Following Notre Dame’s victory in the Sugar Bowl over Georgia on Thursday, ESPN sideline reporter Molly McGrath hosted the on-field postgame ceremony with the Notre Dame coaching staff and players along with Sugar Bowl President Walter Becker. The affair didn’t exactly run as smoothly as anticipated.
McGrath, who has been at ESPN since 2016, started by speaking with Becker, who made it a point to congratulate both teams for a successful season.
“On behalf of the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the College Football Playoff, congratulations to two outstanding teams for your effort this afternoon during this game and throughout the season,” said Becker.
There was then a brief pause before McGrath went to speak with Marcus Freeman. But before she was able to, Becker tapped her on the shoulder to add one more thing.
In doing so, Becker attempted to take the microphone out of McGrath’s hand. But McGrath didn’t let go, leading to an awkward moment where both had a hand on the microphone as Becker congratulated Notre Dame and Freeman directly for the win.
“And now, it is my pleasure to present the Allstate Sugar Bowl Trophy to Coach Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish,” said Becker.
This Molly McGrath postgame interaction with Sugar Bowl president Walter Becker was an adventure. 🏈🎙️😂 #CFP pic.twitter.com/8ACWce2X4n
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 3, 2025
It’s pretty standard for the president of any bowl game to be the first to congratulate the winning coach. So it’s understandable as to why Becker would want to do that before McGrath spoke with Freeman.
However, it did seem like Becker was done speaking before remembering that he should officially present the trophy to Notre Dame and Freeman directly. And to McGrath’s credit, she did follow one of the most important rules of reporting. Never give up the microphone no matter who wants to take it.
Ultimately, the remainder of the ceremony would go on without any issue. McGrath would speak to both Freeman and later Riley Leonard, the Sugar Bowl Offensive MVP. But this is definitely the type of awkward moment that reporters fear most.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.