ESPN College GameDay’s Lubbock Opener Totally Wimps Out

ESPN called their College GameDay intro a “love letter to Lubbock,” but I call it a load of baloney.

Don’t get me wrong — the ESPN crew was great in person. They hit Lubbock restaurants, sampled real West Texas grub on-air, and captured the electricity of Texas Tech fans perfectly. But that polished opener? A complete dud and a total cop-out.

First off, the idea that Lubbock smells like stockyards is just lazy. We don’t have stockyards here. Every now and then, a strong wind might blow in something nasty from miles away, but on the regular, our air smells like dust and sunshine — nothing more. The climate’s too dry to hold any of that “cow pattie” nonsense anyway.

ESPN College GameDay’s Tribute Missed a Real Lubbock Legend

Now let’s talk about their musical name-dropping: Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, John Denver, and Meatloaf. Okay, let’s unpack that. Buddy’s a solid checkmark, Waylon’s from Littlefield (and they’ll fight you over claiming him), and Denver and Meatloaf were here and gone quicker than a popcorn fart in the wind.

And yet, the most glaring omission is the one name that should’ve led the list — Natalie Maines. She’s actually from Lubbock, and she’s the leader of a band that has sold 30 million+ records, making them the most successful all-female band of the modern era. Leaving her out wasn’t an oversight — it was a cowardly move.

At this point, anyone still mad at Natalie Maines has said things ten times meaner than the one comment she made 22 years ago. Maybe it’s time for folks to take the popsicle stick out and reread that part of the Bible about forgiveness.

Read More: 5 Places ESPN Should Never Set Up For Texas Tech Vs. BYU

ESPN could’ve easily said, “...and the still locally controversial Natalie Maines.” That would’ve been honest. Instead, they chose the safe route — or as we like to call it around here, being chickenshit.