While Pat McAfee has become a polarizing personality in sports media, what isn’t up for debate is that he has a loyal following.
But when it comes to Aaron Rodgers’ weekly appearances on the program, even McAfee’s fans are growing tired.
As noted by Awful Announcing’s Ben Koo, the thread on The Pat McAfee Show subReddit discussing Tuesday’s episode is full of fans bemoaning Rodgers’ latest appearance. The sentiment on the subReddit is seemingly unanimous, with most having grown sick of the Jets quarterback using the show’s platform to wax poetic about COVID-19 and government conspiracies.
A sampling of the comments:
“‘I just wanna move on’ for the 8th time. Still going lol.”
“Aaron please just stop talking”
“Pat looks like someone is kicking him in the nuts. Which is how I feel listening to this moron”
“This show doesn’t need Aaron any more if we’re being real. He helped them speed up growth but he’s cooked now.”
“2024 and he is still ranting about Covid/Fauci. This is f****** insane.”
“Honestly gonna stop watching on Tuesdays at this point, possibly more if they keep harping on it.”
“Vrabel just got fired. There’s the NFL head coach carousel, so many exciting storylines with the NFL playoffs, and we have this.”
One major thing lost in the Aaron Rodgers+McAfee versus the world dustup is most of those vocally supporting Rodgers are not actual McAfee viewers but rather just culture wars enthusiasts.
Actual McAfee show fans are mostly totally over this shit (screenshots from his Reddit) pic.twitter.com/K4p2yHTV58
— Ben Koo (@bkoo) January 10, 2024
While one might have expected McAfee’s fans to take the show’s side, the reality is that Rodgers’ recent appearances run counter to everything the former NFL punter has built his media empire on. With viewers looking for a show that “sticks to sports,” The Pat McAfee Show has largely done just that, celebrating all things football and guys being dudes.
So it’s not necessarily a surprise that on the day after the College Football Playoff Championship Game was played and in the midst of the NFL playoffs and coaching carousel, viewers were disappointed that the program spent the better part of an hour letting Rodgers deflect blame for his comments regarding Jimmy Kimmel and justifying still being obsessed with Dr. Anthony Fauci and the COVID-19 vaccine. McAfee, for his part, rarely endorses — nor denounces — Rodgers’ comments. But at this point in his ESPN tenure, it’s also clear that the more you tell him he can’t do something, the more likely he is to do it.
The good news for McAfee Show fans? Tuesday marked Rodgers’ final appearance for the foreseeable future with the Jets’ season having come to an end. And while McAfee might not be willing to listen to ESPN when it comes to the four-time MVP’s potential return to the show next season, it will be interesting to see whether he considers the feedback from his fans.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.