The McAfee alt cast underperforms in its debut

posted by u/JaggerJames · 2026-10-22 14:33 UTC

(Link/image post, original: https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/the-mcafee-alt-cast-underperforms-in-its-debut）

## Top comments

1. u/NutzAndGl0ry · 2026-10-22 14:35 UTC

Think ESPN overestimated the popularity of McAfee. Dude has a certain audience and they are mostly youtube viewers

2. u/Tall-Dot-607 · 2026-10-22 14:40 UTC

ESPN still hasn't figured out that running the same content down our throat over and over is not what anyone's looking for

3. u/BirdmanTheThird · 2026-10-22 14:50 UTC

I think this is clearly the big thing. Pat McAfee was a good get for them, no matter what I personally feel about it, they clearly got an audience

The issue is continuing to make it more and more will make ot worse

Having him with his own show and a few appearances on Game Day would be pretty normal and probably is issolated enough to be fine for those who dislike

4. u/tylerthez · 2026-10-22 15:04 UTC

This is the point right here. It’s the problem with many aspects of sports nowadays. We’ve reached the point of saturation and I think a pullback would do everyone good. Never gonna happen sadly.

McAfee is good in short bursts. His show, college gameday and an NFL appearance or two.

Gambling is a perfect example. 5-10 years ago you’d maybe hear about a line of a game on TV. I used to go to the tobacco and news shop, fill out picks on pencil and paper and hand the owner $20 for parlays. It was perfect. Now you can’t go 3 seconds without gambling ads on phones and TV.

5. u/BirdmanTheThird · 2026-10-22 15:11 UTC

Yeah gambling is so wild, I genuinely had no opinion on it before and now I feel starchly against it since how predatory it has felt the past few years

6. u/Keeperofthecube · 2026-10-22 15:16 UTC

I was very pro gambling before. And boy was I wrong.

7. u/WhoStoleMyBicycle · 2026-10-22 15:46 UTC

This is how I’ve always described the issue with gambling and how accessible it is now.

There are gambling addicts just like there are alcoholics. Alcoholics have to see tons of beer ads during football. It’s hard for them but if they keep alcohol out of their house they have a fighting chance.

Now imagine you’re an alcoholic and your phone can pour you a beer. Much harder to resist. That’s what gambling addicts face in today’s world.

8. u/WinnietheBoo91 · 2026-10-22 16:39 UTC

It's funny because I used to use alcohol as the "harder to avoid one" when it came to discussing drug addictions - basically that for most addictive substances, you needed to actively seek it out, versus someone with alcohol addiction could go almost nowhere (except Utah I guess) without the temptation being in their face all the time.

So the fact that we've found a way to make another addictive vice even worse is insane

9. u/Roberto_Sacamano · 2026-10-22 16:55 UTC

Recovering alcoholic in Utah here. There is plenty of booze to be had here as well. The laws are kinda wonky when it comes to certain stuff, but you can get 5% beer and seltzers at any convenience or grocery store like you can anywhere else and hard liquor at liquor stores, restaurants and bars. We don't even have dry counties here like some places in the south

10. u/uttermybiscuit · 2026-10-22 16:31 UTC

Damn that’s a great analogy

11. u/BirdmanTheThird · 2026-10-22 15:18 UTC

I sometimes forget how greedy companies can be lmao.

12. u/Keeperofthecube · 2026-10-22 15:21 UTC

The fucking speed at which it went from niche thing to what it is now is unbelievable. Just full speed maximum greed from these companies.

13. u/Background_Product_7 · 2026-10-22 15:24 UTC

I don’t have cable anymore, and only catch ESPN every few years because that was the old go to for “nothing on, let’s play this in the background “

The fact Greeny is talking the gambling odds as much or not more than the usual stats was eye opening. Then you see the ESPN new ticker and I think I’m at the Sports book in Vegas.

Outrageous, and when I watch with the my kids I make sure to tell them that sports gamblings is an extreme waste of time and money

14. u/jimbo831 · 2026-10-22 15:36 UTC

Same. I generally believe we should let people do things they want to do, and supported legalizing sports betting. The data shows how wrong I was and the impacts have been pretty bad and getting worse.

15. u/TheModernRambo1 · 2026-10-22 17:56 UTC

They need to ban the advertisement of gambling first and foremost. We really need to regulate the advertisement of alcohol as well just like we did with tobacco. Although it seems tobacco is making its way back into advertising now.

16. u/master_bloseph · 2026-10-22 15:30 UTC

And no matter how bad gambling is, prediction markets are 20 times worse. You can literally bet on a college’s admission rate

17. u/BirdmanTheThird · 2026-10-22 15:32 UTC

Prediction markets feel like the kinda shit my grandparents would say about the end of times lmao

It’s genuinely feels dark and evil in a way I never thought was possible

18. u/misterid · 2026-10-22 15:57 UTC

read a headline yesterday that one of betting platforms pulled betting odds on the Cornell rape case conviction/non-conviction possibilities

there's low and then there's gambling on rape case outcomes

19. u/andrewthetechie · 2026-10-22 15:59 UTC

I was pro gambling when it was something that adults did by choice. Yeah, it had predatory stuff going on, but that was away from the public mostly.

Now they're cramming it down everyone's throats and trying to hide that its gambling with "daily fantasy picks" or other bullshit to get people hooked.

Ban it all. I don't wanna see ads for it, I don't want to hear about it

20. u/Liquor_n_cheezebrgrs · 2026-10-22 16:27 UTC

I am in the exact same boat. My opinion on it now is it should face the same advertising restrictions as cigarettes. You want to have your sites? Go for it. Individuals want to use this sites and gamble? Go for it. Should these sites be allowed to advertise their platforms? The ones that objectively and quantifiably result in untold financial losses to their userbase? Hell no they shouldn't.

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