Students braved the below-freezing weather Saturday morning to attend ESPN College GameDay at PNC Arena, the first time the show has ever visited Raleigh.
The hosts included Rece Davis, Richard “Digger” Phelps, former head coach of Notre Dame from 1971-1991, former Duke Blue Devil Jay Bilas and NBA veteran Jalen Rose.
Phelps addressed the crowd after walking out onto the court, telling the Wolfpack faithful “this is your day.”
Among the crowd were a small number of North Carolina supporters, who were routinely serenaded by boos or chants by the State fans. The most common chant of the day was “Wal-Mart.”
Amanda Burke, a senior in animal science, was one of the hundreds of students who started lining at 7 a.m., with ice still on the ground from Friday’s adverse weather conditions. Temperatures didn’t rise above freezing until well into the middle of the day.
Many students attempted to line up the night before but were asked to leave the premises by security.
Country music singer and sophomore at N.C. State studying communication, Scotty McCreery, treated the fans to a small performance, with fullback Logan Winkles and new football head coach Dave Doeren on his side, playing guitar.
Along with McCreery, basketball head coach Mark Gottfried made a cameo appearance and spent a few minutes talking, live, with the hosts of GameDay.
Burke said her favorite parts of the experience were the balloon handouts and t-shirt tosses during the show. She was one of the lucky fans in attendance to catch a shirt.
“It was an awesome experience, getting to see everyone from ESPN,” Landon Childers, a senior in sport management, said. “Knowing it was nationally televised was a lot of fun.”
Childers said it was “definitely worth it” to bear the cold in order to be a part of the experience.
Fans who attended were enthusiastic throughout the program, including singing along to the N.C. State band. Students held up a variety of signs, including famous actors, current players and messages to taking a stab at the hated rival Tar Heels.
Before ending the program, the hosts of the show are always asked to pick the winner of the featured game. Saturday morning, all of them picked the Wolfpack.
The crew was correct, as the Wolfpack went on later that night to defeat its long-time rivals, 91-83, the first time in 13 games, in front of a sold-out PNC Arena.
