Kirk Herbstreit Gets Emotional When Talking About Late Dog Ben On College GameDay

If you need something to cry about on this fine Saturday afternoon, I’ve got you covered.

ESPN College GameDay’s Kirk Herbstreit made the heartbreaking announcement that his beloved dog, Ben, died on Thursday after a battle with cancer. The golden retriever was a regular on ESPN’s marquee college football program and traveled with Herbstreit pretty much everywhere he went on the road.

In the middle of the panel’s live coverage from Baton Rouge, La., Rece Davis made mention of Ben passing away. Herbstreit immediately started crying heavily on set, and the LSU fans in the background started chanting "We love Ben!" to support him.

Herbstreit could not control himself, and that’s perfectly understandable. I was devastated when my grandfather’s golden retriever died when I was 10 years old. Even though she wasn’t mine, I loved Goldie, so I fully empathize with Herbstreit’s pain. 

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After a few seconds, ESPN cut away to a tribute video for Ben that Herbstreit himself narrated. If you don’t have any tissues available, go grab some before you watch this. It will pull at your heart strings and bring many tears to your eyes.

Gosh, that one hurts a lot. Fortunately, one of Ben’s pups, Peter, was on set today, and should be more so in the future. 

But still, our heart goes to Herbstreit. Few things in life are as hard as losing a beloved pet.