History of Monday Night Football
Encyclopedia
The following article details the history of Monday Night Football
, the weekly broadcast of National Football League
games on U.S. television.
envisioned the possibility of playing at least one game weekly during prime time
for a greater TV audience. (While the NFL had scheduled Saturday night games on the DuMont
network in 1953
-1954
, poor ratings and the dissolution of DuMont led to the series being eliminated by the time CBS
took over the rights in 1956
.) 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 businessman 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.
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.
as a commentator, along with veteran football play-by-play man Keith Jackson
. (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. Jack Buck
was also considered, but when Arledge assistant Chuck Howard
telephoned Buck with the job offer, Buck refused to respond due to anger at his treatment by ABC during an earlier stint with the network.) Arledge's original choice for the third member of the trio, Frank Gifford
, was unavailable since he was still under contract to CBS Sports
. 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. However, Cleveland viewers saw different programming on WEWS-TV
, because of the NFL's blackout rules of the time (this would apply for all games through the end of the 1972 season - beginning in 1973, home games could be televised if they sold out 72 hours before kickoff).
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 a KPM
production library cue (and also used as the theme music for the BBC's Superstars
series). Monday Night Football began using "Heavy Action" in 1978.
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.
, Gifford became available and Arledge brought him to ABC to serve as play-by-play announcer, replacing Jackson (who returned to broadcasting college football for the network, which he continued to do for the next 35 seasons). The former New York Giant
had been an NFL analyst for CBS
during the 1960s but had never called play-by-play 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."
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").
, 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 NFL games on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Each of these telecasts would be billed by the network as a Special Thursday/Saturday/Sunday Night Edition 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.
, 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, news that stunned a nationwide audience.
In 1974
, Lennon had appeared in the Monday Night Football broadcast booth and was briefly interviewed by Cosell.
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.
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 have 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, MNFs 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.
, 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.
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. The injury ended the playing career of Theismann, who had teamed with Gifford and Meredith on ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XIX
in January 1985.
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.
, 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 had also by this point, gained much notoriety at ABC for his 1980
"Miracle on Ice
" broadcast.
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
.
, 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."
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
.
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.
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.
, ABC began using a scoring bug
showing the game clock and score throughout the entire broadcast.
, 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 was created, titled Monday Night Blast and hosted by Chris Berman from the ESPN Zone
restaurant in Baltimore
. 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. [Boston College] 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.
, 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.
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. (Limbaugh would instead be assigned as a commentator to Sunday NFL Countdown
on sister station ESPN
.) 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.
In June 2000, Lesley Visser
's career suffered a highly publicized setback when she was famously bounced as the Monday Night Football sideline reporter for a less experienced, much younger woman and a man, who did not have as extensive journalistic credentials as Visser. "It was staggering to me," Visser later recalled. However, she wound up returning to CBS Sports
, philosophical as ever. "You can have a short career if it's based on looks and youth," she said, "but legitimacy is what lasts." Which ABC replaced her with both Melissa Stark
and Eric Dickerson
. This was part of the overhaul when ABC brought back Don Ohlmeyer
to serve as producer, who installed Dennis Miller as an analyst (for ultimately two unsuccessful seasons). She sued ABC Sports
which were Howard Katz and Ohylmeyer.
As previously mentioned, in 2000
, Don Ohlmeyer, the program's producer up until 1977
was brought back. 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, Testaverde 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."
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. In addition, the scoring bug went back to using the team abbreviations, as opposed to nicknames (which were used in the previous season).
, 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.
" 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 a horse trailer, 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
.
, 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 less than 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 second kicker in NFL history not to miss either a field goal or extra point in a single season after Gary Anderson, who accomplished the feat in the 1998 season
as a member of the Minnesota Vikings
. Vanderjagt did not miss a kick in the playoffs either, making him the first kicker to accomplish that feat (Anderson missed a field goal in the 1998-99 NFC Championship Game).
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,
, 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) 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 commercial.
, 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 less than 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.
In addition, ABC used a time-score banner across the bottom of the screen. This was used for the network's final season of MNF through Super Bowl XL.
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 (as well as NFL fans and purists) 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:
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.
, 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.
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).
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. 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.
replaced Joe Theismann
in the booth beginning with the 2007 season. Theismann was offered a prominent football analyst job with ESPN.
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.
After experiencing low ratings and criticism about the production during the 2007 season, ESPN announced that long-time sideline reporters Suzy Kolber
and Michele Tafoya
would have reduced roles for the 2008 season.
Also, ESPN replaced the aforementioned bottom center-screen time-score box (which was used from 2006 to the 2008 preseason) with a time-score banner across the bottom of the screen.
and Barack Obama
at halftime. The game featured the Washington Redskins
losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers
, 23-6.
and was replaced by former Oakland Raiders
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
head coach Jon Gruden
. The rest of the team remain intact.
, the network has broadcast two games in a doubleheader
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 for the second game 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 September 8, 2008
was again Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic and Mike Ditka with Suzy Kolber
on the sidelines. On September 14, 2009
Greenberg and Golic were joined by Steve Young, again with Kolber. On September 13, 2010
, Nessler and Trent Dilfer
teamed to call the second game, with Kolber again on the sidelines.
to Speaker of the House John Boehner
, referring to their golf match that they had in the summer. He referred to the two political figures as Adolf Hitler
and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu
. As a result, his opening theme was dropped from the program permanently.
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
, the weekly broadcast of National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
games on U.S. television.
Pre-1970
During the early 1960s, NFL Commissioner Pete RozellePete Rozelle
Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was the commissioner of the National Football League from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world....
envisioned the possibility of playing at least one game weekly during prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
for a greater TV audience. (While the NFL had scheduled Saturday night games on the DuMont
NFL on DuMont
The NFL on DuMont was an American television program that broadcast National Football League games on the now defunct DuMont Television Network. The program ran from 1951 to 1955.-1951-1952:...
network in 1953
1953 NFL season
The 1953 NFL season was the 34th regular season of the National Football League. The names of the American and National conferences were changed to the Eastern and Western conferences....
-1954
1954 NFL season
The 1954 NFL season was the 35th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Cleveland Browns defeated the Detroit Lions in the NFL Championship Game.-Major rule changes:...
, poor ratings and the dissolution of DuMont led to the series being eliminated by the time CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
took over the rights in 1956
1956 NFL season
The 1956 NFL season was the 37th regular season of the National Football League. CBS became the first network to televise some regular season games across the nation...
