What a week it has been for ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit.
The longtime College GameDay panelist has faced a mountain of criticism in recent days surrounding comments he’s made about the Ohio State football fanbase, particularly in relation to head coach Ryan Day.
During the Buckeyes’ convincing win over Tennessee on Saturday in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Herbstreit, who was calling the game alongside play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler, repeated a common refrain of his: the “lunatic fringe” of the Ohio State fanbase needs to lay off its head coach.
In defense of Ryan Day, Kirk Herbstreit took aim at:
– The “lunatic fringe” at Ohio State. “The lunatic fringe at Ohio State is as powerful as anywhere in the country.”
– First Take: “They thought he was done. So I’ll be excited to see what they talk about on Monday.” pic.twitter.com/0Ovs0MBMOd
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 22, 2024
In doing so, Herbstreit took aim at those on his own network, specifically on the show First Take, for playing into the hysteria. He also implied that those types of shows have helped grow the “fringe” over the years, from what he says was once 8-10% of the fanbase to now 15-20%.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday, Herbstreit provided some context as to why he stands by those figures, despite the criticism.
“My problem is, I’m a friend of Ryan Day’s,” Herbsterit began. “He and I talk on a regular basis about more than just football. So I hear things that he and his family go through. Especially Christina, his wife. His son who gets death threats from multiple multiple people. And what it’s doing to them as a family. …When I hear that, it really frustrates me that he has to deal with putting an armed guard outside of his house 24/7 for his own fanbase. Like that hurts my heart that that is a reality for the Ohio State coach.”
Herbstreit’s comments won’t go very far in ingratiating himself with the Ohio State fanbase, but it does start to paint a fuller picture as to why he’s so steadfast in his opinions here. A college football coach needing to hire security to protect himself and his family from his own fanbase is extreme no matter how you slice it.
But Herbstreit conflating real lunatics that would send death threats and potentially harm Day’s family with what would amount to hundreds of thousands of Ohio State fans if his “15-20%” figure were accurate is where he goes wrong.
There’s simply no way that that many Buckeyes fans wish to do harm to Ryan Day. Perhaps that percentage of the fanbase would like to see Day fired, but that’s not what Herbstreit is suggesting here.
Despite Day’s incredible record against teams not named Michigan, there’s at least a legitimate argument as to whether he’s the right fit at Ohio State. That’s especially true when accounting for the school’s extremely high standards in football and sizeable coffers that could presumably attract another A-list head coach. But Ohio State fans that would suggest Day should be in physical danger because he can’t beat Michigan? They’d be in the extreme minority.
“I get very passionate about that subject, because I know a lot more than the average person knows,” Herbstreit continued on Monday. “I get defensive, I get protective. That’s all it is.”
That’s all well and good, and it’s probably important to highlight that Herbstreit’s personal relationship with Day is playing a significant role in his coverage of the program. But that also means anything he says should probably be interpreted in that context, and it’s not as if Herbstreit is disclosing his tight-knit relationship with the Day family anytime he calls an Ohio State game.
So it makes sense that Buckeyes fans would be upset. Herbstreit is taking a fringe issue and blowing it out of proportion. Does that make it right that a small portion of the Ohio State fanbase has driven Day to hire a 24/7 armed guard? Of course not. But Herbstreit isn’t doing himself any favors when he suggests that’s representative of a significant portion of the fanbase.
Maybe he’d be better off revising that “15-20%” figure down a bit.
