Almost two months ago, Monday, Sept. 10 marked the anniversary of that one time Matt Harvey really, really wanted to talk about Qualcomm. We bid cheer to that special day then around the 10-year anniversary of one of the most painfully awkward interviews of the last decade.
Dan Patrick, who was at the forefront of one the weirdest sports radio interviews of all time, is one of the greatest interviewers in his profession. However, two of his most famous interviews — Harvey and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray — are the ones that stick with most people.
Recently appearing as a guest on the Awful Announcing podcast, Patrick was asked by host Brandon Contes if he walked away from those interviews thinking that it was a product of young athletes receiving bad advice, or if he felt disrespected for the way that Harvey used his platform.
“No, no. I mean, Kyler Murray’s a kid,” Patrick explained to Contes. “I don’t think he understood the quid pro quo that goes on at a Super Bowl. You have a product. You get to talk about the product. I get the opportunity to ask you questions. And at the time, we didn’t know if he was gonna play football or baseball, but that’s on him, not on me.”
Patrick was in Atlanta for Super Bowl LIII between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams. In following the long-established Radio Row trend of having various athletes stop by in segments sponsored by brands, he had Murray stop by The Dan Patrick Show. Murray, the presumed and would-be No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, was still deciding on his future after being selected with the ninth overall selection by the Oakland Athletics in the 2018 MLB Draft.
It made for an awkward interview for Murray, who just gave long pauses and non-answers to questions about his future plans.
As for Harvey, Patrick was adamant that the former New York Mets ace received bad advice.
He just really wanted to talk about Qualcomm.
Harvey, who was then three weeks removed from being diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament, was a guest on that morning’s The Dan Patrick Show. At the time, Patrick asked him about the injury and his decision to not get surgery. The day prior, Harvey said he would try rehab before opting for surgery, but the New York Mets announced a few weeks later that he would have Tommy John surgery to repair his right elbow.
One of the best young pitchers in the game, Harvey was the starting pitcher for the 2013 MLB All-Star Game, which took place at the Mets’ home ballpark, Citi Field. He had logged 178 and a third innings at the time of his injury diagnosis.
After answering a question about whether football was involved in his upbringing and detailing his decision not to initially undergo surgery, the interview with Patrick went off the rails.
“I strongly believe that’s going to work and pay off, but today I’m here to talk about Qualcomm and help that out as much as possible,” Harvey said at the time.
“I don’t think he understood quid pro quo either,” Patrick said of Harvey. “He wanted to talk about Qualcomm as if I was gonna have him on, just to talk about Qualcomm. This is a guy who is in New York City. You should be a little more aware of that.”
“And he didn’t want to talk about his surgery, and I was thinking, we aren’t gonna sit here and talk about Qualcomm for five minutes, but he was under that impression. That’s either bad advice or extremely naive.”
As for Murray, Patrick said that the Arizona Cardinals quarterback eventually came back on his show. Murray apologized, and they shared a laugh, and have since moved on.
“But in the moment, if you’re gonna freeze up and not say anything, we’re gonna cut short this interview,” said Patrick, “And I had no problem doing that. Kyler Murray didn’t even know who I was. Matt Harvey might not even know who I am. So, it’s not like they disrespected me. I just think they weren’t any good at what they were doing, and that was, sell a product, but answer a couple of questions.”
Patrick may have been frustrated with Matt Harvey and Kyler Murray’s interviews at the time, but he ultimately believes that they were simply poorly advised and inexperienced.
Subscribe to the Awful Announcing Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. For more content, subscribe to AA’s YouTube page.
