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.”
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.
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.
Wow… three stories in almost as many weeks on the second-tier sports radio morning drive team in Dallas. How much of a kickback are you guys getting from Audacy to promote their third-rate programming?