.) An early bid in 1964
1964 NFL season
The 1964 NFL season was the 45th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season started, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle reinstated Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, who had been suspended for the 1963 season due to...
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
1964 Green Bay Packers season
The 1964 Green Bay Packers season was their 44th season in the National Football League. The club posted a 8-5-1 record under coach Vince Lombardi, earning them a second place finish in the Western Conference.-NFL Draft:...
and Detroit Lions
1964 Detroit Lions season
The 1964 Detroit Lions season was the 35th season in franchise history.-Offseason:*On January 21, William Clay Ford, Lions president since 1961 purchased the team....
for a game on September 28, 1964
1964 NFL season
The 1964 NFL season was the 45th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season started, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle reinstated Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, who had been suspended for the 1963 season due to...
. 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
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
up to that point.
Two years later, Rozelle would build on this success as the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
began a four-year experiment of playing on Monday night, scheduling one game in prime time on CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
during the 1966
1966 NFL season
The 1966 NFL season was the 47th regular season of the National Football League, and the season after which was played Super Bowl I, though it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The league expanded to 15 teams with the addition of the Atlanta Falcons, thus an odd number of teams...
and 1967
1967 NFL season
The 1967 NFL season was the 48th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 16 teams with the addition of the New Orleans Saints. The league's teams were realigned into four divisions: the Capitol and Century Divisions in the Eastern Conference, and the Central and...
seasons, and two contests during each of the next two years. NBC
NFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...
followed suit in 1968 and 1969 with games involving AFL
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
teams.
During subsequent negotiations on a television contract that would begin in 1970
1970 NFL season
The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger.The merger forced a realignment between the combined league's clubs. Because there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams, three teams needed to transfer to balance the two new...
, 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
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
.
Despite the network's status as the lowest-rated
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
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 businessman Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
, 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
After the final contract for Monday Night Football was signed, ABC Sports producer Roone ArledgeRoone Arledge
Roone Pickney Arledge, Jr. was an American sports broadcasting pioneer who was chairman of ABC News from 1977 until several years before his death, and a key part of the company's rise to competition with the two other main television networks, NBC and CBS, in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.-Early...
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
Chet Forte
Fulvio Chester "Chet" Forte, Jr. was an American television director and sports radio talk show host.-Early life:...
, 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
Instant replay
Instant replay is the replaying of video footage of an event or incident very soon after it has occurred. In television broadcasting of sports events, instant replay is often used during live broadcast, to show a passage of play which was important or remarkable, or which was unclear on first...
."
Prior to 1978
1978 NFL season
The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference...
, Monday night games were not scheduled in the final week (Week 14) of the regular season. From 1974
1974 NFL season
The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings...
–77
1977 NFL season
The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....
, 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 CosellHoward Cosell
Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
as a commentator, along with veteran football play-by-play man Keith Jackson
Keith Jackson
Keith Jackson is an American sportscaster, known for his long career with ABC Sports , his coverage of college football , his style of folksy, down-to-earth commentary, and his distinctive voice, with its deep cadence, and operatic tone considered "like Edward R...
. (Arledge had tried to lure Curt Gowdy
Curt Gowdy
Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...
and then Vin Scully
Vin Scully
Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...
to ABC for the MNF play-by-play role, but settled for Jackson after they proved unable to break existing contracts with NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
and the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
, respectively. Jack Buck
Jack Buck
John Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...
was also considered, but when Arledge assistant Chuck Howard
Chuck Howard
Charles Howard was an American television executive, and a pioneer in television sports broadcasting.-Early life and career:Howard was born in 1933. He graduated from Duke University in 1955, where he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity....
telephoned Buck with the job offer, Buck refused to respond due to anger at his treatment by ABC during an earlier stint with the network.) Arledge's original choice for the third member of the trio, Frank Gifford
Frank Gifford
Francis Newton "Frank" Gifford is a Hall of Fame former American football player and American sportscaster.-Early life:Gifford was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Lola Mae and Weldon Gifford, an oil driller....
, was unavailable since he was still under contract to CBS Sports
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
. However, Gifford suggested former Dallas Cowboy quarterback Don Meredith
Don Meredith
Joseph Don "Dandy Don" Meredith was an American football quarterback, sports commentator and actor. He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League . He was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his last three years as a player...
, 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
1970 NFL season
The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger.The merger forced a realignment between the combined league's clubs. Because there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams, three teams needed to transfer to balance the two new...
, with a game between the New York Jets
1970 New York Jets season
The 1970 New York Jets season was the 11th season for the team and the first in the National Football League, following the AFL-NFL merger. It began with the team trying to maintain or improve upon its 10–4 record from 1969 under head coach Weeb Ewbank...
and the Browns
1970 Cleveland Browns season
The 1970 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 21st season with the National Football League.-NFL Draft:The following were selected in the 1970 NFL Draft.-Exhibition schedule:-Regular season schedule:-Standings:-References:...
in Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. Advertisers were charged $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
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
Homer Jones (football player)
Homer Carroll Jones is a former American football wide receiver, who played for the National Football League's New York Giants from 1964 to 1969, and for the Cleveland Browns in 1970.- Early life :...
and was punctuated when Billy Andrews
Billy Andrews
William Doughty Andrews Jr. is a former American football linebacker who played eleven seasons in the National Football League, mainly with the Cleveland Browns....
intercepted Joe Namath
Joe Namath
Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...
late in the fourth quarter and returned it 25 yards for the clinching touchdown. However, Cleveland viewers saw different programming on WEWS-TV
WEWS-TV
WEWS-TV, virtual channel 5 , is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio. WEWS has been owned by the E. W. Scripps Company since its inception, and is an affiliate of the ABC television network...
, because of the NFL's blackout rules of the time (this would apply for all games through the end of the 1972 season - beginning in 1973, home games could be televised if they sold out 72 hours before kickoff).
One of the trademarks of Monday Night Football is a music cue used during the opening teasers of each program, a Johnny Pearson
Johnny Pearson
John Valmore Pearson known as Johnny Pearson, was a British composer, orchestra leader and pianist...
composition entitled "Heavy Action
Heavy Action
"Heavy Action" is a piece of music composed by Johnny Pearson. It is best known in the UK as the theme for Superstars, and in North America as the theme music for ABC and ESPN's Monday Night Football.-Superstars:...
