Candidates as Celebrity Guest Picker on ESPN GameDay at Cal

With ESPN’s GameDay taking place next Saturday morning on the Cal campus – it will be dark when the program begins at 6 a.m. Pacific time – there is speculation as to who the celebrity guest game picker will be.

Don’t worry, we’ve ranked who it should be – although we admit we don’t know who it actually will be.

The celebrity guest selection is typically a graduate of the host school, but there have also been cases where someone representing the region but not a graduate has been the celebrity guest. Singer Blake Shelton, comedian Nate Bargatze and race car driver Danica Patrick were among others guest collectors, although they did not attend the host school. So we could include guys like Carlos Santana, Grace Slick, Joe Montana and Gavin Newsom as candidates for Cal’s GameDay if we wanted – but we don’t have room for everyone.

A number of people have been celebrity pickers more than once, so Aaron Rodgers, who was a guest picker in 2016 (during which he denounced Mack Brown), won’t be left out. As we’ll discover, logistics will be a problem for Rodgers this time around.

So let’s go ahead and count down our top 20 candidates for this Saturday’s GameDay celebrity guest at Cal, with the No. 1 candidate being the top choice by far.

Honorable Mention: Swimmer Ryan Murphy, actor John Cho, Chargers receiver Keenan Allen, writer Joan Didion, astronaut Leroy Chiao, former Raiders CEO Amy Trask, Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall, swimmer Natalie Coughlin and Matt Biondi.

20. Kamala Harris – The presidential candidate was born in Oakland, lived briefly in Berkeley as a baby, and both parents attended Cal. She has deep ties to the Bay Area and an appearance on GameDay would do wonders for her campaign.

19. Mark Madsen – Cal’s men’s basketball coach and former NBA player excites Golden Bears fans about basketball, and he can energize any group with his irrepressible optimism. He will sell the Brooklyn Bridge to Rece Davis. (Yes, he’s a Stanford graduate, but he wears blue and gold now and grew up in the Bay Area.)

18. Stephen Curry – The Warriors star is everywhere and is identified as the king of the Bay Area. People in the Bay Area who don’t know anything about basketball know who Steph Curry is. He didn’t attend Cal, but who cares?

17. Jerry Brown – The two-time governor of California and mayor of Oakland graduated from Cal University in 1961 with a degree in classics. He was able to inform Lee Corso and Pat McAfee about the habits of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

16. Billie Joe Armstrong – Green Day’s lead singer was born in Oakland, grew up in the Bay Area and was recently given the key to the Bay Area city of Pinole. Having him on GameDay would be the time of your life.

15. Jaylen Brown – Brown played one season at Cal and became a superstar this year when he was named MVP of both the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals as Boston won the NBA title. He says what he thinks and doesn’t speak in clichés.

14. Chris Pine – The actor who played James T. Kirk and Wonder Woman’s sidekick graduated from Cal in 2002 with an English degree. He was able to delight the GameDay audience with literary references.

13. Nnamdi Asomugha – The former Cal safety and star NFL cornerback has enjoyed a prolific career as an actor and producer. His deep, reserved speaking voice, which delivers thoughtful information, requires special attention.

12. Steve Wozniak – The co-founder of Apple grew up in the Bay Area (San Jose), enrolled at Cal in 1971, and eventually graduated from Cal in 1986. He should be able to calculate some winners in college football games.

11. Aaron Rodgers – Having him as a GameDay celebrity would make perfect sense if Rodgers’ New York Jets weren’t playing the Vikings in London the next day.

10. Collin Morikawa/Max Homa – These two popular, high-ranking professional golfers graduated from Cal, and Max Homa is one of the most popular golfers in the world, in part because of his engaging tweets and candid and interesting interviews. He could steal the show.

9. Tom Hanks – The two-time Oscar-winning actor grew up in the Bay Area (born in Concord, attended Chabot College in Hayward), but here’s the clincher: When asked during a 2001 interview with Bob Costas Whether he won an Oscar or a Heisman trophy, Hanks said he would rather win a Heisman playing halfback for the California Golden Bears. This is too good.

8. Jerry Mathers – What could be better than seeing the “Leave It to Beaver” star, who graduated from the University of California in 1973 with a philosophy degree? Is GameDay smart enough to see the wisdom in inviting 76-year-old Beaver Cleaver?

7. Adam Duritz – The lead singer of the Counting Crows reportedly narrowly missed graduating from Cal, but he is an avid Cal sports fan who has given pregame talks for the Golden Bears football and basketball teams in addition to reporting for radio. He loves Cal athletics and hates Stanford. Enough said.

6. Jason Kidd – Kidd grew up in Oakland, filled arenas as a Cal point guard, became a Hall of Fame NBA player and led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals as head coach this year. He is still revered in Berkeley.

5. Ron Rivera – The former Cal and NFL standout linebacker remains closely involved in Cal fundraising and has led the NIL campaign at Cal. Available these days after being a two-time NFL Coach of the Year, he will be on the Cal campus Friday night participating in a panel discussion as part of Latin American Heritage Month.

4. Jared Goff – The former Cal quarterback posted an NFL-record 18-for-18 passing performance in the Lions’ Monday win over Seattle. And he would be available since the Lions have a bye this week. Detroit fans shouted his name at an NHL game before last year’s NFC championship game, and students attending GameDay shouted his name when he would participate.

3. Alex Morgan – Morgan, who graduated from the University of California with a degree in political economy after starring on the Golden Bears soccer team, was a two-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist for the U.S. Women’s National Team. She is hugely popular, has been a spokesperson for women’s sports issues, is a successful businesswoman and is making big headlines these days, having announced her retirement from professional football last month.

2. Tony Gonzalez – The former Cal tight end and Golden Bears basketball player is one of two Cal alumni in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and knows his way around a microphone as one of the studio analysts for NFL Thursday Night Football. He would have something to say and the expertise to back it up.

1. Marshawn Lynch – Lynch is by far the best choice, and if ESPN GameDay doesn’t try to lure Lynch to its set, it doesn’t know the Bay Area. Lynch checks all the boxes. He grew up in Oakland. He was a star at Cal. He was a star in the NFL. He is always authentic and entertaining. He remains an Oakland icon. When Anthony Fauci wanted to reach out to the African American community in Oakland about the pandemic, who did he contact for a video interview? Yes, Marshawn Lynch, who made this video valuable. GameDay should probably use the seven-second delay when talking to Lynch, but it would definitely be a blast.

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