Support was shown by all. Valdosta High opened its stadium for the event, VSU fans showed up in perhaps the highest volume, Tuggle drove down from Atlanta for the taping and former Lowndes High standout Randall Godfrey gave his time to appear on ESPN.

“We deserve to be recognized as TitleTown USA,” Godfrey said. “We have the winningest high school (football program) in America, and if you look at the state of Georgia, and its high school football, its right here in Lowndes County. We have to get recognized. I don’t think this is going on anywhere else in the nation. I think we deserve it.”

Nix filmed intro and outro pieces for SportsCenter for the first segment, then interviewed Godfrey for the second.

The audio on the conversation couldn’t be heard over the loud speaker, but Godfrey made his case for Valdosta as TitleTown.

On air or not, everyone in attendance had cause for Valdosta to receive the honor.

“I think the thing that makes it more special is the community,” Tuggle said. “If ESPN is looking for something different, and they want it to be about the whole community, people will say ‘Hey man, that small town of Valdosta, they have won an awful lot of championships.’”

Indeed, it was about the championships. ESPN then filmed a third segment to air on ESPN Classic, while the network shows Valdosta State’s 2004 and 2007 national championships on July 16. The crew wrapped up with shots of trophies won by Valdosta, VSU, Lowndes, along with the TitleTown trophy.

While the filming complete, the community outpouring is not finished. Valdosta State will host a screening of the Valdosta SportsCenter next Wednesday. VSU is bringing in at least one 15-by-20 foot screen to the P.E. Complex to show the TitleTown broadcast. Fans can watch the 2004 VSU national championship game at 2 p.m., followed by the 2007 national championship at 4 p.m., and finally the airing of Valdosta’s debut on SportsCenter at 6 p.m.

While Valdosta is currently Winnersville, if it truly wants to be TitleTown, it needs to be voted in by the people. Online voting begins July 24, and will last through the 26th, with people being allowed to vote as often as possible.

“I think Valdosta has a really good chance to be TitleTown,” Adams said. “It’s up to Valdosta, because they have to get out and vote July 24-26. They have to be hitting the online vote.”