Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications
OXFORD, Miss. – Following a broadcast from the Grove Saturday, ahead of Ole Miss’ 23-17 win over then-top-ranked Alabama, ESPN “College GameDay” producer Lee Fitting said the experience here was the best he’s had in 11 years with the show.
Fitting told Sports Illustrated that the buzz throughout the weekend here was “awesome.”
“This was the best on-campus experience I’ve been part of as ‘Game Day’ producer,” Fitting said. “It wasn’t a show, it was an event, and it was because you have such a great natural character in the Grove. You have an incredible recipe – a picture-perfect setting, with thousands upon thousands of people that all share an unmatched passion for their school, their team and their sport. The buzz throughout the weekend was awesome. There were times when the production truck was actually shaking.
“It’s a place, and an event, that every college football fan has to experience in person.”
The live broadcast, which previews the big college football matchups across the country, had many memorable moments, including Oxford’s own Wright Thompson, a writer for ESPN, telling the moving story of his father’s seats in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and a lively segment with guest picker Katy Perry. The broadcast was the show’s highest overnight rating of the season.
And “GameDay” may be returning soon. Ole Miss and Auburn play here Nov. 1, which is already on the shortlist for possible locations that day.
“In this business, you don’t really root for any team, but when you see a host team pull off a win like Ole Miss did Saturday evening, it’s just a perfect cap to a perfect weekend for those folks,” Fitting added. “Postgame, it would’ve been easy to mistake the Square for Bourbon Street. It was an absolute circus.”