‘Shan and RJ’ Watch ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ For First Time: ‘Very, Very Choreographed’
They have these choreographed claps in there. It’s like all in sync going to the four or five guys behind the scenes. They have chants [they do] all at the same time.”
Football fans, specifically those of the Green Bay Packers, were tuned in to The Pat McAfee Show Tuesday for a long-awaited interview with quarterback and back-to-back NFL Most Valuable Player Award winner Aaron Rodgers amid speculation of his retirement or move to another team. Rodgers, 38, recently wrote a post on Instagram centered around gratitude in which he thanked his Packers teammates, leading some people to believe it was a farewell to the organization and perhaps professional football.
This only made Tuesday’s interview with Rodgers, his latest appearance on the McAfee show, even more of a focal point for viewers and listeners. Despite all of the anticipation and buildup to a long-awaited announcement, Rodgers immediately shut down the prospect of revealing his future intentions, stating that he had just returned from his annual 12-day Panchakarma cleanse.
“Let me just put this disclaimer out right away for the few people watching or tuning in just for a specific, maybe news or decision,” said Rodgers. “There will be no news today, no decision on my future… I’m just getting my head above the sand now and seeing what’s going on out there.”
For some people tuning in, it was the first time they had experienced The Pat McAfee Show in any capacity, and it is safe to say that they were bewildered at what they witnessed. Wednesday morning, Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Texas spoke about the unconventional style of McAfee’s program when reflecting on Rodgers’ appearance.
“I had never really watched that show for 15-20 minutes straight,” said Shan Shariff, co-host of the morning drive program. “I felt like I was back in college at the frat house – oh, my lord.”
Shariff honed in on the choreographed nature of the show – whether it be the choice of sleeveless outfits, timed clapping, or phrases used. Evidently, the scripted nature of the show and lack of spontaneity is something he found to be unusual in the realm of sports-focused audio content, in the sense that many elements were, in his view, planned ahead of time.
“They have these choreographed claps in there,” Shariff said. “It’s like all in sync going to the four or five guys behind the scenes. They have chants [they do] all at the same time.”
Shan Shariff and RJ Choppy have thoughts after watching The Pat McAfee Show for the first time 📻 pic.twitter.com/bGFgWbBYYT
Co-host RJ Choppy concurred with Shariff’s first impressions of the show after watching it for an extended period of time.
“I’ve listened to it, I’ve never really watched it,” he added. “But you can tell they’re very choreographed. Very, very choreographed.”
Prior to his foray into the sports talk audio format, McAfee was a punter for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and two-time Pro Bowl selection. After stints with Barstool Sports, ESPN, Fox Sports, DAZN and Westwood One, McAfee’s show has found a home on Sirius XM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio satellite station, and Rodgers is one of his recurring guests.
It was on this program last November where Rodgers, who is unvaccinated against COVID-19, blamed the “woke mob” for calling him a liar after he said he was “immunized” in a preseason press conference when asked about his vaccination status.
"I told Matt in my speech that 3 years together & 2 MVPs there's no coincidences. I also told Shailene I've been with you for 2 seasons & won 2 MVPs.. that's not a coincidence either" ~@AaronRodgers12#PMSLivepic.twitter.com/RX0fA7E2yQ
Despite some of the controversy surrounding Rodgers’ appearances on the show, along with McAfee’s distinctive hosting style, the show remains popular among consumers and a different way for sports fans to get their information and listen to opinions from a former athlete. With McAfee’s show recently landing a lucrative sponsorship deal from FanDuel, both Sharriff and Choppy admire the way he has made the transition from being on the field to going behind the mic (and in front of the camera).
“Props to Pat, he’s come on our show and he seems like a good dude and credit to him for his success and [the] blockbuster deal that he landed,” said Sharriff.
Derek Futterman is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. In addition, Derek serves as a production manager, broadcaster, voiceover artist, technical director, audiovisual editor, and media engineer for Hofstra University’s WRHU. He has also worked on New York Islanders radio broadcasts. To get in touch, find him on Twitter @DerekFutterman.