", originally a KPM
KPM
KPM is an acronym or abbreviation for:* The King's Police Medal for Gallantry* The Knuth–Pratt–Morris algorithm* Kingston Process Metallurgy Inc...
production library cue (and also used as the theme music for the BBC's Superstars
Superstars
Superstars is an all-around sports competition that pits elite athletes from different sports against one another in a series of athletic events resembling a decathlon....
series). Monday Night Football began using "Heavy Action" in 1978.
That success would continue over the course of the season, helping establish a phenomenon on Monday nights in the fall: Movie attendance dropped, bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
leagues shifted to Tuesday nights and a Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
hospital established an unwritten rule of no births during games.
Cosell's presence initially caused Henry Ford II
Henry Ford II
Henry Ford II , commonly known as "HF2" and "Hank the Deuce", was the son of Edsel Ford and grandson of Henry Ford...
, chairman of the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, 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
1970 New York Giants season
The 1970 New York Giants was the 46th season for the professional American football franchise. This was the first season for the Giants after the AFL-NFL merger, in which ten American Football League teams joined the National Football League. The team was led by second-year head coach Alex Webster...
and Philadelphia Eagles
1970 Philadelphia Eagles season
The 1970 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 38th in the league. They failed to improve on their previous output of 4–9–1, winning only three games...
. 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 19711971 NFL season
The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins...
, Gifford became available and Arledge brought him to ABC to serve as play-by-play announcer, replacing Jackson (who returned to broadcasting college football for the network, which he continued to do for the next 35 seasons). The former New York Giant
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
had been an NFL analyst for CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
during the 1960s but had never called play-by-play prior to joining Monday Night Football. In that capacity for Monday Night Football from 1971
1971 NFL season
The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins...
-1985
1985 NFL season
The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots.-Major rule changes:...
, 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
1998 NFL season
The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...
.
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
Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell
Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell was a program that ran on ABC from September 1975 to January 1976, hosted by Howard Cosell and executively produced by Roone Arledge. The series ran for 18 episodes before being cancelled...
", prevented a new late-night sketch comedy program on NBC
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
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
1973 NFL season
The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season featured O.J. Simpson becoming the first man to rush for 2,000 yards in one season...
, 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
1973 Buffalo Bills season
The 1973 Buffalo Bills season was the 14th season for the team and their 4th season in the National Football League . The season was defined by O.J. Simpson becoming the first player in NFL history to rush for 2000 yards in a season...
-Kansas City Chiefs
1973 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 1973 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a 7–5–2 record and third place finish in the AFC West.For 1973, the defense kept the club in contention thanks to a nucleus that still included the bulk of the squad’s Super Bowl IV starters...
game, which was preceded one week earlier by his pre-game analysis of the Denver Broncos
1973 Denver Broncos season
The 1973 Denver Broncos season was the team's 14th year in professional football and its forth with the National Football League. For the first time in franchise history, the team posted a winning record of seven wins, five losses, and two ties.-Schedule:...
–Oakland Raiders
1973 Oakland Raiders season
The 1973 Oakland Raiders season was the team’s 14th season. For the third time in four seasons, the Raiders won the AFC West title. They exacted a measure of revenge by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Division Round game, one year following the Immaculate Reception loss...
game: "We're in the Mile High City and I sure am" — a not-so-subtle reference to his use of marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
at the time. Finally, during the Pittsburgh Steelers
1973 Pittsburgh Steelers season
- Week 1 : Detroit Lions :at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania* Game time:* Game weather:* Game attendance: 48,913* Referee: Fred Wyant* TV announcers:- Game summary :...
-Washington Redskins
1973 Washington Redskins season
The 1973 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 11-3 record from 1972.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Playoffs:-Standings:-References:...
game on November 5, he referred to U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
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 19741974 NFL season
The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings...
through 1976
1976 NFL season
The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers...
. Fred Williamson
Fred Williamson
Fred "The Hammer" Williamson is an American actor, architect, and former professional American football defensive back who played mainly in the American Football League during the 1960s.-Football career:...
, a former Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
defensive back nicknamed "The Hammer" for his often-brutal hits, was selected by ABC to replace Meredith in 1974
1974 NFL season
The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings...
, 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
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
native Alex Karras
Alex Karras
Alexander George "Alex" Karras , nicknamed "The Mad Duck", is a former football player, professional wrestler, and actor, best known for his stint with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from 1958–1962 and 1964-1970 and for his role as Mongo in the film Blazing Saddles...
, formerly of the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
. 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
1974 NFL season
The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings...
and immediately made an impact when he jokingly referred to Oakland Raiders
1974 Oakland Raiders season
The 1974 Oakland Raiders season was the team’s 15th season. For the fourth time in five seasons, the Raiders earned the AFC West title. For the second straight campaign, the Raiders gained revenge in the playoffs against the tea that had eliminated them the season before...
' defensive lineman Otis Sistrunk
Otis Sistrunk
Otis Sistrunk is a former professional football player who played seven seasons as a defensive lineman, from 1972 to 1978. He played his entire National Football League career with the Oakland Raiders. Sistrunk later became a professional wrestler in the National Wrestling Alliance...
as having attended "The University of Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
." 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 19771977 NFL season
The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....
, but seemed to lack the enthusiasm that had marked his first stint from 1970
1970 NFL season
The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger.The merger forced a realignment between the combined league's clubs. Because there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams, three teams needed to transfer to balance the two new...
–1973
1973 NFL season
The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season featured O.J. Simpson becoming the first man to rush for 2,000 yards in one season...
. While the NFL moved to a 16-week schedule in 1978
1978 NFL season
The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference...
, 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
Fran Tarkenton
Francis Asbury "Fran" Tarkenton is a former professional football player, TV personality, and computer software executive....
beginning in 1979
1979 NFL season
The 1979 NFL season was the 60th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XIV when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams...
.
From 1977
1977 NFL season
The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....
through 1986
1986 NFL season
The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos to win their first league title in 30 years.-Major rule changes:...
, ABC also aired occasional NFL games on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Each of these telecasts would be billed by the network as a Special Thursday/Saturday/Sunday Night Edition of Monday Night Football.
