National Outlet Refers to Neal Brown’s Viral Moment as ‘Bad SNL Skit’

When Neal Brown tried to sell WVU fans on the fun of tailgating on Monday, he likely had no idea his comments would be discussed and picked apart by everyone all over the country. With everyone agreeing that what Brown said was the last thing a head coach of a major program should offer as a sales pitch to fans to attend games, one national outlet blasted him even more than the others.

David Hookstead of Outkick had this to say about Brown’s viral moment:

“Given the state of West Virginia football, it probably wouldn’t be very wise to attempt to offer much of a spin. Just own up to the situation and say as little as possible. The WVU coach chose a very different path. He implied the real goal is just a fun game day experience,” said Hookatead to set up his main point.

“Truly some of the most tone-deaf comments we’ve ever heard come from a college football coach. It’s almost hard to believe this is real and not some bad “SNL” skit.

Did you have a couple beers at the tailgate? Was the weather nice? Did you get to spend some time with your buddies?

If so, stop complaining about the fact the team is 3-3 and has had one good season since hiring Brown. Fans should really stop being so ungrateful by checks notes demanding the football team wins games.

If Neal is trying to get fired to enjoy a big buyout, then I think it’s safe to say these comments might help his cause. What a truly wild thing to tell fans.”

The Neal Brown backstory….

For those somehow unaware what started all of this, Brown responded to a question asked by WV Sports Now’s Mike Asti for WVU fans after the team squandered another big game. Brown then offered a bizarre answer that angered Mountaineer Nation even more.

Below is what Brown said in its entirety. Based on what’s on all of the graphics and social media posts, it’s possible you haven’t seen the entire thing.

Because people are only using the first part of Neal Brown’s answer to my question, here’s the full response.

If he just said the second part, I highly doubt there’s backlash.

I’ll also add I honestly didn’t plan to stir anything up. I thought it was a simple question. 🤷🏻‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/msR4sbJfHg

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) October 15, 2024

Brown was asked if he had a message to fans to convince them to show up after another disappointment.

“I get that they want to win. But what I would say is – did they have a good time? Did they enjoy it? It was a pretty good atmosphere. I’m assuming they had a pretty good time tailgating, so if they’re in the deal for enjoyment then I would come back. I looked at the weather and it’s going to be nice again,” said Brown.

He then continued. “I get they’re frustrated that we didn’t win. We’ve played a tough schedule. Everybody that’s beat us hasn’t lost. But that’s no excuse, that’s just the truth and the games in our league are going to come down to the fourth quarter and I don’t think this one on Saturday is going to be any different. We need them to help us. I do get their frustration.”

For a related story, WV Sports Now’s Mike Asti explained how Neal Brown should’ve handled the question.