Many students will wake up early on Saturday to paint their faces blue and red, put on their white UA T-shirts and head to McKale Center for the filming of ESPN’s College GameDay. When the clock hits 7 a.m., all the fans who braved the early hours will scream loudly and proudly, representing the UA student population to a national audience.
After seven years of covering college basketball games across the United States, this will be College GameDay’s first appearance at a basketball game in Tucson (the football version appeared in 2009). Fans get to witness the live filming of a national television show and see history made on campus.
The arrival of the College GameDay crew means much more than publicity for our basketball team or school. Instead, it serves as a reminder to the student body to have fun. With second semester in full swing, it’s easy to get bogged down thinking about the grade point average you need or the amount of homework in front of you. Sometimes it’s just as important to put aside the studying to go out and have a good time.
“It’s really cool that ESPN is coming to campus,” said undeclared freshman Brian Levine. “With the excitement and noise of the crowd, McKale is going to be like no other.”
According to a 2010 study by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education & Informational Studies, only 51.9 percent of students surveyed reported that their emotional health was above average. This is a 3.4 percent drop since 2009, and stress is the leading cause.
While many college students don’t have trouble finding fun on the weekends, the arrival of College GameDay brings about an exciting atmosphere for every single student on campus and a chance for fun without alcohol.
It doesn’t matter if you like or even understand basketball, everyone is guaranteed an opportunity to be a part of the electric school spirit coursing through the arena.
Spending 30 minutes watching the game or going to College GameDay on Saturday is the perfect way to relieve stress. Through productive and safe yelling at people on a court who aren’t listening to you, and cheering on the team can help relieve stress in a healthy way. The game is a perfect opportunity to put studies aside, take a break and release some emotion through some productive screaming.
Getting to see College GameDay may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, since it only comes to eight schools a year. This presents a perfect opportunity to experience the live filming of a show and gives you the opportunity to say, “Yeah, I went to that!”
This weekend is about more than a basketball game, it’s about a chance for students to spend an hour, or a day, forgetting about the stresses of school while cheering our beloved wildcats to victory. Paint your face, dye your hair, make a clever sign or just show up. It doesn’t matter if you are in McKale or in your living room. Take two hours off of a busy life just for the sake of having fun.
— Dan Desrochers is a chemistry freshman. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu or on Twitter via @WildcatOpinions.
