VALDOSTA — Winnersville showed its stuff Wednesday, as the countless trophies, banners, flags and plaques were brought out to Bazemore-Hyder Stadium for ESPN to showcase our town.

ESPN filmed Valdosta for its TitleTown USA segment, which will be aired on the July 16 SportsCenter at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The network started filming at 6 p.m., more than six hours after fans started tailgating around Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.

The filming lasted four hours, in both rainy and sunny conditions, but the end product was one ESPN was proud of.

“I thought it went great,” ESPN producer Malinda Adams said. “The crowd hung in there with us as long as they could, and I thought it went great. We couldn’t ask for any more. It rained, then the sun came out, and it was a rainbow, as far as I’m concerned.”

While ESPN was proud of the way the shoot went, they were also thrilled with the reception the people of Valdosta gave the network.

Coming towards the stadium, signs and banners lined the streets welcoming ESPN to Winnersville, and boasting that Valdosta should be TitleTown. Tailgating tents lined the streets near Bazemore-Hyder Stadium, as several hundred fans were cooking out and commiserating hours before the doors to the stadium opened at five minutes until 4 p.m.

“When I drove up, I was totally shocked,” said former Valdosta State and Atlanta Falcons star Jessie Tuggle, a five-time Pro Bowl selection who drove down for the event. “I just got here, and driving through the stadium, it looks like a ball game was going to be here. All that just to be on ESPN for a few minutes speaks volumes about how much people love this city.”

That love for the city of Valdosta and its athletics was evident to ESPN, as they diligently set up the stage and TitleTown desk for the shoot, along with two cameras and a 20-foot jib camera while fans were busy outside the gates.

When fans started rolling in, the crew was shocked that such a small town suddenly became so big.

“I’m overwhelmed,” ESPN reporter Wendi Nix said. “It’s such a privilege to be here, and be in a place that has so much pride in who they are and what they do. It’s nice to see there is still a place like this.”

A little after 6 p.m., Valdosta Touchdown Club member Monty Long, Valdosta Mayor John Fretti and Adams pumped up the crowd, before Nix took the stage in front of an estimated 5,000 people in the home stands of Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.

ESPN’s camera crew took several takes of a crazed crowd of Valdosta State, Valdosta, Lowndes and other area fans screaming as if the TitleTown vote depended on it.

The cheers came from three different schools all merging for one shot, and making up one TitleTown.

“I think it proves what the Valdosta athletic community has been showing for generations, that we have, and always will have, spirit of competition and the love of the game,” Mayor Fretti said.