Monday Night Football
| Monday Night Football | |
|---|---|
| Format | Sports |
| Created by | Roone Arledge |
| Directed by | Chip Dean (2006-Present) |
| Starring | Mike Tirico Ron Jaworski Tony Kornheiser Chris Berman Keyshawn Johnson Steve Young Tom Jackson Mike Ditka Cris Carter Emmitt Smith Stuart Scott |
| Theme music composer | Hank Williams, Jr. |
| Opening theme | "All My Rowdy Friends (Are Coming Over Tonight)" |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 600 (October 20th, 2008) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Jay Rothman (2006-Present) |
| Running time | 3 Hours + |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC (1970-2005) ESPN (2006-Present) |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV), 720p (HDTV) |
| Original run | September 21, 1970 – Present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Monday Night Football (MNF) is a live television broadcast of the National Football League. Originally airing on the ABC network from 1970 to 2005, Monday Night Football was the second longest running prime time show on American broadcast network television (after CBS' 60 Minutes) and one of the highest-rated, particularly among male viewers. ABC aired a total of 555 Monday night games.
Monday Night Football moved to the ESPN cable network in 2006, ending a 36-year run on ABC. ABC and ESPN are both owned by The Walt Disney Company.
Monday Night Football can also be seen in Canada on TSN and RIS, in most of Europe on NASN, on Five and Sky Sports in the UK, in most of Australia on Ten HD and in some regions of the world outside the U.S. on ESPN International. A Spanish language version airs on ESPN Deportes in the U.S. and on ESPN International in Latin America.
Overview
Monday Night Football has enjoyed success throughout its 38-year run. The weekly game is popular not only with fans, but with players, as it guarantees a full national telecast of the game and puts both teams in the spotlight. Teams are selected for MNF games based partially on their success during the previous season, rewarding the best teams and biggest stars. Teams with large national fan bases such as the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, and Pittsburgh Steelers, among others, usually appear on MNF as well regardless of their previous season's record. Teams can make a maximum of three Monday night appearances per season.
Since 2003, to avoid any scheduling unfairness where a team may have five days between games and others six (or seven) before the first playoff game, there is no Monday night game during the final week of the regular season. From 2003 until 2005, one game was played on Thursday and another Monday under the Monday Night Football banner. Starting in 2006 when the series moved to cable, two games are played on the opening Monday night to capitalize on fan interest during "Kickoff Weekend". The necessity of advance scheduling sometimes results in late-season contests between lesser teams, and teams which do better than expected may not get to play on MNF until the next year.
(Cable games are protected from the NFL's flexible scheduling rule adopted for the 2006–07 season. The new rule applies only to CBS, FOX, and NBC Sunday games.)
Franchises with the most Monday night appearances include the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, and Miami Dolphins. The most common Monday Night Football pairings are Denver vs. Oakland and Dallas vs. Washington, with each matchup having been televised 14 times; both are division games between bitter rivals and draw substantial interest from fans of other teams as well. Atlanta vs. New Orleans, also a division game, has been on the Monday night schedule for three years in a row.
History
Pre-1970
During the early 1960s, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle envisioned the possibility of playing at least one game weekly during prime time for a greater TV audience. An early bid in 1964 to play on Friday nights was soundly defeated, with critics charging that such telecasts would damage the attendance at high school games. Undaunted, Rozelle decided to experiment with the concept of playing on Monday night, scheduling the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions for a game on September 28, 1964. While the game was not televised, it drew a sellout crowd of 59,203 to Tiger Stadium, the largest crowd ever to watch a professional football game in Detroit up to that point.
Two years later, Rozelle would build on this success as the NFL began a four-year experiment of playing on Monday night, scheduling one game in prime time on CBS during the 1966 and 1967 seasons, and two contests during each of the next two years. NBC followed suit in 1968 and 1969 with games involving AFL teams.
During subsequent negotiations on a television contract that would begin in 1970, Rozelle concentrated on signing a weekly Monday night deal with one of the three major networks. After sensing reluctance from both NBC and CBS in disturbing their regular programming schedules, Rozelle spoke with ABC.
Despite the network's status as the lowest-rated network, ABC was also reluctant to enter the risky venture. Only after Rozelle used the threat of signing with the independent Hughes Sports Network, an entity bankrolled by reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, did ABC sign a contract for the scheduled games. Speculation was that had Rozelle signed with Hughes, many ABC affiliates would have pre-empted the network's Monday lineup in favor of the games, severely damaging potential ratings.
1970s
- See also: Monday Night Football: Year-by-Year History (1970-89)
After the final contract for Monday Night Football was signed, ABC Sports producer Roone Arledge immediately saw possibilities for the new show. Setting out to create an entertainment "spectacle" as much as a simple sports broadcast, Arledge hired Chet Forte, who would serve as director of the program for over 22 years. Arledge also ordered twice the usual number of cameras to cover the game, expanded the regular two-man broadcasting booth to three and used extensive graphic design within the show as well as "instant replay."
Prior to 1978, Monday night games were not scheduled in the final week (Week 14) of the regular season. From 1974–77, a Saturday night game was scheduled for Week 14 and televised live by ABC in lieu of a Monday night game.
Jackson, Cosell, and Meredith
Looking for a lightning rod to garner attention, Arledge hired controversial New York sports broadcaster Howard Cosell as a commentator, along with veteran football play-by-play man Keith Jackson. Arledge's original choice for the third member of the trio, Frank Gifford, was unavailable since he was still under contract to CBS Sports. Arledge had tried to lure Curt Gowdy and then Vin Scully to ABC for the MNF play-by-play role, but settled for Jackson after they proved unable to break existing contracts with NBC Sports and the Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively. However, Gifford suggested former Dallas Cowboy quarterback Don Meredith, setting the stage for years of fireworks between the often-pompous Cosell and the laid-back Meredith.
Monday Night Football first aired on ABC on September 21, 1970, with a game between the New York Jets and the Browns in Cleveland. Advertisers were charged $65,000 per minute by ABC during the clash, a cost that proved to be a bargain when the contest collected 33 percent of the viewing audience. The Browns defeated the Jets, 31-21 in a game which featured a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by the Browns' Homer Jones and was punctuated when Billy Andrews intercepted Joe Namath late in the fourth quarter and returned it 25 yards for the clinching touchdown.
One of the trademarks of Monday Night Football is a music cue used during the opening teasers of each program, a Johnny Pearson composition entitled "Heavy Action", originally theme music for the BBC's Superstars series. ABC had acquired the rights to Heavy Action specifically for Monday Night Football.
That success would continue over the course of the season, helping establish a phenomenon on Monday nights in the fall: Movie attendance dropped, bowling leagues shifted to Tuesday nights and a Seattle hospital established an unwritten rule of no births during games.
Cosell's presence initially caused Henry Ford II, chairman of the Ford Motor Company, the show's main sponsor, to ask for his removal. ABC refused, and Ford had a change of heart once the show's ratings were made public. Cosell dodged another controversy when he appeared to be intoxicated on the air during the November 23 game between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. Already ill, Cosell drank at a promotional party prior to the game, then ended up vomiting on Don Meredith's cowboy boots near the end of the first half. Jackson and Meredith ended up announcing the rest of the contest.
