Clear Eyes, Full Hearts: ESPN College GameDay in Pullman

Here at College Hill, it’s no secret that we have a favorite team - the Washington State University Cougars. Anyone that knows a Coug fan knows their fervent passion for Cougar Football. It’s no surprise, then, that when ESPN announced that its pre-game show College GameDay was headed to Pullman a few weeks ago, the town went a little wild.

The Amazing Story

ESPN says: “For 15 years, the Washington State flag has flown during College GameDay, no matter what city or campus is hosting. Never once has the show visited Pullman, Washington, its home turf. Until today.”

That day was October 20, 2018.

According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the waving of the flag all started when a fan on the message board cougfan.com suggested that they fly a Cougar flag at College GameDay locations to attract the attention of ESPN.

Since then, it has traveled to 72 cities in 34 states. It has made an appearance on 216 GameDay shows, according to the Ol’ Crimson Booster Club. The flag finally came home just a few weeks ago. Did you catch the game? 

Being headquartered in Pullman gave us a unique view to the action.

Here are just a few of our favorite highlights:

• Over 20,000 fans woke up between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. to attend the show
  
• The Cougars were rated one of the most favorable teams on social media
• The Cougs beat #13 in the country, the Oregon Ducks, on national TV
• ESPN football analyst and sports broadcaster Lee Corso put on the Cougar mascot head, Butch
• We got to design some awesome shirts for the game - still available here!