The Alabama fanbase is rightfully upset as College GameDay has again done a disservice to them with the guest picker for Saturday's game between Alabama and Vanderbilt. Unless you have been living under a rock, you are well aware that the guest picker will be none other than comedian Theo Von.
There are many in the fanbase who are wondering even who he is? Then those who know who Von is are wondering how a guy currently associated with Vanderbilt and Diego Pavia could be the guest picker in Tuscaloosa? To add insult to injury, in the past, he has been associated with being an LSU Tigers fan.
This announcement led me to do some research on the guest picker history when the University of Alabama is the location of the popular college football pregame show, and this isn't the first time something like this has happened. The most egregious of selections might be having former LSU pitcher Brian Wilson being the guest picker before the Game of the Century in 2011.
Jake Peavy was the guest picker before the Alabama-LSU game in 2013 and it may have been due to him being from Alabama but he declined an offer from Auburn to go play for the San Diego Padres who drafted him in 1999.
In 2014, College GameDay came to the Quad for the Alabama- Mississippi State game, which was a game to determine the SEC West Champions. The guest picker that day was Lone Survivor Navy Seal Marcus Lutrell, which makes a little more sense, especially with the game being right before Veterans' Day. But even then, this was another time the picker had no connection to the University of Alabama.
The following season, the show came back for the Alabama-Ole Miss game, and the picker was country musician Eric Church. I'm sure there were many Church fans that day on the Quad, but again I ask, why wasn't someone associated with the school brought on as the guest picker?
Later that same 2015 season, College Game Day returned to Tuscaloosa for the Alabama-LSU game, and that day the guest picker was rapper Rick Ross. For the second time in the same season, another popular musician was chosen, but he also has no connection to the university.
The next time the guest picker had no connection to The Capstone or college football was November 2023 for another Alabama-LSU game, with the picker being comedian Nate Bargatze, whose only connection to the state at all at is that his wife is from Huntsville. He himself is a Vanderbilt fan, meaning another opportunity for College Game Day to have found someone associated with the University of Alabama in any sense, but they did not.
There are several instances over the last two decades when College Game Day has brought its show to Tuscaloosa, and for whatever reason, the guest picker has had no connection to the University of Alabama in any way. Some have been far worse than others during this time period, but clearly, the mark has been missed quite a few times with who the guest picker has been. I am not sure what the process has been for making these selections, but I would have to think there are plenty of famous or well-known people associated with the university who would have been happy to have been the guest picker over the years.