ESPN is getting a tremendous online response after announcing comedian and Notre Dame football fan Shane Gillis will be hosting this year’s ESPY Awards on July 16 in Los Angeles.
The annual ESPN production is traditionally headlined by as comedian or athlete, but this is the first time the 37-year-old Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania native will be hosting the show, which some liken to the ‘Sports Oscars.’
‘I’m excited to be at The ESPYS this year,’ Gillis said in a statement. ‘I like sports so this should be a good time.’
‘Shane is not only one of the top comedians today, but also a huge sports fan, which made him an easy choice to host The ESPYS,’ said Craig Lazarus, ESPN Vice President and The ESPYS Executive Producer, said in the statement. ‘We are thrilled to work with him to create an entertaining show celebrating this year’s best moments in sports and are excited to see what he’ll do on stage.’
Fans of both Gillis and the ‘Worldwide Leader’ rushed to congratulate ESPN on a good move.
‘Best decision they could’ve ever made,’ one fan wrote.
Notre Dame fan Shane Gillis is slated to host the annual ESPY Awards in Los Angeles on July 16
‘This is going to be a good one!’ another added. ‘Nice!’
Confusingly, one person reacted by implying the network opposed the very decision it just made: ‘Uh oh woke ESPN won’t like this one.’
This is not Gillis’ first collaboration with ESPN. He previously appeared on College Football GameDay from South Bend, where he appeared to mock former Alabama coach Nick Saban.
Speaking to co-host Pat McAfee about his hopes for Notre Dame, Gillis said the late-December Notre Dame-Indiana showdown ‘felt different’ because of new rules allow student athletes to be paid.
‘Now that everybody can pay their players Notre Dame has a shot – not just the SEC and Coach Saban,’ Gillis said, ostensibly suggesting Alabama skirted old rules forbidding payment to players.
Gillis called the 72-year-old Saban ‘Alabama Jones’ for wearing a Fedora to South Bend
‘I don’t think the SEC paid players ever,’ the laughing Gillis continued. ‘I’m joking – is this not a fun show? Is this a serious show?
‘Alabama Jones is very serious,’ Gillis added, likening Saban’s Fedora to the famed hat worn by Indiana Jones. ‘Get the whip, Indy.’
Saban wasn’t amused.
‘I do believe in integrity,’ he said before aiming a thinly-veiled dig back at Gillis. ‘I always tried to run the program that way, so that players had a chance to be more successful in life.
‘That was how we cheated. We developed players.’