Cosell, Gifford, and Meredith
In 1971, Gifford became available and Arledge brought him to ABC, replacing Jackson (who returned to broadcasting college football for the network). The former New York Giant had been an NFL announcer for CBS during the 1960s but never a play-by-play man prior to joining Monday Night Football. In that capacity for Monday Night Football from 1971-1985, Gifford was often criticized for his see-no-evil approach in regard to discussing the NFL, earning him the dubious nickname "Faultless Frank." Regardless, Gifford would have the longest tenure of any broadcaster on the show, lasting until 1998.
Cosell's abrasive personality gave him enough recognition to host a live ABC variety show in the fall of 1975. That show is remembered today only as a trivia question, as its title, "Saturday Night Live", prevented a new late-night sketch comedy program on NBC from using that title until the ABC show was canceled. That seeming popularity was in contrast to the repeated criticisms in the media, as well as bar room contests in which winners were allowed to throw a brick through a television image of Cosell.
After beginning with critical acclaim, Meredith began to take his weekly assignments less seriously, while also beginning an acting career. By 1973, his motivation for the broadcasts seemed highly suspect, given incidents during a trio of contests. On October 29, Meredith was drinking during the Buffalo Bills-Kansas City Chiefs game, which was preceded one week earlier by his pre-game analysis of the Denver Broncos–Oakland Raiders game: "We're in the Mile High City and I sure am" — a not-so-subtle reference to his use of marijuana at the time. Finally, during the Pittsburgh Steelers-Washington Redskins game on November 5, he referred to U.S. President Richard Nixon as "Tricky Dick."
Cosell, Gifford, Williamson, and Karras
Meredith would be absent from Monday Night Football for a broadcasting and acting career on rival NBC from 1974 through 1976. Fred Williamson, a former Kansas City Chiefs defensive back nicknamed "The Hammer" for his often-brutal hits, was selected by ABC to replace Meredith in 1974, but following a few pre-season broadcasts, proved so inarticulate that he was relieved of his duties prior to the start of the regular season, becoming the first MNF personality not to last an entire season (much less no part of the regular season at all). Williamson was replaced by fellow Gary, Indiana native Alex Karras, formerly of the Detroit Lions. The highlight of Williamson's MNF career was probably at the introductory press conference where he quipped that he was hired to "bring some color to the booth."
Karras made his debut on September 16, 1974 and immediately made an impact when he jokingly referred to Oakland Raiders' defensive lineman Otis Sistrunk as having attended "The University of Mars." That would essentially be the high point of Karras' three-year tenure, with a developing movie career often distracting him from showing any improvement (In reality, Sistrunk did not attend any college but played semi-pro ball before getting a tryout with the Raiders; after Karras' remark and for the rest of Sistrunk's time with the team the Raiders team guide listed his college alma mater as "The University of Mars").
Cosell, Gifford, Meredith, and Tarkenton
Meredith returned to the ABC booth in 1977, but seemed to lack the enthusiasm that had marked his first stint from 1970–1973. While the NFL moved to a 16-week schedule in 1978, Meredith was contractually obligated to work only 14 games, leaving Cosell and Gifford to work games as a duo or with newly-retired Fran Tarkenton beginning in 1979.
From 1977 through 1986, ABC also aired occasional games on Thursday and Sunday nights. These were billed by the network as Special Thursday Night/Sunday Night Editions of Monday Night Football.
One of the more somber contests in the run of the series came on November 27, 1978 when the San Francisco 49ers hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers. Earlier in the day, San Francisco mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk had been murdered at City Hall. Despite the complaints that followed, the NFL chose to play the game, a decision that mirrored the league's playing the weekend of the John F. Kennedy assassination 15 years earlier.
The opening contest of the 1979 season saw a poignant moment as former New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley was introduced to a sellout crowd at the Patriots' Schaefer Stadium. Stingley had been paralyzed in a preseason game the year before and was making his first visit to the stadium since the accident.
1980s
- See also: Monday Night Football: Year-by-Year History (1970-89)
John Lennon tragedy
One of the most remembered moments in Monday Night Football history occurred on December 8, 1980, yet had nothing to do with the game or football in general. During a game between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots, Howard Cosell broke the news of famed Beatle John Lennon's assassination,[1] news that stunned a nationwide audience.
| “ | This, we have to say it, is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses. An unspeakable tragedy confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous perhaps of all The Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead ... on ... arrival. | ” |
In 1974, Lennon had appeared in the Monday Night Football broadcast booth and was briefly interviewed by Cosell.
Rest of 1980s
The 1982 television contract renewal also put ABC in the Super Bowl rotation for the first time, with Super Bowl XIX in 1985. A second renewal of the television contract gave them XXII in 1988.
From 1983 through 1986, ABC also aired a Friday night game in the final week (Week 16) of the regular season in addition to the normal Monday night game.
Cosell, Gifford, Meredith, and Simpson
Cosell continued to draw criticism during Monday Night Football with one of his offhand comments during the September 5, 1983 game igniting a controversy and laying the groundwork for his departure at the end of that season. In a game between the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys, Cosell referred to Alvin Garrett, an African American wide receiver for the Redskins, as a "little monkey." Cosell noted that Garrett's small stature, and not his race, was the basis for his comment, citing the fact that he had used the term to describe his grandchildren. Later, a special on Howard Cosell showed him calling Mike Adamle (a white player) a "little monkey." Stung by the unrelenting barrage of remarks, Cosell claimed upon his departure from Monday Night Football that the NFL had become "a stagnant bore." In Cosell's book, I Never Played the Game, he devoted an entire chapter ("Monkey Business") to the Garrett episode. Also in I Never Played the Game, Cosell said that ABC should've had the right to choose its own Monday Night schedule. In his mind, Monday Night Football is what elevated the NFL in popularity over Major League Baseball. He felt this should have been ABC's reward for raising the level of the NFL's popularity.
That same year, O.J. Simpson replaced Tarkenton as a fill-in when Meredith or Cosell, who also was a broadcaster for Major League Baseball's playoffs, was unavailable. The season would serve as a study in contrasts as one of the most exciting Monday night games ever was followed the next week by one of the most badly-played in the run of the series. On October 17, 1983, the highest scoring game in Monday Night Football history took place in the Green Bay Packers/Washington Redskins game, with the Packers winning the game by a 48–47 score. Seven days later, the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals played for more than four hours before settling for a 20–20 overtime tie, MNF's only OT tie to date. The deadlock had come after dropped touchdown passes by Cardinal wide receivers Willard Harrell and Roy Green and a trio of missed field goals by teammate Neil O'Donoghue, including two in the final 63 seconds of the overtime period.
Gifford, Meredith, and Simpson
When Cosell left prior to the start of the 1984, the trio of Gifford, Meredith and Simpson handled the duties. Cosell's departure seemed to have the greatest effect on Meredith, who many believed to be a poor analyst in his absence. Falling ratings also gave indications that much of the mystique that surrounded the weekly event had disappeared.
