WVU alum Pat McAfee begins comedy tour
There once was a time Pat McAfee was the most hated man in Morgantown.
It was in the hours and days after the worst loss in West Virginia football history: Dec. 1, 2007.
To most, it is known simply as 13-9. In the 100th edition of the Backyard Brawl, unranked Pitt came into Milan Puskar Stadium and surprised everyone watching around the nation with a huge upset of then No. 2 West Virginia.
McAfee missed a pair of field goals in the first half of that game. Had he converted the kicks, the Mountaineers would have been playing in the national championship. He missed, though, and WVU missed its chance at the limelight.
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That performance was the fire-starter, literally. As many Mountaineer fans took to the streets, causing riots in disgust of the loss. McAfee’s personal property was destroyed and he received death threats.
"“We missed a couple of kicks and Pat never misses those kicks,” said former WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez following that infamous defeat. “…the whole thing was a nightmare.”"
Well, nine years and a professional contract later, McAfee is living the dream.
He was selected in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. He remains with the team and has taken the city, and now state of Indiana, by storm.
Averaging more than 46 yards per punt after seven NFL seasons, McAfee has been a special teams stalwart for the Colts. He’s taken his job seriously and has gotten better, turning into one of the best punters in the league.
But McAfee doesn’t always take himself serious, which is why is personal life is now lightyears away from where it was on the night of Dec. 1, 2007.
McAfee has largely forgiven the ignorant WVU fans who chastised him following that Backyard Brawl. His olive branch to those fans, and all who he may have rubbed the wrong way over the years, is the gift of laughter.
McAfee tried his hand at stand up comedy last year and now he is taking his show on the road. Already one of the more outlandish professional athletes on social media Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, and host of his own radio show, McAfee is blossoming more in the public eye with a comedy tour, beginning in Evansville, Ind.
"“My life is just a ridiculous one. I find myself in pretty hilarious situations. Like, for instance, right now, I’m wearing no underwear, I’m on a hoverboard and I’m talking to Dave Calabro for the news in Indianapolis. This is a pretty fantastic situation,” McAfee said before the show."
For now, the tour is just visiting cities in Indiana. However, in the future, McAfee has said via Twitter that he plans on having a show in Morgantown.