For decades, ESPN’s College GameDay has been the undisputed gold standard of Saturday morning television. The fans certainly love the sharp gridiron analysis from icons like Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, and Nick Saban. But ever since ESPN handed Pat McAfee an $85 million contract and a prime seat on College GameDay, the former NFL punter has been the network’s ultimate lightning rod.
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Well, that has annoyed many, including Joe Scarborough. The Morning Joe host spent two minutes ranting about McAfee’s role on College GameDay and accused the former punter of hijacking the broadcast.
“I’ve just had enough of this Pat McAfee ruining College GameDay,” Scarborough said on Morning Joe. “I look forward to waking up on Saturday mornings and watching that. And I don’t know if they haven’t got the message yet, but the manosphere that we all thought was brought in in ’24, it may get washed aside.
“Maybe you weren’t having to be [grunt noise] and yelling at people and being freaked out because two kids in Utah put up signs or say something that might offend you. You know what Nick Saban calls that? ‘Tuesday!’
“ESPN, I mean, they run their company the way they want to run their company. But man, it is a shame for the viewer. And I hear this universally from people. I love watching Rece [Davis], I love watching those guys. And watching Nick [Saban] on there talking about it. [Kirk] Herbstreit’s amazing. Desmond [Howard]… They’re all great. And they’re all being eclipsed by ESPN’s just insatiable desire to give this guy more time.”
MSNBC’s Willie Geist also had a similar opinion. He claimed that even though College GameDay is a “great show” for people who love college football, because it has all the necessary tidbits, it has become more like The McAfee Show. The reason is certainly the former punter’s increasing airtime.
Even Chris Matthews felt that McAfee is the network’s de facto anchor, even though he was brought in as an addition to the ensemble. Needless to say, that has disrupted the chemistry of the big names in ESPN.
However, the raw viewership numbers tell a very different story.
College GameDay is rising in rankings despite backlash against Pat McAfee
Through Week 9 of college football, College GameDay has been growing in viewership. Of course, the dramatic game between Indiana and Minnesota was one of the major reasons behind the increasing viewership. But we can also give McAfee some of the credit.
Well, about 2.5 million viewers watched the Week 9 broadcast of the pregame show and about 3.2 million tuned in for the final hour. It was indeed the second most-watched Week 9. Furthermore, the season-to-date ratings also went up by four per cent in one year.
As per tech site Garbage Day, Mr. Beast experienced pretty high traffic on his YouTube channel. But ultimately, the numbers went down. The Athletic further pointed out that College GameDay’s viewership will likely plummet in the future, just like that of Mr. Beast. For College GameDay, the agenda is to promote whatever storyline ESPN comes up with, and that’s where McAfee comes in.
The Athletic claimed that McAfee tends to grab the viewers’ attention and doesn’t let it go. And he does so by making himself the main character in every storyline, while ensuring a rise in the numbers. But until that viral viewership bubble bursts, College GameDay will remain in the McAfee era.