Even though we’re already halfway through this college football season, ESPN is already putting its plans into place for next year. College football will be celebrating its 150th anniversary, and ESPN will be there to chronicle the sport that so many love.
ESPN announced two 11-episode docuseries, debuting in September 2019, that will showcase the first 150 years of college football. These shows will form the cornerstone of ESPN’s larger “College Football 150” initiative, which will debut on January 2, 2019.
The first series, titled The American Gamewill examine various topics throughout the history of college football and how it has become an “integral part of the American landscape” and a “cultural phenomenon.” Topics include the overall evolution of college football, integration, the bowl system, the Heisman Trophy, and the relationship between college and the pros. The American Game The premiere is scheduled for September 17, 2019 and will air every Tuesday.
The second, entitled The biggestwill instead be a countdown/debate type show where an 11-person panel from ESPN will rank the top 11 in a certain category that will span the breadth of college football history. Topics for The biggest The rankings haven’t been revealed (it’s implied in the trailer that one of the topics will be live mascots), but the rankings will serve as a platform for reflection and commemoration on the history of college football, as well as spark debate among those at ESPN and among college football fans. The biggest The premiere is scheduled for September 19, 2019 and will air every Thursday.
Both shows are produced by Herzog & Company, which also produced CNN’s Decades series (The Sixties, The 70s, The 80s, The 90sAnd The 2000s) as well as The History of ComedyThese shows were great and come highly recommended, so I can’t wait to see what ESPN brings here.
Deep down, I wonder how these shows will represent college football. I’m not saying that ESPN should dwell entirely on the negative aspects of the sport, but there have been many negative incidents throughout the history of the sport that go hand in hand with the good, and an accurate representation of college football history shouldn’t focus solely on the positive aspects. That might go against the type of 150th anniversary celebration ESPN might want to put on, but if they want to create the type of high-quality programming that CNN has offered with their shows, it would be better for them to go that route.