One of the more somber contests in the run of the series came on November 27, 1978
1978 NFL season
The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference...
when the San Francisco 49ers
1978 San Francisco 49ers season
The 1978 San Francisco 49ers season was their 29th season in the National Football League. The team began the season hoping to improve upon their previous output of 5-9, however, they instead started the season 0-4 for the second straight year, and this season also featured a nine game losing...
hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers
1978 Pittsburgh Steelers season
The 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 46th season in the National Football League . The season concluded with the team winning Super Bowl XIII to become the first franchise in the NFL to win three Super Bowl titles. The championship run was led by quarterback Terry Bradshaw and...
. Earlier in the day, San Francisco mayor George Moscone
George Moscone
George Richard Moscone was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California, US from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. Moscone served in the California State Senate from 1967 until becoming Mayor. In the Senate, he served as...
and City Supervisor Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
had been murdered at City Hall. Despite the complaints that followed, the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
chose to play the game, a decision that mirrored the league's playing the weekend of the John F. Kennedy assassination
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
15 years earlier
1963 NFL season
The 1963 NFL season was the 44th regular season of the National Football League. On April 17, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle indefinitely suspended Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras for gambling on their own teams, as well as other NFL games;...
.
The opening contest of the 1979 season
1979 NFL season
The 1979 NFL season was the 60th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XIV when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams...
saw a poignant moment as former New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
wide receiver Darryl Stingley
Darryl Stingley
Darryl Floyd Stingley was an American professional football wide receiver whose career was cut short by an injury. He played his entire career with the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He died from heart disease and pneumonia complicated by quadriplegia.-Early life:Stingley...
was introduced to a sellout crowd at the Patriots
1979 New England Patriots season
The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1979 season with a record of nine wins and seven losses, and finished second in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:- Standings :-Roster:...
' Schaefer Stadium
Foxboro Stadium
Foxboro Stadium was an outdoor stadium, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts...
. Stingley had been paralyzed in a preseason game the year before and was making his first visit to the stadium since the accident.
John Lennon tragedy
One of the most remembered moments in Monday Night Football history occurred on December 8, 19801980 NFL season
The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League.After the league declined to approve the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles, the team along with the Los Angeles Coliseum sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws...
, yet had nothing to do with the game or football in general. During a game between the Miami Dolphins
1980 Miami Dolphins season
-NFL Draft:-Regular season:The 1980 NFL season would see the Dolphins drop to an 8–8 record, from their 10–6 showing the previous year.Quarterback Bob Griese, who struggled with leg problems during 1979, lost the starting job to longtime backup Don Strock, but he did poorly in two games, leading...
and New England Patriots
1980 New England Patriots season
The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1980 season with a record of ten wins and six losses, and finished second in the AFC East division....
, Howard Cosell broke the news of famed Beatle
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's assassination, news that stunned a nationwide audience.
In 1974
1974 NFL season
The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings...
, 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 XIXSuper Bowl XIX
Super Bowl XIX was an American football game played on January 20, 1985 at Stanford Stadium, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1984 regular season...
in 1985. A second renewal of the television contract gave them XXII
Super Bowl XXII
Super Bowl XXII was an American football game played on January 31, 1988 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1987 regular season...
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, 19831983 NFL season
The 1983 NFL season was the 64th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVIII when the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins.-Major rule changes:...
game igniting a controversy and laying the groundwork for his departure at the end of that season. In a game between the Washington Redskins
1983 Washington Redskins season
The 1983 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to win consecutive Super Bowls, following their victory in Super Bowl XVII against the Miami Dolphins.-Schedule:-Playoffs:-Standings:-Awards and records:...
and Dallas Cowboys
1983 Dallas Cowboys season
The Dallas Cowboys completed the 1983 season with a record of 12 wins and 4 losses, finishing second in the NFC East. The team started the season with seven straight victories, including a memorable Monday night win over the Washington Redskins in which the team erased a 20 point halftime deficit...
, Cosell referred to Alvin Garrett
Alvin Garrett
Alvin Lynn Garrett is a former American football wide receiver who played five seasons for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins from 1980 to 1984...
, an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
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
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
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 have 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
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. He felt this should have been ABC's reward for raising the level of the NFL's popularity.
That same year, O. J. Simpson
O. J. Simpson
Orenthal James "O. J." Simpson , nicknamed "The Juice", is a retired American collegiate and professional football player, football broadcaster, and actor...
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
1983 NFL season
The 1983 NFL season was the 64th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVIII when the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins.-Major rule changes:...
, the highest scoring game in Monday Night Football history took place in the Green Bay Packers
1983 Green Bay Packers season
The 1983 Green Bay Packers season was their 63rd season in the National Football League. The club posted a 8–8 record under coach Bart Starr, earning them a second-place finish in the NFC Central division. The 1983 season was the last that the Packers played under Starr. The team set an NFL record...
/Washington Redskins
1983 Washington Redskins season
The 1983 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to win consecutive Super Bowls, following their victory in Super Bowl XVII against the Miami Dolphins.-Schedule:-Playoffs:-Standings:-Awards and records:...
game, with the Packers winning the game by a 48–47 score. Seven days later, the New York Giants
1983 New York Giants season
The 1983 New York Giants season was the 59th season for the club in the National Football League. The Giants finished in last place in the National Football Conference East Division with a 3–12–1 record, the team's worst record since 1976.-Schedule:...
and St. Louis Cardinals
1983 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season
The 1983 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 64th season the team was in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 5-4, winning eight games. Despite the improvement the team failed to reach the playoffs.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:...
played for more than four hours before settling for a 20–20 overtime
Overtime (sports)
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...
tie, MNFs only OT tie to date. The deadlock had come after dropped touchdown passes by Cardinal wide receivers Willard Harrell
Willard Harrell
Willard Harrell is a former college and professional American football running back.He went to Edison High School, Stockton, California, in the lat 60s and early 70s and played under its legendary coach, Charlie Washington...
and Roy Green
Roy Green
Roy Calvin Green is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League who played for the St. Louis Cardinals , Phoenix Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles ....
and a trio of missed field goals by teammate Neil O'Donoghue
Neil O'Donoghue
Cornelis Joseph Connor Dennis "Neil" O'Donoghue is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League ....
, including two in the final 63 seconds of the overtime period.
Gifford, Meredith, and Simpson
When Cosell left prior to the start of the 19841984 NFL season
The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana....
