One Quick Thing: Pat McAfee is back, maybe I’m not

ESPN’s College GameDay has been among my favorite parts of college football Saturdays for many years. I admit I liked the classic line-up of Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit the best. Simple and effective.

I’m also not the biggest fan of the tear-jerker, hit you right in the feels stories they do during the show. They aren’t what I’m looking for on a Saturday morning when I’m pumped for football, but they never got in the way for me either.

The last few years though I have struggled through one component: Pat McAfee. Now, ESPN has announced he is returning for another season, and I am trying to figure out if I am returning.

I am not a McAfee hater. To the contrary, I have been a fan. My daddy went to West Virginia so I adored him as a player. I like pro wrestling, and he fits in there very well. He can be very entertaining in that environment. I don’t frequent his radio show, but that seems like a great medium for him.

He has, however, evolved into a personality that just doesn’t vibe with what I enjoy about GameDay. I do understand there is demand for his product. I’m not a fan of Barstool Sports but I do understand why they are a thing. McAfee seems like a natural for Barstool, Mad Dog Sports, or any of the other programming that is popular with many but just tends to be more about the spectacle of the personalities instead of the spectacle of the sports.

That is what I probably love the most about GameDay: the environment of the college campus. The fans, the energy, the excitement. That is why I have always enjoyed college sports more than pro sports. It is something that FOX’s pregame coverage usually lacks.

The personalities I mentioned, along with Rece Davis and David Pollack, are entertaining but not overwhelming. They were a good fit for the vibe of the program. Corso was always a goof, but even he didn't overwhelm the big picture experience. Same for Desmond Howard.

What I hate about this the most is that I was really looking forward to seeing Nick Saban on the program this season. I still want to see how Saban fits into the GameDay model, but now I cringe knowing I must suffer through more McAfee and his attention-seeking behavior.

I will still tune in because I want to see Saban and I still love GameDay, but I think I’ll also be turning the channel to see what is happening on the FOX pre-game coverage more often than I have in recent years.