Holly Rowe and Steve Sarkisian Credit: ESPN on ABC
By Sean Keeley on

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Our short, national nightmare is over. Steve Sarkisian and Arch Manning gave cordial interviews to ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe and shared their appreciation for each other on Saturday.

It was two weeks ago when Texas stunned Ohio State with a fourth-quarter comeback, and head coach Steve Sarkisian was a bit of a weirdo afterward, spurning Rowe for a post-game interview (which came on the heels of him doing the same to Laura Rutledge at halftime due to technical issues). Sark took a lot of heat over the exchange, but things got more disconcerting he next day when Manning laughed with reporters about an AI edit of the video that showed Sarkisian slapping Rowe.

With that, we entered the inevitable cycle where Manning and Sarkisian apologized for what happened, while right-wing grifters and concern trolls tried to turn Rowe into a monster over her perceived reaction to the situation.

All of that brings us to this Saturday’s game between Texas and Tennessee, which ESPN and ABC broadcast. That meant Rowe would once again come face-to-face with Sarkisian. And lo and behold, everyone was cordial.

After Sark answered Rowe’s question about what Manning had to do to succeed, the two shared their appreciation for one another. It was subtle, professional, and would otherwise have gone unnoticed in any other pre-game interview.

The same could be said of the post-game chat between Rowe and Manning following Texas’s 20-17 win, where the Longhorns quarterback also shared his appreciation for the sideline reporter.

And so, we can finally heal as a nation, knowing that Rowe, Sark, and Manning all appreciate one another. And most of all, everyone can stop being weird about it.

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.

View all posts by Sean Keeley