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Pat McAfee’s Show Cutting Off a First Take Bill Rasmussen Tribute Was Poetry

Matt Schultz

By Matt Schultz

Published:

Aug 03, 2026; Latrobe, PA, USA; Pat McAfee records a segment of The Pat McAfee Show at Pittsburgh Steelers Training camp at Saint Vincent College.
Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

ESPN co-founder and inaugural president Bill Rasmussen died on Tuesday at 93. A hugely influential figure in the history of media, Rasmussen is largely credited with innovating the first-ever network dedicated to the 24/7 coverage of sports. After the news of his passing broke, First Take took a few moments to remember and honor the company’s trailblazer, but before their tribute had ended — and in a truly perfect metaphor – The Pat McAfee Show came barreling onto the screen via abrupt transition:

Transcribed:

DEVIN MCCOURTY: “…wake up early to try to catch (sports) on the news. Now we got sports all day, every day.”

COURTNEY CRONIN: “His legacy lives on. We’ll s–”

PAT MCAFEE: “Hello beautiful people and welcome to our humble abode in the DraftKings ThunderDome! On this big ball Tuesday, August 18th, 2026…”

This made me laugh so hard. It’s so damn good. These ESPN anchors were trying their absolute best to memorialize a man whose professional life and legacy were defined by creating a brand dedicated to quality sports journalism. These guys were digging deep, really pondering what ESPN has meant to them and the world at large, trying to find poetry and meaning in ESPN’s noble mission to bring sports reporting to fans all over the globe. And right in the middle of all that, before they had a chance to put a clean bow on it, they were sharply cut off by the hoarse, vape-throat-sounding screech of Pat McAfee — the very voice that ESPN is pot committed to blare nonstop, and who many argue is to largely to blame for ESPN’s plummet as a place to actually watch sports.

Pat cutting in at that moment is almost too well written. It’s so on the nose: this is what ESPN is now. It was once home to the greatest sports writers and analysts in the world. But those days are long gone. They’ve all been laid off. ESPN’s business model has shifted. It can’t afford to keep good journalism going anymore. It needs all that money so it can pay Pat McAfee $60 million a year. Pat needs that money. He’s gotta buy hundreds of too-tight black wife beaters and fat gold watches and large chains and keep up on his tall $70 haircuts so he’s ready for TV. Then he has to have enough money over to fly down to Nashville every weekend to make the worst album ever made.

ESPN can only be one thing now. It’s Pat McAfee —

Don’t try to talk about sports coverage. Don’t mention Bill Rasmussen’s goal. Forget about ESPN’s mission statement. Listen to Pat McAfee instead. And good luck flipping to other ESPN channels. Pat is on those ones too. He’s also on the social accounts, the app, and the website. Pat is ESPN. ESPN is Pat. Welcome to the ThunderDome. 

Matt Schultz
Matt Schultz

Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…) email: M.Schultz@sportradar.com

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