Thousands cheer on Cal at the 1st ESPN College GameDay in Berkeley: Here's a look

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- Thousands of students and fans showed up at UC Berkeley Saturday morning for ESPN's College GameDay show.

The show goes to different college locations every week but in 30 plus years, had never been to Cal. The Golden Bears take on the Miami Hurricanes Saturday night.

ABC 7 News reporter J.R. Stone was at Berkeley's Memorial Glade Saturday morning. Students started arriving there Friday for the show that started at 6 a.m.

ESPN College GameDay personality Pat McAfee hyping the Cal crowd with NFL great and Cal Bears alum Marshawn Lynch, Beast Mode.

All for the first-time ever in Berkeley.

"We're here all day and all night and there is nothing that is going to stop us from having a great time. Go Bears!" said one fan.

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That interview came during one of our live shots on ABC7 Mornings.

"I saw you're done with your breakfast sandwich.....yeah my burrito it's fun to be out here it's awesome. They didn't think Cal had any fans? This proved them wrong.

Thousands showed up, but perhaps the most energetic and die-hard fans....the students.

"We got here at 11:30 and we're pumped, let's go!" said another fan.

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"What's your thought? You have no shirts on. Do you think Cal has a chance?" asked Stone.

"Of course! We got Mendoza! Go Bears!"

"I'm so excited. This is so amazing. I've never seen so many people show up for Cal. Pastries are out, spirits are high, love it!" said a woman decked out in Cal gear.

"Viyan Los Osos which means Go Bears in Spanish," said a man dressed in a Cal wrestling outfit.

"Welcome to California. There's nothing that's going to stop me from having energy from 6 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. We were born and raised to have a great time. Let's go Bears!" yelled a fan.

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But it seems that some, who got here Friday night didn't quite make it through to the 6 a.m. - 9 a.m. College GameDay broadcast. Those folks fell asleep on the ground and in chairs.

After seeing this turnout and these signs which said things like, "U Couldn't get into Cal" and "If we lose I'll protest," I think there's a good chance the crew will come back a second time.

"It's pretty wild to see so many people from the Bay Area. Go Bears! Yeah Go Bears, exactly!" said Kathryn Clark who is a junior at Cal.

"It's super exciting. I also wasn't expecting this many people to show up but I'm really glad. I'm sure they will be happy," said Ria Raniwala, also a junior at Cal.

Stay tuned to ABC7 News at 8 p.m. Saturday for the latest video to this story