You think you want to watch college football on a Saturday in late September. You think you want to see a revamped Wake Forest take on powerhouse Clemson in a ranked ACC matchup. You think you want to watch Missouri and Auburn square off in a bizarre game of SEC bottom feeders.
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Think again.
You want to watch baseball. Specifically, you want to watch New York Yankees star Aaron Judge try to tie Roger Maris' American League single-season home run record of 61. ESPN knows it. You know it. But you don't know that ESPN knows you know it.
So, when Clemson and Wake Forest were trading punches late in the game and Missouri looked to be setting themselves up for a win, ESPN did you a favor by splitting the screen to a Judge at-bat against the Boston Red Sox. They even did you one better. They switched the audio to the baseball broadcast, too.
Just as ESPN predicted, you and all college football fans loved it.
ESPN Forces Aaron Judge At-Bats into College Football Broadcasts
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) September 24, 2022
Or...maybe you didn't. Don't worry, you're not alone. Several fans took to Twitter to voice their frustrations.
ESPN going split screen for another Aaron Judge at-bat while Wake Forest is on the move in a tight game against Clemson. Truly awful decision-making going on here.
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) September 24, 2022
An Aaron Judge interruption by ABC/ESPN on a Sportscenter Top 10 play by DJU. If I had hair, I’d pull it out. #Clemson
— Fred Cunningham (@fredontv) September 24, 2022
Got to think anyone who cares a lot about Judge and the Yankees, would watch Judge and the Yankees. Those trying to watch #Clemson #Wake probably aren’t among them @ESPN
— admarc (@PFWarroom) September 24, 2022
Shifting from Clemson/Wake at a critical juncture to show Aaron Judge’s potential swing at 61 (he walked) is quite the illustration of ESPN’s misunderstanding of national MLB interest. This ain’t McGwire ‘98. I don’t think your CFB audience really cares.
— Dirk Chatelain (@dirkchatelain) September 24, 2022
Hey @espn I do NOT care about Aaron Judge hitting a HR, show the Clemson Wake Game full screen please
— RollPhilaRoll (@PhilaRoll21) September 24, 2022
As you can see the programming decision was received gracefully. Even Sean McDonough, the play-by-play announcer for the Wake Forest/Clemson game, was thrilled.
Sean McDonough is noticeably irritated for the audience. He’s now said something twice about the live look ins. Man of the CFB people 🤝 https://t.co/usluzOfnqj
— Kelley Ford (@KFordRatings) September 24, 2022
Let's get real, though (as I lock my hands, take a deep breath, gather myself and lean forward). Who thought this would be a good idea? It's the wrong choice for so many reasons. One, he's trying to tie the record, not break it. Two, the people who care are probably already watching the game. Three, the people who don't, aka the college football audience already tuned in, don't want to see their game interrupted by baseball. I get it. Baseball records are cool, and Judge is having an unreal season, but this isn't Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in '98. This isn't Barry Bonds chasing the all-time home run record.
ESPN heard the outcry and pledged not to cut to Judge's at-bats against the Toronto Blue Jays during Monday Night Football between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys. Ironically, it would've been perfectly fine. The New York City fanbase would've cared to see Judge take some swings.
The Worldwide Leader in Sports appears to have learned its lesson, though: don't mess with college football Saturdays.
