College GameDay experience
November 26, 2016
The Western Michigan Broncos are 11-0 on the season, and the ESPN show ‘College GameDay’ decided to feature the Broncos on this past weekend’s edition in Kalamazoo at Sangren Hall on Western’s campus.
Rece Davis hosts the show, alongside Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Lee Corso, and Samantha Ponder. The GameDay crew picked the snowiest day to finally come to Kalamazoo for the first time, and the temperature was a balmy 35 degrees with snow blowing in every direction the entire time. Fans lined up everywhere, featuring hilarious and clever signs supporting the Broncos, from ‘We Want Bama’ signs to anything featuring the head coach PJ Fleck.
GameDay spent a majority of the show talking about Western Michigan’s success under the regime of Fleck, a coach who brings a unique form of energy and positivity to the Broncos football program. Fleck, 35, started coaching the Broncos in 2013, when he came up with the slogan, “Row the Boat.” Row the Boat means a boat can not row unless everyone in the boat is rowing, meaning everyone needs to work together to achieve their goal. Fleck’s first year didn’t go so well with the Broncos finishing the season 1-11. The next two years, Fleck went 8-5 and lead the Broncos to two consecutive bowl appearances. This year, Fleck’s ideologies have gotten his team an 11-0 record and a chance at playing in a New Year’s Day Six bowl game. His impact at WMU has truly been felt by everybody in Kalamazoo.
College GameDay coming to Western Michigan gives the Broncos some national attention, something they’re not used to but did not shy away from. They won their College GameDay match up against Buffalo 38-0, coming alive in the second half. Now that Western is in the public eye, they’ll need to get used to having all eyes on them for as long as PJ Fleck is in charge.