The Pat McAfee Show and Its Impact on Sports Media

“Hello, beautiful people and welcome to our humble abode… THE THUNDERDOME!”

These are the words that audiences hear when they turn on ESPN at noon.

The Pat McAfee Show, hosted by former Colts punter Pat McAfee, is a three-hour daily talk show that combines the highlights of the sports world with comedy and opinions. McAfee is joined by Ty Schmit, Boston Connor, Tone Digs, former Packers linebacker AJ Hawk and several others.

McAfee debuted his show in the fall of 2019 through DAZN streaming and Westwood One radio. In 2020, CBS Sports Radio began to carry the program and the stream was moved to YouTube. The show started to gain more popularity and McAfee made a deal with FanDuel, which created the studio fans have grown to love: The Thunderdome in Indianapolis.

The show really started to take off when it was moved to ESPN in September 2023. Only the first two hours of the show air on the main ESPN network, but all three hours air on ESPN+ and YouTube. The show continues to steadily grow, with an average of 886,000 viewers per episode across live channels.

But what makes The Pat McAfee Show so successful?

In my opinion, the energy of the show is what makes it so successful. When I turn on ESPN and First Take is on, I am not really captivated. There is no question that Stephen A. Smith is knowledgeable and great at what he does, but it is very professional and could sometimes be compared to a political talk show. On the contrary, McAfee’s show is just a bunch of guys talking about sports. The conversations are unfiltered, jokes are made, catchphrases are said and they are wearing normal clothes and not suits. I am engaged in the conversations the crew is having and I never fail to laugh during a show.

People may not agree with the opinions McAfee and the crew express, but what keeps them coming back to watch is the personability of the show. Contradictory to almost all the sports shows out there, this is just a casual show. Yes, the main topic of discussion is around sports, but the conversation sometimes veers off like in normal, everyday conversations.

McAfee’s big and fun personality also shines on the show, which overall just makes everything more entertaining. Many people have started tuning in and enjoying College Gameday again because of McAfee’s fun energy, and many people even argue that McAfee is “saving ESPN.”

In addition to the casual and fun show McAfee produces, he also invites a wide variety of sports personnel that give the audience a deeper look into the sports world. Famous sports reporter Adam Schefter gives his insight every Monday, for a while quarterback Aaron Rogers would come on Tuesdays, J.J. Watt makes his weekly appearance on Wednesdays and for a while every Thursday, now former Alabama head coach Nick Saban would pop in.

And these are just the “regulars.” This doesn’t even scratch the surface of people McAfee has had on the show. Past and present players- most recently being former quarterback Tom Brady- and coaches have come on, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver appeared Dec. 6 and countless other sports personnel have joined the show this season.

McAfee provides a diverse show by not just highlighting football, but also hockey and basketball, to just name a few. He once even had pro-golfer Jon Rahm come on to talk about joining LIV Golf. The variety of sports mentioned in the show and the incredibly extensive list of people he brings on provide the audience with an insider view of their favorite sports and teams.

With all of this in mind, The Pat McAfee Show has started to transform the sports media world. He is showing that audiences are starting to move away from the strict, very professional sports talk shows, and instead like the idea of a more informal show. McAfee’s knack for maintaining an engaging and entertaining discussion has given him the ability to converse with people in the sports world differently than other shows do. In turn, the show has started to turn somewhat journalistic in its capability to provide “new news” to audiences and has unknowingly upped the bar in the sports media realm.

With that, don’t forget to be a friend, tell a friend something nice, it might change their life… GOODBYE!