r/sports • u/landofphi • Jul 17 '25
Basketball Shane Gillis: "4x WNBA All-Star Brittany Hicks is here. Give it up for Brittany, everybody. I'm just joking around; that's my friend's wife, I knew none of you knew WNBA players."
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u/Ajsc986 Jul 17 '25
McCusker being so happy throughout this joke makes it even funnier.
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u/banjofitzgerald Jul 17 '25
I think he wrote it. Probably didn’t tell his wife.
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u/Yung_Corneliois New England Patriots Jul 17 '25
She knew. She even waves at first I just don’t think she knew the camera would pan to her.
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u/US_Highway15 Notre Dame Jul 17 '25
That was by far the best joke of the night.
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u/causebraindamage Jul 17 '25
The SGA foul trouble joke was good too, people in denial that it wasn't.
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u/Remote_Elevator_281 Jul 18 '25
Was kind of a given though. Like i’ve heard it 1,000 times ready.
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u/causebraindamage Jul 18 '25
75% of the thread: "WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AND THAT'S WHY THIS IS NOT A FUNNY JOKE, THE NBA DOES IN-FACT NOT BABY ITS STARS AND IS ALWAYS 100% FAIR!"
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u/PepeSilviaLovesCarol Jul 17 '25
I was personally a fan of the ‘fat ugly dog wife’ joke but a lot of them were really funny.
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_POOTY Jul 18 '25
The way it sucked the air out of the room was the best part.
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u/THALANDMAN Jul 18 '25
The whole set was hilarious, just a terrible crowd.
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u/quietimhungover Jul 18 '25
Yes, because they're all a bunch of self absorbed millionaires, who think they're too important to be made fun of. I'd love to see Bill Burr tear them all to shreds too.
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u/FavreorFarva Jul 18 '25
Ricky Gervais is the master of tearing into a room full of self absorbed multi-millionaires.
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u/andyd151 Jul 17 '25
Didn’t he dunk on Trump?
Pun intended
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u/Ajdee6 Jul 17 '25
He had an Epstein joke too but it got deleted
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u/andyd151 Jul 17 '25
Probably deleted itself
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u/zbro3 Jul 17 '25
It actually never existed
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u/Rabidjester Jul 17 '25
Let’s move on as a country and ignore that.
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u/beeblbrox Jul 17 '25
Are we still talking about this?
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u/JudgmentalOwl Jul 17 '25
What a perfect distillation of what's happening right now. Chef's kiss.
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u/gingerhasyoursoul Jul 17 '25
No it does exist but it’s a made up list created by Obama and Clinton.
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u/Blaaa5 Carolina Panthers Jul 17 '25
Weird, my stream froze for about a minute. Not sure what happened?
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u/Cheshire_Jester Jul 17 '25
Biden and Hillary wrote it, it’s so bad you just don’t want to hear it.
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u/comingsoontotheaters Jul 17 '25
It was about trump wanting a ufc fight on the White House lawn. Last time trump hosted a DC fight, Mike Pence nearly died
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u/Jokerzrival Jul 17 '25
Also made a joke about trump wanting Shane to do the show to trap Juan Soto cause he thinks he's an alien. Made fun of Joe Rogan
'Joe wanted me to do this so I could capture Adam Silver cause Joe thinks he's an alien, Trump wanted me to host the show to trap Juan Soto for the same reason"
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u/PlaysWthSquirrels Jul 17 '25
His brand of humor doesn't work when the crowd is famous people worried about their image if they laugh lol
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u/joshuads Jul 17 '25
No one’s does there. Norm McDonald did not get huge laughs in that room.
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u/joebleaux Jul 17 '25
Norm was at his best with an uptight crowd. Which is why he was the funniest Weekend Update anchor, but also why he had to be fired
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u/enjoytheshow Jul 17 '25
I made this comment somewhere else about Shane‘s performance but it holds true. I wish he would just eat the silence in those moments. That’s what made Norm so good on update, late night shows, and shit like the ESPYs. He has this tendency to call out an audience when they don’t like something but Norm (and others who are good with uptight crowds like Gervais) just let it fester.
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Jul 17 '25 edited Jul 24 '25
instinctive workable childlike square smile normal tease scary pen rhythm
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/porscheblack Jul 17 '25
That's why Norm is always called a comic's comic. Because it was those things that would make the comedians find him so funny.
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u/darnclem Oklahoma City Thunder Jul 18 '25
Most comics are at their worst when they're bombing. Norm was at his best.
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u/justuselotion Jul 18 '25
Norm claimed to have dropped out of high school at 16, but in fact he graduated at 14. At 16, he enrolled at Carleton University, where he studied mathematics and philosophy before dropping out.
