ESPN’s College GameDay features some of the brightest stars in sports media, who help bring popularity to the show that no other college football pregame show has been able to match. But according to Kirk Herbstreit, any regular contributor on the show pales in comparison to the kind of popularity that comes along with his golden retriever, Peter, the true show-stealer for ESPN.
Peter is the latest of Herbstreit’s golden retrievers to be a fixture on College GameDay, as well as occasionally on Thursday Night Football, appearing more regularly after the passing of Herbstreit’s beloved eldest golden retriever, Ben, last year. And while Ben was predictably mourned and missed by just about everyone, from College GameDay fans to former President Joe Biden, Peter has been an incredibly welcome addition to the College GameDay atmosphere.
During an appearance on SI Media with Jimmy Traina on Friday, Herbstreit discussed the kind of attention Peter receives from fans in attendance at the live pregame show, joking that he has primarily become a handler for Peter and is often an afterthought when meeting fans while traveling with Peter on the road.
“Ben kind of started this,” said Herbstreit. “Peter, I call a Taylor Swift of college football. His popularity; it’s insane. I think you could add all of us on the GameDay set combined, and I don’t think it adds up to Peter’s popularity. It’s the wildest thing I have ever seen. I’ve become just a dog handler when I am on the road. People are like, ‘Can I have my picture with Peter?’ And I say, of course.”
Having a travel companion, whether it be Ben or Peter, is something that Herbstreit has admitted does wonders for him as he continues to be one of the busiest men in all of sports media. But Herbstreit likely didn’t imagine a scenario where his travel companion outshone him in the eyes of the fans.
That is undoubtedly the situation Herbstreit now finds himself in, though it seems he has no complaints about playing second fiddle to Peter moving forward.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.