As ESPN’s Pat McAfee watched Lamar Jackson captivate a rowdy, sold-out crowd at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã Stadium this past Sunday, he gained a new perspective on Jackson’s global impact on the sport.
“Just watching that made me think about how we need the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson to get to the Super Bowl, because there’s a lot of people around the world that that’s the only football game they watch every single year,” McAfee said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “Could you imagine Lamar Jackson popping on the screen and just being like, ‘I didn’t know he’s the fastest guy, he can throw better than everybody, he’s seemingly one of the best leaders that we have, and what else? Yeah, he’s about to win a Super Bowl.’ Wow.
“He would change the world’s view on football.”
J.J. Watt, who was the color analyst for CBS Sports’ broadcast of the Ravens’ win over the Dallas Cowboys in Rio, saw firsthand how much the Brazilian fans adored Jackson.
“They absolutely love Lamar in Brazil,” Watt said on McAfee’s show. “Lamar was a bigtime fan favorite. When he ran out onto the field for warmups, the place went nuts.”