, 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 19841984 NFL season
The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana....
season, ABC replaced Meredith with Joe Namath
Joe Namath
Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...
the following year, with the quarterback making his debut in the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game
Pro Football Hall of Fame Game
The Pro Football Hall of Game is an annual National Football League exhibition game that is held the weekend of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies. The game is played at Fawcett Stadium, which is located next door to the Hall of Fame building in Canton, Ohio...
. 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
1985 Washington Redskins season
The 1985 Washington Redskins began the season with the team trying to improve on their 11-5 record from 1984. The biggest moment of the year occurred on a November 18 Monday Night Football game, which witnessed Joe Theismann's career-ending injury after a sack by New York Giants outside linebacker...
and New York Giants
1985 New York Giants season
The 1985 New York Giants season was the 61st season for the club in the National Football League. At the time, the team set a record for most rushing yards in one season by a Giants team.-Regular season:...
on November 18, 1985
1985 NFL season
The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots.-Major rule changes:...
, at RFK Stadium
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Washington, D.C., United States, and the current home of MLS's D.C. United....
. Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann
Joe Theismann
Joseph Robert "Joe" Theismann is a former quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League . He achieved his most enduring fame in his 12 seasons playing for the Washington Redskins, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler and quarterback of the winning team in Super Bowl XVII...
's career would end when Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...
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. The injury ended the playing career of Theismann, who had teamed with Gifford and Meredith on ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XIX
Super Bowl XIX
Super Bowl XIX was an American football game played on January 20, 1985 at Stanford Stadium, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1984 regular season...
in January 1985.
Two weeks after that painful memory, the series' most watched contest took place as the previously unbeaten Chicago Bears
1985 Chicago Bears season
The 1985 Chicago Bears season was their 66th regular season and 16th post-season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 15-1 record, earning them the top seed in the NFC for the playoffs. The Bears defeated their three post season opponents by a combined score of 91-10 en...
were defeated by the Miami Dolphins
1985 Miami Dolphins season
The 1985 Miami Dolphins season was the 20th season in franchise history. The club won their fourth consecutive AFC East championship and appeared in the AFC Championship Game.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Monday Night game vs...
, who had not lost to an NFC
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
team at home since 1976
1976 NFL season
The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers...
. That would turn out to be Chicago's only loss in 1985
1985 NFL season
The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots.-Major rule changes:...
. The show gained a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 29.6 with a 46 share.
Gifford and Michaels
Both Namath and Simpson would be replaced at the end of the 1985 NFL season1985 NFL season
The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots.-Major rule changes:...
, with critics noting their lack of journalistic skills in comparison to Cosell. In their place the following year came veteran broadcaster Al Michaels
Al Michaels
Alan Richard "Al" Michaels is an American television sportscaster. Now employed by NBC Sports after nearly three decades with ABC Sports, Michaels is one of the most prominent members of his profession...
, who had previously anchored ABC's pregame coverage of Super Bowl XIX
Super Bowl XIX
Super Bowl XIX was an American football game played on January 20, 1985 at Stanford Stadium, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1984 regular season...
and had been since 1983
1983 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Baltimore Orioles over Philadelphia Phillies ; Rick Dempsey, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Mike Boddicker*National League Championship Series MVP: Gary Matthews...
the lead play-by-play announcer of Monday Night Baseball
Monday Night Baseball
Monday Night Baseball is a live game telecast of Major League Baseball that airs most Monday nights during the regular season on ESPN and is also available in high definition on ESPNHD. The official name of the game is Monday Night Baseball presented by Vonage. The game starts at 7 p.m...
. Michaels had also by this point, gained much notoriety at ABC for his 1980
1980 Winter Olympics
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...
"Miracle on Ice
Miracle on Ice
The "Miracle on Ice" is the name in American popular culture for a medal-round men's ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, on Friday, February 22...
" broadcast.
Michaels served as the play-by-play announcer, teaming with Gifford for a two-man booth in 1986
1986 NFL season
The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos to win their first league title in 30 years.-Major rule changes:...
. During that season, the Miami Dolphins
1986 Miami Dolphins season
The 1986 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 21st as a member of the National Football League. The Dolphins failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 12–4, winning only eight games. This was the first time in six seasons the team did not qualify for the playoffs...
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
1986 New York Jets season
-Regular season:-Postseason:-Standings:-External links:*...
. (The record was later tied and subsequently broken in 2005
2005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
; see below.) Also in 1986, when Al Michaels became unavailable because he was calling Major League Baseball's League Championship Series
1986 American League Championship Series
The 1986 American League Championship Series was a back-and-forth battle between the Boston Red Sox and the California Angels for the right to advance to the 1986 World Series to face the winner of the 1986 National League Championship Series...
, Frank Gifford moved up into the play-by-play spot while Lynn Swann
Lynn Swann
-Collegiate:Swann attended the University of Southern California, where he was an All-American on the Trojans football team. He played under legendary coach John McKay, including the 1972 undefeated and national championship season. McKay said of Swann, "He has speed, soft hands, and grace." He...
filled-in as the color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
. Gifford would once again call the play-by-play when Michaels was busy calling the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
in 1987
1987 NFL season
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...
and 1989
1989 NFL season
The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement...
.
Gifford, Michaels, and Dierdorf
In 19871987 NFL season
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...
, Gifford and Michaels were joined by Dan Dierdorf
Dan Dierdorf
Daniel Lee "Dan" Dierdorf is a former American football player and current television sportscaster. He played 13 NFL seasons and has worked for ABC's Monday Night Football and CBS as a color commentator since retiring from football....
, 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
1997 NFL season
The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
season. In 1989
1989 NFL season
The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement...
, television composer Edd Kalehoff
Edd Kalehoff
Edward Woodley "Edd" Kalehoff is a music composer who specializes in compositions for television.-Notable pieces:Composer of about 1,000 pieces, mainly for television, his credits include the majority of cues used on The Price is Right as well as the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare, a music...
created a new arrangement of Johnny Pearson's
Johnny Pearson
John Valmore Pearson known as Johnny Pearson, was a British composer, orchestra leader and pianist...
"Heavy Action
Heavy Action
"Heavy Action" is a piece of music composed by Johnny Pearson. It is best known in the UK as the theme for Superstars, and in North America as the theme music for ABC and ESPN's Monday Night Football.-Superstars:...
", by that time fully synonymous with the series. This more or less replaced an original composition by Charles Fox
Charles Fox (composer)
Charles Ira Fox is an American composer for film and television. His most heard compositions are probably the "love themes" , and the dramatic theme music to ABC's Wide World of Sports and the original Monday Night Football.....