Gifford, Simpson, and Namath
After the 1984 season, ABC replaced Meredith with Joe Namath the following year, with the quarterback making his debut in the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. In a coincidental twist, both Namath and Simpson were busy prior to the telecast with their induction into the shrine.
One of the more grisly moments in Monday Night Football history occurred during a game between the Washington Redskins and New York Giants on November 18, 1985, at RFK Stadium. Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann's career would end when Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor reached from behind to drag him down and Taylor fell heavily on the quarterback’s leg in the process. On the play, which viewers could see in a gruesome slow-motion replay, Theismann suffered a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula in his lower right leg.[2]
Two weeks after that painful memory, the series' most watched contest took place as the previously unbeaten Chicago Bears were defeated by the Miami Dolphins, who had not lost to an NFC team at home since 1976. That would turn out to be Chicago's only loss in 1985. The show gained a Nielsen rating of 29.6 with a 46 share.
Gifford, Michaels, and Swann
Both Namath and Simpson would be replaced at the end of the 1985 NFL season, with critics noting their lack of journalistic skills in comparison to Cosell. In their place the following year came veteran broadcaster Al Michaels, who had previously anchored ABC's pregame coverage of Super Bowl XIX and had been since 1983 the lead play-by-play announcer of Monday Night Baseball.
Michaels served as the play-by-play announcer, teaming with Gifford for a two-man booth in 1986. During that season, the Miami Dolphins again made Monday night history with the biggest blowout in Monday Night Football history in a 45-3 rout of the then 10-1 New York Jets. (The record was later tied and subsequently broken in 2005; see below.) Also in 1986, when Al Michaels became unavailable because he was calling Major League Baseball's League Championship Series, Frank Gifford moved up into the play-by-play spot while Lynn Swann filled-in as the color commentator. Gifford would once again call the play-by-play when Michaels was busy calling the World Series in 1987 and 1989.
- See also: Major League Baseball on ABC, 1987 World Series, and 1989 World Series
Gifford, Michaels, and Dierdorf
In 1987, Gifford and Michaels were joined by Dan Dierdorf, returning the series to its original concept of three announcers in the booth. The trio would last for 11 seasons through the conclusion of the 1997 season. In 1989, television composer Edd Kalehoff created a new arrangement of Johnny Pearson's "Heavy Action", by that time fully synonymous with the series. This more or less replaced an original composition by Charles Fox. Also debuting in 1989 was Hank Williams, Jr. in "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night," sung to the music of his 1984 hit "All My Rowdy Friends Are Comin' Over Tonight."
1990s
- See also: Monday Night Football: Year-by-Year History (1990-Present)
Along with the renewed television contract, ABC was awarded the telecast to Super Bowl XXV and Super Bowl XXIX, and the first round of NFL playoffs. The Monday Night Football team of announcers anchored the telecasts, except for the first of two wild card playoff games, where ESPN's Sunday Night NFL crew of Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann anchored that telecast. However, the original crew for one of the two wild card playoff games in 1990 and 1991 consisted of Brent Musburger and Dick Vermeil (both of whom did college football broadcasts for ABC during those two seasons).
From 1990 until 2005, ABC's MNF television package has included seventeen (eighteen in 1992 and 1993) regular season games (from 2003 until 2005, a Thursday game and 16 Mondays -- no game on Week 17 because of playoff preparation disadvantages), the first two wild card playoff games (held on the first Saturday of the playoffs), and at times, the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl.
1994
The October 17, 1994 episode between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos featured a duel between two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Joe Montana and John Elway. With 1:29 left to play in the game, Elway scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to put the Broncos ahead 28–24. But then Montana led the Chiefs on a 75-yard drive to score the game-winning touchdown with just 8 seconds to play. The final score was Chiefs 31, Broncos 28.
1995
In the 1995 MNF regular season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at the New Jersey Meadowlands, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones controversially brought Nike chairman Phil Knight down to the sidelines, representing Jerry's individual deal with Nike, contrary to the NFL's policy of negotiating its marketing deals as a league.
1997
In 1997, ABC began using a scoring bug showing the game clock and score throughout the entire broadcast.
Michaels, Dierdorf, and Esiason
In 1998, Lesley Visser became the first female commentator on Monday Night Football. She had been the first female beat writer in the NFL when she covered the New England Patriots for the Boston Globe in the mid-1970s, and was the first and only woman to handle a Super Bowl Trophy presentation when she was a sportscaster with CBS. Visser was followed by several women, notably Melissa Stark and Lisa Guerrero, on the sideline who were perceived as "eye candy", none of whom affected the ratings.
For the 1998 season, ABC pushed Monday Night Football back an hour (it has usually aired at 9:00 p.m. EST). A special pregame show that was hosted by Chris Berman from the ESPN Zone restaurant in Baltimore was created. The game would start around 8:20 p.m. for this particular season. Despite leaving the booth, Frank Gifford stayed on one more year as a special contributor to the pregame show, usually presenting a single segment.
A mildly infamous incident came during the final 1998 telecast when Dierdorf asked Michaels, prior to a halftime interview with Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug Flutie, "Are you gonna tell 'em how you're sick of all this B.C. stuff?" Michaels (thinking that they had gone into a commercial break and that his microphone was off) replied, "No shit."
Nielsen numbers for the first 17 weeks of the 1998 TV season showed that Monday Night Football averaged a 13.9 rating, down 8 percent from 1997's 15.0--the previous standard in ratings futility. In actuality, MNF ratings had been hitting all-time record lows for the previous four years.
Michaels and Esiason
Beginning in 1999, Monday Night Football telecasts used a computer-generated yellow line to mark where a team needs to get a first down. ESPN had begun using it first. 1999 also saw the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game being moved from Saturday afternoon to Monday night. It would remain on Monday night through 2005.
Boomer Esiason replaced Gifford in 1998, and Dierdorf left for a return to CBS in 1999. Esiason's relationship with Michaels was questioned leading to his firing. Esiason and Michaels reportedly never got along, and it led to ABC firing Esiason shortly after calling Super Bowl XXXIV together.
2000s
- See also: Monday Night Football: Year-by-Year History (1990-Present)
Michaels, Fouts, and Miller
2000
Comedian Dennis Miller joined the cast in 2000 along with Dan Fouts. The move was ultimately regarded as a bust by many viewers and commentators. ABC briefly considered adding radio personality Rush Limbaugh before Miller was added to the broadcast team, despite having no prior sports broadcast experience. Miller demonstrated a knowledge of the game and its personalities, although at times he tended to lapse into sometimes obscure analogy-riddled streams of consciousness similar to the "rants" of his standup comedy act. ABC even set up a Web page dedicated to explaining Miller's sometimes obscure pop culture references.
Also in 2000, Don Ohlmeyer, the program's producer up until 1977 was brought back.[3] After spending time at NBC, Ohlmeyer was lured out of retirement to spark interest and provide some vigor to the broadcast. Besides the on-air talent, Ohlmeyer's changes included clips of players introducing themselves, new graphics, and music. In another rather irreverent move, the scoring bug was seen to have nicknames for the teams, such as "Skins" and "Fins" (for Redskins and Dolphins, respectively) instead of their common abbreviations, WSH and MIA, respectively.
