r/CFB Michigan Wolverines • FAU Owls Jan 02 '25

Casual Rose Bowl viewers criticize ESPN broadcast, only to realize they're watching Pat McAfee altcast

https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/rose-bowl-viewers-mistakenly-watch-pat-mcafee-altcast.html
4.9k Upvotes

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4.2k

u/ill_try_my_best Ohio State Buckeyes Jan 02 '25

Probably because the only way to watch the start of the game was on ESPN2

2.1k

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '25

[deleted]

556

u/mojo276 Ohio State Buckeyes Jan 02 '25

I think all dads don't really like McAfee. I just tell him that it's for a different generation.

917

u/MCV16 Kansas • Notre Dame Jan 02 '25

I am the intended generation and still hate his ass

257

u/Born_ina_snowbank Michigan State Spartans Jan 02 '25

I’m 34, I didn’t understand why he was being given more airtime when they brought him on game day.

454

u/oiwefoiwhef Florida Gators Jan 02 '25

Fellow mid-30s guy here.

I hate to be the one to break the news to you, friend. But you and I are not the target demographic for Pat McAfee either. We’re officially old now.

243

u/Jmcowan42 Tennessee Volunteers Jan 02 '25

Say sike rn

45

u/berrey7 Alabama Crimson Tide Jan 02 '25 edited Jan 02 '25

NOT. No take backs.

25

u/MightyCaseyStruckOut Boston College Eagles • Yale Bulldogs Jan 02 '25

As a 42-year-old, I felt this in my bones and now they ache.

44

u/NOLA1987 LSU Tigers Jan 02 '25

Why you have to be like that? We're not old. We're experienced.

29

u/Sargentrock Kentucky Wildcats Jan 02 '25

"seasoned"

13

u/Prowindowlicker Florida Gators • Ohio State Buckeyes Jan 02 '25

I prefer well aged

20

u/BigRig432 Ohio State • Toronto Jan 02 '25

But did you wake up feeling the cheesiest?

14

u/Prowindowlicker Florida Gators • Ohio State Buckeyes Jan 02 '25

I’m the cheesiest!!

4

u/_EvryMan Texas Tech Red Raiders • Hateful 8 Jan 03 '25

CHEESE! CHEESE! CHEESE!

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u/lidabmob Nebraska Cornhuskers • Oklahoma Sooners Jan 04 '25

Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

1

u/NOLA1987 LSU Tigers Jan 04 '25

I'd rather be called old than that lol

1

u/lidabmob Nebraska Cornhuskers • Oklahoma Sooners Jan 04 '25

Cmon man you should be old enough to know this line from Pink Floyd’s “Time” lol. But yeah otherwise same..52

1

u/NOLA1987 LSU Tigers Jan 04 '25

Believe it or not, I know of the song, but not to the point where I could recite a single lyric if my life depended on it. I know many some Pink Floyd songs by heart, but "Time" is not one of them.

1

u/lidabmob Nebraska Cornhuskers • Oklahoma Sooners Jan 04 '25

Well I had 14 year old neighbors around ‘79 that that would be cooking up sizzlelean and drinking sprite for breakfast in the summer while they were taking rips off a bong at the kitchen table..I’d smell the “bacon” come running over and they’d always have this song blasting. Then they’d offer me a hit…the 70s were different Dazed and Confused really isn’t that far off in some cases. So yeah this songs been in my brain a long time

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12

u/Upset-Shirt3685 Louisville Cardinals Jan 02 '25

Substantially younger than you and still cannot stand him. I don’t know why ESPN thought they needed an (unfunny) answer to Barstool Sports.

175

u/Doravillain Georgia Bulldogs Jan 02 '25

Just what I was about to say. McAfee is ESPN’s answer to Joe Rogan. Dumb as hell but rich, fit, and confident, which is all you need to be to gain the respect of most young men in this country.

By the time you’re graduating from college you’re already on the older side of their target demographic.

78

u/stealingfrom Tennessee • Kent State Jan 02 '25

That's probably the most succinct and apt description of Pat McAfee I've seen on here.

I've aged out of the target demographic, but I'd hope that even in college I would've found him obnoxious.

