Following up from my last article on my experiences of volunteering with ESPN’s College GameDay, this past weekend overall was a dream come true for more than one reason.
At first, the prospect of getting up to go to College GameDay at 4 a.m. to help volunteer at 5:00 A.M. seemed a bit daunting. As the adrenaline ignited and the blood rushed to my outer extremities with excitement, it all became a reality.
Our first assignment was to set up a tent station for Home Depot designated for painting signs for the eager students in the front section of College GameDay, anxiously awaiting the start of the taping for the show, complete with Sarah Walsh, Samantha Ponder, Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, and David Pollack.
The signs ranged from “Turn up Desmond!”, “Nick Saban is too short to ride this ride”, “Rob Barber 4 Mr. Ole Miss”, to “Katy Perry, Marry me”. It was quite a sight to look out to the Grove and see nothing but football fans and signs, complete with raging enthusiasm to boot.
Gearing up for the actual show was quite intriguing. Every time they re-did the shots to show before the anchors presented their standings and views on the College GameDay week, Ole Miss fans and cheerleaders alike were more alive and spirited each and every time.
When we started to pass out the orange Home Depot hard hats, the spirit and enthusiasm of the students and fans alike was at an all-time high. Even Rebel the Black Bear sported his own orange hat while he danced around and cheered with the Ole Miss cheerleaders in front of the College GameDay set-up.
Around 10:45 A.M., the Grove itself and all of the fans exploded with excitement. When Katy Perry entered the scene, the Grove became more alive than I have ever seen it before and she welcomed the excitement with open arms and open mouth. She received the crowd as if she was being welcomed into a surprise birthday party and was super hyped to be there for the overall experience.
The excitement and enthusiasm didn’t end with the students and fans, however, and ranged from the police officers and security personnel, to the event coordinator crew, the press, and the behind-the-scenes camera crew.
The student volunteers not only captured moments on their own from the show, they were actually able to be apart of the show and had their picture taken by the College GameDay crew with the anchors of the show. Sam Mitchell took pictures as she worked behind the scenes with her fellow volunteers to capture the excitement from behind the scenes as a student volunteer.
Sam Mitchell is a HottyToddy.com staff reporter and can be reached at smitche3@go.olemiss.edu.