Erin Andrews' Bodyguard at NCSU Game Was Trained by Secret Service

As it turns out, ESPN and Erin Andrews were very, very serious about the security surrounding the "sideline princess" at last Thursday's NC State-South Carolina game. How do we know? Well, that's because her bodyguard (one dude primed to guard her) was trained by the Secret Service. Oy. Vey.

Of course, you may actually remember hearing something like this from FanHouse's David Whitley who was on assignment for the official AOL Erin Andrews Watch (trademark pending!) in Raleigh last week. Whitley was able to get close enough to Andrews to notice a "Secret Service-looking guy" shadowing her.

What this information tells us, specifically, is that ESPN cares a whole helluva lot about Andrews' safety, which makes sense. Not only was her privacy violated, but she's a valuable commodity for the network -- particularly with her exclusive Oprah interview coming up Friday.

And honestly, having been kicked out of gone to an NCSU game or two, I can tell you that the crowd in Raleigh can get a little rowdy; the prospect of a blowout on either side with nothing else to focus on had to have been terrifying for the WWL.

Fortunately, the game was close. And the crowd was lulled into lethargy by one of the most boring football get-togethers in the history of the sport. So EA was able to do her job at Carter-Finley stadium without awkward interruptions. And we'll probably see the same level of security for Andrews this Thursday when Clemson and the ESPN Gameday crew come to town.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if "Secret Service bodyguard" is a refrain we're hearing around Andrews for the rest of the season.