The College Football Playoff national championship game between the Indiana Hoosiers and Miami Hurricanes went down to the wire on Monday night, leaving fans caught up in the drama. And that includes one fan in particular captured by ESPN cameras at Hard Rock Stadium, Abella Danger.
Fan shots are nothing new in sports broadcasting, especially when it comes to tense moments during a game. That’s exactly what was happening as Miami was driving in the fourth quarter trying to pull off a frantic comeback trailing by 10 points against the Hoosiers.
That’s when ESPN quickly went to the stands for a fan reaction shot that turned out to be a close-up of Abella Danger.
If you don’t know who Abella Danger is, let’s just say she’s… famous for… reasons. She’s also become a celebrity fan of the Hurricanes who has gone viral throughout their playoff run.
The funny thing is that this is the second time that ESPN has shown her on a Miami playoff broadcast. She was also seen in the stands during Miami’s first round game at Texas A&M, although that was part of a wider group shot.
This shot during the national championship game was very different. It was a very tight, albeit brief, close-up during the closing stages.
You can’t expect every camera operator and producer working for ESPN’s college football coverage to know who Abella Danger is. But given she was already shown once during a Miami game on the network, at least somebody had to have some knowledge. Maybe that explains the quick camera cut.
Unfortunately for Danger, Miami failed to complete the comeback as Carson Beck was intercepted on the final drive of the game and Indiana held on for a 27-21 victory.
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