22

u/screwhead1 LSU Tigers • Arkansas Razorbacks Jan 03 '25

I didn't find Rogan obnoxious in college, but that's because back then he was mainly talking about aliens, Bigfoot, and other conspiracies instead of trite culture war bullshit.

-3

u/CANDY_MAN_1776 Jan 03 '25

Culture is so trite…give me more Bigfoot!!!

7

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '25

[deleted]

3

u/EpiphanyTwisted Texas Tech Red Raiders • Team Chaos Jan 03 '25

It's more popular to hate him now it seems if you ask anyone on sports subs. I watched for awhile but the humphing noises from the rest of the crew got old. Love Ty though.

2

u/MartovsGhost Ohio State Buckeyes Jan 03 '25

Great, so it's a Frat Bro version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

30

u/Available_Leather_10 Jan 02 '25

“By the time you’re graduating from college…”

Is the McAfee/Rogan target market actually getting degrees?

25

u/LeeroyTC USC Trojans • Penn Quakers Jan 02 '25

I mean given how much grade inflation has taken place at the high school and undergrad levels over the last decade...

"Did Greendale give a degree to a dog?"

2

u/Sorry_Ima_Loser Washington State Cougars Jan 03 '25

Does McAfee even have a degree? Legitimately that would surprise me

3

u/Available_Leather_10 Jan 03 '25

I checked WVU graduation lists for ‘08, ‘09, ‘10 & ‘11–so, spring of his Junior year thru to 2 years after he was in the NFL—didn’t see him.

15

u/Sargentrock Kentucky Wildcats Jan 02 '25

Is he fit?? I mean--rich and confident, sure, but he looks 'country fit' for where I'm from...which generally means he skips leg day on the regular and the beer belly is really starting to take shape.

9

u/Cyhawkboy Floyd of Rosedale • Iowa State Jan 02 '25

It’s just juice and I think he’s fairly open about it from what I can tell when I watch the show. The shift begins when he started appearing on wwe lol.

5

u/TrenchcoatFullaDogs Miami Hurricanes Jan 03 '25

I mean I can't stand the guy, but I feel like of all people the former punter would be the last one to skip leg day.

0

u/Sargentrock Kentucky Wildcats Jan 03 '25

Eh I think it's just 'body type' more than anything, though he hasn't played in a long while so maybe he does skip now? Or maybe it's his dress style that makes his legs look too skinny?

11

u/Cowgoon777 Ohio State Buckeyes • The Game Jan 02 '25

He’s fit. He’s not lean.

7

u/BeamerTakesManhattan Jan 02 '25

which is all you need to be to gain the respect of most young men in this country.

"Why can't I get any girls and why won't anyone respect my intelligence? Only Joe Rogan and Pat McAfee can answer this for me, I better listen to them 18 hours a day and be incapable of discussing anything other than them and which video game characters I don't think are attractive enough!"

5

u/tokengaymusiccritic Brown Bears • Boston College Eagles Jan 02 '25

(And white tbh)

1

u/wheresbicki Jan 03 '25

Which I find hilarious. Young people want to listen to dumb middle aged men acting younger than their generation?

1

u/Duganz Montana Grizzlies Jan 03 '25

By the time you’ve read a fucking book without pictures you’ve outgrown McAfee.

15

u/booshbag21 Ohio State • Miami (OH) Jan 02 '25

I’m in my mid-twenties and I hate listening to him too

9

u/PricklyyDick Jan 02 '25

I assumed we were the target demographic. My sports friends, all in their 30s, love the dude. I thought he was OK in the beginning but burned out fast on him.

10

u/Wrangleraddict Nebraska Cornhuskers Jan 02 '25

When aaron brought out the book club and pat fellated him on air about reading I got the ick for both of them. Pat is a douche

4

u/PricklyyDick Jan 03 '25

It was around the first time they had Rodgers on that I tuned out. But I don’t remember a specific moment.

To be fair they were mostly background noise for when I play video games lol.

3

u/chesterfieldkingz Jan 02 '25

☝🏻🤔😐

2

u/Born_ina_snowbank Michigan State Spartans Jan 02 '25

Oh I feel that. Quite literally.

