Iowa City proved to be ‘perfect place’ for ESPN College GameDay

IOWA CITY — A lot stood out to Rebecca Lobo as she broadcasted the Iowa-Maryland game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena earlier this month — her first trip there in at least a “really long time.”

There was the “collective inhale of excitement” every time Caitlin Clark was about to make a play.

There were the fans who “made me feel really warm and welcomed.”

There also was the realization of how great Carver-Hawkeye Arena would be for College GameDay. ESPN was deciding where to have its second women’s basketball GameDay show of 2023 at the time.

“I was just thinking, ‘Man, this is the perfect place to do it,’” Lobo said in a phone call with The Gazette beforehand. “They’re so passionate about women’s basketball. This would be a big deal, and it would be great fun for us.”

The environment at Sunday’s hourlong show from Carver-Hawkeye Arena — the show’s first trip to Iowa City — did not disappoint.

Long before the start of the 10 a.m. show, the crowd filled seats up to the curtains in several sections northwestern side of the arena.

“(Women’s basketball has) been a hidden gem for a long time,” ESPN analyst Carolyn Peck said ahead of GameDay. “If you tell people about it, and they get to see it, people will come. A prime example is what we’re going to see on Sunday.”

As usual for College GameDay, fans brought an assortment of interesting signs. “Loco 4 Lobo,” “Caitlin 4 Prez” and “Indiana Loosiers” were among the ones in the Carver-Hawkeye crowd.

One group of young fans had a sign about driving 319 miles in hopes of meeting star guard Caitlin Clark.

Perhaps the most touching moment came when Harper Stribe, a child first diagnosed with cancer at age 5, joined the show. Her cancer went into remission in 2018, but it returned in the fall.

Iowa women’s basketball supported her through her first battle with cancer, and is doing the same the second time around.

Stribe, now 11, came out to the court to pyrotechnics, a roaring Carver-Hawkeye crowd and high-fives from the ESPN talent.

“Harper was the one that broke my heart,” Bluder said. “It’s a gut punch. … If you can't come out and play your guts out for a kid like that, I don't know what you can do.”

The game that followed College GameDay did not disappoint, with the Hawkeyes winning 86-85 after a Caitlin Clark buzzer-beater.

Just like how College GameDay’s environment was to be expected after Lobo’s previous trip to Iowa City, a good game was to be as expected based on how close the first Iowa-Indiana game was.

“It was such a great game and such high-level basketball,” Lobo said of the first matchup. “I was thinking, ‘I want to call that game too.’”

A few weeks later, Lobo called the game at the “perfect place” for GameDay.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com