There’s always something a little bit special about ESPN College GameDay broadcasts on the West Coast.
“Finally,” some will say, “our player/program/conference will receive national recognition.” The exposure never hurts a program, and the host school always goes out of its way to make the logistics of the broadcast go smoothly. Out west, however, an added bit of theater marks a GameDay episode, an advantage East Coast schools simply do not have.
GameDay is slotted for 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and 7 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, meaning that the sun’s rays have not always made it across the country. A West Coast GameDay is initially enshrouded in darkness. The crowds are enthusiastic, but behind Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard, little can be seen. The masses can only be heard.
As the broadcast continues, the sun keeps rising. Viewers become aware that there is, indeed, a background behind the set, revealed every so often like the stage behind a slow-moving curtain.
Though totals are inexact, an estimated 2,000 to 4,000 over-caffeinated Oregon fans have shown up at GameDay in its three Autzen Stadium appearances since 2007. I attended the first of the three, against California on Sept. 29, 2007, staking out the site from Autzen at 10 p.m. the night before and moving into position around 4 a.m. at the set, located in Alton Baker Park. Fans were shoulder-to-shoulder, packed like sardines with no room to move. Every fourth person had a sign — “Lou Holtz 4 Prethadent” remains one of my favorites to this day.
We were loud. We were excitable. We had numbers. And we couldn’t believe our luck in hosting college football’s unofficial wake-up call.
This year, for the Oct. 31 GameDay before Oregon-USC, I opted instead to watch from my apartment. The show began in the dark with the excited crowd audible, if not visible, behind our hosts. Slowly but surely, the sun brightened the sky and cast some light down on the Duck faithful occupying the Casanova Center parking lot. It revealed thousands of screaming, costumed fans looking to seize their moment in the national spotlight. It revealed the sights of posters across the television screen and sounds of the Oregon marching band, playing from a ramp inside Autzen’s gates.
The sun shined light on the passion of Oregon football fans.
I have little doubt our Arizona brethren will reveal their college football passion to the nation during this Saturday’s GameDay, to be held at the UA Mall. The Wildcats are 6-3 this season, 4-2 in Pacific-10 Conference play, and have had their fair share of doubters as the season has progressed. The broadcast will undoubtedly instill a newfound confidence and pride in the fans who attend. As an Oregon student, I welcome it. UA fans are treating this game like the biggest of the season, and they still have the Territorial Cup against Arizona State and a game against USC left to play.
That’s the Pac-10 for you – suddenly, every game is the biggest game of the season.
Oregon (8-2, 6-1 Pac-10) understands this all too well. Sure, fans have educated themselves on Pac-10 title tie-breaking scenarios, but the fact remains: Win out, and the Ducks are in the Rose Bowl. Oregon is playing Arizona on Saturday for the right to the Rose Bowl, and Oregon State on Dec. 3 for the right to the Rose Bowl.
Winning out is the simplest scenario, and also the most difficult one to see through.
Forgive the fans, however, for premature Rose Bowl talk. Oregon fans have waited since 1994 for a return appearance to the bowl game and since 1917 for a victory. Arizona fans have never known a Rose Bowl appearance — should the Wildcats make it somehow, it’d be the school’s first bid.
With two Pac-10 losses, Arizona’s situation becomes more complicated, but that matters little once the team takes the field and the fans take their seats. Win and you’re in. It’s become a mantra of Duck fans eager to see the program through to the highest possible honor for a Pac-10 team this season. It’s become the mantra of Arizona fans who believe in the power of good luck and timely bounces.
The Pac-10 is still up for grabs. The excitement around the conference is at a fever pitch.
On Saturday, the nation will be exposed to it, slowly but surely, with the rising sun.
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