Pat McAfee has waged war with Rocco’s — the famous Omaha-based bar known for its Jell-O shot challenge during the 12-day tournament.And by "war," I mean McAfee stuffed the GM in a locker during a heated segment on his ESPN and YouTube show Friday afternoon."It was nowhere near what I thought it was going to be like," McAfee said of the crew's experience at the bar earlier this week."I did contribute.
But it was very much like a, ‘You’re lucky to be giving us this money to do this,’ as opposed to a celebration."So, here's the backstory for those who don't want to sit through McAfee's entire three-minute rant.Rocco's has become a household name in recent years for the challenge, which, on paper, seems like a great thing.Launched in 2019, the bar basically has fans pick a school to support when ordering a Jell-O shot to see which fan base can drink the most.WEST VIRGINIA'S EPIC WALK-OFF SPARKS EMOTIONAL 'COUNTRY ROADS' CELEBRATION THAT DEFINES COLLEGE SPORTSA general view of Rocco's Pizza and Cantina before a game at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., on June 18, 2025.
(Steven Branscombe/Imagn Images)The proceeds are then divided among a food pantry near the school ($1), a local food pantry in Omaha ($0.50) and the bar itself ($3.50)."Incredible gimmick to kind of publicly force people who are the boosters for other schools to come compete for this," McAfee said.In recent years, some have argued that the challenge has basically just turned into which school's booster club has the deepest pockets.Like the college game itself, it's lost some authenticity.Pat McAfee of College GameDay smiles before the game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Mississippi Rebels at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., on Oct.
18, 2025.(Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos)McAfee, of course, made a giant donation.
He's arguably West Virginia's most famous alum right now, and the Mountaineers are in Omaha for the first time ever.However, when the former WVU star took his crew to Rocco's earli...