Pat McAfee still rocks with the West Virginia Mountaineers, even when he’s back in Pennsylvania.
The former NFL punter took centre stage as College GameDay rolled through his hometown of Pittsburgh on Saturday.
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McAfee was booed as College GameDay rolled through his hometown of PittsburghCredit: Getty
ESPN’s crew pulled up outside Acrisure Stadium, ahead of the No. 23 Panthers hosting the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
While much of the attention was on a clash between two of college football‘s ranked teams, as is always the case on GameDay, analysts including McAfee broke down plenty of other storylines.
Pat McAfee booed as he returns to Pittsburgh
Early in the show, they were asked to pick which team is more likely to get a win today: The Penn State Nittany Lions against the Michigan State Spartans, or the West Virginia Mountaineers against the Arizona State Sun Devils.
McAfee, a WVU alum who was saved from a faceplant by Patrick Mahomes last week, was in no mood to appease any locals in Pittsburgh.
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“Better chance to win today: Penn State or WVU? Oh, oh,” he said, drawing instant boos from the crowd, which appeared to know exactly where he was going.
“You guys need to relax a bit, we’re trying to do a bit of college football analysis here.
“Penn State, they’re in trouble. Just forever, until next year. Who are they going to hire as a new head coach? I have no idea.”
McAfee then broke down how the program might struggle to land a top coaching candidate, and swiftly made his pick.
“On that note… the West Virginia Mountaineers. Don’t look now! They found a hard edge. Rich Rod is back baby. Hell yeah!”
The former punter’s pick, unsurprisingly, went down badly with the crowd, and more boos broke out.
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McAfee riled fans as he picked WVU over Penn State on GameDayCredit: College GameDay
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Pittsburgh locals were seen jeering the former punter for his choiceCredit: College GameDay
McAfee, though, wasn’t the only person to draw the ire of Pittsburgh fans on Saturday.
Pirates fans make feelings clear with College GameDay protest
As GameDay aired from outside Acrisure Stadium, a plane was flown over the set with a banner that read: “Set Pittsburgh free. Sell the team Bob.”
The plea was made to Bob Nutting, owner of the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates.
Last season, Pittsburgh’s MLB team finished with a 71-91 record and came bottom of the National League Central.
Nutting has faced criticism from fans throughout his tenure, and a similar banner was also flown over PNC Park back in July, as well as during their home opener months before.
Even with Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, many fans believe the talent is still being wasted. Rumors have even suggested the young pitcher could be looking for a move to the New York Yankees.
The latest banner appeared to catch the attention of the GameDay crew, with McAfee later leading a discussion about the Pirates.
McAfee urges Pirates to ‘spend money’ as fans make feelings clear
“That’s a damn good sports town,” he said of Pittsburgh, as fans began to chant for Nutting to sell the Pirates.
“Now, it’s not just a sports town, even though we’ve got the (football) history in abundance.
“We even have baseball history. Paul Skenes just won the Cy Young. He’s the best player in baseball. That’s sick. Although the team might be absolute…
“What’s going on with the Pirates is they don’t spend any money, so they never actually win.
“We’ve got Paul Skenes. So we would like to go on at a historic run in PNC Park, the most beautiful ballpark in all of MLB.
“Although the team might be putting a** in glass right now, the history of the Pirates is deep.”
While he might have upset a few Pennsylvanians by picking WVU over Penn State, McAfee certainly went on to win favor with his Pirates monologue that followed.
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