When I discovered these things about Norm, it made complete sense how and why he was such a comedic genius and why he was so good at exploiting the ironic.
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u/enjoytheshow Jul 17 '25
Yeah I want him to enjoy the silence lol. For this particular crowd that’s indicative of a great joke
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u/joebleaux Jul 17 '25
Yeah, Shane has that "oops, did I say that? oh, my bad" angle that high school bullies use to get out of trouble when they say something they knew was bad. Norm stayed in the bit. It's a different style, and I don't think Shane could pull it off, because he gets a laugh when he bails on the bit, otherwise he'd just be eating shit up there.
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u/inquisitive_chariot Jul 17 '25
That wasn’t why he was fired. He was fired because Lorne Michaels wanted him to stop making OJ Simpson jokes, and he wouldn’t
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u/elitegenoside Jul 17 '25
Tbf, a Norm joke is really more for him than it was for any audience. Dude had to be one of the best comics to handle awkward silences.
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u/Tes420 Jul 17 '25
I would argue thats what makes it even better lol
Watching them cringe is half the punchline!
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u/Ghost2Eleven Jul 17 '25
1000%. You think they saw what he said to Coach Saban's face on Gameday and didn't know what they were getting into? They knew what they were doing booking him.
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u/CheapGarage42 Jul 17 '25
90% of the people on this room haven't graduated college, a lot never even attended. The brain power is low af.
We gotta stop thinking these people are "too cool", no, they're all dumb.
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u/Phuck_Olly Jul 17 '25
You can tell the crowd was almost offended at that one
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u/illini02 Jul 17 '25
Yep. They wanted to be offended, but knew he was right that they were full of shit clapping for this person
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u/glybirdy Jul 17 '25
Hard to be offended when you're the dickheads lol
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u/Cullyism Jul 17 '25
Why does clapping for a name you don't recognize make you a dickhead? It sounds like common courtesy, even if you don't know the name.
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u/1234567791 Jul 17 '25
That’s why the joke is funny. I don’t think it makes them dickheads, but catching people in a moment like that is funny. Makes it funnier if you’re a fan of the husband sitting next to her. He probably didn’t tell his wife that was coming.
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u/psychfan55 Jul 17 '25
Im not saying I disagree with you since I myself know like 4-5 WNBA players, but when everyone starts clapping there's no camera on her or anything. They're just clapping at him mentioning someone in the room's accomplishments. You se the realization on his friend's wife's face after a few seconds, that's likely when the live cameras actually switched over to her.
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u/illini02 Jul 17 '25
I "think" (and I could be wrong) that the in person screen was on her immediately, even if the TV broadcast cut to her later.
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u/Adorable-Bike-9689 Jul 17 '25
Yea his own friends didn't even realize at first. Of course you clap for somebody's accomplishments being mentioned. Most probably didn't even hear the name he said
"Ohh good for them. What name did he say again?"
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u/enjoytheshow Jul 17 '25
I mean his friends definitely realized because that’s her name and they were in on it
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u/Buccos Jul 17 '25
There is no Brittany Hicks. It’s not like the camera was on the wrong person.. the name is made up.
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u/Bconnor5195 Jul 17 '25
Nah, the woman in pink is Brittany. That's his friend he's referencing to the left of her.
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u/Useful-ldiot Jul 17 '25
I think OP is trying to say there isn't a WNBA all-star Brittney Hicks.
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u/guesting Jul 17 '25
That’s sorta what Anthony jeselnik talks about you can be offensive but the joke has to be so good you “get away with it”. Gillis or his backing writers are good enough
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u/naxter48 Tennessee Titans Jul 17 '25
Tbf the joke here isn't the wnba players, it's the people clapping pretending they follow it.
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u/guesting Jul 17 '25
yeah he's half insulting the wnba i.e. they have no fans but your point is taken
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u/Jamowl2841 Jul 17 '25
They weren’t offended. They were embarrassed because they all proved his joke to be true
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u/luffythechefghoul Jul 17 '25
if you want to see real offended people, just go to r/wnba lol
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u/ejoy-rs2 Jul 17 '25
I bet 90% didn't know her though
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u/blacksoxing Jul 17 '25
I don't blame the crowd as for about 70 years if not more TV producers have trained random audiences to clap or boo or laugh on cue. SO, you have Shane going "give it up for Brittany" and....it was gave up for Brittany.
He was the applause sign. Then he pulled the rug under everyone who was probably doing their job. That's gully.