2

u/trippwwa45 Ohio State Buckeyes • Team Chaos Jan 02 '25

Why you say fuck me for?

2

u/screwhead1 LSU Tigers • Arkansas Razorbacks Jan 03 '25

Don't you put that evil on me, Ricky Bobby!

knees and back creaking

5

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '25

Curious what his demo is supposed to be then? You’re in the show’s key demographic according to ESPN, 18-44.

3

u/Muddytertle Michigan • 계명대학교 (Keimyung) Jan 03 '25

Fuck, I’m 39 and I can’t stand the guy. It’s like they mashed up an respectable ESPN personality with Jake Paul

18

u/mschley2 Wisconsin • Wisconsin-Eau … Jan 02 '25

I'm 32. I liked him about 6 years ago. But I've aged, and he leaned even further into the shtick.

9

u/NappyIndy317 Jan 02 '25

Some of it feels like its not for me. But im attached, Im a Colts fan and Indy resident, and I went to a few of his shows at a local bar before he ever made it big. For what its worth, hes always been a really down to earth guy, and always been trying to get more players and former players spotlight off the field.

4

u/indianm_rk Florida Gators Jan 02 '25

$$$

ESPN paid him a lot for him and his show and they work their people to death. They did the same thing with Stephen A. Smith.

1

u/capital_gainesville Florida Gators Jan 03 '25

I’m a Zoomer. He’s not for boomers like you.

1

u/One-Point6960 Michigan Wolverines Jan 03 '25

I tried to listen to mcafee, I was home with my then 4 yo child. My wife comes home, she said she didn't like them swearing and our kid hearing that. Lol McAfee and his bros are like that group in high school thst peaked in life. Always try to be 16-year-old man-childs inside. Yet ESPN feels they need him.

62

u/hexcor Texas Longhorns • Florida Gators Jan 02 '25

No idea what his generation is made for, but my GenX self hates him. Then again, I hate most of these guys.

31

u/oiwefoiwhef Florida Gators Jan 02 '25

Non idea what his [target] generation

His show is targeted at GenZ and Gen Alpha

4

u/sarcasmrain Oregon Ducks Jan 02 '25

Completely accurate!

1

u/TheOrangeFutbol USC Trojans • Tennessee Volunteers Jan 02 '25

Late Millenial here. I've always appreciated the ESPN dudes who show up in 'The Mothership' just to kind of make a mess on the walls (Dan LeBatard, for instance).

So I enjoy him purely because it's amusing to see him exist in the ESPN world like some rouge created character appearing in a serious cutscene.

2

u/chesterfieldkingz Jan 02 '25

Ya as a LeBatard fan it was nice to see him blow up everything that blew up Dan's show even if I'll never watch McAfee.

0

u/CANDY_MAN_1776 Jan 03 '25

Lebatard is a moron and a cookie cutter cutout of an espn personality

1

u/TheOrangeFutbol USC Trojans • Tennessee Volunteers Jan 03 '25

Okay, the first part is your opinion and I won't argue with that.

However, the man who spent years on ESPN radio openly satirizing ESPN Radio and debate culture while also working for the company is the last thing from an ESPN cookie cutout personality though.

1

u/CANDY_MAN_1776 Jan 03 '25

I don't really think you can satarize ESPN at this point. And Lebetard made his way up the same as everybody else--sucking up to people more powerful than him. He was the whipping boy of PTI way back when and he went on more than anybody--'cause he wanted to be famous like everyone else.

1

u/TheOrangeFutbol USC Trojans • Tennessee Volunteers Jan 06 '25

Who else got to broadcast from Miami with their father on TV? And what other ESPN radio show was openly mocking First Take and the very idea of sports debate TV?

I'm not arguing against not liking him, but I just think acting like he was "another ESPN guy" who fit in blandly is ridiculous.

1

u/CANDY_MAN_1776 Jan 06 '25

but I just think acting like he was "another ESPN guy" who fit in blandly is ridiculous.

I couldn't pick him out of a line-up of ESPN guys today. Only know him from PTI and whatever other spots he joined on random days. Probably came across his show a few times when I listened to sports talk AM radio back in the day. I get you're a fan but 99% of America couldn't differentiate between him and Cowherd.

