Sports

Photobombs and crazy fans of College Gameday at Indiana

By February 2, 2013June 18th, 2018No Comments
indiana-college-gameday

ESPN’s College Gameday was in Bloomington, Indiana getting ready for the matchup between Indiana and top ranked Michigan. Whenever Gameday is in town college students take a few minutes away from shotgunning Natty Lights and playing just the tip to make sure that they put all of their energy into getting on camera. Leave it to the Hoosier faithful to live up to their end of the bargain by photobombing the crap out of the Gameday crew. We’ll start things off with a video compilation of some of the best photobombs by Indiana students.

**UPDATE **  We’ve found out that the girl doing the cookie monster swimming dance is Allie Hausfeld. Since she was such a trip we decided to interview her and find out more about how much she loves sports. Watch out guys, this one looks like she has unicorn potential.

Q: What time did you have to get in line in order to get those seats?
A: I got in line at 6AM, and actually it worked out well, because they filled the right side of the bleachers on the floor first and I happened to be the first person to go to the left side, and got a much better seat. If my friends were willing, I would have gone at 4AM, but no one seemed to be into it.

Q: What was the coolest thing that you saw/experienced?
A: Meeting Jalen Rose, and having him sign my poster before game day started was pretty awesome. He was a great sport about it, and actually remembered my name from meeting me the night before when I covered the press conference.

Q: Anything surprise you?
A: I was surprised by how staged it was, and how strict they were with the signs. I did not anticipate getting such good seats; however once I realized how much my signs were actually on TV, I took the Sharpie out of my pocket, and wrote my twitter name on the back of one of my signs, and had it taken away within seconds.

Q: What was your strategy/thinking for what you were going to do to try and get on TV?
A: I literally was ready to do anything, I did not really care.

Q: Do you have a name for the cookie monster swimming thing that you did? Have you done that before?
A: No…I am just a weird person and that seemed to come to mind with my lack of sleep, I am a swim coach so I guess that explains some of it?

Q: How much do you like the movie Hoosiers?
A: LOVE Hoosiers, gives me chills every time, I think a lot of people underestimate Indiana High School basketball and how competitive it really is.

Q: On a scale of 1-10 how big of a sports fan are you?
A: 7000. But really, I know way more than any guy I know, and have been skipping school since 4th grade to go to the Big Ten Tournament. I am way too obsessed.

Q: Are guys ever intimidated by your knowledge of sports (I see that you are a sports broadcast major)?
A: Most of my guy friends know not to get into a sports argument with me because I am the stat girl, and end up winning every time. I actually liked a guy in high school, and he told his friends he did not like me because “I liked sports too much”, which is extremely comical to me. Other than that, when I say I am a sports fan, a lot of guys laugh and ask me something dumb like who Andrew Luck is, and it takes them awhile to actually take me seriously.

Q: What’s the craziest or funniest thing that you’ve seen at a party this year?
A: This is tough…I would have to say watching girls throw themselves at basketball players, literally. After hearing stories of when my mom went here and graduated in 1987, she said it was bad, but WOW…self respect?

Q: If one song played every time you walked into a room (announcing your arrival) what would you choose?
A: Let’s Go by Trick Daddy, not even a question, Actually at College Game Day I was dancing to that song and apparently the whole team saw it because I was approached by Hanner Perea that night at a party telling me that they all thought I was nuts.

Q: Do you know who Damon Bailey, Matt Nover, or Alan Henderson are?
A: Yes, LOVE Damon Bailey, and always wanted to go to his camps growing up, even though I was a female and lacked all types of basketball skills.

Q: Who’s your favorite all time Indiana basketball player?
A: This is tough…I feel like I have to definitely go with one that played while I was alive, but I think it is a toss up between AJ Moye and Tom Coverdale. I met the ginger once and my mom thought I had a crush on him because she didn’t understand the concept of the fact that girls can like sports so young, so she told him that and I have his autograph that reads “To Allie: Love, Tom Coverdale <3”.

At the top of the telecast Jalen Rose decides to don the candy stripes with a Craig Sager-like suit. Not that it should be any surprise but to us this looks like bacon. Mmm…bacon.

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You learn something new every day. I’m a big fan of Jalen Rose but I like him even more now that I know that he’s a fan of Con Air, Face Off, and Gone in 60 Seconds. I wonder what Raymond Calitri is up to these days.

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**UPDATE** We’ve found out that the Indiana student who is holding the Nic Cage sign is Alex Leavell. Since he is the man of the hour with the best sign and a TV star we wanted to give him his two seconds of fame by asking him some questions that I’m sure we all want to know.

Q: What time did you have to get there to wait in line to get those amazing seats?
A: The 6 people in my group arrived at 2:30 am, but we took shifts with these other two guys that showed up around 3.

Q: What was the coolest thing that you saw/experienced?
A: The coolest thing was when Coach Crean came out and shook hands with everyone in the crowd. He’s a genuine nice guy.

Q: Anything surprise you?
A: The thing that surprised me the most was the Sign Nazi (he was in charge of the broadcast). There were so many rules for people with signs. My friend who was siting behind Digger had a sign that read “Lennay Kekua loves Digger Phelps” but the guy took it away before they went live. He was pretty ridiculous.

Q: What are your thoughts on the student who got to shoot from half court to win some cash only hitting the rim once in 18 seconds? How would you have done?
A: I thought the selection process was unfair. He never had to wait in line, he got to the arena at 7 am to set up the sign making workshop, and yet he still got front row seats. His sign read, “Like a good neighbor Statefarm is there.” I think he might have been the student athletic board prez, but I’m not sure. He sucked though, so we were all happy about that. Obviously, I think I would have definitely given a better performance!

