When ESPN brought The Pat McAfee Show onto the network, it was done to appeal to a younger audience, but it was also done, at least in part, because McAfee makes news. The show proved again on Saturday night that it has a way of finding itself in the middle of football conversations.
On Friday’s show, producer Ty Schmit interviewed former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz. Schmit, who has been asked by McAfee many times to do his Holtz impersonation on the show, talked to the former coach in full character. Not only was he doing a Holtz impersonation, he was also wearing a full costume, which included a prosthetic face.
During the segment, the real Holtz, a former ESPN analyst, said that Ohio State has a history of being too soft under head coach Ryan Day and that is how they have lost the games they have. He predicted that would be the reason Notre Dame would win on Saturday night.’
Following Ohio State’s last second victory, Day addressed the former Notre Dame coach saying “I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now. What he said about our team, what he said about our team, I cannot believe.”
McAfee admitted that he immediately started texting friends associated with Ohio State.
“I texted everybody I know from Ohio State,” he said on his show Monday. “I was like, I f***ing love Ryan Day. I love the fact that he was like, ‘I will hit an old man. I do not care. What this guy said is out of pocket.’”
McAfee added that the real Lou Holtz, who is 86, joked about having dementia and not really knowing what he was saying. He added that he wonders if Day knows that Holtz made his comments to another man who was in a Lou Holtz costume.
“Us being in the middle of that whole thing is so dumb,” he said.
Schmit admitted that it was hard to believe the moment is real.
“I was laughing until I thought I was going to pass out on Saturday night,” he said.