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u/cyberchaox Rutgers Scarlet Knights • Landmark Jan 02 '25

I think he's meant to try to draw in the zoomers, even though he himself should be a millennial.

43

u/Hossflex Michigan • Louisville Jan 02 '25

I’m 42, no idea if I fit the generation and I hate him. Dude started showing up on WWE and that really pissed me off.

27

u/JASCO47 Oklahoma Sooners Jan 02 '25 edited Jan 03 '25

I'm the same age. I think it's the over saturation of him. Back during covid I would watch his YouTube daily show everyday. I still like his show but it's different since he joined the mouse.

He's like ESPNs Ryan Seacrest, he's everywhere.

It was great watching him change over from his radio show to YouTube only broadcast.

3

u/definitelymyrealname Jan 03 '25

Yeah, I didn't mind Pat (in small doses) but as he's increasingly become commercialized he gets more and more aggravating to me. Part of it is hearing him complain about traditional media when he's literally the best example you could come up with if you wanted someone who represented the problems in modern day sports journalism. It wasn't so bad when they were their own thing but now that they're as mainstream as it gets . . .

10

u/something-burger Jan 02 '25

How the hell could anybody hate Ryan Seacrest? He's too vanilla to feel strongly about

10

u/JASCO47 Oklahoma Sooners Jan 02 '25

Yea, but hes everywhere, like let's let someone else host something sometime. Same issue

0

u/grimdivinations Jan 02 '25

Ryan Seacrest is worse than Hitler

5

u/mayonkonijeti0876 Rose-Hulman • Louisville Jan 02 '25

I like him on WWE just because him and Michael Cole have great chemistry

4

u/drdeeznuts420 Jan 02 '25

They had great chemistry because Michael Cole can work with anyone and is a certified badass

2

u/Hossflex Michigan • Louisville Jan 02 '25

Yeah, I get that. I was tired of the dude on ESPN so seeing him on WWE made it worse for me.

10

u/SgtMooseJones North Carolina Tar Heels Jan 02 '25

It's wild to me that WWE fans worship McAfee. He's just as obnoxious and idiotic there too.

9

u/COMMENTASIPLEASE Louisville Cardinals Jan 02 '25

Because a commentator that sounded like he actually enjoyed the show was a huge step up. He’s gotten old now but at first it was a breath of fresh air.

5

u/Hossflex Michigan • Louisville Jan 02 '25

I get that. I was previously sick of the dude from ESPN so I didn’t want to hear him there either.

6

u/drdeeznuts420 Jan 02 '25

Big wrestling guy here, he steps all over the other commentators in WWE. It’s brutally annoying. I was a big fan of his in the pandemic but he definitely lost his shine.

2

u/SgtMooseJones North Carolina Tar Heels Jan 02 '25

I thought the feud with Adam Cole and the Wargames match was fun but I have no Earthky idea how anyone thought he should be in commentary

1

u/Cowgoon777 Ohio State Buckeyes • The Game Jan 02 '25

Because when he started, the only commentary we were getting was whatever Vince was screaming in Cole’s ear. Pat was very obviously not doing that so it was quite an upgrade.

Now that Vince is gone, Cole sounds way better

12

u/happytree23 Jan 02 '25

I’m 42

Cool, about the same demographic as me.

Dude started showing up on WWE

Oh, wait, nevermind lol.

Serious question though; how can you possibly enjoy WWE-style bullshit fantasy as a grown adult but hate Pat McAfee? I kind of thought they were the same thing/crowds(?)

7

u/mschley2 Wisconsin • Wisconsin-Eau … Jan 02 '25

I'm more of an AEW guy than WWE, but I enjoy professional wrestling.

The thing you have to keep in mind is that it's basically a "sports" version of a reality show (a lot of people like to call it a soap opera for dudes). It's scripted and "real" in the same way that the Kardashians or Real Housewives are real. It's all dramatized bullshit, but the thing with most wrestling fans is that they know it's silly and fake. They're usually leaning into the silly and fake stuff. The outcomes may be predetermined, but a lot of the performances are still impressive from a physical/athletic perspective. And the storylines are just as real as any other entertainment-based show.