Q: On a scale of 1-10 how hot would you rate the girls that were at Gameday? How about Indiana as a whole?
A: The girls at IU are solid 10’s. Same goes for Gameday. I’d give an average rating of a 9. (Watch out Arizona State!)

Q: How much do you like the movie Hoosiers?
A: I’ve actually only seen Hoosiers once or twice. From what I remember, it was a pretty solid film. I definitely need to watch it again though. (I would have thought that people that live in Indiana watch this on repeat. Jimmy Chitwood was the bomb)

Q: Are you a fan of Matt Nover’s performance as Ricky Roe in Blue Chips?
A: I’ve never seen Blue Chips. Need to check it out! (Damn, this made me feel old)

**UPDATE 2** Alex Leavell’s friend Christian Ehlerding was standing next to him at College Gameday and had his sign confiscated by the Sign Czar. We wanted to hear his side of the story plus find out a bit more about his Indiana fandom and Gameday experience.

Q: What was your sign and what was the inspiration behind it?
A: My sign said “Lennay Kekua loves Digger Phelps.” I thought that since the whole Manti Te’O issue had recently been going on and Digger Phelps formerly coached at Notre Dame, it was pretty funny. Apparently he (the Sign Czar) didn’t see the humor in it and about 2 minutes after he caught sight of it it was out of my possession. I am still perplexed as to why it was confiscated. I could understand if she was a real person who did something bad, but she doesn’t even exist!

Q: What was your favorite part about being at College Gameday?
A: My personal favorite part of College Gameday would have had to be how personable the entire cast was (minus Digger). The day before Gameday Jay Bilas and Rece Davis came and spoke to some of us students at the Union. It really meant a lot to me to be able to hear them speak and get a chance to meet them. 

Q: Who is your favorite IU basketball player of all time?
A: My favorite IU basketball player of all time is without a doubt AJ Guyton. He is my favorite because he was playing right around the time I became an IU fan. It’s a unique story for me actually. I grew up in a Purdue dominated household, but when I was 3, my grandpa paid me a quarter to like IU, and ever since then I’ve been a die hard fan. We would always watch games together and both loved Guyton and Kirk Haston. I still remember Guyton the most because his ball handling skills were comparable to Allen Iverson (probably because Guyton believed in practice).

Q: How much do you love the movie Hoosiers?
A: I’ve probably seen Hoosiers upwards of 50 times and it never gets old. I still get goosebumps every time Jimmy Chitwood pulls up for the game winning shot. I love the movie because it really speaks to me and how crazy even high school basketball is in the state. Hoosier Hysteria doesn’t disappoint. 

Q: Do you have any last words?
A: Yes, actually, that for IU fans such as myself who have been lifelong fans, College Gameday was much more than just 2 hours of air time on ESPN. It showed how far the program has come since the 2008-2009 season going 6-25 when we had student manager Mike Santa suit up because we were that desperate for players. Kelvin Sampson had tarnished the reputation of a school that had always done things the right way. I knew hiring him was a bad idea but I’ll refrain from making comments on that. College Gameday really felt like a reward to me, for sticking with the program through thick and thin.

Digger Phelps is feeling it!

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We’ve found the Indiana fan least excited to be standing in the first row of College Gameday. Who allowed him out of the house without wearing any red or Hoosier gear? If you are going to wake up at 3 am to stand in line so that you can be front and center you’d think that you’d come a little stronger than a gray College Gameday shirt. He looks like the type of dude who can crush about 15 Natty’s, 4 Jagerbombs, and half a handle of Jack.

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**UPDATE** From Chris Brousard’s sources we’ve been able to find out that the guy in the gray College Gameday shirt is Mitch Carlson. He is actually a Michigan fan who was initially rocking a Michigan jersey. Unfortunately the PR guy made him take his shirt off and they gave him this gray College Gameday shirt instead. I call shenanigans on ESPN or the University (whoever made the decision) to make him switch attire. It takes balls to be a lone wolf and wear some maze and blue in a sea of Hoosiers fans. On top of that I have to imagine that he waited 12+ hours to secure that spot. Had my Maceo Baston jersey been confiscated and I had to wear some nondescript tshirt I would go Hal McRae crazy on someone. I take back my least excited comment from above and instead would like to start a class action lawsuit in the name of Mitch Carlson for being stripped of his sports fandom. Didn’t Rocky 4 teach us anything about embracing all people, even if they are your foes? “If I can change and you can change, everybody can change!”

Nothing like a ton of dudes raging to the camera. God this is Brotastic.

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I sleep with my arm over my head so I wanted to give a shout out to this young Hoosier fan who apparently does that all the time.

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How many costumes can you count? I see three teletubbies and one dude dressed up like Big Bird. Not only is this totally acceptable but there’s a very good chance that rocking these outfits is going to get these guys laid. God I miss college.

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I see ya girl. I’ll make sure to tell your Dad.

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If you go to Indiana University or were at College Gameday and happen to know one of the people who are featured in this article please email: rob@baconsports.com or hit us up on Twitter @BaconSports. We’d love to give them a shout out and interview them. This can be there first two seconds of fame and will be the fruits of their labor to get on TV.

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Rob Cressy

Rob Cressy

Sports loving free throw specialist and yinzer living in Chicago who is awesome most of the time, has run with the bulls in Spain, and is a graduate of Second City's Improv program.