to the college football world.

 

That's a good point. I would agree on general principle, which means nothing to the network suits.

 

8)
IrishDave and I were at the GameDay set when they visited the Rose Bowl for a UCLA-Oregon game a few years back. There was nothing magical about it. I guess Terry couldn't hear me yelling "Itsy-Bitsy you're going down!"

..............JO'Co

 

Fowler's response:

Quote:
Of the 10 regular-season SEC games matching top 10 teams, we've had the privilege of watching seven from ringside, reveling in the drama. The Tennessee-Florida wars of 2000-02; Auburn's pounding of the Vols, with big Tiger-lover Sir Charles standing next to us on the sidelines at Neyland Stadium; and LSU's heart-stopping OT triumph at Tuscaloosa last year … those are memories that will last.
This is why I believe an explanation is needed for why GameDay won't be in Auburn for LSU's visit this Saturday.

For 13 seasons, the locations of the GameDay road shows have been editorial decisions based on the college football landscape. The basic principle was to (almost) always come from the site of the "biggest game," or occasionally, "the best story." Several times, we have visited the edge of the radar screen to pay tribute to the Mid American Conference's rise (at Bowling Green), the service academies (Air Force and West Point) or the tradition of the Bayou Classic.

Now, the philosophy has been rethought by upper management. For the first time, the competitive landscape of football programming is a frequent consideration. Serving the needs of ABC's new prime-time package of games is often a priority. The decision on GameDay's site is less a clear-cut "best game" philosophy now and is more complicated, made on a landscape where terms like "synergy" and "branding" live.

Please know this: Lee, Kirk and I have no say in decisions on GameDay's location. But as host of the show for 17 years, I am mainly concerned with the show's specific legacy, not the global college football landscape.

The first two weeks of the season were no-brainers. It made sense to follow Notre Dame to Georgia Tech and sit ringside for the first 1-vs.-2 regular-season game in 10 years last week in Austin. This week, the decision was made to come from the Los Angeles Coliseum, where ABC will be set up.

Executive vice president Norby Williamson asked me to relay his reasoning: Nebraska and USC, both visible programs with storied pasts, are colliding for the first time in 35 years, and this might be one of the few chances to showcase a Pac-10 location, keeping the show regionally balanced.

The SEC should feature a lot more big ones in the coming months.

This is important: Williamson said fans still can expect to see GameDay return to the SEC or to Notre Dame for games televised on CBS and NBC. That's a relief to me. LSU's visits to Florida and Tennessee loom large, as does Auburn's trip to the Swamp. Georgia versus the winner of the Vols-Gators clash will be huge.

Any of those games could carry national title weight.

So, who knows? I am hopeful. But just in case we don't make it there quite as often, I would truly miss broadcasting from Gainesville, Knoxville, Athens, Tuscaloosa, Auburn, Baton Rouge and Columbia. SEC campuses have consistently provided the most passionate, colorful and, uh … "spirit"-ed backdrops for the show.

Hands down. No other conference is close.

Even if we don't visit you as much, please don't stop visiting us Saturday mornings. We will continue to give teams from America's strongest football conference, and the Fighting Irish, their due any way we can.