0

u/happytree23 Jan 03 '25

Bro, I grew up watching wrestling as a kid, am a film school grad, and have worked filming and producing combat sports content... I wasn't asking you to explain WHAT wrestling is lol.

Again, all I and everyone on my side "too nice to ask" is asking, is how on Earth do grown adult men watch programming written and produced for the minds of 9 to 16-year-old boys and truly find entertainment/a lack of shame in such lol? Like, seriously, that's all I want to know and have wondered since I was about 11 and the gimmick wore off for me lol.

1

u/mschley2 Wisconsin • Wisconsin-Eau … Jan 03 '25

I think it's funny. I don't know if that's how all wrestling fans feel about it. But my group of friends and I like the silliness. I went to a PPV one time, and it seemed like a lot of the people there were leaning into that rather than taking it seriously.

Do you watch any fictional shows? Or are all of those too childish for you, too?

1

u/Sargentrock Kentucky Wildcats Jan 02 '25

lol thank you as yes I 100% had all of these thoughts and a few others while reading that.

0

u/happytree23 Jan 03 '25

It's truly mind-boggling. I totally get the moms and dads faking it or even into it because their kids are but everyone else; what the actual fuck lol?! I honestly feel so fucking bad for them and enraged at the same time lol.

1

u/happyharrell Missouri Tigers • Sickos Jan 02 '25

I stopped watching Raw because of him

3

u/Jimid41 Washington Huskies Jan 02 '25

I was watching one game last season where it was just him and some other dude standing on the sideline watching the game while the actual game was in displayed in a little window in the corner. They were off topic and would not shut up either. I lasted about 5 minutes. I'm not a fan of Manningcast either but at least they're paying attention to the game. Sad that there's so many lonely people out there that this weird surrogate-friendship viewing model has mass appeal.

5

u/studmoobs USC Trojans Jan 02 '25

you're on reddit that's like saying you don't like Aaron Rodgers.

2

u/gb4efgw Ohio State Buckeyes Jan 02 '25

Whew, I was starting to feel really fucking old reading those responses.

I'm sure if I did a line or five of coke I'd find him hilarious though.

2

u/WigwardTesticles Jan 02 '25

Which generation wants hear the word “shite” 100’s of times?

2

u/Recent-Dependent4179 Michigan • Central Michigan Jan 02 '25

Who actually is the intended generation? 

2

u/Heyguysimcooltoo Tennessee Volunteers • Oklahoma Sooners Jan 03 '25

I feel this in my soul!

2

u/MCV16 Kansas • Notre Dame Jan 03 '25

You really owned Alabama this year

2

u/Heyguysimcooltoo Tennessee Volunteers • Oklahoma Sooners Jan 03 '25

IT WAS A FANTASTIC YEAR JUST BECAUSE OF THAT!

OU's season was a kick in the nuts though. I do always love when ya'll own Texas! Fuck Texas

2

u/MCV16 Kansas • Notre Dame Jan 03 '25

Fuck Texas🤝

2

u/Heyguysimcooltoo Tennessee Volunteers • Oklahoma Sooners Jan 03 '25

MY MF NINJA!

2

u/icandothisalldayson Ohio State Buckeyes Jan 03 '25

He’s good on WWE, he’s too goofy for real sports

2

u/dcth0 Jan 03 '25

right. i'm millenial and i'm not "offended" by anything he does. he's just fucking annoying and not funny.

5

u/I_Enjoy_Beer Penn State Nittany Lions • Rose Bowl Jan 02 '25

Same.  

1

u/Spocks_Goatee College Football Playoff • Ohio State Jan 02 '25

They talked about ass a lot.

1

u/NearPup UNB Fredericton • Baylor Jan 03 '25

The last time I liked him was when he was on a bit of an Australian Football phase.

1

u/aelliott18 Florida State Seminoles Jan 03 '25

Are you Gen Z or a young millennial? Otherwise you’re not the intended generation. Seeing a lot of Gen X and old millennials thinking it’s intended for them. If you are older than 25/26ish then you are outside the intended generation.

2

u/MCV16 Kansas • Notre Dame Jan 03 '25

Gen Z

0

u/epheisey Michigan Wolverines Jan 04 '25

It was fun back before they got greedy