Welcome to the Hardcore Husky Forums. Folks who are well-known in Cyberland and not that dumb.
Story time with Uncle Race
RaceBannon
Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 106,018 
The very first SEC Storied was about Herschel Walker. One of the many benefits of the ESPN SEC love fest is having 30 for 30 types docs on legendary SEC performers. How did this love fest that has so many non SEC fans upset start?
Herschel Walker. 1980 true freshman at Georgia
For years ABC has exclusive rights to college football and we got a game of the week and maybe a double header or a regional game. Being on TV meant something. ABC was not owned by Disney or ESPN at the time since ESPN wasn't born until 1979.
ABC loved the Pac 8 and the Big 10, mainly USC, UCLA, Michigan, and Ohio State. Other than Bama the SEC was not the Goliath you know today.
The other leagues broke the monopoly around 1980 when ESPN was born and made their own contracts with other networks. The Supreme Court upheld this in 1984.
Walker was perhaps the greatest running back ever and led Georgia to three straight National Championship bowl games of which they won one. They became must see TV and ESPN needed programming in a huge way. All of a sudden the South was rising. Walker and Georgia played eventual Heisman winner George Rogers and South Carolina in 1980 in what became a huge national game. Shown on ABC
After the 1984 Supreme Court decision in NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma allowed individual schools to negotiate television rights, ESPN began broadcasting live regular-season games during the 1984 season, beginning with a game between BYU and Pittsburgh on September 1, 1984. The first live broadcast of a regular-season night game followed that night, between the Florida Gators, who were ranked number 17, and the Miami Hurricanes, who were ranked number 10.
Now everyone could be on TV but the SEC not only has the ESPN package they have the CBS package.
Georgia basically did nothing between Walker leaving and Kirby Smart but were thought of as a power team.
Once the market started deciding the viewers have decided they like the SEC. ESPN showed a lot of games after 1984 and still cover numerous leagues to this day. The Pac 12 is lucky they even show us at all.
Its the fans that caused the love fest
Herschel Walker. 1980 true freshman at Georgia
For years ABC has exclusive rights to college football and we got a game of the week and maybe a double header or a regional game. Being on TV meant something. ABC was not owned by Disney or ESPN at the time since ESPN wasn't born until 1979.
ABC loved the Pac 8 and the Big 10, mainly USC, UCLA, Michigan, and Ohio State. Other than Bama the SEC was not the Goliath you know today.
The other leagues broke the monopoly around 1980 when ESPN was born and made their own contracts with other networks. The Supreme Court upheld this in 1984.
Walker was perhaps the greatest running back ever and led Georgia to three straight National Championship bowl games of which they won one. They became must see TV and ESPN needed programming in a huge way. All of a sudden the South was rising. Walker and Georgia played eventual Heisman winner George Rogers and South Carolina in 1980 in what became a huge national game. Shown on ABC
After the 1984 Supreme Court decision in NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma allowed individual schools to negotiate television rights, ESPN began broadcasting live regular-season games during the 1984 season, beginning with a game between BYU and Pittsburgh on September 1, 1984. The first live broadcast of a regular-season night game followed that night, between the Florida Gators, who were ranked number 17, and the Miami Hurricanes, who were ranked number 10.
Now everyone could be on TV but the SEC not only has the ESPN package they have the CBS package.
Georgia basically did nothing between Walker leaving and Kirby Smart but were thought of as a power team.
Once the market started deciding the viewers have decided they like the SEC. ESPN showed a lot of games after 1984 and still cover numerous leagues to this day. The Pac 12 is lucky they even show us at all.
Its the fans that caused the love fest
Comments
Its the stuff of legend!
His high school film would close down our recruiting board
That dude was a man amongst boys in college. Herschel, Bo and Dupree. Those guys were the best I've seen at the college level. Might throw Dickerson in there too.
That play where Walker runs through and over Bill Bates is amazing, especially considering that Bates was a tough mother fucker.
And Lambo beat Saban
That was a GOOD Willamette team that year too.
Pull guard duty at Pearl, than pop off!!!