If you tuned into ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday, you witnessed a wildly successful presentation of Iowa State University, the city of Ames and the state of Iowa. 

For those of you who don’t know, College GameDay is ESPN’s morning show where six sports personalities break down the day’s games, predict winners and losers and discuss the landscape of college football. It’s a traveling show, and each week, they pick a new location to film.

It’s a big deal to be selected, as it means your team is probably playing host to a pretty big game that week. Top-ranked teams facing off, intense rivalries and important games leading up to the playoff are what it takes to make the cut.

Saturday was Iowa State’s first time hosting College GameDay, ever!

And what better reason to bring the national media to Iowa State than for the CyHawk game.

Cyclone and Hawkeye fans alike should be proud of the display they put on in front of Jack Trice Stadium. Fans arrived super early and stuck around, ensuring that the area behind the hosts was packed all show long. The heated rivalry and mutual ‘Iowan-ness’ of fans made for some fantastic signs. And nothing got out of hand.

Nothing happened that would embarrass Iowa State, the University of Iowa, Ames or Iowa in general. And as “responsible” as that sounds, it’s a big reason that College GameDay will be back.

To those of you who attended the filming of College GameDay, you did Iowa State proud. Matt Cambell’s football team finally got some of the national recognition it deserved. Iowa State showed off its great game day atmosphere, including great tailgating and a loyal fanbase.

The game may not have turned out to be a great one — with a total of 35 points scored, uncooperative weather and a Cyclone loss, it was not the afternoon we were all hoping for. 

But we hold our head high. Our first time hosting College GameDay was a big success. The football team will improve and someday, Lee Corso may come back and pick Cy to win again.