During the six-overtime GameAbove Sports Bowl between Pittsburgh and Toledo, Pitt offensive tackle Ryan Baer had a not-so-flattering angle of his balding head shown on the ESPN broadcast. And while many jokes were made on social media at Baer’s expense, he had even more supporters sticking up for him in the sports media landscape.
Barstool Sports President Dave Portnoy got Baer’s attention by posting a photo of his balding head and asking “How old are college kids,” suggesting Baer looked far too old to still be in college.
“This 6OT game just blessed us with this hairline,” wrote Portnoy with a picture of Baer’s badly receding hairline. “How old are college kids again?”
This 6OT game just blessed us with this hairline. How old are college kids again? pic.twitter.com/yaysEcxukH
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) December 26, 2024
Portnoy’s post ended up going viral, with over 5 million users on X and counting seeing Baer’s balding head. After the game, Baer, who is just a redshirt sophomore, took to social media to acknowledge Portnoy’s post with the simple response of “damn.”
— Ryan Baer (@RyanBaer2003) December 27, 2024
Male pattern baldness is something that plagues millions of men. This includes some of our most notable personalities in sports media, who offered their support on social media after seemingly assuming that Baer felt embarrassed by the photo.
“Dude, it’s fine. Fine,” wrote ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt.
Dude, it’s fine.
Fine.
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) December 27, 2024
“Ryan you look tremendous,” wrote former NFL defensive lineman turned CBS Sports podcast host Kyle Long.
Ryan you look tremendous
— kyle (@Ky1eLong) December 27, 2024
“It’s alright brother, bad camera angles happen to the best of us,” wrote Mike Golic Jr. of Gojo and Golic.
It’s alright brother, bad camera angles happen to the best of us 🤝
— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) December 27, 2024
Portnoy later joked that Baer would parlay his receding hairline into a job at Barstool.
This dude is gonna parlay his receding hairline into a job isn’t he? https://t.co/XQl0yJVirg
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) December 27, 2024
To make matters worse, it was Toledo that came away with the 48-46 victory over Pittsburgh in a historic game that set the record for the most overtimes ever in a bowl game.
Whether Baer is genuinely upset with this camera angle being shared all over social media by Portnoy and others is unclear. But it is at least cool to get some words of encouragement from some of the biggest stars in sports media as a result.
