BOISE, Idaho — Sixteen years after ESPN’s College GameDay first visited Boise, Bronco fans packed the city Saturday morning to welcome the show back.
According to Boise State, 18,140 fans turned out for College GameDay’s return, filling the area with blue and orange for the show’s first visit in 16 years.
For Randy Garrett, it was a moment he had been waiting years to experience again.
Garrett attended Boise’s first College GameDay in 2010. This time, he came with family, including his 15-year-old grandson Josiah, who wasn’t even born when the show last visited.
“I’ve been watching for them to come back again,” Randy said. “This is a pretty neat setup, and they can see more of the outside of Boise, and couldn’t have had a better day.”
Josiah said Boise State has been his favorite college for as long as he can remember.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “I’m so excited. I’m very happy about this.”
The family even had a little rivalry going. Randy pointed out that his youngest grandson is an Oregon State fan.
“My little brother’s a Beavers fan,” Josiah joked. “We don’t talk about him.”
Some Oregon State fans faced a much bigger challenge just getting to Boise.
Oregon State alumnus Ben Musser said Friday’s temporary FAA grounding disrupted his travel plans. He boarded a flight shortly before the grounding, then ultimately waited about nine hours before catching another flight to Boise.
“During that time, I definitely didn’t feel like I was going to make it,” Musser said.
By Saturday morning, he could finally celebrate: “We made it.”
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The crowd also impressed Tim DeWulf, a University of Idaho alumnus who has lived in Boise for less than two years.
“The school spirit here is insane,” DeWulf said. “I’ve seen College GameDay on TV before, and I feel like this is way more packed than I’ve seen at other schools.”
For Christopher McAdams, the morning represented something many fans had waited years to experience.
“This is like a bucket list thing to do,” McAdams said. “It’s been a blast so far.”
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