Rob McElhenney is now “Rob Mac,” and the entire discourse around it is completely ridiculous

The amount of articles written about Rob McElhenney changing his name to Rob Mac is ridiculous. The fact that anyone actually has a feeling about it, whether that be good, bad, nostalgic, betrayed, or inspired, is also ridiculous.

And me pointing both of those things out while simultaneously writing a blog post about Rob McElhenney changing his name to Rob Mac? Yeah. That’s ridiculous too. Welcome to the cycle.

So here we are, spinning in the middle of a meaningless cultural tornado because a guy who has been playing a character named Mac for two decades decided to just make it official.

For whatever reason, the internet lost its mind, and the artist formally known as Rob McElhenney had to release a video on social media explaining to the rats on why he switched up.

Rob McElhenney is now Rob Mac

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A post shared by Rob McElhenney (@robmcelhenney)

First of all, sure Rob McElhenney has gone Hollywood.

The man’s got 18 seasons of Always Sunny under his belt, which is essentially the Simpsons of cable comedy at this point. He co-owns a professional soccer team with Deadpool and somehow, he also looks like a Marvel movie version of his former self.

That’s what success does.

He’s not the guy writing love letters to Chase Utley anymore. He’s directing Chase Utley in MLB promos with Bryce Harper. That’s not a glow-up, that’s a rocket ship and frankly, that’s fine.

But the name change? Still kinda bizarre. Not “oh my god I feel betrayed” bizarre. Just “wait, really?” bizarre. You’ve been called “Mac” for 20 years because of your show.

People, hosts, producers, fans, and strangers all call you Mac, so you start going by Mac, and now it’s official.

Okay. That’s the full story. That’s it.

That should’ve been the whole caption on the video, instead of some glossy, overly self-aware attempt to act like you were surprised by the name change too. Nobody needed the video. It was done anyways and people watched, clicked, and commented.

Now I’m here, writing about it and so the snake eats its tail.

At the end of the day, this whole thing is a fireworks sparkler. Loud for about 11 seconds, kinda fun, but forgettable before you even hit the bathroom. Rob McElhenney is now Rob Mac. Cool. Whatever. Happy Fourth of July.