Former NFL participant Pat McAfee on Wednesday took a second to mirror on the backlash behind his choice to hitch ESPN.
In Might, McAfee confirmed rumors on The Pat McAfee Present that he can be becoming a member of the community. Along with his work each weekend on Faculty GameDay, McAfee’s present now airs on ESPN at midday on weekdays. Although it’s on ESPN, the present continues to be fully free to look at on YouTube because it at all times has been.
On Wednesday, McAfee revealed the scores for the primary 4 weeks of the present’s inclusion on ESPN. Between Sept. 7 and Sept. 29, The Pat McAfee Present averaged 1.4 million viewers per present throughout linear (cable) and YouTube. The present’s Sept. 15 episode — which was taped dwell on the College of Colorado and featured Colorado coach Deion Sanders and actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — attracted almost two million viewers.
Whereas going over these numbers, McAfee recalled the preliminary reluctance from his followers when he introduced the transfer to ESPN. Many, he mentioned, accused him of promoting out.
“This present might’ve been an abysmal failure,” McAfee mentioned. “We had no concept what was gonna occur at any time when we came visiting right here to ESPN. I do know our folks weren’t blissful that we essentially had been coming to ESPN. They had been calling me a sellout. I used to be getting horrible issues mentioned about me, to me, from ‘our folks.’ These folks had been telling me horrible issues. These folks which might be our followers had been simply… I imply, the messages I used to be getting from folks about how a lot I allow them to down and the way massive of a fraud I’m and the way massive of a sellout I’m… All these items had been horrible.”
McAfee reiterated that regardless of the present now working underneath ESPN’s banner, he was decided to alter as little as doable. Actually, on its ESPN debut, McAfee acknowledged that the unfiltered nature of the present would stay and so they had been nonetheless allowed to swear as a lot as they need — aside from the phrase “fuck.”
He additionally claimed the crew was uncertain if ESPN’s viewers would love the present as a lot because the YouTube viewers.
“Boy, we thought they had been gonna hate us,” McAfee mentioned. “Now, there’s nonetheless an extended option to go, however it does really feel as if what we’re doing is probably working a little bit bit and we’re extremely grateful for all events.”
Watch above through ESPN.