Former NFLer Jason Kelce is in Augusta this week as a part of ESPN’s coverage of the Masters, together with serving as a caddie for Akshay Bhatia through the internet’s coverage of the Par 3 contest, however it’s “becoming increasingly clear that sports fans are fed up” with Kelce’s presence at non-football occasions, in accordance with Andrew Hammond of AL.com. ESPN signed Kelce to a multiyear deal after he retired from the NFL in 2024, and it’s clear the corporate “wants to use him as the common man, looking to bring in fans who aren’t usually watching golf.” However, these fans, in accordance to what’s being written on social media, “are tired of seeing him” (AL.com, 4/8). HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s Tony Maglio famous ESPN highlighted Kelce in an “effort to make its broadcasts and streams of a stuffy golf major championship more enticing.” Donning a full Masters-caddie jumpsuit, Kelce “attempted to fire up the crowd and earn a few yucks.” But Maglio wrote, “Nobody wants this. Golf fans want The Masters to be ‘The Masters.’ … No offense to Kelce, but his act just isn’t cute here” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 4/9).
DOESN’T FEEL GENUINE: SI’s Andy Nesbitt wrote it’s “very hard to find a topic in which everyone agrees upon” on social media. However, that has occurred as fans have “voiced their displeasure of having to sit through segments with Kelce that don’t feel genuine.” Many folks really feel like his “presence and vibes have been forced on to a crowd that just wants to sit back enjoy the traditional beauty that is Masters week.” Kelce recently “has become very much like Rob Gronkowski on Fox.” Both guys play these “kind of a wild and zany characters in their new TV roles” as a result of that’s the “brand they’ve put out there.” However, that does not imply that’s “what large audiences always want or need when they tune into an event that they simply want to sit back and enjoy for a bit” (SI, 4/9).
NOT THAT AWESOME: Kelce was not the one celeb on ESPN’s airwaves from Augusta, as NEWSWEEK’s Matthew Couden famous ESPN’s Laura Rutledge spoke with WWE’s Mike “The Miz” Mizanin from the course on Thursday. WrestleMania 42 is developing this month, and it “makes sense for ESPN to do some cross-promotion.” However, an X person posted a screenshot of Mizanin’s look alongside Rutledge with the assertion “WHAT ARE WE DOING?! Nothing matters anymore.” Couden famous many different X customers “agreed with those sentiments,” taking to the feedback to “share their disappointment and strong criticism of ESPN for including the various celebrity guests at this year’s tournament” (NEWSWEEK, 4/9).
A TIME AND PLACE FOR EVERYTHING: ESPN utilizing folks like Kelce, the Miz and Kevin Hart throughout Masters coverage was mentioned on Thursday’s episode of “The Dan Le Batard Show,” with Chris Cote saying, “Get away from my Masters. I’m the biggest hijinks guy that there is. Not with the Masters.” Mike Ryan Ruiz mentioned, “How about for the Masters, we show some golf?” Jonathan Zaslow mentioned, “Clearly The Miz is on the Masters because WrestleMania is next weekend and there’s a very strong push to sell the ESPN app and WWE on ESPN. But I’ve got to be perfectly honest: Is the demo for the Masters the demo that’s going to enjoy WrestleMania?” Dan Le Batard: “This is the future of sports entertainment. These are the people who run sports now. Don’t be precious about your Bert Kreischers in your Netflix outfield on Opening Day.” Ruiz: “I don’t mind the hacks that they’re taking. Honestly, there is an audience for that. It’s the Masters — if any golf event is going to get casual viewers that’d be in with a sit-down with Kevin Hart, it’s this. What I’m saying is, have the actual golf too” (“The Dan Le Batard Show,” 4/9).
DON’T FORGET WHY WE’RE HERE: In Chicago, Paul Sullivan wrote nothing will get him “choked up like watching ESPN’s Wright Thompson’s vignettes from the Masters” concerning the $1.50 pimento sandwiches, azaleas in bloom and outcomes like Jack Nicklaus outlasting Tom Weiskopf and Johnny Miller in 1975 (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/9).
