[Video] Pat McAfee Rides a Horse Into College GameDay in Boise After the Nationwide Ground Stop, Admitting He Had Never Ridden Before
ESPN College GameDay analyst Pat McAfee rode a horse into the show on the morning of November 14 in Boise, Idaho: one day after a nationwide ground stop, he rode a dark horse named Rodeo through the crowd on the Boise State University campus to reach the set, and the entrance quickly went viral on social media.
As the show opened, host Rece Davis told viewers that the travel chaos of the previous two days had also stranded McAfee, and that the crew hoped he would make it to the set. McAfee then answered off camera, telling Davis not to worry about an airplane and not to worry about an automobile. The broadcast then cut to McAfee, in a dark suit, on horseback, waving a Boise State flag as handlers led the horse through the packed crowd toward the desk.
After dismounting, McAfee told the crowd that this particular Saturday was going to be a magical one. He then thanked his ride by name, saying the horse's name was Rodeo and thanking it for not bucking him off. He also admitted that he had never ridden a horse before, and that he had lied to let the entrance happen.
The horseback entrance played off the nationwide ground stop of the day before. According to Sports Illustrated, the Federal Aviation Administration halted departures nationwide at 3:45 p.m. Eastern on November 13, and the stop lasted more than four hours before it was lifted at 8:15 p.m. Eastern, the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023. Oregon State had not yet left for Boise when the planes were grounded, set up buses as a contingency plan, and flew out on Friday night.
This College GameDay visit was the show's first return to Boise since 2010, when Boise State beat Oregon State 37-24. This season Boise State is 8-1 overall and 5-0 in Pac-12 play, ranked No. 24 in the College Football Playoff rankings, while Oregon State is 5-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play. The game kicked off at 6 p.m. Eastern on USA Network, with former Boise State running back Ian Johnson as the celebrity guest picker. Boise State's equine tradition dates back to 1965, when a horse named Spyieche began running a lap around the field after every score.
The show's official account posted on X that fans should not worry, because McAfee had found his way to GameDay in Boise. ESPN's official YouTube channel then published the full clip of the horseback entrance.
Source: ESPN
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: ESPN官方视频封面帧：Pat McAfee骑马Rodeo穿过人群进场（ESPN《大学比赛日》官方YouTube视频封面），版面图为去黑边后放大至1600×900、人物头部完整。/ Cover frame from ESPN's official YouTube video: Pat McAfee riding Rodeo through the crowd (ESPN College GameDay official video), black bars trimmed and scaled to 1600x900 with his head kept whole.
