Jim Gaiero says he will miss Fridays the most. In the pre-pandemic world, Fridays were the day where the 25-person staff of ESPN’s “College GameDay” would meet inside a conference room on campus to game-plan for the on-air revelry the following day. The full-staff meeting took place from 9:30 a.m. until around 10:30 a.m. local time, but then Gaiero would sit side-by-side all day with host Rece Davis where the two would kick around all the possibilities for that week’s show. The atmosphere of the room matched the chemistry of “GameDay” — energetic, passionate, engaging. Scripts would be edited and re-edited and upcoming video segments would be viewed so everyone was in sync. The show’s on-air talent — Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, David Pollack and Maria Taylor — would float in and out between other meetings.
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“During those meetings we’d go through the whole rundown,” said Gaiero, the lead producer of “GameDay” since 2016. “If we had a big, meaty, newsy topic, we’d spend more time going through that discussion to make sure everyone was clear on the facts and so they could hear each other’s opinions on that topic. And there was also a busting of chops too.”
As it has for the rest of us, the coronavirus has changed “College GameDay.” Gaiero now produces the show from Bristol each week. He does not see his announcers outside of Zoom chats. This year will be unlike any other in the 33-year history of the show.
Last week, I spoke with a number of “GameDay” staffers including Gaiero, coordinating producer Drew Gallagher, lead director Rodney Perez, and on-air staffers Davis, Herbstreit and Taylor to get a sense of what viewers can expect from the show in 2020. In short, it will be a learning and experimental process for staffers and viewers.
“What you see Saturday and what you possibly see in November could be two completely different shows,” Gaiero said. “We’re going to be more nimble than we’ve ever been before. We may learn ways of doing things. The word that we keep preaching everybody is patience, patience, and patience. Everybody’s bought in. ‘GameDay’ is going to try to be true to ourselves, but we may end up learning new things about ourselves and about the show.”
Gaiero said every discussion involving “GameDay” prior to September was focused on being able to travel to game sites. While the prospect of a hybrid model existed — some weeks onsite and some weeks with the cast inside a studio or from their homes —the goal always remained to make the show feel as close to normal in an abnormal world. “GameDay” also had the advantage of time. Because the college football season started deep into the pandemic, the “GameDay” staff was able to learn from other ESPN remote productions on the protocols needed to travel. Ultimately, top management of ESPN had to sign off on travel, including those on ESPN’s safety and security teams. (All on-air talent has to test negative for COVID prior to showing up on set that week per Disney protocols. The on-air talent socially distances at the show’s site prior to going on air.)
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“We feel that being on site is sort is part of the core of what ‘College GameDay’ is all about,” Gallagher said. “The number one goal for us was safety. Can we can we travel for the show and still do it safely? Once we made that determination, then we decided to go for it.”
Gaiero, Gallagher and Perez are all doing the show from Bristol; in normal times they would be working from inside a production truck near the set on campus. Inside ESPN’s Digital Center 2 (DC2), “GameDay” production staffers wear masks and practice social distancing. There are seven people in the “GameDay” control room in Bristol including Gaiero, Gallagher, Perez, technical director Dean Ellington, associate director Melissa Saucedo, graphics producer Jackson Rioux and graphics operator Rick Daboul. In the pre-COVID days, there would be around 15 people in a production truck onsite, plus the higher-ups who floated into the truck as no one loves a free trip to visit talent and attend a game more than an ESPN executive. For this season, “GameDay” will have a producer onsite (Geoff Brown or Gallagher when he travels onsite) who will travel every week as a liaison for the Bristol group. There are a dozen or so production staffers overall traveling each week including a second director, Brian Albon. The onsite staffing numbers have been cut in half strictly for safety reasons.
“Where we are usually in a production truck and everyone’s there and we are one big happy family, now we’re miles away from the people on the show and that comes with challenges,” said Perez, who is in his fifth year as the lead director of the show after working on ESPN’s traveling college basketball studio show and launching Scott Van Pelt’s “SportsCenter” show. “We have a director (Albon) directing cameras on site but then we have to produce things from back in Bristol including any graphics that appear onscreen and every taped element. You have to think about satellite times and delays. ESPN has safety protocols and we are in the control room spread out six or seven feet apart. “When I have to yell to (Gaiero) for something, my voice is muffled and it makes it challenging for him to hear me. We’re going to learn and adapt and get better each week.”
Perez said he is dedicating this year to his father, Reyoli (Rey) Perez, who died on May 3 of COVID-19. Rey was 77. “He lived three blocks from me and when I was doing ‘GameDay,’ he was taking my kids to games and raising them,” Perez said. “He was very close to me.”
The ‘GameDay’ production crew is also the production team that produced the ABC version of the NFL Draft. Doing the NFL Draft gave the group a crash course in sports television crisis management. (They had to tear up all the previous production plans when the Draft became virtual).
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“I think all of our learnings from the draft have put us in a great position to succeed this year,” Gallagher said. “COVID has challenged all of television production in so many ways over the past six months. Uncertainty, last-minute changes, that’s the new normal.”
How do you do ‘GameDay’ without fans? That’s the million-dollar question. The crowd has always been the biggest character in the show.
“We never take our crowd for granted,” Gallagher said. “It’s just the way you feel connected to the school and the way you feel connected to the game with it. But we’re going to adapt like everything in 2020. You just have to adapt.”
Part of the adaption this year is the creation of a virtual crowd, which ‘GameDay’ soft-launched during its preview show and used heavily last week. The virtual crowd will include live shots of college football fans from all over the country. Credit managing producer Lindsey Lloyd for being the lead on the use of virtual fans in 2020.