. Also debuting in 1989 was Hank Williams, Jr.
Hank Williams, Jr.
Randall Hank Williams , better known as Hank Williams, Jr. and Bocephus, is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of Southern rock, blues, and traditional country...
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
Along with the renewed television contract, ABC was awarded the telecast to Super Bowl XXVSuper Bowl XXV
Super Bowl XXV was an American football game played on January 27, 1991 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1990 regular season. The National Football Conference Champion New York Giants defeated the American Football Conference ...
and Super Bowl XXIX
Super Bowl XXIX
Super Bowl XXIX was an American football game played on January 29, 1995 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1994 regular season...
, 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
ESPN Sunday Night Football
ESPN Sunday Night Football is the ESPN cable network's weekly television broadcasts of Sunday evening National Football League games. The first ESPN Sunday night broadcast occurred on November 8, 1987, while the last one aired on January 1, 2006....
NFL crew of Mike Patrick
Mike Patrick
Mike Patrick is an American sportscaster.-Career:Patrick began his broadcasting career in the fall of 1966 at WVSC-Radio in Somerset, Pa. In 1970, he was named Sports Director at WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Fla., where he provided play-by-play for Jacksonville Sharks' World Football League telecasts...
and Joe Theismann
Joe Theismann
Joseph Robert "Joe" Theismann is a former quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League . He achieved his most enduring fame in his 12 seasons playing for the Washington Redskins, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler and quarterback of the winning team in Super Bowl XVII...
anchored that telecast. However, the original crew for one of the two wild card playoff games in 1990
1990 NFL season
The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period...
and 1991
1991 NFL season
The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills....
consisted of Brent Musburger
Brent Musburger
Brent Woody Musburger is an American sportscaster for the ESPN and ABC television networks. Formerly with CBS Sports and one of the original members of their legendary program The NFL Today, Musburger has covered NASCAR, NBA, MLB, NCAA football and basketball games. Musburger has also served as a...
and Dick Vermeil
Dick Vermeil
Richard Albert "Dick" Vermeil is a former American head coach for the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles , St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs...
(both of whom did college football broadcasts for ABC during those two seasons).
From 1990 until 2005
2005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
, ABC's MNF television package has included seventeen (eighteen in 1992 and 1993) regular season games (from 2003
2003 NFL season
-Milestones:The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:-Team:-Individual:-Awards:-External Links:**-References:*NFL Record and Fact Book *...
until 2005, a Thursday game and 16 Mondays—no game on Week 17 because of playoff preparation disadvantages), the first two wild card playoff
NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held at the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records, and a tie-breaking procedure exists in the...
games (held on the first Saturday of the playoffs), and at times, the AFC
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
–NFC
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
.
1994
The October 17, 19941994 NFL season
The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...
episode between the Kansas City Chiefs
1994 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 1994 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a 9–7 record and Wild Card spot in the 1995 playoffs. The Chiefs lost to the Miami Dolphins 27–17 in the Wild Card round. Alongside celebrating the NFL's 75th anniversary season, the Chiefs also honored their 35th season as a franchise...
and Denver Broncos
1994 Denver Broncos season
The 1994 Denver Broncos season was the team's 35th year in professional football and its 25th with the National Football League. The season would be noted for being the final year that Wade Phillips was head coach.-Staff:-Schedule:-External links:*...
featured a duel between two future Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
quarterbacks, Joe Montana
Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. , nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired American football player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback for the next 14 seasons...
and John Elway
John Elway
John Albert Elway, Jr. is a former American football quarterback and currently is the executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He played college football at Stanford and his entire professional career with the Denver Broncos...
. 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 19951995 NFL season
The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
MNF regular season opener between the Dallas Cowboys
1995 Dallas Cowboys season
The 1995 Dallas Cowboys season would mark their 36th in the NFL and final of the three Super Bowl titles they would win in the 1990s. Dallas would be the first team to ever win three Super Bowls in a span of four seasons...
and New York Giants
1995 New York Giants season
The 1995 New York Giants season was the 71st season for the club in the National Football League. The Giants finished in fourth place in the National Football Conference East Division with a 5–11 record.-NFL Draft:-Staff:-Schedule:-References:...
at the New Jersey Meadowlands
Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...
, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
Jerry Jones
Jerral "Jerry" Wayne Jones is the owner and general manager of the NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys.-Early life:Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. His family moved to North Little Rock, Arkansas when he was an infant. Jones was a star running back at North Little Rock High School...
controversially brought Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
chairman Phil Knight
Phil Knight
Philip Hampson "Phil" Knight is an American business magnate. He is the co-founder and Chairman of Nike, Inc. He resigned as the company's chief executive officer in 2004, while retaining the position of chairman of the board...
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 19971997 NFL season
The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
, ABC began using a scoring bug
Digital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programs to identify the channel...
showing the game clock and score throughout the entire broadcast.
Michaels, Dierdorf, and Esiason
In 19981998 NFL season
The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...
, Lesley Visser
Lesley Visser
Lesley Candace Visser is an American sportscaster, radio personality, and sportswriter. Visser is the first female NFL analyst on TV, and the only sportscaster in history, male or female, who has worked on Final Four, NBA Finals, World Series, Triple Crown, Monday Night Football, the Olympics, the...
became the first female commentator on Monday Night Football. She had been the first female beat writer in the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
when she covered the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
for the Boston Globe in the mid-1970s, and was the first and only woman to handle a Super Bowl
Super Bowl XXVI
Super Bowl XXVI was an American football game played on January 26, 1992 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota to decide the National Football League champion following the 1991 regular season...
Trophy
Vince Lombardi Trophy
The Vince Lombardi Trophy is the trophy awarded each year to the winning team of the National Football League's championship game, the Super Bowl.-History:...
presentation when she was a sportscaster with CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
. Visser was followed by several women, notably Melissa Stark
Melissa Stark
Melissa Stark , is an American television personality and sportscaster that works as a reporter for the NFL Network and previously had worked with NBC, which she joined in 2003, primarily at its MSNBC subsidiary. She was also a correspondent for NBC's The Today Show...
and Lisa Guerrero
Lisa Guerrero
Lisa Coles Guerrero is an American sportscaster, actress, host and model. The Los Angeles Times has called Guerrero the 'hardest working sports reporter'. The Hispanic Business Journal named her one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in America. President George W...
