Barstool Sports pulled out all the stops for a national audience over the weekend as the title sponsor of the Arizona Bowl.
The media outlet produced the game between Toledo and Wyoming, with The CW providing a national TV platform to air the contest.
Barstool used its own personalities in the broadcast booth, on the sidelines, and for pregame and halftime.
Jake Marsh called the play-by-play, with Dan “Big Cat” Katz and Barstool founder Dave Portnoy as the analysts. Caleb Pressley and Adam “Rone” Ferrone were the sideline reporters.
The broadcast booth was the star of the show. While Marsh was there to keep the attention on the action on the field, it was the reactions by Big Cat and Portnoy that got the attention of social media. As to be expected, a lot of the reaction was negative.
Still, while the production did get some hate, many on social media felt like it was refreshing to not hear a more traditional broadcast.
At multiple points throughout the game, both Big Cat and Dave reacted to the hate posts on X they received in real time online and on the air.
“Thanks for watching,” Katz replied on the air to one hate post.
After the game, Big Cat seemed to give the indication that 2023 was going to be the last year Barstool was associated with the Arizona Bowl. Barstool has been the game’s title sponsor since 2021.
