Pat McAfee Is Intolerable | Defector

"There isn't. Trust me. I've met the guy. Stephen A. cherishes his soapbox, even when he has absolutely nothing valuable to add to the conversation. He's enormously popular, especially with black audiences. And he also still draws in millions of people, like Todd up above, who'll pay attention to what he says just to gripe about it. He's the perfect creature for the Look At Me economy that we currently live in."

"He's also a deranged workaholic who just added a politics show on Sirius to his already packed broadcasting schedule. His bosses adore him for his abhorrence of load management. They love being able to use Stephen A. to fill 12 different on-air jobs. In turn, he loves his bosses to death. If Skydance bought ESPN tomorrow, Stephen A. would be first in line to kiss David Ellison's ass."

"Stephen A. is at least amusing when he's being annoying. He's also only tangentially involved in ESPN's football coverage (because he knows dick about football). Pat McAfee, on the other hand, is like a best man toast that never ends. AND he's all over the four-letter's college football programming. I used to get Lee Corso on my College GameDay, now I gotta deal with Axe Body Spray here bro-ing up that pregame show with canned antics that make Terry Bradshaw look like Mel Brooks."

Stephen A. maintains omnipresence on ESPN and leverages a cherished soapbox to draw millions while often contributing little substantive analysis. He expanded into a politics show while keeping a packed broadcasting schedule, and network executives deploy him across many on-air roles. His prominence exemplifies broader over-consolidation in sports media. Pat McAfee commands extensive college football presence and uses canned, bro-style antics that replace traditional voices like Lee Corso. Those antics make Terry Bradshaw's humor seem restrained by comparison. The result is programming that privileges spectacle and attention over deep, informed football coverage.

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