In normal circumstances, I suspect the snooty suits that set the ground rules for television coverage of the Masters would view ESPN’s “College GameDay” operation much in the same way Judge Smails views his grandson Spaulding in “Caddyshack.” You’ll get nothing and like it.
The Masters doesn’t have fans, of course. It has patrons — again, at least in normal times. “College GameDay” has a backdrop of exuberant college kids waving often hilarious and occasionally inappropriate (but still hilarious) signs. Bit of a different clientele there.
But corporate synergy sometimes makes for unexpected bedfellows, and the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the sports schedule in a way that has made unlikely partnerships possible.
So it is that “College GameDay” originated Saturday not from some legendary college program’s campus, but instead from the hallowed grounds of Augusta National Golf Club.
“GameDay” broadcasted Saturday from the Par 3 course at the legendary venue, beginning at 9 a.m. on ESPN2 and moving to ESPN when the network’s coverage for the darkness-delayed second-round play was completed. The final two rounds air on CBS.
Host Rece Davis was joined at the course by Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, David Pollack, Maria Taylor, and Chris “The Bear” Fallica, with Lee Corso joining the show live from his home in Orlando. Augusta, Ga., is the 91st city to host “GameDay” and one of the most non-traditional.
“GameDay,” so reliant on fans as its backdrop as the 11-time Sports Emmy-winning show to become one of the most popular sports studio programs of all time, has had to adjust to having no fans at venues this year during the pandemic. But Davis said the general malleability of the program and ESPN’s ability to adapt it to different environments made Augusta a logical destination.
"The show has a really unique ability to be able to fit in and make connections and when that became a possibility and the Masters moved [from April to November], we knew we were going to have a show,'' said Davis. “It became a goal … it didn’t happen quickly, it wasn’t like somebody had an idea and said, hey, you know, let’s get it done, there was pushback, negotiation, and give and take. I think it was more a cooperative effort of saying, ‘How can we make this happen?’ And they were tremendous and our people work very hard to be able to create a set and find a place that would not be disruptive in any way, shape, form or fashion, and we’re glad that it’s all worked out.”
Herbstreit said he’d been hoping it was a possibility for a while.
"As soon as we heard the Masters was moving to November, I thought, ‘Wow, wonder if there’s a chance we could take the show’ just in my own head, thinking that there’s no way that will happen,'' he said. “And here we are. So this is a historic moment for the show and I can tell you this, whenever we announced that ‘GameDay’ was going to be at Augusta, I’ve never received more texts from people around the country than I did when we announced that location.”
Coverage sideline to sideline
Michele Tafoya’s career as an NFL sideline reporter has almost run parallel to the sustained Patriots dynasty, so she has witnessed many of the franchise’s milestone moments.
They’ve been there for many of her milestones too, including this weekend when she will be the sideline reporter for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” broadcast of the Patriots-Ravens matchup. The game will mark her 300th NFL game as a sideline reporter.
"It came as kind of a shock to me that this will be my 300th game,'' said Tafoya, who has had the role for “Sunday Night Football” since the 2011 season. “The 200th doesn’t feel like that long ago.”
Her 200th game also was a Patriots game on “Sunday Night Football” — a 27-6 Patriots win over the Texans in Week 14 of the 2015 season. Her first game as a sideline reporter, on Sept. 9, 2004, when she was with ABC’s “Monday Night Football” broadcast team for the season opener, also involved the Patriots.
Tafoya, who is hosting the NBC Sports podcast “Sports Uncovered” this season (Jon Gruden is the most recent guest), said her best memory of covering a Patriots game came in the chaotic final moments of their Super Bowl XLIX win over the Seahawks.
"I was standing behind Bill Belichick when Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson,'' she said. "I just remember watching his arms shoot up in the air victoriously, just incredibly fast. That’s an image that’s front and center in my brain.''
Tafoya flagged down Butler, the unheralded rookie cornerback who had made one of the greatest plays in NFL history, for the postgame interview. But she had to show some recovery speed of her own when Butler nearly bolted just as the interview was to begin.
"He was standing there patiently and right when it was time to talk he took off and decided he was going to go celebrate with his teammates,'' she said. “I had to chase him down again. I still have not looked at that. I should do that at some point, because it’s kind of funny.”
Growing up with Tommy
I started watching the Celtics passionately as a 10-year-old in 1979-80, Larry Bird’s rookie year. A year later, Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn paired up on Prism’s broadcasts of Celtics home games. Talk about the perfect time to begin caring about the team. Like so many of you, I will deeply miss listening to Gorman and Heinsohn, who died Monday at age 86, call the games together as the longest-running local broadcast team in the history of professional sports. The chemistry — the stuff like Gorman’s perfectly timed pregnant pauses after Heinsohn would rail about a foul call, only to show that the official actually got it right — was the kind of thing that can only be forged over decades of friendship. I spoke to Gorman a couple of times Tuesday, and he wanted Celtics fans to know that he spent a half-hour reading responses to his tweet about what Heinsohn meant to him, and was grateful that every last one was kind and positive … Consider this a nod of appreciation to NBC Sports Boston for the way it handled Heinsohn’s status in recent years. Many places would have phased out an older broadcaster dealing with health issues, even a beloved one. He was treated with the respect he deserved.
Chad Finn can be reached at chad.finn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeChadFinn.
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ESPN’s ’College GameDay’ and the Masters is a non-traditional pairing like no other - The Boston Globe
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