Ready for something else
Is ABC done patting itself on the back for Monday Night Football yet? Is it okay to turn the TV on again? Will you guarantee that I don't have to hear Don Meredith warble "turn out the lights, the party's over" anymore?
Look, I know that MNF was once a cultural phenomenon, back in the days of Cosell, Gifford, and Meredith. And there were some special moments in the 555 games ABC showed over the past 35 years - especially the ones on the field, not in the booth.
But those days have been over for 10-15 years. It's just not as big a deal as ABC thinks it is. Last night's broadcast was like listening to a bunch of old guys talk about their high school glory days.
It is the end of an era, but I imagine all that matters to most sports fans is that there will still be football on Monday nights. It's just moving to ESPN. I see a bunch of people shrugging their shoulders. What do you see?
It's still somewhat exciting when your team's playing on Monday night, when your team is the one everyone's watching. Of all the Lions games I've been to, the Monday night game in 1990 versus the Raiders was probably the most memorable. (Insert any and all cliches about electricity in the air here, please.)
But nowadays, it's just another game for the weekend, isn't it? It's not your only chance to see the Cowboys or the Steelers. The only difference is all the bells and whistles meant to attract casual TV watchers - who probably weren't watching anyway - but mostly obscured how lame and creaky the show had become. Hank Williams, Jr's hokey, honky-tonk theme song that was overplayed 10 years ago. The Dennis Miller experiment. Terrell Owens and the desperate housewife. How about the game, guys?
Oh, and speaking of those games, here are the last three ABC showed on Monday Night Football: Saints-Falcons, Packers-Ravens, and Patriots-Jets. Four of those six teams were under .500. The Saints, Packers, and Jets each currently have a 3-12 record. No wonder NBC wants "flexible scheduling" for their Sunday night package next year.
The party was over a long time ago, Don. Please - don't sing anymore.
Look, I know that MNF was once a cultural phenomenon, back in the days of Cosell, Gifford, and Meredith. And there were some special moments in the 555 games ABC showed over the past 35 years - especially the ones on the field, not in the booth.But those days have been over for 10-15 years. It's just not as big a deal as ABC thinks it is. Last night's broadcast was like listening to a bunch of old guys talk about their high school glory days.
It is the end of an era, but I imagine all that matters to most sports fans is that there will still be football on Monday nights. It's just moving to ESPN. I see a bunch of people shrugging their shoulders. What do you see?
It's still somewhat exciting when your team's playing on Monday night, when your team is the one everyone's watching. Of all the Lions games I've been to, the Monday night game in 1990 versus the Raiders was probably the most memorable. (Insert any and all cliches about electricity in the air here, please.)
But nowadays, it's just another game for the weekend, isn't it? It's not your only chance to see the Cowboys or the Steelers. The only difference is all the bells and whistles meant to attract casual TV watchers - who probably weren't watching anyway - but mostly obscured how lame and creaky the show had become. Hank Williams, Jr's hokey, honky-tonk theme song that was overplayed 10 years ago. The Dennis Miller experiment. Terrell Owens and the desperate housewife. How about the game, guys?
Oh, and speaking of those games, here are the last three ABC showed on Monday Night Football: Saints-Falcons, Packers-Ravens, and Patriots-Jets. Four of those six teams were under .500. The Saints, Packers, and Jets each currently have a 3-12 record. No wonder NBC wants "flexible scheduling" for their Sunday night package next year.
The party was over a long time ago, Don. Please - don't sing anymore.
posted by Ian C. @ 8:00 AM
sweatymen[at]gmail[dot]com
3 Comments:
At December 27, 2005 1:17 PM,
Anonymous said…
"How 'bout the game, guys?"
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Explains a lot of why *Sunday* Night Fottball has been doing better than MNF. You don't see the Hollywood crap on ESPN.
At December 27, 2005 11:45 PM,
Anonymous said…
I agree. I wrote about it myself onmy site. I don't see what the big fuss is about not having MNF on ABC. It's just moving to a new channel! They're acting like we'll never see a MNF football game away.
Certainly in the later years they were trying to add some new energy into the broadcast (Dennis Miller, Eric Dickerson, Lisa Guerro and any other sucky person) but the best forumla is a great football game. Hopefully with flex scheduling we won't get those crappy games like you mentioned.
Yeah it won't be on ABC but it's just going to ESPN. All it takes it the push of a few buttons and we're there. So I don't see the big ordeal.
At December 28, 2005 9:05 AM,
Cutthroat Pirates said…
Nice sports blog. I agree that MNF has been really bad now. Last good MNF game I saw was the Colts come from behind with two minutes left to beat my bucs. Besides this year really sucked for the Bucs no MNF game.
Anyway great site, you get a chance check out my Buccaneer blog at:http://pewterpirates.blogspot.
com/
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