ESPN’s flagship college football show is going golfing this week. College GameDay will broadcast live from Augusta National Golf Club this Saturday, which is also the second-to-last day of action at The Masters. Host Rece Davis was on a conference call with reporters earlier this week and was asked to reflect on the season for the show so far.
The obvious difference for College GameDay amidst the Covid-19 pandemic is there are no crowds. Davis says it makes for a big difference in the energy of the show.
“I think the number one thing that we’ve all noticed is that when you have normal situations in the crowd, you get instantaneous feedback, good and bad,” Davis said. “Whatever you say, if you say something good about your host rival or something they don’t like and you get booed, and if you say their teams good, then you get cheers. There’s a certain adrenaline and rush it goes along with it, and I think there’s a great energy that comes from having a show in a setting like that when you’re surrounded by, in some cases you know 25,000 people, you know, depending on the venue.”
Davis wanted to make it clear that he thinks the nuts and bolts of the show still work. He and the rest of the cast are not doing a completely different show, but the on-site fans have become such an important part of College GameDay that it is hard not to notice they are missing.
“You also don’t have the spontaneity of being able to you say something they boo and kind of react to and have a little fun with it and then move on. That part’s gone. But I think the discussion and the interaction. And the chemistry has been the same, you just miss that little bit of instantaneous energy.”
Davis said his first thought when the idea of doing College GameDay from Augusta National was presented to him was “that would be awesome”. He says The Masters and college football make for a good fit.
“It was very exciting to be able to do something different, especially this year and maybe be able to give people a little look at two great events. Obviously, the Masters stands alone, and then a college football Saturday, which we, you know, hold great reverence for as well and be able to connect those two things and do it from Augusta National is something that was very exciting.”
Kirk Herbstreit, who has been a part of College GameDay since before ESPN began taking the show around the country, says that he has never seen this kind of excitement for a broadcast before.
“I can tell you this, whenever we announced that GameDay was going to be at Augusta, I’ve never received more texts from people around the country than I did when we announced that location,” he told reporters.