NOW, does it say more about us as humans and our reactions to social cues? It could, but I'm also on a site where the most upvoted comments are the first visible ones so I'm going to stop here :)
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u/b00st3d Jul 17 '25
If Shane said “Give it up for Brian Hicks, 4x NBA All Star”, no one would clap, because they know that’s not a real person.
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u/LocalSlob Jul 17 '25
And that's Shane's obscenely hot girlfriend sitting next to four-time NBA All-Star Brittney Hicks
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u/triplec787 San Francisco 49ers Jul 17 '25
Proof that any guy can land a 10 as long as he’s charismatic*, even if he looks like a thumb
*and famous and filthy fucking rich
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u/HereIGoAgain_1x10 Jul 17 '25
So lucky to have found true love after he became rich and famous, inspiring
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u/BomBiddyByeBye Jul 17 '25
I mean it’s better than the alternative right (he said he was plowing 3s before the fame) ? Every single one of us would do it. Even if we know that both people were in it for something. 🤷🏽♂️
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u/Ringosis Jul 18 '25
Let's face it mate, if this guy was just very attractive and not successful and talented, you'd still be complaining about women being shallow.
What you are annoyed by is that women you're attracted to have standards that you don't meet...and instead of taking that on board and working on being someone worth dating...you blame them.
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u/Working-Side9335 Jul 17 '25
This is a good example of how important being confident is when public speaking. I work at a bank that’s always having “motivational” speakers come in and seriously if you dress nice, stand tall, and speak with conviction, you can make people clap for pretty much anything.
Source: all of world history. And WWE
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u/Blueandigo Jul 17 '25
As a public speaker, I always tell people who are afraid of speaking that if you sound confident in what you deliver, people will believe you even if you're just saying bs.
Case in point, 47.
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u/Working-Side9335 Jul 17 '25
From what I heard, studies show people don’t really retain information or “listen” to what you say, they walk away holding on to how you made them feel.
I love this guy who satirizes corporate motivational bullshit
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u/empire_of_the_moon Jul 17 '25
I have also heard that if you tell someone a lie about 6-times that’s the point in which they begin to believe it’s the truth.
The two of these combined are a superpower.
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u/Kinglink New England Patriots Jul 17 '25
I was wondering what else he had to say.. because ok that's interesting.
Then I saw this. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xhdTZDQ3-Ic
WTF.. I love the tonal switch.
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u/Override9636 Jul 17 '25
We had a motivational speaker at work who essentially spent 60 minutes telling executives that empathy actually makes a company better, and employees like being treated like humans. But the speaker was just gushing with personality and "positivity" to the point where he had everyone eating out of his hand. I don't know if it's because my brain is broken, but I was just watching the whole thing unfold and was like, "are people really enthralled by someone telling them to listen when people talk, and act with everyone's best interest instead of their own? Do I just work with a bunch of sociopaths??"
But really it probably wasn't the exact words that they were following, just that this guy seemingly put out a good "vibe" and they were feeling the same thing.
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u/RSN_Kabutops Jul 17 '25
He killed it last night.
Unfortunately he didn't get the crowd reactions he should've from most in the audience.
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u/Yung_Corneliois New England Patriots Jul 17 '25
He knew. We all knew this is how it was going to go down. He even says it at the end.
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u/88888888man Jul 17 '25
It’s been interesting watching him navigate how much fame and saturation that’s being put in front of him he ultimately wants to opt into. For now the thing that keeps it mostly working is he does these things, but you can kind of tell he’s more interested in laughing about how ridiculous it is later with Matt or other comedians.
Best example is College Gameday. Clowning on Saban for cheating isn’t going to go over great on the broadcast. But it’s going to be great to hear him break it down later.
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u/JohnD_s Jul 17 '25
His Indiana Jones joke on Saban never fails to make me laugh
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u/Nr673 Jul 17 '25
Totally, this is all just content for the pod (I'm sure the paycheck is nice too).
I remember when Shane began blowing up, all the doomers on Patreon were saying it was going to be the end of the podcast; that the Shaman wouldn't be able to handle his friends fame and Shane would be MIA. Aside from filming Tires (and McCusky held it down great during that period) that hasn't happened. Turns out it just leads to great content. The next cast is going to get crazy views.
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u/DokterZ Jul 17 '25
Watch the Norm MacDonald ESPYs. Same thing.
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u/SpicyBoyTrapHouse Chelsea Jul 17 '25
considering how much shane looked up to Norm, he knew what he had to do
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u/WTFisThaInternet Jul 17 '25
That's kind of his bit, though. "You didn't like that? You're going to hate the next one too." He's just doing stuff he thinks is funny, and having a great time doing it.
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u/Phuck_Olly Jul 17 '25
The new age athlete is as soft as ever. Not surprised they can't appreciate jokes.
