The No. 2 UConn Huskies had just defeated the No. 3 Illinois Fighting Illini in their Final Four matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday night. The TBS broadcast had time to kill before No. 1 Arizona and No. 1 Michigan tipped off to round out the men’s NCAA Tournament Final Four action.
Enter: The Chainsmokers, the world-famous electronic/pop duo comprised of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart.
Pall and Taggart walked out to “Echo,” their upcoming single, and tried their best to hype up the crowd. By all appearances on the broadcast, fans on site at Lucas Oil — at least those close enough to actually see The Chainsmokers — seemed to be having a good enough time.
Fans watching at home, however, threw proverbial tomatoes.
“Who asked for this?” iconic SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt posted on X (formerly Twitter).
“What do you have against The Chainsmokers, SVP?” asked a fan named Nick.
“Not one thing,” Van Pelt wrote back. “Just an odd spot.”
And that seemed to be the main takeaway.
“The Chainsmokers concert between Final Four games is just truly unneccessary,” wrote WFLA broadcaster Jeff Dubrof.
“Loving The Chainsmokers with a side of Final Four basketball,” wrote The OC Register‘s Benjamin Royer.
Local Cleveland television reporter Leah Doherty compared The Chainsmokers’ performance to a routine from High School Musical. ESPN’s Courtney Cronin agreed.
Barstool’s Dave Portnoy sounded off on it, too, saying it felt like “somebody lost a bet” because “nothing has ever made less sense than this.”
The Chainsmokers ripped through their biggest hits, including “Don’t Let Me Down,” “Roses,” and “Closer” feat. Halsey from a decade ago. Taggart shouted at the crowd, “I need all the 2015 energy you still got left!” While singing “Roses,” Taggart asked the crowd to let him hear them sing along, and it did not sound like very many people sang along on the TBS broadcast.
See clips and reactions below.
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