On October 23, 2000, the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins competed in what is now known as The Monday Night Miracle. Trailing 30–7 in the fourth quarter, Vinny Testaverde led the Jets to score 23 consecutive points to tie the game. After Miami scored another touchdown, Lucas threw to offensive tackle Jumbo Elliott to tie the game at 37-all. At 1:08 a.m., Tuesday morning, John Hall kicked a field goal in overtime to win the game 40–37. It was the second biggest fourth quarter comeback in NFL history and biggest comeback in Jets' history. Arnold Schwarzenegger predicted the comeback at halftime, where he was appearing with the MNF crew for an upcoming movie. With the Jets already down by 20 points he said, "Wayne Chrebet will catch a pass and the Jets will win. They're a great team."
2001
The 2001 season of MNF featured a season-long campaign promoting the anticipated 20,000th point scored in MNF history. Broncos kicker Jason Elam completed the task with a field goal during a 38-28 loss at Oakland on November 5. The three points also put Elam over 1,000 points for his career.
Michaels and Madden
In 2002, both Dennis Miller and Dan Fouts were dropped and John Madden joined Al Michaels in a two man booth. Madden was a coach for the Oakland Raiders, namesake of the seminal Madden NFL video game series, and successful broadcaster with the CBS and FOX networks for 21 years before joining Monday Night Football.
2002
In 2002, the broadcast debuted the Horse Trailer award, in which a picture of the game's top performer(s) is displayed, as chosen by the broadcasting crew. During the fourth quarter of a preseason game early that season, Madden was joking about doing some recording in the "Horse Trailer", a term the producers used for one of the ABC production trucks. It was, in fact, a custom built trailer designed from the shell of an equine transporter, but inside housed sophisticated electronic equipment. By the first week of the regular season, an idea to decorate the plain white trailer with MNF decor, the entire MNF schedule, and a weekly MVP, was born. Immediately following each game, the winner(s) is chosen, and his picture is affixed to the trailer in the corresponding location. When Madden and Michaels went to NBC in 2006, they debuted a similar feature, the Rock Star – the photo of the player of the game being attached to the top of 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York. (For the 2007 season, the "Horse Trailer" concept has been reinstated.)
Also, in 2002, the commentators for the AFC wild card game were Brent Musburger and Gary Danielson. Jack Arute was the sideline reporter.
After suffering through several years of dismal Pro Bowl ratings, ABC considered moving the game to Monday night. In February 2003, Madden declined to serve as color commentator for the game in Hawaii, citing his fear of flying; former MNF personality Dan Fouts took his place. The following year, the Pro Bowl remained on Sunday, but was moved to ABC's sister network, ESPN.
2003
In 2003, ABC and the NFL dropped the Monday Night Football game for the final week of the regular season. The move, which had been in effect for the first eight years of the broadcast (1970–1977), was the result of declining ratings, as well as problems involved for potential playoff teams, as there was a potential of only four days rest between their final regular season game and first round playoff game. ABC replaced the telecast with an opening weekend Thursday night game, and in exchange ESPN got a Saturday night game on the final weekend.
Also during the 2003 season, Lisa Guerrero decided to leave Fox Sports Net's The Best Damn Sports Show Period to join the MNF television crew as a sideline reporter (replacing the pregnant Melissa Stark). Guerrero's performance on the broadcast was heavily criticized, and the following year (also in an apparent move away from the "eye candy" concept) ABC replaced her with longtime TV sports journalist Michele Tafoya. Lisa Guerrero defended herself by saying that the show hired her with the intention of going in a totally different direction with the job of sideline reporter — personality-driven and feature-driven — then discarded all of that and told her to just do the job in the usual fashion. She said that she never would have taken the job if she had known that they would change their minds like that. In 2005, Michele Tafoya sat out much of the season while on maternity leave. In Tafoya's place came Sam Ryan.
On the October 6, 2003, episode between the Colts and Buccaneers, Indianapolis was trailing 35–14 with 3:43 remaining. The Colts had returned a Tampa Bay kickoff 90 yard to the 11 yard line, setting up a quick score. The Colts recovered an onside kick and scored again to narrow the margin to 35–28. They forced a Tampa Bay punt and with under two minutes remaining, Manning led an 87-yard drive to score the game-tying touchdown with 35 seconds left in regulation. In overtime, kicker Mike Vanderjagt missed a 40-yard field goal, but Simeon Rice was called for a leaping penalty, a rarely-seen unsportsmanlike conduct infraction that penalizes a player for running and jumping to block a kick and landing on other players. Vanderjagt's subsequent kick was batted and hit the upright, but fell in good, winning the game for the Colts. Vanderjagt went on to become the first kicker in NFL history not to miss a kick attempt in a complete season, including the playoffs.
On December 22, 2003, Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre put on one of the most defining moments of his career (while also ranking among his greatest game ever). The day before the contest against the Oakland Raiders, his father, Irvin, died suddenly of a heart attack. Favre elected to play, passing for four touchdowns in the first half, and 399 yards for the game in a 41–7 destruction of the Raiders (receiving applause from the highly partisan "Raider Nation"). Afterwards, Brett said,
| “ | I knew that my dad would have wanted me to play. I love him so much and I love this game. It's meant a great deal to me, to my dad, to my family, and I didn't expect this kind of performance. But I know he was watching tonight. | ” |
2004
On November 15, 2004, controversy shrouded Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens when he appeared with popular TV actress Nicollette Sheridan (of the new hit ABC series Desperate Housewives) in an introductory skit which opened that evening's MNF telecast, in which Owens and the Eagles played the Cowboys at Texas Stadium. The skit was widely condemned as being sexually suggestive (see video[4]) and ABC was forced to apologize for airing it (the Eagles went on to win the game, 49-21, with Owens catching three touchdown passes). However, on March 14, 2005, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that the skit did not violate decency standards, because it contained no outright nudity or foul language. Originally, John Madden was supposed to appear in the commerical.
2005
"The Monday Night Massacre"
On December 5, 2005, dubbed "The Monday Night Massacre" by NFL Films, the Seattle Seahawks shut out the Philadelphia Eagles 42–0 with three defensive touchdowns (two interceptions, one fumble return) to tie the then-largest margin of victory mark in Monday Night Football history and set the mark for the greatest margin of victory in a Monday night shutout, as well as setting the NFL record for scoring the most points with under 200 yards of offense. Andre Dyson scored twice for the Seahawks defense, once on a 72 yard interception return and the other on a 25 yard fumble return, earning himself the "Horse Trailer Player of the Game" as well as NFC defensive player of the week. A fourth interception return by Michael Boulware fell just short of tying another Seahawks NFL record of four defensive scores in a single game, set during a 45–0 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in 1984. The defeat was the Eagles third worst in team history. The Eagles also lost their star RB Brian Westbrook due to an injury in this game.