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u/Dax_O_Lantern Jul 17 '25
He talked one time about doing comedy in front of a bunch of NFL Hall of Famers.
None of them laughed either.
It’s not new age. It’s people with self inflated egos who can’t handle being the punch line.
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u/Mdgt_Pope Jul 17 '25
They only accept the jokes if they come from their own, like other NFL players.
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u/gaspara112 Jul 17 '25
Its not their softness that gets them here its that their image is worth more than their athletic value long term so they have to be very careful not to taint it.
They are absolutely more soft than previous generations but thats more a sport thing.
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u/bguzewicz Jul 17 '25
That’s every generation of athletes. The irony of taking yourself seriously when you play games for a living.
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u/Leopard__Messiah Jul 17 '25
Imagine insinuating that Charles Oakley was gay while he was an active Knick, in the crowd, in NYC. We would still be talking about that brawl.
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u/mlorusso4 Jul 17 '25
Ya I was at home cracking up. There were obviously some jokes that I thought fell flat, but overall I was loving it. Gillis’ humor is classic “if I say this while chilling with friends at their house we’d all be having a great time.” But tell those same jokes at your companies all hands meeting, and no one’s laughing and you might get a call from HR in the morning
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u/whelp_im_done Jul 17 '25
I forget who was talking about it but some comedian was referring to the Oscar’s and mentioned that it’s a horrible audience because most people are there for a potential career defining award and just aren’t in the mood for comedy. I don’t think people take the ESPYs seriously but I wonder how much of it is more nerves for the people involved
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u/moutonbleu Jul 17 '25
And the crowd went mild! That’s the bigger disappointment, these cool athletes have no sense of humour
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u/doc_in_training Jul 17 '25
John Oliver used to (maybe still does) these kind of jokes on Last Week Tonight, when introducing countries from around the world lol
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u/rjcarr Jul 17 '25
He hasn't done it in a long time.
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u/appleavocado Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 17 '25
Cause we’ve all caught on by now.
I’m just kidding - that’s not even a land mass! That’s the Aral Sea!
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u/crowwreak Jul 17 '25
I love when he just yelled at the audience to look up where the country is themselves because he's not their geography teacher
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u/noronto Jul 17 '25
Is Brittany Hicks Matt’s wife or is the name also made up?
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u/CashMikey Jul 17 '25
This is a funny and well-executed joke and Gillis was awesome last night, but people are being weirdly over the top about how much he "owned" the crowd with this. They would have applauded if he had done this switcharoo with any sport/non-athlete because that's what crowds do when a host asks for an applause!
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u/Bigfamei Jul 17 '25
For real. There's alot of sports I don't watch. But I would applaud to recognize someones achievements. Even if I didn't know them.
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u/poo_poo_platter83 Jul 17 '25
Thats crazy you clapped for that.
OMG he just takes the awkward moment and just twists the knife
I cant wait for pat macaffee to talk about this. He was ROLLING in the stands
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u/Organic-Device2719 Jul 18 '25
Shane Gillis is a special kind of comedian because he's actually laughing at us.
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u/Eruntalonn Jul 18 '25
“Name your top 5 WNBA players. Name 5 WNBA teams. Name the WBNA team in your fucking city! You can’t do it!” Burr, Bill
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u/LiquidSwords89 Jul 18 '25
What makes this joke even funnier is the amount of people offended by it. Truly makes it even better 😂
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u/sawbucks313 Jul 17 '25
Who was the hot blonde?
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u/reddittookmyuser Jul 17 '25
His girlfriend
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u/SamTheDamaja Jul 17 '25
Nah, his gf is the handsome fellow in the suit sitting next to 4X WNBA All-Star Brittany Hicks
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u/reddittookmyuser Jul 17 '25
Matt is out of his league.
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u/EJplaystheBlues Jul 17 '25
Matt is out of his league until he spends half of every pod talking about his porn addiction recovery and edging
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u/Punchausen Jul 17 '25 edited Jul 17 '25
Funny AF, but not sure why the social justice warriors are commenting to say people shouldn't have clapped if they didn't know her.. like if Shane DID introduce the 4x WNBA all-star, we expecting everyone to pull a dick move and stay silent? That sounds horrible.
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u/Gunnar_Peterson Jul 17 '25
That's not Britanny Hicks, that's former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
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u/PackBackRehab Jul 17 '25
Shane Gillis is actually pretty funny Maybe I’ll find all his bit hysterical but damn he had some zingers last night
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u/unsolved49 Jul 17 '25 edited Jul 17 '25
Matt hysterically laughing while everyone else is afraid to smile