When the top-ranked Indiana Hoosiers take on the No. 10-ranked Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff National Championship game on Monday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., President Donald Trump will be in attendance.
But will his arrival affect when the game actually kicks off? That’s a concern of Pat McAfee, host of ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” and a member of ESPN’s “College GameDay” crew.
Pat McAfee Shares Thoughts on President Trump’s CFP Arrival
On Monday, live from Hard Rock Stadium, McAfee was interviewing fellow ESPN “College GameDay” crew member and former longtime Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban.
While Saban was with McAfee, the former NFL punter, who played for the Indianapolis Colts, told Saban that they might have to make up time should Trump be delayed.
“Might have to fill tonight. Just something to think about,” McAfee said to Saban and others, according to an article from Awful Announcing. “We’re still live, obviously. We have might have to fill tonight.
“You see how long it took to get in here?” McAfee asked. “U.S. Open, right, was the last time the president was at an event with a lot of people? That was delayed, what, an hour?”
“You think they’ll delay the start of the game?” co-host of “The Pat McAfee Show” A.J. Hawk asked. “I don’t know, man,” McAfee said. Saban reportedly mentioned that when Alabama played in the 2018 national championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs, “it was a problem” around Trump’s arrival. “There’s a chance that happens tonight,” McAfee said.
Due to Trump’s attendance, where he is reportedly bringing Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a former senator from Florida, security measures might have to be tightened. There were apparently significant delays in getting fans into Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for the Georgia-Alabama showdown.
During the college football season, Trump attended the Army-Navy game, made it down to midfield, and participated in the coin toss. It’s not clear if Trump will be at midfield for the Indiana-Miami showdown on Monday night.
McAfee is pulling double duty for ESPN. Outside of doing his regular show on Monday morning, McAfee and a few other people, mainly from his show, will be on the sidelines for “Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show.” Besides McAfee, Darius Butler, Connor Campbell, Hawk, and some ESPN analysts and sports personalities will be part of the broadcast.