The end of the ABC era
Despite high ratings, ABC lost millions of dollars on televising the games during the late 1990s and 2000s. Also, the NFL indicated that it wanted Sunday night to be the new night for its marquee game, because more people tend to watch TV on Sundays, and Sundays would be more conducive to flexible scheduling, a method by which some of the NFL's best games could be moved from Sunday afternoon to Sunday night on short notice. Given these factors, as well as the rise of ABC's ratings on Sunday night, and their wish of protecting their Desperate Housewives franchise (which they knew would be costly), on April 18, 2005, ABC and the NFL announced the upcoming end of their 36-year partnership, with Monday Night Football being aired on ESPN starting with the 2006 season, a move some Disney shareholders have criticized. However, ESPN's ability to collect subscription fees from cable and satellite providers, in addition to selling commercials, made it more likely that ESPN could turn a profit on NFL telecasts, as opposed to ABC's heavy losses.
The final ABC Monday Night broadcast was on December 26, when the New York Jets hosted the New England Patriots, from Giants Stadium. Coincidentally, both the first and last ABC Monday Night Football telecast games ended with a score of 31–21 with the Jets on the losing end. Vinny Testaverde holds the distinction of throwing the last TD pass in ABC's MNF telecast history; it was to wide receiver Laveranues Coles. Also, Testaverde's pass set an NFL record: most consecutive seasons with a touchdown pass, 19 seasons (1987-2005). Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel in the last ABC MNF broadcast on 26 December 2005 set a record of note, becoming the first player to catch 2 touchdown passes and record a quarterback sack in the same game. The final play of the ABC era was a Pats kneeldown by 44-year old reserve quarterback Doug Flutie. John Madden said at the show's ending
| “ | They can take football away from ABC on Monday nights, but they can't take away the memories. | ” |
During its final NFL television contract, ABC was awarded the telecasts to Super Bowl XXXIV, Super Bowl XXXVII, and Super Bowl XL. With the end of ABC's contract, the Super Bowl XL broadcast was the network's final NFL telecast, at least for the foreseeable future.
Move to ESPN
Starting in 2006, ESPN began airing the Monday night games and NBC got ESPN's Sunday night package. The Sunday night game is now the "showcase" game of the week on the NFL schedule.
- See also: NBC Sunday Night Football
While the ESPN broadcasts still have the MNF name and heritage, NBC (like ABC) is a broadcast network, whereas ESPN is a cable service not freely available to all Americans (though it is on the basic level of most cable and satellite providers), though many ESPN games air on free broadcast TV in the home markets of each team. For that reason, NBC gained rights to the Thursday night season opening game, the wild card doubleheader that has traditionally aired on ABC, as well as a share of the rotating rights to the Super Bowl (with CBS and FOX also in the mix).
Tirico, Theismann, and Kornheiser
ESPN had initially stated that its MNF team would consist of Al Michaels and Joe Theismann in the booth with Michele Tafoya and Suzy Kolber serving as sideline reporters. However, on February 8, 2006, ESPN announced that former NBA studio host Mike Tirico would replace Michaels in the booth in 2006, joined by Theismann, and Tony Kornheiser. ESPN announced the following day that it had "traded" the contract of Michaels to NBC to join Madden on their Sunday Night Football broadcast in exchange for some NBC Universal properties, including rights to Ryder Cup coverage, and the return of the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (a Walt Disney creation) to ESPN parent The Walt Disney Company after nearly 80 years of Universal ownership.[5] ESPN's first Monday night broadcast was during the preseason on Monday, August 14, 2006, when the Oakland Raiders visited the Minnesota Vikings, publicized as the return of Randy Moss to Minnesota for the first time since the Vikings traded him after the 2004 season. The telecast debuted with brand-new graphics, including a time-score box placed in the lower center of the screen; a variation of the MNF graphics are now used on almost all ESPN/ABC sporting events. The first regular season Monday Night Football game to air on ESPN was on September 11, 2006. The game featured the visiting Minnesota Vikings at the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. The Vikings won 19–16.
The September 25 edition of Monday Night Football highlighted the New Orleans Saints' first game back in the Louisiana Superdome following Hurricane Katrina to take on the Atlanta Falcons. The game had a Super Bowl-like atmosphere with performances by the Goo Goo Dolls, U2, and Green Day before the game. The NFL tapped producer Don Mischer and director Hamish Hamilton to produce the event. Former President George H. W. Bush handled the pregame coin toss. The Saints beat the Falcons 23–3 in what now ranks as one of the most-watched events in the history of cable television.
ESPN's October 23, 2006 telecast of the New York Giants–Dallas Cowboys drew the largest audience in the history of cable television at the time, besting the previous mark set by a 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) debate between Al Gore and Ross Perot. An average of 16,028,000 viewers (12.8 rating) watched as the Giants defeated the Cowboys, 36–22. ESPN's Monday Night Football now accounts for eight of the ten biggest cable audiences in history.
What would eventually be named the "NFL's comeback of the year" was played on Monday Night Football on October 16. Late in the third quarter, the massive underdog Arizona Cardinals led the Chicago Bears 23–3. Arizona seemed to have the game wrapped up, as rookie quarterback Matt Leinart was having a great day, and Arizona had forced 6 turnovers out of Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman. Chicago's defense then went on to score 14 points on fumble returns for touchdowns. With 2:58 left in the fourth quarter, and down 17–23, Chicago's Devin Hester returned a punt for a touchdown to take a 24–23 lead. Matt Leinart then led the Cardinals down the field, only to have Neil Rackers miss a field goal, and Chicago went on to win.
At the conclusion of the 2006 season, ESPN had managed to secure all of the cable television audience records. Monday Night Football and its surrounding shoulder programming are the most profitable franchise on cable television.
Tirico, Jaworski, and Kornheiser
Analyst and former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski replaced Joe Theismann in the booth beginning with the 2007 season. Theismann was offered a prominent football analyst job with ESPN.[6]
On December 3, 2007 17.5 million people watched the undefeated New England Patriots defeat the Baltimore Ravens, 27-24, breaking the previous record of 17.2 million for corporate sibling Disney Channel's showing of High School Musical 2.[7]
Secondary broadcast teams
Since the program's move to ESPN in 2006, the network has broadcast two games on the opening week of the season, with the second game using separate announcers and production staff that are not used for the rest of the schedule. On September 11, 2006, the announcers were Brad Nessler, Ron Jaworski, and Dick Vermeil. On September 10, 2007, the team of Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic (co-hosts of Mike and Mike in the Morning) was used along with Mike Ditka. For both games, the sideline reporter was Bonnie Bernstein. The secondary team for the September 8, 2008 nightcap (Denver vs. Oakland) was again Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic and Mike Ditka with Suzy Kolber.
Revamp after disappointing 2007 season
After experiencing low ratings[8] and criticism[9] about the production during the 2007 season, ESPN announced that long-time sideline reporters Suzy Kolber and Michele Tafoya would not return in their previous roles for the 2008 season[10].
As the 2008 season began, ESPN announced a new focus on covering the games as sporting events rather than as entertainment and cultural events. Among the changes are the removal of celebrity booth guests and a reduction in the number of sideline interviews. Tafoya and Kolber have been retained to conduct those interviews and file reports from the field.[11]
The show as entertainment
Monday Night Football has continued to provide as much entertainment as sports throughout its run. In addition to the extra cameras, the show has also pioneered technological broadcast innovations, such as the use of enhanced slow motion replays and computerized graphics.