Vanessa Richardson Named New Houston Rockets Sideline Reporter
Vanessa Richardson, co-host of ESPN 97.5’s Vanessa and Gallant, announced that she will be on the sidelines for the NBA franchise covering the team for AT&T SportsNet Southwest.
The Houston Rockets will have a new television sideline reporter this season and it’s a familiar name in Houston sports talk radio.
Vanessa Richardson, the now former co-host of ESPN 97.5’s Vanessa and Gallant, announced that she will be on the sidelines for the NBA franchise covering the team for AT&T SportsNet Southwest.
She tweeted the news saying, “Elated to be the new Houston Rockets sideline reporter! I can’t wait to travel the country & share the stories of this dynamic team during 80+ games on AT&T SportsNet Southwest. I’ll continue to fill-in as a host/reporter for Astros broadcasts as well.”
Richardson’s co-host, Paul Gallant, tweeted the extra news that Richardson would be leaving the show to pursue the Rockets gig full-time. It appears that Vanessa and Gallant will become the Paul Gallant Show.
My amazing @ESPN975 co-host @SportsVanessa is leaving me for an AWESOME gig. She's gonna crush it!
What's next for me? The return of the most interactive sports talk show in Houston!™️🏴☠️🏴☠️
I'll be on 10-noon CT w/@SeanAMapes for the creatively named Paul Gallant Show. Join us!
The Cleveland Browns defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers during Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video. 92.3 The Fan morning host Ken Carman applauded Al Michaels for his performance during the presentation.
“Al Michaels feels untethered for the first time. He’s not network television anymore and he can say whatever he wants. We interviewed him on the pregame show and I was nervous,” Carman said.
“He’s a legend,” co-host Anthony Lima added.
During the final play of the game, the Steelers fumbled a lateral into the endzone which the Browns recovered to make the final score 29-17. Michaels said “that may be meaningful to some of you. And you know who I mean”, alluding to people who had placed wagers on the game.
Carman, who hosts two-hours of pre-game coverage on the Browns Radio Network, continued to discuss how nervous he was interviewing Michaels. He also discussed how impressive Amazon’s behind-the-scenes production was, pointing out the only football broadcast with more cameras is the Super Bowl. More than 400 people work behind the scenes for Amazon Prime Video.
“The thing that stuck out was Kirk Herbstreit ripping the elf,” said Carman. “Don’t be ripping Brownie the Elf, man.”
Carman later said people angry that Michaels misspoke by saying the Pro Football Hall of Fame is “down I-71” instead of I-77 were unreasonable, and joked “Al Michaels hasn’t been on a highway in 20 years”.
Much has been made about the potential of New York Yankees television play-by-play announcer Michael Kay announcing Friday Night Baseball on AppleTV+ while slugger Aaron Judge chases the franchise and American League record for home runs in a single season. During Boomer & Gio Friday morning, Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti disagreed on whether Kay should have taken the gig from usual AppleTV+ announcer Stephen Nelson.
During a remote broadcast, they asked fans in attendance if they wanted to see Kay in the booth Friday night, which resulted in a resounding no.
“I bet he put that out there to see what the reaction would be,” Giannotti said of Kay’s comments that he would be “big-footing” Nelson by taking the assignment. “And the reaction was like that, and was like ‘You know, I’m kinda uncomfortable doing this. Maybe I shouldn’t do it’. And no one wanted to see it anyway.”
“They shouldn’t do it,” said Esiason of AppleTV+ allowing Kay to step in for Nelson.
“If the shoe was on the other foot, and let’s say it was Pete Alonso chasing this record and there was AppleTV for potentially 61 or 62, you’re telling me that you’d want a fella named (Stephen) Nelson over Gary Cohen? There’s no way in hell!”, Giannotti countered.
“I want what’s right,” Esiason said.
“AppleTV’s not right to begin with,” Giannotti replied.
“But Michael Kay swooping in on some kid named Nelson, that’s not right. That’s just not right. You just can’t do that!”, argued Esiason.
“Yeah, but the fact that it’s on AppleTV to begin with is annoying,” Giannotti concluded. “It’s just annoying.”
