Category: Sports

by Greg Lahr ’26 on February 12, 2026

Most people may know Mikey O’Brien through his social media presence, where he has created the persona “Mikey O’ver.” O’Brien, a Providence College graduate from the class of  2020, had to endure the difficult job market that most 2020 graduates face. A finance major here at PC, he had a few options after graduation, but none that ever materialized. With O’Brien’s father being a Seton Hall University graduate, he was surrounded by sports, especially Big East basketball, at a young age.

Despite his father attending a Big East rival, O’Brien ended up here at PC. He made many friends and connections, and has learned one lesson that he has carried with him since his graduation: there can always be a way to find your path through the most unlikely ways.

In 2018, O’Brien got an internship at the National Football League Network. He met someone who would eventually give him one of his biggest opportunities, Trent Attyah, known on social media as @BookItWithTrent. After O’Brien struggled with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 2020 job market, Attyah reached out to him with an idea: to create a social platform that allowed sports bettors to connect with each other and share their content and bets.

O’Brien was brought on to the original fundraising team and was trying to build what would become Bookit Sports. After his friend Attyah encouraged him to post content on the platform, he needed a name, and he liked to bet on overs for sports games. That is when the name and persona “Mikey O’ver” was born. 

Slowly, O’Brien built a mass following online through posting content and sports picks. Today, that has led him to have over 130,000 followers on X. However, having a high-profile social media presence comes with many ramifications. On social media, people will always have something to say and comment on what people post, especially when money is involved. At first, getting online hate can be stressful. He has learned that there is more to life than online hate and that there are nice people out there. O’Brien knows that it is what he signed up for with social media.

Now, after being a controversial online figure after his time at PC, O’Brien has learned to rebrand himself. As he gets older, he is learning to become himself again. Having an online social media presence doesn’t have to change you, and you can fully enjoy what you do when you can be yourself. Recently, he has signed a new deal with CBS Sports to continue doing what he loves, covering sports and posting picks.