Celebrity guests, such as former Vice President Spiro Agnew, singers Plácido Domingo and John Lennon, President Bill Clinton, and even Kermit the Frog, were often featured during the game to "liven up" the broadcast. The November 26, 1973 contest featured a rare instance of two celebrities entering the booth, with Lennon being interviewed by Cosell and California governor Ronald Reagan speaking with Gifford, with Reagan explaining the rules of American football (off-camera) to Lennon as the game went along. However, the late 1990s and early 2000s saw an even more increased reliance on the entertainment factor. Some halftime shows, featuring popular music stars, were broadcast in full rather than being ignored in favor of analysis of the game by the commentators, as in previous seasons.
Williams, Jr. (who sings the memorable catchphrase "Are you ready for some football?") composed a music video–style opening theme for the show (a later theme was provided by Kid Rock). Before Hank Williams, Jr.; Edd Kalehoff revamped the "Heavy Action" theme song in 1989. It was Williams, Jr. who literally had the last word on ABC's last broadcast, with his rendition of Don Meredith's famous song, "Turn Out the Lights, The Party's Over," shown as the broadcast ended. On October 23, 2006, Hank Williams Jr. shouted the catchphrase, live, on top of the "Cowboy star" at the 50-yard line of Texas Stadium before kickoff of the Dallas Cowboys game that evening.
The program's affiliation with ABC/ESPN also resulted in numerous promotional crossovers between MNF and other ABC/ESPN programs.
2006 summary
For its 2006 debut on ESPN, Williams, Jr. re-recorded the MNF opening theme with an all-star jam band that included Brian Setzer, Little Richard, ?uestlove, Joe Perry, Clarence Clemons, Rick Nielsen, Bootsy Collins, Charlie Daniels, Steven Van Zandt and others. The 2006 telecast generally began with a cinematic tease produced by Rico Labbe, Michael Sciallis and Jason Jobes. It was during one of these teases that Barack Obama spoofed his announcement for the 2008 Presidential candidacy.
The tease is followed by the show open produced by Los Angeles-based The Syndicate called Transformation. It features computer-generated imagery showing a city being transformed into a football stadium and passers-by on the street turning into players, coaches, fans, and officials set to an updated orchestral treatment of the "Heavy Action" theme song. The sequence begins every week with a different celebrity walking down the street, picking up a glowing football helmet with the ESPN logo on the side and saying, "I'm ready for some football? Are you?", thus beginning the transformation process. Celebrities for 2006 included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Matthew Fox, Hugh Hefner, Paris Hilton, Spike Lee, Ashton Kutcher, Samuel L. Jackson, Ludacris, Jack Black, Kiefer Sutherland, Jim Belushi, Ben Stiller, Tyra Banks, Carmen Electra and Eva Longoria.
Also, the stars returned in full force to the booth, though this proved to be the major criticism of the ESPN's first MNF season. On the opening weekend, Arnold Schwarzenegger, another celebrity turned California governor, was in the booth at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California; before that, Jamie Foxx appeared at FedExField in suburban Washington, D.C. Following them have included NBA basketball superstar Dwyane Wade,[12] Basketball Hall of Fame player Charles Barkley, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon, comedian Jimmy Kimmel (whose opening words to Joe Theismann were "how's the leg?"), actor Sylvester Stallone, director Spike Lee, hip hop artist Jay-Z, and MNF theme singer Hank Williams, Jr.
Digital on-screen graphics
ESPN's score banner used since acquiring Monday Night Football from sister-channel ABC is placed in the middle of the screen on the bottom. It looks all black, and with the road team on the left side, and the home team on the right side. Also, the team colors are on the sides of the scoreboard. When a touchdown happens, a side of the team who scores the touchdown opens with a team logo, and next to it is "TOUCHDOWN" and the score changes number-by-number. ESPN Monday Night Football is the only time this score banner is used. In other sports, a red parallelogram shaped score banner was used. The other on screen graphics are intact. Monday Night Football began using a more traditional score banner, the "MNF Dashboard", at the bottom of the screen in 2008, with player stats and information being displayed the score and time.[2] ESPN's NFL broadcasts, even before acquiring MNF, have been traditionally somewhat of a testing ground for new graphics for the network's other play-by-play properties.
2007 summary
ESPN cut back to only one opening tease for the 2007 season. Williams Jr. and the all-star band returned, only this time they played in a "juke joint" set on a country road. The lead singer arrives in a GMC Yukon truck (GMC paid for product placement) with the license plate "BOCEPHUS", which is Williams' nickname. The Syndicate's computer-generated tease was removed and replaced by short pre-taped films focusing on a team or player in the game. Some of them have featured actor Jamie Foxx.
The guest visits continued: Barkley returned to the booth on September 17 in Philadelphia. Other guests throughout the season have included Kimmel (another returnee), Drew Carey, Miley Cyrus, Russell Crowe, and Terry Bradshaw. In addition, Gordon was a halftime guest on the game just before the season-ending Ford 400 and was joined by teammate Jimmie Johnson.
When the game ends, Williams returns to say, "See you in (city that is the site of the next week's game)." Both the open and close contain helmets of the participating teams, organized in the style of a concert poster.
2008 summary
Despite the de-emphasis on entertainment on the overall telecast, ESPN did bring back Hank Williams, Jr. for his 20th season as part of the opening. This time, the open is set in a private residence. At the end of the song, Williams Jr. touches a foot pump which supposedly contains the helmets of that night's participating teams. The helmets are launched from the home toward the stadium at which the game is held. Through computer-generated imagery, the helmets "land" at midfield during a live shot, and then explode. The "exploding helmets" gimmick was also used at various times in the 1980s during the pre-game tease. Williams Jr. then appears again at the end of the game to promote the next week's matchup.
ESPN is also continuing to promote upcoming albums through its use in bumper music. On September 29 (Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers), ESPN planned to use "Another Way to Die", a duet between Alicia Keys and Jack White of the White Stripes. The song is part of the soundtrack for the movie Quantum of Solace, the latest in the James Bond series.[13]
Monday Night Football celebrated their 600 game on Monday, October 20, 2008 in a game where the New England Patriots defeated the Denver Broncos 41–7.
