Analysis: Ex-NFL punter Pat McAfee never punts on any subject or … friend
As the NFL season is thankfully rolling into its full schedule, if you are not partaking of former NFL punter Pat McAfee’s "heretical" opinions on at least a semi-regular basis, you are cheating yourself out of pure sports and life genius.
Now, to crib from the late, great Kenny “The Snake” Stabler, McAfee wouldn’t know me if he had to punt me across the honkytonk where he was studying his guest line-up by the light of the jukebox. That said, while he does not know me, he does help to keep me sane at certain times.
He does for 4ur main reasons:
First, because, as the last three years have shown us, life is truly tough to miserable for most people and any bit of mental decompression can prove essential to healing.
Second, McAfee is the polar-opposite of “politically correct.”
Third, he prizes loyalty to family and friends.
And fourth, as one who had just enough ability to get invited to several professional hockey camps and one major league baseball camp, I still religiously follow sports and consider McAfee a disciple of the real.
WARNING: The video below has some language some might find offensive
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So, on the first point, as one was evicted from 34 homes by the time I was 17 and homeless often as a child, I realized real-fast, that if I didn’t learn the trick of pushing my battered mind into a funny, ironic, and distracting corner, it would break. Decades after that childhood, my mind still needs a break from reality from time to time, and McAfee’s show provides it.
On the second point, as one who went on to work in a couple of White Houses and as an official at the Pentagon, I also quickly came to believe that neither political party really cared about “working class” and struggling Americans — a large part of McAfee’s audience as it turns out. As that breath of fresh air blew through my mind, I also came to realize that I wanted and needed a “politics-free” sports zone. McAfee provides that as well.
And to the third point, true loyalty to family and friends is going the way of the Dodo bird – as in extinct – and McAfee seems to be fighting that trend as well. As an example, look no further than him standing with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers when much of the mainstream – and sports – media criticized Rodgers – some quite viciously – for his personal health choices and answers regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.
For the record, I strongly support getting the vaccines and boosters. That said, I just as strongly believe we need to respect the personal health choices of all Americans.
When Rodgers was “canceled” by some sponsors, media sites, and seemingly even friends, McAfee stood by him then and does now. As he should have. Much of the anger directed at Rodgers has not aged well and some in the sports world owe him an apology. Rich Eisen, anyone?
To be sure, McAfee’s style of sports opinion may not be for the more “traditional” sports fans who used to walk 10 miles uphill in the snow to school every day before growing up to scream at kids to “Get off my lawn.” McAfee can – and does – drop the occasional “F-bomb” from time to time.
While some would say that kind of language has no place in a sports show, I would only answer: try watching “My Cousin Vinny” without the “F-bombs.” It loses its identity and relevance.
Pat McAfee has Kirk Herbstreit concerned
I bring up McAfee now for two reasons. The first being that as was just announced, he is joining ESPN’s “College GameDay” as a permanent commentator after being a celebrity guest picker. Wow. Get that "Mute" button ready because, as the more buttoned-down GameDay host Kirk Herbstreit observed, “This is going to be a wild ride.”
The second reason being that life has just kicked my family in the teeth again. As I went about processing all of that, I decided to give my mind a quick and happy break by viewing, once again, my “Go to” clip of Pat McAfee. That being the one – which has about 7 million views as of this writing – of the former NFL punter explaining “How Troy Polamalu Ruined His Life.”
If you have not seen it, do yourself a favor and watch it. But be prepared for some cursing.
More than that, if you need a shockingly honest, irreverent, hilarious, and mentally-decompressing sports-fix, tune in to McAfee’s show.
Not only is he not your father’s Oldsmobile, but if he was in it, he’d most likely “Thelma and Louise” it off a cliff to help shake up a much too serious country and world.
Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official and author of: The 56 – Liberty Lessons from those who risked all to sign The Declaration of Independence.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Pat McAfee will be shaking up ESPN's 'College Game Day'