, on the sideline who were perceived as "eye candy", none of whom affected the ratings.
For the 1998
1998 NFL season
The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...
season, ABC pushed Monday Night Football back an hour (it has usually aired at 9:00 p.m. EST). A special pregame show was created, titled Monday Night Blast and hosted by Chris Berman from the ESPN Zone
ESPN Zone
ESPN Zone is a Southern California-based chain of two sports-themed restaurants that include arcades, TV studios, and radio studios that are currently franchised, but formally owned by the American cable network ESPN. The first ESPN Zone opened in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 11, 1998, in the Power...
restaurant in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
. 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
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
quarterback Doug Flutie
Doug Flutie
Douglas Richard "Doug" Flutie is a former American and Canadian football quarterback. Flutie played college football at Boston College, and played professionally in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, and United States Football League...
, "Are you gonna tell 'em how you're sick of all this B.C. [Boston College] stuff?" Michaels (thinking that they had gone into a commercial break and that his microphone was off) replied, "No shit."
Nielsen
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
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 19991999 NFL season
The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season...
, Monday Night Football telecasts used a computer-generated yellow line to mark where a team needs to get a first down. ESPN
ESPN Sunday Night Football
ESPN Sunday Night Football is the ESPN cable network's weekly television broadcasts of Sunday evening National Football League games. The first ESPN Sunday night broadcast occurred on November 8, 1987, while the last one aired on January 1, 2006....
had begun using it first. 1999 also saw the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game
Pro Football Hall of Fame Game
The Pro Football Hall of Game is an annual National Football League exhibition game that is held the weekend of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies. The game is played at Fawcett Stadium, which is located next door to the Hall of Fame building in Canton, Ohio...
being moved from Saturday afternoon to Monday night. It would remain on Monday night through 2005.
Boomer Esiason
Boomer Esiason
Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason is a former American football quarterback and current network color commentator. He played for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals before working as an analyst for ABC and HBO...
replaced Gifford in 1998, and Dierdorf left for a return to CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
in 1999
1999 NFL season
The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season...
. 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
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
together.
2000
Unexpectedly, Comedian Dennis MillerDennis Miller
Dennis Miller is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references...
joined the cast in 2000
2000 NFL season
The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants.Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000...
along with Dan Fouts
Dan Fouts
Daniel Francis Fouts is a retired Hall of Fame American football quarterback in the National Football League. Fouts played his entire professional career with the San Diego Chargers from 1973 through 1987...
. The move was ultimately regarded as a bust by many viewers and commentators. ABC briefly considered adding radio personality Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
before Miller was added to the broadcast team, despite having no prior sports broadcast experience. (Limbaugh would instead be assigned as a commentator to Sunday NFL Countdown
Sunday NFL Countdown
NFL GameDay redirects here. For the video games series, see NFL GameDay Sunday NFL Countdown is a pregame show of all the NFL action for that week. The official name is Sunday NFL Countdown presented by IBM. The show airs on ESPN, ESPN HD, TSN and TSN HD from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time every...
on sister station ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.) 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.
In June 2000, Lesley Visser
Lesley Visser
Lesley Candace Visser is an American sportscaster, radio personality, and sportswriter. Visser is the first female NFL analyst on TV, and the only sportscaster in history, male or female, who has worked on Final Four, NBA Finals, World Series, Triple Crown, Monday Night Football, the Olympics, the...
's career suffered a highly publicized setback when she was famously bounced as the Monday Night Football sideline reporter for a less experienced, much younger woman and a man, who did not have as extensive journalistic credentials as Visser. "It was staggering to me," Visser later recalled. However, she wound up returning to CBS Sports
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
, philosophical as ever. "You can have a short career if it's based on looks and youth," she said, "but legitimacy is what lasts." Which ABC replaced her with both Melissa Stark
Melissa Stark
Melissa Stark , is an American television personality and sportscaster that works as a reporter for the NFL Network and previously had worked with NBC, which she joined in 2003, primarily at its MSNBC subsidiary. She was also a correspondent for NBC's The Today Show...
and Eric Dickerson
Eric Dickerson
Eric Demetric Dickerson is a former professional running back in the National Football League who in his career played for the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons.-College career:...
. This was part of the overhaul when ABC brought back Don Ohlmeyer
Don Ohlmeyer
Don Ohlmeyer is an American television producer and former president of the NBC network's West Coast division. Currently, Don Ohlmeyer is a Professor of Television Communications at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California...
to serve as producer, who installed Dennis Miller as an analyst (for ultimately two unsuccessful seasons). She sued ABC Sports
ESPN on ABC
ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
which were Howard Katz and Ohylmeyer.
As previously mentioned, in 2000
2000 NFL season
The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants.Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000...
, Don Ohlmeyer, the program's producer up until 1977
1977 NFL season
The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....
was brought back. After spending time at NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, 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
Digital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programs to identify the channel...
was seen to have nicknames for the teams, such as "Skins" and "Fins" (for Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
and Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, respectively) instead of their common abbreviations, WSH and MIA, respectively.
On October 23, 2000
2000 NFL season
The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants.Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000...
, the New York Jets
2000 New York Jets season
-Schedule:The Jets were ranked 12th in the NFL in total offense and finished tied with Philadelphia for 10th in total defense.-Best performances:* Curtis Martin, Week 14, 203 Rushing Yards vs. Indianapolis...
and Miami Dolphins
2000 Miami Dolphins season
The 2000 season was the 33rd in franchise history. Dave Wannstedt was named the fourth head coach in franchise history on January 16, 2000.-NFL Draft:-Preseason:-Schedule:-Standings:-Playoffs:-Awards and honors:...
competed in what is now known as The Monday Night Miracle
The Monday Night Miracle (American football)
In the National Football League, "The Monday Night Miracle" refers to a Monday night game between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins played at Giants Stadium on October 23, 2000.-Background:...
Trailing 30–7 in the fourth quarter, Vinny Testaverde
Vinny Testaverde
Vincent Frank Testaverde is a former NFL quarterback. Testaverde last played for the Carolina Panthers and had previously played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots. Testaverde holds the NFL record for having...
led the Jets to score 23 consecutive points to tie the game. After Miami scored another touchdown, Testaverde threw to offensive tackle Jumbo Elliott to tie the game at 37-all. At 1:08 a.m., Tuesday morning, John Hall
John Hall (American football)
John Hall is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League. He kicked for Port Charlotte High School and played college football at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. While at Wisconsin, Hall played and won three bowl games...