Monday Night Football scoring records
- Most points
- 55 - Indianapolis Colts, October 31, 1988
- 52 - San Francisco 49ers, December 23, 1991
- 51 - New Orleans Saints, November 24, 2008
- 50 - San Diego Chargers, December 20, 1982
- 49 - Philadelphia Eagles , November 15, 2004
- 49 - Kansas City Chiefs, December 13, 2004
- 48 - Detroit Lions, October 19, 1981
- 48 - Green Bay Packers, October 17, 1983
- 48 - Baltimore Ravens, December 19, 2005
- Most one-sided games
- 45 points - Baltimore 48, Green Bay 3 - December 19, 2005
- 42 points - Miami 45, N.Y. Jets 3 - November 24, 1986
- 42 points - Seattle 42, Philadelphia 0 - December 5, 2005
- 38 points - San Francisco 52, Chicago 14 - December 23, 1991
- 38 points - San Francisco 41, Atlanta 3 - November 9, 1992
- Highest scoring games
- 95 points - Green Bay 48, Washington 47 - October 17, 1983
- 87 points - Kansas City 49, Tennessee 38 - December 13, 2004
- 84 points - San Diego 50, Cincinnati 34 - December 20, 1982
- 82 points - Dallas 43, Seattle 39 - December 6, 2004
- 80 points - New Orleans 51, Green Bay 29 - November 24, 2008
- 79 points - Oakland 45, Pittsburgh 34 - October 20, 1980
- 78 points - Dallas 41, Philadelphia 37 - September 15, 2008
- Lowest scoring games
- 3 points - Pittsburgh 3, Miami 0 - November 26, 2007
- 9 points - Jacksonville 9, Pittsburgh 0 - September 18, 2006
- 10 points - San Francisco 7, N.Y. Giants 3 - December 3, 1990
Air Times
- From 1970 to 1995, ABC affiliates in Seattle and Portland aired MNF games on a one-hour tape delay starting at 7 p.m. PST\PDT (games normally started 9 p.m. EST\EDT-6 p.m. PST\PDT) in order to accommodate local newscasts (unless the Seattle Seahawks were playing, in which case the game would be shown live). The practice, long opposed by viewers and ABC, was ended in 1996. The Seattle ABC affiliate then tried to accommodate having to show their news later than the other TV stations in the city by marketing it as "KOMO 4 News Primetime," touting it as a way to watch the news at a more convenient time than evening rush hour.
- Additionally, this practice was done in Hawaii, where ABC affiliate KITV/Honolulu delayed the game until 6 p.m. HST, meaning either 11 p.m. or midnight eastern depending on which side of the daylight saving time date the game was played. Thus, the game, which was broadcast live on local radio starting at 3 or 4 p.m., was almost over before it aired on television.
- In the case of Guam, KTGM, the ABC affiliate in that U.S. territory, aired MNF live on Tuesdays at 11 a.m., which is due to Guam's being a day ahead of the United States.
- On ABC, the demand to broadcast Monday Night Football games live across the United States was difficult to reconcile with other prime time programming, which is usually set to begin at a certain local time regardless of time zone. On the East Coast, with MNF beginning at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, there were two hours of primetime in which to schedule regular programming. However, on the West Coast, the games lasted from 6:00 - 9:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (or in the case of Seattle and Portland 1970 to 1995, 7:00 - 10:30 p.m.), leaving little or no time for additional network programming on Monday. Thus, network shows scheduled for primetime on the East Coast were broadcast at unusual hours on the West Coast. For instance, Seattle ABC affiliate KOMO broadcast new episodes of the series Coach on Saturday afternoons.
- When ESPN airs a MNF doubleheader in the first week of the season, the games start at 7 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. ET, respectively. The rest of the season, games start at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Miscellaneous information
- The New York Jets played in the first network broadcast of MNF (1970), a defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Browns 31–21. In the last network broadcast on December 26, 2005, the Jets lost to the New England Patriots; the final score was also 31–21.
- The first sponsor of MNF was Marlboro Cigarettes; this was before the FCC banned cigarette commercials from television.
- Frank Gifford's spotter from 1973–1985 was Canton native Steve Bozeka, who got the job from spotting a Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. Gifford liked him so much he talked to ABC and his first game was in 1974 Green Bay vs. Buffalo. Although he rarely got air time, he was always mentioned at the end when Howard Cosell would read the producers. He was on TV once when MNF got shot and Howard Cosell said "You see this white-haired man, this is my spotter Steve Bozeka".
- Monday Night Football was rarely defeated in the ratings during the 1970s. One such occasion was on October 28, 1974, when the Steelers-Falcons game was outdone by a heavily-promoted episode of the CBS comedy Rhoda, in which Rhoda Morgenstern married Joe Gerard.
- The Seattle Seahawks have the most Monday night shutouts with five. Also, they have shut out their opponents in three straight Monday Night appearances (Philadelphia Eagles in 2005: 42–0, the Oakland Raiders in 2006: 16 –0, and the San Francisco 49ers in 2007: 24–0).
- From 1986 to 1989, Al Michaels would take one Monday night off each October to work on ABC's postseason Major League Baseball coverage. MNF would revert to a two-man booth on these occasions, with Gifford once again calling play-by-play.
- There have been a few occasions when two Monday night games were played simultaneously. In 1987, a scheduling conflict arose when Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins went to Game 7 of the World Series (which also aired on ABC), making the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome unavailable for the Minnesota Vikings' scheduled game that Sunday. The Vikings game was subsequently moved to Monday night, and ABC aired it in a split telecast with the regularly-scheduled MNF game. A similar scenario unfolded in 1997, when the Florida Marlins went to Game 7 of the World Series and the Miami Dolphins' Sunday game at Pro Player Stadium was shifted to Monday night (which marked a rare instance of the Dolphins wearing their road jerseys in a night home game, since the game was originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon - the Dolphins usually wear their home jerseys in night home games).
- For several occasions in the 1980s and early 1990s, the MNF broadcasting crew was used to cover one of the many college football bowl games on ABC. For example, the MNF crew of Michaels, Gifford, and Dierdorf called the 1992 Sugar Bowl.
- The MNF crew of Michaels, Gifford and Dierdorf made a cameo appearance in the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire, during the fictional Monday Night Football game in the film. Pieces of the sequence were shot around an actual Monday night game between the Cardinals and the Cowboys in 1995.
- On October 27, 2003, the MNF game between the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins was moved to a neutral site. The Cedar Fire in the San Diego area forced the teams to vacate Qualcomm Stadium, which was being used as an evacuation site. The game was moved to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe and shown as scheduled. The tickets for the game were free.
- In September 2005, the New Orleans Saints vacated from the Louisiana Superdome in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, and were forced to move a scheduled Sunday afternoon home game against the New York Giants from New Orleans to Monday night at Giants Stadium. In a unique television doubleheader, the Saints-Giants game started at 7:30 p.m. Eastern and the first half aired on ABC; at 9 p.m. the game shifted to ESPN while ABC began its regularly-scheduled MNF game of the Washington Redskins visiting the Dallas Cowboys (the Saints-Giants game was seen in its entirety in New York, Louisiana and other hurricane-affected areas on ABC, with the regularly-scheduled MNF game shown on ESPN until the end of the first game). ABC and ESPN interspersed both games with an on-air telethon to raise money for aid to the hurricane's victims. The last two minutes of the second quarter and the entirety of the second half were not seen in Canada, as TSN, the cable network that holds the rights to ESPN NFL games but not to MNF, chose instead to air WWE's Monday Night Raw (the highest rated show on basic USA cable), and ABC had switched to the start of the Dallas-Washington game. (TSN no longer has the rights to show Monday Night Raw and now shows all MNF games without interruption.)
