One of the more memorable interviews this year on sports radio was Pat McAfee and AJ Hawk’s conversation with Aaron Rodgers on The Pat McAfee Show shortly after Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19.
Hawk was a guest on the latest episode of The Ariel Helwani Show. He talked about how awkward it was to talk to his former teammate because he’s not into the politics of everything.
“A lot of people were super pissed we didn’t press him on certain things. It was a little awkward. I’m definitely not a political guy. I am not someone who jumps out there and has an opinion on a lot of things. That’s why we just let him talk,” AJ Hawk explained.
He realized that people didn’t tune in to hear him talk. Instead, the audience wanted to hear what Rodgers had to say so he felt he only needed to say a few words during the interview and only ask questions he felt people wanted answers to.
“If we have Aaron Rodgers on, I need no time with me on the mic. I need to say how you feeling Aaron? That should be my only thing. Trying to figure out follow-ups, I was trying to think of questions that other people would have. When Aaron came on the first day to address the situation. I said like 3 words. I wanted to hear what he had to say.”
Early on in his career with the Packers, Hawk didn’t really try to join the media. It wasn’t until he attended the NFL’s broadcast boot camp that he realized he wanted to be in the field after his playing days were over.
“It was great. They gave us homework every night. You were there 12-15 hours doing every single thing from writing scripts for prompters, calling fake games. Doing every aspect of what you can do in sports. I came away and said this is awesome. I want to dive in. I want to do this.”
AJ Hawk has been a game analyst in the past. Certainly working with Pat McAfee elevates him to a more visible place in the broadcasting world. He is certainly more of a recognizable name in the field than ever before. Being part of an interview that has been analyzed and dissected over and over again didn’t hurt either.
