ANN ARBOR, Michigan. – A lot Michigan football fans plan to boycott ESPN’s “College GameDay” Saturday before the Ohio State game because of how the network covered the sign-stealing case.
Saturday is the most important game of this college football season, as No. 3 Michigan hosts No. 2 Ohio State in a battle between two undefeated rivals. The winner will advance to the Big Ten Championship Game with a chance to clinch a College Football Playoff berth, while the loser will return home and wait for a non-playoff bowl mission.
The stakes are incredibly high, and that’s why “College GameDay,” sports’ most popular pregame show, is heading to Ann Arbor. But this time, not everyone is happy to have them.
In fact, it’s probably fair to say most are not.
The sign-stealing controversy at Michigan has rocked the college football world over the past two months and resulted in the resignation of analyst Connor Stalions, the firing of linebackers coach Chris Partridge and the suspension of the head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti banned Harbaugh from coaching the team’s final three regular-season games, despite admissions from the conference and the NCAA that no connection was found between Harbaugh and the project.
So far, only the Stallions have been directly linked to wrongdoing. He bought tickets to games involving several of Michigan’s future opponents and sent people to those games to record the sideline with cell phones.
Where does “College GameDay” fit into all of this? Many Michigan fans took issue with ESPN’s coverage of the sign-stealing affair.
Pete Thamel, one of the ESPN employees who covered the story closely, broke story after story on social media, presenting every little new detail as breaking news along the way. It is unclear where he received his information, but this source had a very clear agenda to portray Michigan in a bad light.
Then, when Michigan began releasing its own information to defend itself, Thamel was nowhere to be found.
ESPN also had a variety of former pro-SEC and Ohio State talking heads piling in every hour of the day, suggesting the Wolverines should be banned from the playoffs. Even “College GameDay” host Rece Davis and panelist Pat McAfee joined in the fight.
Hence the frustration.
Many thought Michigan would have to have ESPN throw rocks this weekend, but Davis, McAfee, Thamel and everyone else will be in Ann Arbor anyway. Thousands of Michigan fans are considering boycotting the show or using noisemakers during segments. Unless Desmond Howard speaks, of course.
This could be a very strange and volatile “College GameDay” atmosphere.
ESPN is obviously providing security, so it will have some level of control over the situation. There will also be plenty of visiting Ohio State fans, happy to watch the broadcast and demand blood for the sign-stealing operation. So anyone hoping for a completely barren Ferry Field will be disappointed.
But the crowd will likely be smaller than that of FOX’s “Big Noon Kickoff.” As the Big Ten’s primary broadcast partner, FOX has been staunchly pro-Michigan throughout this saga. Coincidentally, it has a convenient location for The Game, right across the street from Michigan Stadium at Pioneer High School.
“Big Noon Kickoff” isn’t as popular as “College GameDay,” but its in-person attendance is expected to be higher Saturday for what I suspect will be the first time ever.
At 12:14 p.m., all attention will be on the field for Michigan’s most crucial game of the season. But before that, the fan base will finally have the opportunity to make their feelings towards ESPN known.
And these feelings are strong.
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