ESPN's Rebecca Lobo Dissed The City Of Albany And People From Albany Aren't Happy About It

All eyes were on the city of Albany on Monday night. More specifically, they were at the city's MVP arena which hosted the highly-anticipated LSU vs. Iowa rematch in the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

However, some from Albany (Albanians?) are not happy with ESPN's Rebecca Lobo who called the game with her broadcast partner Ryan Ruocco.

At one point in the game, the broadcasters were discussing Iowa star Caitlin Clark's family and how they were looking for ways to enjoy themselves in Albany.

"[Clark] told us, ‘they’ve been reaching out to me,’ and I’ve told them, ‘just go find something to do in Albany. I’m just staying in my room and just waiting for the game,’" Ruocco said, per The New York Post.

"By the way, good luck finding something to do in Albany," Lobo said.

Whoa… apparently she has never been to the American Italian Heritage Museum & Cultural Center or biked along the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail.

This comment didn't sit well with Todd Shapiro. He's a former spokesman for Ivana Trump and owns a bar in town called War Room Tavern. He called for fellow bars and restaurants to bid farewell to their ESPN subscriptions until Lobo apologizes.

She also drew the ire of 96-year-old Pulitzer Prize-winner William Kennedy. 

"If she can’t find something to do in Albany, there’s some psychological problem going on," Kennedy said. "Albany is not the capital of entertainment in the world, but it’s a livewire city."

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: no one knows fun like 96-year-old Pulitzer Prize-winners.

I completely get why a business owner like Shapiro is upset about that, but let's not pretend tourists are bringing a ton of dollars to Albany. I don't hear a lot of people saying, "I took the week off from work; taking the wife and kids to Albany."

And even if they did, is Rebecca Lobo's feelings about Albany — which people forget is the capital of New York — going to make anyone cancel plans?

No, it isn't. And if it does, they never really wanted to go to Albany in the first place.

By the way, aside from the whole part about spending money and helping businesses, having tourists come to your city sucks. Trust me, I live in Orlando. I wish Rebecca Lobo would say there was nothing to do here so fewer people spend their spring breaks here. I'm tired of wading through sunburned out-of-towners when I just need to get gas.

No one wants to hear anyone — especially an ESPN personality — rip a deuce on their hometown, but I can assure you the great city of Albany will survive.