Pat McAfee sends clear message to critics

If there’s one thing about Pat McAfee, he will ruffle some feathers. The host of The Pat McAfee Show and an ESPN College GameDay personality was an interesting new addition to the network’s traveling pre-game show, and he understands he’s not right for some crowds .

That was the former Indianapolis Colts’ reaction to a survey done by The Athletic , which lamented his polarizing presence on the show. 48.9 percent of the viewers surveyed indicated that they didn’t enjoy McAfee’s presence, compared to 30 percent who appreciated some new blood and uniqueness infused into what’s become a college football staple and tradition.

Last season, McAfee drew the ire of Washington State fans by calling the program out after head coach Jake Dickert called out Lee Corso for dismissing the forgotten Pac-2 of the Cougars and Oregon State. McAfee launched into a full-fledged rant that didn’t reflect well on himself or GameDay , as it essentially came off as telling the school to keep quiet and accept their fate. Which is a bit ironic in the sense that the Ol’ Crimson flag has become a staple, flying high every Saturday for years on College GameDay .

Another issue that has drawn criticism is McAfee’s tendency to react defensively. While a thick skin is essential for public figures, McAfee’s responses often escalate tensions. He’s been known to use derogatory terms like “ rat ,” “ losers ,” or “ puppets ” when confronted with negative feedback. McAfee has justified this behavior as a negotiation tactic. Still, critics, including Chris Russo , argue that his reactions are excessive and that he might be better off letting some things go .

This pattern continued recently when McAfee engaged with social media trolls on Instagram just days before the start of College GameDay for the season.

Pat had some time in the IG comments for GameDay post
by u/whattarush in PatMcAfeeShowOfficial

McAfee had time on Saturday. When a fan confessed to disliking him on Instagram, McAfee replied, “I’ve been with me a long time… You’re definitely not the only one. Good news is, I’d probably hate you too.”

Another fan asked him to “please keep your damn shirt on,” and that McAfee “going full red neck every live show” is why they’ve stopped watching.

To which McAfee said, “Damn shame… I don’t love that you’ve stopped watching maybe we’ll be able to get you back this year. If so, we’ll have the third straight season of highest ratings ever. WE NEED YA.”

That was relatively tame in regard to what came next, as another Instagram user wanted to use their comment as a “Hate McAfee button,” which received 100-plus likes. McAfee, in turn, replied to “Eric” and made his comment a “Eric’s built like a bag of potatoes, and his dog hates him” button.

Yikes.

He also took a shot at someone, asking, “Could’ve been the mirror you walked by,” after the user commented that they think they just threw up in their mouth.

In any event, McAfee’s brash personality and tendency to engage in these types of exchanges undoubtedly contribute to his polarizing figure. While this approach has gotten McAfee to be the face of sports media — for better or worse — it’s also garnered significant attention and ratings for him and ESPN.

With that comes more vitriol, and while he might alienate some viewers, McAfee’s undeniable star power makes him such a valuable asset to ESPN; regardless of whether public perception might be, his presence on the network is ensured, at least for the foreseeable future.

[The Pat McAfee Show on Reddit]

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