The Dallas Cowboys met the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football earlier this week, and one of the highlights of the game coverage was ESPN’s cameras catching one particular Chargers fan go through a range of emotions watching the game play out at SoFi Stadium. After seeing clips of her reactions go viral, Pat McAfee reached out to bring that fan (Merrianne Do) on to his show Tuesday.
McAfee thanked her for restoring his faith in sports fanhood. Clips of her reactions to the end of the game blew up on social media.
“We’ve gotten to an era in a time where people are too embarrassed to showcase their emotions for things outside of themselves,” McAfee said. “Last night, we were all inspired and entertained as we watched along with Merrianne Do as she watched her beloved Los Angeles Charges do what they have done a lot of times over the last few years.”
“I love the fact that you were able to eliminate all of life’s bullshit and just get lost in the moment,” he added.
Do has lived in California for two decades and told TMZ she grew up a Vikings fan before adopting the Chargers as her team when she moved to the Golden State. She’s kept up with the franchise going back to the end of the Drew Brees/Marty Schottenheimer era in San Diego.
She said to Pat McAfee she’s just generally an intense person who wears her emotions on her sleeve. In such a tight game, in the closing moments of the fourth quarter knowing the team ultimately needed a touchdown to win, Do was going to be super passionate about what was unfolding on the field.
“I couldn’t handle it. I was excited, I was elated, my heart was just bursting,” she said. “And I was super excited.”
McAfee gave Do props for sticking with the Chargers through the years but wondered if she ever questioned giving up her support given the team’s track record of not being able to rise to the occasion in big games.
Merrianne said she’s had her up and down days with the Chargers like a lot of other fans, but at the end of the day a football team isn’t as important as her relationship with her husband and children. And even though the Chargers couldn’t beat the Cowboys on Monday night, hope for this season hasn’t been lost.
“You have to have faith,” she said. “If not, what’s the point of being a fan?”
Do was given a chance by AJ Hawk to respond to the group of fans, which included Darius Butler and Tone Diggs on the show, that questioned the authenticity of her reactions captured by ESPN cameras, saying she wasn’t paid by the league or the Chargers to be there and act like she did.
“I wish I was getting paid,” she said. “I wish I could make myself AI and as beautiful as I want. But at the end of the day, this is me. Crazy mom of four, crazy Chargers fan, crazy freaking football fan and it is what it is. I’m not offended.”
