Anyone who was surprised by Shane Gillis' ESPY monologue probably shouldn't have been

Comedian Shane Gillis hosted the ESPYs on Wednesday night, delivering an opening monologue that was, not unexpectedly, divisive. Gillis' comedic style has always been edgy, observational humor and he's unafraid to push the envelope.

But for anyone who has watched Gillis' standup comedy, his set at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles was tame by comparison. And yet, there was plenty of outrage over the set. Gillis is an equal-opportunity roaster, poking fun at a wide range of sports figures and politicians from the sitting President of the United States to Bill Belichick to plenty of jokes about himself.

Gillis ended his set by honoring the late, great Norm Macdonald by re-telling his infamous joke from the 1998 ESPYs about O.J. Simpson, just replacing Heisman-winner Charles Woodson with the most recent Heisman winner, Travis Hunter. Macdonald's joke drew some laughs, but had plenty of people uncomfortable. Gillis' didn't land even that well, with more discomfort in the audience than was seen 27 years ago.

Gillis powered through his set despite occasional awkward silence from a crowd of athletes who didn't seem to get his jokes or were afraid to laugh and be brought into the expected controversy.

And it's okay to find Gillis' set as not being funny - his humor certainly isn't for everyone, and no comedian bats 1.000 when they do a set. Some jokes will land for you, others won't.

You can view the full opening monologue below:

ESPN got exactly what they wanted out of Shane Gillis

It's the slowest few weeks of the sports calendar right now. Football season is still over a month away, basketball is over, and Major League Baseball was on its All-Star Break from Monday through Thursday.

ESPN needed something - or someone - to drum up some interest. Enter Gillis, who was highly successful in that. It's two days later, and people are still talking about his opening monologue, which is exactly what ESPN wanted.

People tend to watch the ESPYs because there's nothing else to watch. If they can find a reason to skip it, they will. But landing Gillis as the host, and his subsequent controversial set, got people watching and talking.

To ESPN's credit, they stood behind what Gillis said and didn't release any statements admonishing the comedian. In their press release in the aftermath of the show, ESPN stated that Gillis "delivered a sharp opening monologue, poking fun at everyone from Aaron Rodgers and Bill Belichick to Simone Biles and Shohei Ohtani."

They weren't surprised by any of it, and surely even welcomed the controversy that they knew would ensue. They are more than happy about it, and it wouldn't be shocking if he's invited back to host again next year.