Indianapolis hosted both games of the Final Four round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. After the first game between the UConn Huskies and Illinois Fighting Illini, fans in Lucas Oil Stadium were treated to a performance by The Chainsmokers, an electronic DJ and production duo comprised of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart.
Pall and Taggart walked out to their new single “Echo,” before switching to the biggest hits of their career, including “Don’t Let Me Down,” “Roses,” and “Closer” feat. Halsey.
Fans in Lucas Oil appeared to be having a fine time. TBS and truTV viewers at home, on the other hand, weren’t too thrilled with the quick concert.
ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt was left dumbfounded by the decision to air the concert.
“What do you have against The Chainsmokers, SVP?” a fan asked Van Pelt.
“Not one thing,” Van Pelt wrote back. “Just an odd spot.”
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy was also scratching his head about the decision to have the duo perform between games.
“This chain smokers concert inbetween games is playing off like somebody lost a bet. And I like the Chainsmokers but nothing has ever made less sense than this,” Portnoy posted on X.
Bay Area sports writer Damon Bruce joked that the concert was received even worse than the “Dr. James Naismith” segment that was shown right before The Chainsmokers’ performance on TBS.
“The Chainsmokers got a colder reception than the Naismith bit,” Bruce posted to X.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.