The weeks controversy of late starting games heated up thanks to the ESPN coverage of the California at Washington game. Use of cupcake props to illustrate Washington Football‘s non conference schedule deserve a pie in the face
The California at Washington game was rescheduled to accommodate the television needs of the ESPN network. The game time was pushed back to 7:45 p.m PT to allow for ESPN to televise the game from start to finish. That hurts the home Washington Football team trying to fill the seats in the stadium of a home game.
But more than that, it cripples the legacy of Washington fans trying to expose children to the thrill of a home game. But moreso, with a coach like Chris Petersen who is working towards a national playoff bid, the timing of the game pushes their performance out of the range of so many east coast pundits who vote for the AP and the USA Coaches polls for the national rankings.
ESPN catches wind of controversy, and doesn’t let it go
That comment, innocently made by a head coach very aware of the challenge it caused the fanbase, simply voiced his concerns. A fair assessment. But his voice carried to the ears of ESPN.
Did ESPN’s Herbstreit just lecture Chris Petersen about TV kickoff times? “You should be thanking ESPN” for the exposure.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) October 7, 2017
And that began the controversy. But it was only the start of the tsunami of negative and subjective commentary. ESPN invited Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott to comment on the late game scheduling. To no surprise, he defended the decision to acquiesce game times to the needs of the national television programmers.
Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott on the frustrations surrounding @UW_Football 's late-night games: pic.twitter.com/90dHtWaht4
— Ben Arthur (@benyarthur) October 8, 2017
And the tension and issue continued to grow.