“Now we have the ability to bring in fans from all around the country as opposed to just two fan bases at a site,” Gallagher said. “So anyone can be part of ‘GameDay’ this year and we can customize our crowd shots to the games that we’re talking about. So say we’re talking about Notre Dame, you will be seeing Notre Dame fans. Smaller schools can also get involved. I think that’s important. The guys really feed off of the energy of the crowd. It’s the way they know the show is going well and resonating and we want to preserve that.”
“Look, it’s not going to be the same,” said Davis of hosting the show without a crowd. “We draw energy from them, we react to them. They will react to a discussion whether they like or don’t like what you say. Those things are part of what makes the show unlike any other show on television. I think that we’ll find a way to navigate that and the plans that we have for incorporating the fans virtually I think will be effective. But I’d be disingenuous if I told you it will be the same. We will be learning as we go.”
Gaiero said he believes the optimal setting for “GameDay’s” 2020 shows will be inside an empty stadium. Why? “Because the schools can use their security and fans can’t get inside the stadium,” Gaiero said. “If we are in a quad area on a campus, even though ESPN and the school may block off an area, fans may still show up. I think it’s important for us not to be tone-deaf and say we are about social distancing and then behind us there is a collection of thousands of people. I just think it’s the right move is to have us inside the stadium.”
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If you are looking for a guess on the locations “GameDay” will be at this year, Gallagher said the likelihood said they will stay closer to ABC/ESPN’s games for obvious reasons including the schedules of Herbstreit and Taylor, who call ABC/ESPN’s biggest game each week. (The show averaged 1,956,000 viewers on ESPN and ESPNU last year.)
“I wouldn’t rule out going to a non-ESPN game, but it’s fair to say we will probably stay closer to ESPN crews than we have in the past,” Gallagher said.
Gaiero said the Big Ten returning to play a modified schedule will only help the show given it means more games and star players to talk about. “And if all the games get played, we’ll have CFP drama,” Gaiero said. “That’s a win-win for all involved.”
On the issue of covering social justice issues and increasing player power in college football, everyone I spoke to working on “GameDay” said the show will not shy away from any topic.
“I’m not sure that stuff doesn’t cross over onto the field,” Gallagher said. “First of all on the COVID side, that’s going to be an evolving story throughout the entire season. Look at BYU-Navy. I mean, Navy hadn’t had a full-contact practice because of COVID. To me that’s one of our biggest roles this season, to stay on top of the news and information and how teams and players and coaches are navigating these completely unchartered waters and how that’s going to show up on the field. What are they dealing with week to week? I think that’s more critical than ever as far as football fans needing to know that information. As far as some of the social justice issues, our show reflects what’s going on in the sport, and social justice and shining a spotlight on racism is a frontline topic of conversation in college football right now. We won’t shy away from it. We want to reflect and react to what’s happening on the field and the conversations that are being discussed in the sport. So when you see Trevor Lawrence taking a leadership stand in terms of social justice, that in itself is somewhat historic and we’re going to cover that.”
Davis said he thinks the show is a template for how reasonable conversation can be had on issues that often feature conflict above all.
“I think the best way to do it is with candor and honesty and an even-handed reason,” said Davis. “We are all for spirited debate but it’s not our nature to scream at each other over whatever the issue, whether players should be paid or playing in the pandemic. It is our nature to make strong, passionate, reasoned points. I feel completely comfortable with my ability to do that and to present my positions on those things judiciously and also to give everyone involved no matter the subject that we’re discussing ample opportunity and room and respect to make their positions known. There is a line and that line will move from week to week given the news cycle about how much is enough and balancing that with making sure that we deliver what the fans have come to expect from GameDay — and that’s talking about the games that will be played that day. But we will never completely avoid something for fear of stepping on toes or backlash on social media. I think the strongest thing about the people that we have on our set is that we respect each other and we have reasoned and informed opinions and maybe a better word is judgment.”
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“You saw in the preview show the way we were able to handle the topic of social justice and COVID-19,” Taylor added. “You heard Desmond say I wouldn’t let my kids play. Then you hear Kirk say my kids are playing and I’m okay with it. These are going to be the honest conversations that raise the bar not only when it comes to college football but when it comes to sports. I believe this is the preeminent studio show on television and it will continue to be that no matter if its virtual and everyone coming from home or is live in a stadium by ourselves.”
The good news is the show plans to keep the best parts of “GameDay” around this year including the features which may be the best of any sports show that airs weekly. Gaiero said the show will continue to let ESPN’s features unit produce long and journalistically compelling work. The biggest difference will be how “GameDay” reporters Jen Lada, Tom Rinaldi and Gene Wojciechowski conduct those interviews. Many will now be on Zoom as opposed to being in the same room as the subject.
The guest picker segment will also continue. That will not be done on site but rather via Skype or FaceTime or some other situation. Same with Chris (Bear) Fallica’s gambling analysis. As for Lee Corso, now 85 and the show’s talisman, he will appear every week from his backyard studio in Orlando. Gaiero said he would not rule out Corso coming on site for one week this year if ESPN felt it was safe and Corso felt it was safe. For now, they think the home setup will still produce television magic.
“It’ll be different for sure,” Davis said. “First of all, Lee has such great energy and passion for the show and the ability to make that moment magic. We’re not going to lose that. Plus, he’s got a terrific producer, a creative guy named Patrick Abrahams who’s there working with him and has some great ideas on how to showcase coach’s personality. I still think it’s going to be something that fans will look forward to every Saturday. I promise we will find creative ways for coach to make his final pick.”
(Photo: Mike Stobe / Getty Images)
