Blake Griffin Should Host Saturday Night Live

Athletes hosting Saturday Night Live have been very hit-or-miss. Maybe it’s due to the fact that not all of them are naturally gifted at comedy, but some do manage to hold their own and get good laughs out of viewers.

In 2007, Peyton Manning hosted SNL and was very capable. The Colts QB had experience before and after with commercials, so he didn’t get rattled by having a camera on him for more than 30 seconds. Out of his stint, a short sketch about Manning spending time with kids for the United Way got very popular.

Tom Brady’s “Sexual Harassment And You” sketch (below, sorry the video’s backwards but it’s great quality!) in 2004 was another example of a skit that had lasting power. The generally friendly quarterback wasn’t as strong as Manning in his appearance, but this clip is still well-known.

For every Brady and Manning, there’s a Charles Barkley, whose second hosting chance went rather poorly with numerous mistakes and just plain bad writing. This is usually the reason there aren’t many athletes hosting SNL; before Barkley, the last athlete to host was Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in 2009.

To keep with the athlete theme, let’s look at Blake Griffin as a prospect. First off, he’s got a history of starring in commercials such as his new ads for Kia (one of them is below).

Griffin has proven to be funny outside of commercials and by himself. A few months ago, he was a guest on The Champs Podcast, hosted by Neal Brennan, Moshe Kasher and DJ Douggpound. It’s worth a listen as Griffin tells stories and jokes. Clearly, he has a comfortable presence around comedians.

As you can tell from that Kia commercial, Griffin has solid deadpan skills and comedic timing. Based on that commercial alone, I’d place Griffin at the top half of the current SNL cast. Cut the shit, Kenan Thompson. Check out Griffin’s Funny or Die sketch.

Griffin’s Twitter account has also shown consistency with genuinely funny jokes. Yes, it hasn’t been updated a lot recently, but that’s because he’s busy with basketball or something. It strays away from the typical athlete’s Twitter that consists of thanking God every two hours (I have no problem with public display of religion, but I’m not going to follow you for constant updates of telling me how blessed and grateful you are for everything). Even if the SNL staff can’t write solid sketches,I’m sure Griffin’s initiative and history could improve anything involving him.

When you put all the stuff together, Griffin has everything you want in a good host: popularity, humor and a great personality. It’s even more fascinating that all of these things are just complementing his basketball skills, including the one that lets him dunk so hard on guys that their observing moms break down crying and whisper, “I should have pressured him more to focus on business school” between sobs. Seriously though, this is a win-win for everyone.