West Virginia alum Pat McAfee is coming home on Friday for a live broadcast of The Pat McAfee Show from the Morgantown campus before the school’s season-opening football showdown with Penn State.
To say that the Mountaineer faithful (and Nittany Lion faithful) are excited would be an understatement. The game is sold out, as are most hotel rooms in the region, while Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff will be in town before the game, undoubtedly bringing people out in droves on Saturday.
Even though College GameDay will be in Texas, McAfee will be doing a live broadcast on the West Virginia campus the day before. That’s sure to bring college football fans out of the woodwork, especially as McAfee has hyped up the appearance and how special it will be for him.
The @PatMcAfeeShow will be live from Morgantown West Virginia for their home opener against Penn State next Friday, August 30th 👏 🏈 pic.twitter.com/3x65jbLeRP
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) August 22, 2024
All of this excitement, anticipation, and expected influx of people has led the local county school district to close its schools on Friday.
In a Wednesday Facebook post, the Monongalia County School District announced it had decided to close all schools “due to the anticipated traffic congestion and potential delays affecting our bus services,” doing so after consulting with local law enforcement.
While the post did not draw a direct line between McAfee’s popular show and the decision to close, local news outlets noted that increased traffic is expected in and around West Virginia’s Downtown Campus between 12 and 3 p.m. ET during the live broadcast. WVU classes will also be in session then, adding to the congestion.
Every high school kid in Morgantown better be at the Pat McAfee Show Friday because he single handedly got Monongalia County Schools canceled Friday.
— Ben Booth (@TheBenBoothShow) August 28, 2024
McAfee discussed the live show on Tuesday, saying that the school had to ban students from camping out overnight and won’t allow them to start showing up until 9 a.m. He also teased appearances by “West Virginia legends” during the show.
“I can’t wait to watch you guys in Morgantown”
It’s gonna be a GREAT time @KirkHerbstreit #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/U0HQVsyA9e
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 27, 2024
The good news for local students is that since Monday is Labor Day, they just got a four-day weekend. They might just have Pat McAfee to thank for that.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.