Nov. 20—It would have been cool.
The ESPN College GameDay program that airs each Saturday morning during football season seemed like it would be in Missoula this week.
A source who had a source said ESPN had reserved a block of hotel rooms in the Garden City; the combined 20-2 record of the Bobcats and Grizzlies made the 124th Brawl of the Wild, set for Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, as big as any game in the country.
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So ESPN, in its wisdom, chose to go back to Eugene, Oregon for the second time in seven weeks. The No. 7 Ducks will host No. 15 USC in a (checks notes) Big 10 showdown.
It will actually be the third time the Ducks will be part of the GameDay set this season; they were part of the Sept. 27 show from Penn State. In fact, this coming Saturday will mark the 35th time Oregon is featured.
That seems excessive, but the Ducks aren’t even in the top eight for most GameDay appearances. Keep swimming, Ducks, and you’ll catch the likes of The Ohio State (67) and LSU (36).
As for the Big Sky Conference, it will have to be happy with its one appearance, before the 2022 Brawl in Bozeman.
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It was memorable: As a guest picker ESPN brought in Bozeman transplant Nick Faldo, who was born in England before going to college at the University of Houston (for 10 weeks!)
It was also freezing.
Missoula might have provided Oscar winner JK Simmons or Pearl Jam bassist — and former Montana Cub, back when the Griz had JV basketball — Jeff Ament among other notable alums or residents. The weather also promises to be nicer.
Chris Fallica, now of Fox Sports, chimed in on Twitter/X. “When I — along with other people no longer there — had an opportunity to do a show like JMU, Montana, DIII or whatever, we would ask, ‘We can do something special or just go to another good game,’ ” Fallica wrote. “Usually something special won out.”
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Oh well. The World Wide Leader has been an echo chamber for a while, eschewing the highlights and irreverent commentary of Patrick, Mayne, Olberman and Eisen for fierce debate about — I’m not sure exactly. I don’t watch much anymore.
ESPN (without the 2 or the U) had been to Missoula before: in 1992 the WWL made its first visit for a men’s basketball game between Idaho and Montana. They paid a guy $50 American to provide stats to the TV truck and commentators, one of which was the late, great Tom Mees.
Mees: (Pointing at the early version of Monte the mascot) What is that?
Me: We call him, ‘Alf.’ You know…
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Mees: As in, ‘Alternative Life Form?”
Me: Yes.
Since then Monte has become better looking and more unpredictable, pulling chairs from under Hall of Fame quarterbacks and getting banned from the MSU campus. They might have had to keep him away from Kirk Herbstreit and Peter on Saturday.
That’s no concern now; that ship has sailed. I would say we had our hopes up, but most of us know better. Like Judge beating the Big Dumper for MVP, it was absolutely predictable.
Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 406-758-4463 or at [email protected].
