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When the task force for the office of Vice President Mike Pence reached out to the sports media personality known as PFT Commenter to have Dr. Anthony Fauci on his podcast, PFT’s first reaction was pause.

While Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take,” which PFT Commenter co-hosts with Dan “Big Cat” Katz, is the most listened to sports podcast, it is known for its comedy and making fun of the sports world.

In this case, PMT was being asked to provide young people an understanding of how they can help contain the coronavirus pandemic.

“When I got the email, I was thinking to myself that things must have the potential to get really bad if it has reached the point where [Dr. Fauci’s] office is trying to get him on ‘Pardon My Take’ to connect with the younger listeners out there,” PFT Commenter, whose real name is Eric Sollenberger, told The Post. “I was thinking this could be scary and this is absolutely something that should be taken very seriously.”

As is the program’s format, the podcast still led with the Tom Brady news, joking about all the implications of Brady’s move from the Patriots to the Bucs. At the 47-minute mark, the informative interview with Dr. Fauci began.

Dr. Fauci, the 79-year-old director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has stood out at President Trump’s press conferences for his clear expertise on the subject. It was again evident in the PMT interview as he talked to the younger audience on why the need for social distancing is so vital.

“One thing we do know is that this virus really likes to spread in crowded places, the efficiency of spread is amplified when there is a lot of person-to-person contact, so one of the real weapons you have to try and contain the virus is physically separate people as inconvenient as that is, you have to do at least for awhile to try and stay ahead of the viral spread,” Dr. Fauci told PFT Commenter and Big Cat.

PFT Commenter responded, “I feel like I know my generation pretty well. This could be the challenge that we’ve been really been asked to take on: Just staying at home. We stay at home harder than any generation that has come before us. I think we are the right ones that meant to be put in that place at this point in history.”

While PFT Commenter still had a little fun in the interview, the reason Vice President Pence’s office reached out was very serious — and the duo took it that way on the pod.

A spokesman for the VP’s Task Force, Devin O’Malley, sent the email to PFT Commenter originally.

“On Monday, President Trump released new guidance, ’15 Days to Slow the Spread,’ which outlines the necessary steps that people can take to limit transmission of Coronavirus,” O’Malley said in an email to The Post. “While the disease overwhelmingly affects the elderly and those with serious underlying health conditions, it is critical that young Americans understand that their actions not only impact them and their immediate peer groups, but also their loved ones.

“This is an incredibly important demographic to talk to at this exact moment, and PMT has incredible reach, hundreds of thousands if not more listeners per episode, so it seemed like a natural fit.”

Big Cat and PFT Commenter, both 35 years old, have had a dramatic rise in sports media, going from 9-to-5 jobs to the center of the landscape as the top podcast on Barstool Sports’ vast network. They have done it with a lot of bits, including making fun of what they call “Big J” sports journalists who take themselves a little too seriously.

What serves them well in their interviews is that they ask sort of “everyman” questions, which really made the 40-plus minute Dr. Fauci conversation relatable.

As Katz told The Post, it put him a bit more at “ease” to understand that someone like Dr. Fauci is one of the people in charge. Katz added, “Make sure you get, ‘flatten the curve,’ in there.”

And that was the entire point: To get young people to stay at home to help slow and fight the virus with the tools at hand.

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Next, the Vice President’s task force is setting up other podcasts, including, “The Morning Toast,” as well as Cheddar TV.