Bill Simmons and Pat McAfee have found themselves at the center of a growing feud in recent weeks, and the former has decided to spice things up by firing a shot at the latter over the ratings he’s generated since linking up with ESPN.
There’s no denying Bill Simmons wields a fraction of the influence and prestige he was able to boast when he was one of the most popular personalities affiliated with ESPN, but he still has a fairly sizeable following as he continues to do his thing at The Ringer.
Pat McAfee, on the other hand, has absolutely stuck the landing after deciding to pivot to a career as a media personality after his time in the NFL came to an end and is currently one of the most marketable names The Worldwide Leader has in its portfolio.
With that said, McAfee’s approach to covering sports isn’t for everyone, and in January, Simmons made it pretty clear he’s not a huge fan when he attempted to sum up the essence of The Pat McAfee Show on his podcast.
It was a pretty innocent jab (and, at least in my opinion, a fairly amusing one). However, McAfee isn’t the kind of guy who’s going to let someone like Simmons run his mouth, and earlier this week, he fired a shot of his own while boasting about his comparatively large following.
Now, it appears we have a full-blown Sports Media Beef on our hands based on what Simmons had to say during the most recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast.
Bill Simmons responds to Pat McAfee on the latest BS Pod:
“Everyone’s ratings [in sports] are up except for the NBA and whoever replaced the 12pm SportsCenter. If your ratings don’t go up it’s probably a bad sign”
The Pat McAfee Show replaced the 12pm EST SportsCenter pic.twitter.com/Tpb72Ph8xs
— The r/BillSimmons Podcast
(@rBillSimmonsPod) February 14, 2024
Simmons was discussing the ratings ESPN has boasted in recent months about an hour into the episode while noting most of their programs have experienced growth “except for the NBA and whoever replaced the 12 P.M. SportsCenter.”
If you can’t read between the lines, The Pat McAfee Show currently airs at noon on ESPN and has been unable to match the ratings SportsCenter garnered in the same timeslot thanks in no small part to its inability to retain viewers who were already tuned into First Take.
We’ll have to wait and see if McAfee will respond to the latest barb, but something tells me it’s only a matter of time until we’re treated to a rebuttal.
The post Bill Simmons Escalates Feud With Pat McAfee By Throwing Shade At His ESPN Ratings appeared first on BroBible.
Bill Simmons Escalates Feud With Pat McAfee By Throwing Shade At His ESPN Ratings
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