1. ESPN’s Booger McFarland caused a stir last weekend when he said Florida State’s absence from the College Football Playoff, after going 13–0, was a “travesty to the sport.”
Those who have followed McFarland’s career weren’t surprised he’d have such a strong moment on ESPN’s college football studio show because he has become one of the network’s best analysts over the years.
However, to get to this place, McFarland had to endure a two-year stint on Monday Night Football that ultimately didn’t work out. Many of you will recall that in his first year on MNF (2018), ESPN stuck McFarland on what they called the “BoogerMobile” and what I called, a crane.
On this week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina, McFarland recalled how that infamous move came about and how he was able to bounce back after getting reassigned within the network.
“Here’s the funny thing about it,” McFarland explained on the podcast, “when it was first brought to me, I was like, ‘Interesting. So how exactly am I supposed to see the game?’
“And we started going through a lot of different scenarios, and I flew out to Los Angeles and we started building this thing and I had no idea what to expect with that first iteration of it. But once I got up there and we started to kinda understand what they were trying to do, I thought we could have done it without the crane/BoogerMobile because what they wanted was a field analyst very similar to what they had in college football with Todd McShay and Tom Luginbill.
“The good thing with those guys is they get to roam around, they can go in the end zone, they can walk up and down the sideline, they can be close to the action because when you were on the BoogerMobile, we could only go so far on the sideline, so I was limited. If I was on foot, I could have gone a lot of different places.”
“I give ESPN a lot of credit for trying to be innovative and trying to do a lot of different things. I think even the staunchest supporter of it would probably say, if I had a do-over, I would probably do something different, but I give them a lot of credit for trying.”
Losing the Monday Night Football. gig did not deter McFarland, though, who works in a variety of roles at ESPN analyzing college football and the NFL.
“I never got into this industry to call games. So when it was brought to me, ‘Hey, would you like to call some games?’ I started with some spring games, did a couple bowl games and literally when the idea about Monday Night Football came up, I had never thought about it. I was on a driving range trying to get my 7-iron to go right to left when I got the phone call.
“So the fact that it didn’t turn out better didn’t put me in a position where I was ready to give up on broadcasting because I enjoy talking to people. I’m a people person. So I always knew that this was a job that I could do as far as being in the studio, being amongst a group of people, whether it be in studio, on-site with Monday Night Countdown, whatever it is. I enjoy conversing with people about sports because I think I’m one of the rare people that can give an opinion, that can take an opinion, that can give criticism and take it and it’s not personal.
"Sometimes as analysts we allow things to become personal to us and it starts affecting not only you, but it affects your relationships. I've never taken sports that serious. This is entertainment, man. I'm trying to entertain people and have some fun. This is not life or death. So I think that attitude has allowed me, even when something has been given and or taken away as far as a role or a job, I've been able to continue to move forward.
“I’m in this industry now; this is my 10th year. That’s one year longer than I played pro football. Every time I think about that I pinch myself. I enjoy what I do and I tell everybody it beats working for a living.”
Other topics covered on the podcast with McFarland include his picks for Alabama-Michigan and Texas-Washington and the title game, whether the controversy regarding FSU is good for the sport, the mentality of college football fans, how he judges Deion Sanders’s season as Colorado head coach, what it’s like to work with Chris Berman on NFL PrimeTime and reveals whether he'd like to once again call games.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.
2. Luka Dončić, who scored 50 points Wednesday night, was disappointed in himself for using a naughty word during his postgame interview. The only problem was that he followed up the naughty word with another naughty word.
Luka live TV interviews are must watch television pic.twitter.com/YH6NYjvTcn
— Slightly Biased (@BiasedSlightly) December 7, 2023
3. The over/under for tonight’s Patriots-Steelers game is 30 points. That is the lowest over/under for an NFL game in nearly 20 years. The positive here is that there is a decent chance we get more Al Michaels sneaky over/under references than points on the Amazon telecast.
Thursday's game between the Steelers and Patriots is expected to be a very low-scoring affair, with an over/under of 30.
— Pro Football Reference (@pfref) December 6, 2023
According to our data, that would be the lowest since 2004. #NFL pic.twitter.com/OdTTvZL67h
4. Eagles center Jason Kelce couldn’t be more nonplussed about the idea of the NFL possibly banning the Tush Push.
Two words you never expected Jason to say about the shove: Ban It
— New Heights (@newheightshow) December 6, 2023
NEW EPISODE PREMIERES NOW @Walmart
Tap in: https://t.co/pSA6pO0kxw pic.twitter.com/SDDWJeOrHN
5. Cooper Kupp acted the exact same way I do when someone tries to talk to me about anime.
.@AsapPuka trying to convince @CooperKupp to get into anime. 😂 (via @NFLFilms) pic.twitter.com/17dhrtrBLT
— NFL (@NFL) December 6, 2023
6. If you’re a Yankees fan who is excited about the team acquiring Juan Soto, you should offer up some thanks to an old friend, who planted the seed many months ago.
Derek Jeter: "I wouldn't mind seeing the Yankees go out and get Juan Soto."
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 7, 2023
Narrator: The Yankees went out and got Juan Soto. pic.twitter.com/kcIVWcak6E