- A change in the television contracts in 2006 prompted a significant change in the opening week. On September 11, 2006, the NFL staged its first scheduled Monday night doubleheader on the opening weekend of the season, with both games shown on ESPN. The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Washington Redskins, 19–16, in a game that started at 7 p.m. ET, and the San Diego Chargers topped the Oakland Raiders, 27–0, in a game that started at 10:15. ESPN broadcast a second doubleheader on September 10, 2007. The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Baltimore Ravens, 27–20, followed by the San Francisco 49ers defeating the Arizona Cardinals, 20–17. The Cardinals–49ers game was delayed until 10:25 p.m. because the Ravens–Bengals game went beyond the allotted time. When the first game had still not ended by 10:25, the opening kickoff was moved to ESPN2. ESPN and ESPN2 simulcast roughly one minute of playing time of the second game immediately after the first game ended.
- As a coach, John Madden has the highest winning percentage (.740) in Monday Night Football history and he later broadcast MNF telecasts for ABC.
- The highest-rated Monday Night Football telecast to date was the Miami Dolphins' victory over the previously-undefeated Chicago Bears on December 2, 1985. The game earned ABC a Nielsen rating of 29.6 and a share of 46. The lowest-rated MNF game to date was the New York Giants' defeat of the Atlanta Falcons on October 15, 2007, which received a 5.7 rating on ESPN.
- Rap group The LOX one time freestyled over the MNF theme song, which was called "Monday Nite Football". Then rapper Cam'ron made the song "Let Me Know", which samples the MNF theme song, but with a changed tempo.
- The American Enterprise Institute reports that the “best predictor” of which party wins the White House is whether or not the Washington Redskins win their last home game before the election. If the Redskins win, the incumbent party tends to win; if they lose, the White House changes parties. The Redskins indicator has been wrong only once since 1948, AEI says — and that was in 2004 when President George W. Bush held onto the White House despite a Redskins loss. [[3]] In 2008, MNF amended the statistic to say that if the Redskins win, the party that won the previous popular vote would win again; a loss, and the party that lost the previous popular vote would win. Since the Dems won the popular vote in 2000, the statistic held true in 2004 with the Redskins' loss and Bush the Republican's win. That "popular vote" statistic is 17 for 17. The Redskins' last home game before the 2008 election was a loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, November 3rd. This indicates that the Democrats would win the election (which coincidentally they did).
The commentators
Foreign language versions
Spanish version
Since 2006, a Spanish-language telecast is also broadcasted on ESPN Deportes, the Spanish version of ESPN and on ESPN Latin América featuring NBA and NFL play-by-play announcer Alvaro Martin, Super Bowl winner Raul Allegre as color commentator and John Sutcliffe as the field reporter. This is the same crew of La NFL Dominical, the Spanish version of ESPN Sunday Night Football, until 2005. The announcers of the second game of the 2006 doubleheader were Eduardo Varela (play-by-play), Robert Abramowitz (color) and Georgina Ruiz Sandoval (field reporter). Preceding the game NFL Esta Noche (NFL Tonight), the 30-minute pre-game show, can be seen on both networks.
The four booth announcers called the 2007 season opening games from ESPN's Bristol, Connecticut headquarters while watching games on monitors. None of them traveled to the game sites and there were no sideline reporters in the early weeks. Sutcliffe would later report from the game sites. Allegre did not work the season finale between the Broncos and Chargers; he was replaced by Abramovitz.
Portuguese version
Since the 1990s, ESPN Latin America has a feed in portuguese language targeted to their viewers in Brazil. Ivan Zimmermann (play-by-play), André José Adler (play-by-play), Roberto Figueroa (color), Marco Alfaro (color) among others, were the announcers broadcasting from ESPN's headquarters. Since 2006, the structure of the Brazilian feed was merged with ESPN Brasil and the broadcasting is made from São Paulo. The current announcers are Everaldo Marques (play-by-play), Ari Aguiar (play-by-play), Paulo Antunes (color), Silvio Lancelot (color) and André Kfouri (color).
MNF on radio
Since its inception Monday Night Football has also been carried on national radio networks. The Mutual Broadcasting System aired the games initially, with Van Patrick (1970-1973) and Lindsey Nelson (1974-1977) announcing. CBS Radio took over in 1978 with Jack Buck and Hank Stram commentating. After a two-year stint (1985-1986) with Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy calling the games on NBC Radio, Buck and Stram resumed with CBS Radio in 1987. In 1995, Howard David and Matt Millen replaced Buck and Stram. Marv Albert and Boomer Esiason have been the MNF radio voices since 2002.
In the 1990s, CBS Radio purchased a controlling stake in Westwood One, which in turn had bought out both the NBC and Mutual networks. As of 2008, Westwood One is no longer controlled by CBS, but it has retained the broadcast rights as it seeks a new owner.
Slogans
- Is it Monday Yet?
- Are you ready for some football?
- "I'm thinkin' about Monday"
- I'm ready for some football. Are you?
References
- ↑ 995themountain.com
- ↑ washingtontimes.com
- ↑ ESPN.com - NFL - Dennis Miller a surprise addition to MNF
- ↑ YouTube - Monday Night Football
- ↑ ESPN - Stay 'tooned: Disney gets 'Oswald' for Al Michaels - NFL
- ↑ ESPN - Jaworski replacing Theismann in MNF booth - NFL
- ↑ ESPN football earns record ratings - Entertainment News, TV News, Media - Variety
- ↑ ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Football’ Ratings Hit Record Low - 10/17/2007 2:11:00 PM - Multichannel News
- ↑ Kornheiser, Not Yet in Game Shape On 'MNF'
- ↑ ESPN Says Suzy Kolber, Michele Tafoya's 'Roles Are Being Determined' for MNF in 2008 - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog
- ↑ Jim Carlisle (2008-08-29). "ESPN will shift its focus to football", Ventura County Star. Retrieved on 2008-09-10.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Brian Powell (2008-09-24). "Next Week's MNF Game Is Turning Into A James Bond Music Release Party", Awful Announcing. Retrieved on 2008-09-26.
- Gunther, Marc, and Bill Carter. (1988). Monday Night Mayhem: The Inside Story of ABC's Monday Night Football. New York, NY: Beech Tree Books. ISBN 0-688-07553-3
See also
- NFL on CBS
- NFL on FOX
- NFL on NBC
- Monday Night Games Pre-1970
- Monday Night Football: All-Time Standings
- Monday Night Football: Series By Series History
- Monday Night Football results (1970-1989)
- Monday Night Football results (1990-present)
External links
- Google Video Search channel:abc title:Monday title:night title:live
- ESPN.com - NFL Index
- ABCSports.com
- John Madden
- ESPN.com - NFL - 2005 ABC Sports' MNF schedule
- [4] John Madden's RSS (file format) feed, available during the NFL season
- Monday Night Mayhem at the Internet Movie Database
- Jump the Shark - Monday Night Football
- Though well-intentioned, "MNF's" Katrina telethon was poorly executed
- Saying goodbye to Monday Night Football on ABC
- TV Theme - ABC, NFL - Are You Ready For Some Football.wav
- ABC Monday Night Football (1970) - 'Heavy Action' instrumental music
- ABC Monday Night Football (1989) - The long 'Heavy Action' instrumental version used when introducing the teams.
- TV Review: New 'MNF' Trio Makes Debut
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