ESPN’s “College GameDay” set up shop in Knox County this Saturday for a high-profile Southeastern Conference matchup as the No. 15 Tennessee Volunteers take on the No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs.
The crowd was primed by Tennessee native and country music star Russell Dickerson. However, his appearance was met with some confusion and outright disdain from fans on social media once the show started.
ESPN’s social media accounts were flooded with reasons why people were not pleased with Dickerson’s presence.
“This Russell Dickerson performance on game day right now is melting my brain. This f*cking sucks. Who is this guy,” stated a fan.
“Who the f*ck is Russell Dickerson? Everything about Tennessee sucks,” commented a fan.
“Russell Dickerson on Gameday proving how bad country music truly is. My god that was awful,” said a fan.
“Does ESPN really think that football fans really give a sh*t about Russell Dickerson?” rhetorically asked a fan.
“Turn this Russell Dickerson sh*t off,” said another fan.
“I will refuse forever to buy any musician’s crap that #ESPN #collegegameday forced upon us. Beyond that this #RussellDickerson is absolutely garbage. Terrible,” ranted a fan.
Country music star and Vols fan @russelled came to College GameDay to perform his hit song, “Happen To Me” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/z9vb7mzOWm
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 13, 2025
Russell Dickerson, 38, is no stranger to the country music scene, having had numerous successful songs such as “Blue Tacoma” and “Every Little Thing.” Dickerson performed his song “Happen to Me” to the GameDay audience outside on Ayres Hall Lawn at the University of Tennessee.
ESPN Confirms Candace Parker as College GameDay Guest Picker
While people were tearing into the musical guest, ESPN had a different announcement. Russell Dickerson was only there to perform and was not going to join the desk as the main event for the weekly game predictions.
Basketball legend and proud alumnus Candace Parker is the celebrity guest picker. Parker, a notable WNBA player and 2X NCAA champion with the Lady Vols, was visibly excited as she released a video message earlier in the week.
“What’s up? It’s your girl Candace Parker, proud alum of the University of Tennessee. If you cut me, I bleed orange,” Parker stated.
“That’s why I’m so excited that College GameDay is coming to Knoxville as the University of Tennessee Volunteers take on the Georgia Dogs. And guess what? You’re looking at your College GameDay celebrity guest picker,” she further elaborated.
A true Tennessee legend 👏@Candace_Parker won two national titles with the Lady Vols and now she’s coming back to Knoxville as this weekend’s guest picker 🍊 pic.twitter.com/SWSkLdE7Ax
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 11, 2025
Parker also said she was excited to share a little secret that 100,000 screaming fans in Neyland would know on Saturday, highlighting her public support that the Tennessee Volunteers were going to stop the 10-year drought.
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