College Gameday jumped the shark in Boone, North Carolina. It was only a matter of time before this happened. The show peaked years ago if we’re being honest, but the Saturday morning staple was still tolerable. Until, of course, it wasn’t.
For those unfamiliar with the term “jump the shark” it refers to the episode of Happy Days where Fonzie literally jumps over a shark on water skis. The phrase is now a catchall used to describe a thing that was cool or popular at one point but has fallen out of favor and relies on gimmicks for attention. For example, The Office jumped the shark as soon as we saw Andy in the manager’s chair.
Anyway, College Gameday finally jumped the shark after nearly 30 years of on-campus broadcasts. Its star has been waning for a few years now. That being said, the show managed to hold things together well enough. A lot of that had to do with Rece Davis and Desmond Howard who remain both entertaining and true to themselves.
There was actually some concern about the production when Davis replaced the always outstanding Chris Fowler, but he slotted in seamlessly. On the other hand, a lot of why College Gameday has finally jumped the shark can be traced back to the other side of the desk.
Related: USC and UCLA leaving is probably good for Pac-12 football
College Gameday jumped the shark: A timeline
Jesus signs become more prominent
In the late 2010s, you started to see people promoting Jesus on their signs. These became more and more prominent as the decade went on. Now any church is able to pimp out its Venmo on College Gameday. It’s ridiculous. ESPN should have put a stop to this before it became a thing. Signs shouldn’t promote religion (or politics). And I’m guessing if you brought a sign praising Allah, it would be snuffed out immediately. Freedom of religion as long as it’s Christianity, y’all! But that’s another story for another day.
Kirk Herbstreit turns state propaganda mouthpiece
There was a time when Kirk Herbstreit was a straight shooter who provided some of the best takes on college football around. He said what needed to be said. Then ESPN took an active role in shaping the sport’s landscape and he morphed into a mouthpiece of state-run media. His constant desire to weed out the little guys and promote whatever the hell ESPN wants is ridiculous. More on that in a second.
Lee Corso loses his faculties
In 2019, it became obvious that Lee Corso had lost a step. Producers had been scaling back his workload for a while. Even that wasn’t enough. Simply put, he has issues putting two or three sentences together these days. And while I understand people love him and he still wants to be a part of the program, Corso should not be on live TV.
During the season opener between LSU and Florida State, the TV broadcast cut to Corso standing alone on the sideline while plugging the halftime show. His glossed over stare into nothing was further proof he wasn’t there. It was sad to see. There are plenty of ways to keep the coach involved in College Gameday. Laboring through segments isn’t one of them.
Tom Rinaldi leaves
Tom Rinaldi is a great storyteller who added much needed context to College Gameday. Him leaving for FOX during the 2020 season was a tremendous loss for the show
Pat McAfee shows up at the desk
Pat McAfee’s cameos on College Gameday prior to this season were bad. Him showing up at the desk was worse. Seriously, was the show really worried about losing the white frat boy audience? We said this in our look at the worst things in college football in 2020 and we will say it again nearly two years later. McAfee’s appearances are simply pandering to stupid people.
The shark is jumped
All of this came to a head in Boone, North Carolina when ESPN decided to let Appalachian State host College Gameday. Herbstreit was there at his hypocritical best talking about what a great atmosphere this is for college football having spent the past two seasons trying to push schools like App State out of the picture.
McAfee was his loud, irritating self. Corso couldn’t finish a thought. Instead of being the exciting pep rally to get you ready for Saturday, the program was annoying, pointless and tailored to an increasingly narrow audience. It is a show out of ideas to stay relevant and is now dependent upon gimmicks to keep people tuned in.
College Gameday won’t be leaving the airwaves anytime soon. But it has lost the hearts and minds of those who grew up watching it on Saturday mornings.
Related: 5 things you may not remember about defunct college football bowl games in the modern era
