This 100% had to be Pat McAfee’s idea. If ESPN really knew what they were getting themselves into by inviting Kill Tony podcast host/stand-up comedian Tony Hinchcliffe to their College GameDay set, he would’ve never made the trip to Austin ahead of Saturday’s highly anticipated Georgia-Texas SEC duel.
Whoever signed off on Hinchcliffe’s appearance, let’s just say this wasn’t the traditional somewhat family-friendly fodder that the Disney-owned four-letter network was likely hoping for. As is tradition, McAfee enlisted a student from out of the raucous Longhorns-dominant crowd to kick a field goal and raise money for the student and/or charity.
Hinchcliffe hopped on the mic and christened the young man, Max Gomez-Wright, with certain nicknames that were, under no circumstances, filtered through a pre-show political correctness test.
We got a "Prepubescent Lesbian" and "Brokeback Bob the Builder" mention on College GameDay today! pic.twitter.com/ODNPN3OZv2
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 19, 2024
We love ourselves some Matthew McConaughey around these parts, and at the Hollywood star’s expense, Hinchcliffe rolled with yet another sexual orientation-centric moniker when the pre-med student lined up to kick.
Also, a Matthew Mc-Kinda-Gay… https://t.co/qIKYyr8YJM pic.twitter.com/h8bbeoKIow
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 19, 2024
To his credit, the kid took Hinchcliffe’s trademark roasting in stride, although it didn’t help him convert on a pair of field goal attempts that could’ve netted him 90 grand or $100,000 on the second try.
FOR $100,000 💰💰
DON’T EMBARRASS YOURSELF
THIS GUY STINKS #CollegeGameDay https://t.co/vEU6oaXLvV pic.twitter.com/m4as45R1tS
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 19, 2024
Now obviously, there will be people outraged by Hinchcliffe’s brand of comedy. Full disclosure: It’s not for me.
But at the same time, somebody at ESPN had to know reactions like these were going to come in:
Homophobia is not funny.
— Ron Latva (@ronlatva) October 19, 2024
And then there’s the opposite perspective:
Comedy has no boundaries. Especially when you invite Tony Hinchcliffe with a live mic. People need to stop being so soft.
— Trav (@AntiHero_2pt0) October 19, 2024
Hinchcliffe’s comedy has been described in the past as homophobic, misogynistic, and even racist. He’s lost engagements and busted agency deals for it. There’s no line Hinchcliffe won’t push up against or flagrantly step over for the sake of getting a laugh. He’s refused to apologize for anything. That’s going to turn off a sizable chunk of any would-be audience, but also endear him to many more people.
To me, there are countless different ways to deliver effective comedy without resorting to such tactics, but clearly it’s working for Hinchcliffe — to the tune of nearly two million YouTube subscribers for the Kill Tony pod.
Again, I’m just shocked ESPN let him on the air. Regardless of my comedic tastes or my personal admiration for Hinchcliffe (or lack thereof), it’s objectively funny that he somehow worked his way into the College GameDay mix.