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
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
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 20012001 NFL season
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day...
season of MNF featured a season-long campaign promoting the anticipated 20,000th point scored in MNF history. Broncos
2001 Denver Broncos season
The 2001 Denver Broncos season was the team's 42nd year in professional football and its 32nd with the National Football League. This was the Broncos' first year at the new stadium Invesco Field at Mile High, replacing the old Mile High Stadium.-Staff:...
kicker Jason Elam
Jason Elam
Jason Elam is a retired American football placekicker. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Hawaii....
completed the task with a field goal during a 38–28 loss at Oakland
2001 Oakland Raiders season
-AFC Divisional Playoff:-References:...
on November 5. The three points also put Elam over 1,000 points for his career. In addition, the scoring bug went back to using the team abbreviations, as opposed to nicknames (which were used in the previous season).
Michaels and Madden
In 20022002 NFL season
The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...
, 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
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, namesake of the seminal Madden NFL
Madden NFL
Madden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon for EA Sports. The game series is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Oakland Raiders and color commentator...
video game series, and successful broadcaster with the CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
and FOX
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
networks for 21 years before joining Monday Night Football.
2002
In 2002, the broadcast debuted the "Horse TrailerHorse trailer
A horse trailer or horse van is used to transport horses...
" 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 a horse trailer, 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
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
, 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
NBC Sunday Night Football
NBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of Sunday evening National Football League games on NBC that began airing on Sunday, August 6, 2006 with the pre-season opening Hall of Fame Game. Al Michaels serves as the play-by-play announcer, with Cris Collinsworth as the color...
in 2006
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 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
2007 NFL season
The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
season, the "Horse Trailer" concept has been reinstated.)
Also, in 2002, the commentators for the AFC wild card game were Brent Musburger
Brent Musburger
Brent Woody Musburger is an American sportscaster for the ESPN and ABC television networks. Formerly with CBS Sports and one of the original members of their legendary program The NFL Today, Musburger has covered NASCAR, NBA, MLB, NCAA football and basketball games. Musburger has also served as a...
and Gary Danielson
Gary Danielson
Gary Danielson is a former professional football player, a quarterback in the National Football League . He played for the Detroit Lions from 1976 to 1984 and for the Cleveland Browns in 1985, 1987, and 1988...
. Jack Arute
Jack Arute
Jack Arute, Jr. currently covers the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He is the president of the Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut...
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
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, citing his fear of flying
Fear of flying
A fear of flying is a fear of being on an airplane , or other flying vehicle, such as a helicopter, while in flight. It is also sometimes referred to as aerophobia, aviatophobia, aviophobia or pteromerhanophobia....
; former MNF personality Dan Fouts
Dan Fouts
Daniel Francis Fouts is a retired Hall of Fame American football quarterback in the National Football League. Fouts played his entire professional career with the San Diego Chargers from 1973 through 1987...
took his place. The following year, the Pro Bowl remained on Sunday, but was moved to ABC's sister network, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
2003
In 20032003 NFL season
-Milestones:The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:-Team:-Individual:-Awards:-External Links:**-References:*NFL Record and Fact Book *...
, ABC and the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
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
1970 NFL season
The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger.The merger forced a realignment between the combined league's clubs. Because there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams, three teams needed to transfer to balance the two new...
–1977
1977 NFL season
The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....
), 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
2003 NFL season
-Milestones:The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:-Team:-Individual:-Awards:-External Links:**-References:*NFL Record and Fact Book *...
season, Lisa Guerrero
Lisa Guerrero
Lisa Coles Guerrero is an American sportscaster, actress, host and model. The Los Angeles Times has called Guerrero the 'hardest working sports reporter'. The Hispanic Business Journal named her one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in America. President George W...
decided to leave Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
's The Best Damn Sports Show Period
The Best Damn Sports Show Period
The Best Damn Sports Show Period is an American sports television show on Fox Sports Net and Comcast SportsNet. The show regularly featured irreverent and opinionated interviews with top athletes, coaches, celebrities, and entertainers. It also aired Top 50 countdown shows and other sports...
to join the MNF television crew as a sideline reporter (replacing the pregnant
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
Melissa Stark
Melissa Stark
Melissa Stark , is an American television personality and sportscaster that works as a reporter for the NFL Network and previously had worked with NBC, which she joined in 2003, primarily at its MSNBC subsidiary. She was also a correspondent for NBC's The Today Show...
). 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
Michele Tafoya
Michele Tafoya is an American sportscaster.-Early life and career:Tafoya received a B.A...
. 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
2005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
, Michele Tafoya sat out much of the season while on maternity leave
Parental leave
Parental leave is an employee benefit that provides paid or unpaid time off work to care for a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. Often, the term parental leave includes maternity, paternity, and adoption leave...
. In Tafoya's place came Sam Ryan.
On the October 6, 2003
2003 NFL season
-Milestones:The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:-Team:-Individual:-Awards:-External Links:**-References:*NFL Record and Fact Book *...
, episode between the Colts
2003 Indianapolis Colts season
The 2003 Indianapolis Colts season was the 51st season for the team in the National Football League and 20th in Indianapolis.-Roster:-Schedule:- Division standings :...
and Buccaneers
2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
The 2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season began with the team trying to defend its Super Bowl XXXVII title of 2002. Despite high expectations, several last-minute losses led to locker room tension and front-office struggles. The Buccaneers finished 7-9, and missed the playoffs for the first time since...
, 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
Onside kick
In American and Canadian football, an onside kick is a type of kick used at a kickoff or other free kick, or scrimmage kick or other kick during play, in which the ball is kicked favorably for the kicking team to avoid giving away the ball...
and scored again to narrow the margin to 35–28. They forced a Tampa Bay punt and with less than 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
Mike Vanderjagt
Michael John "Mike" Vanderjagt , is a professional American and Canadian football placekicker and punter who has played in the Arena Football League, the Canadian Football League and National Football League...
missed a 40-yard field goal
Field goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
, but Simeon Rice
Simeon Rice
Simeon James Rice [] is a former American football defensive end, last playing in 2009. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals third overall in the 1996 NFL Draft...
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 second kicker in NFL history not to miss either a field goal or extra point in a single season after Gary Anderson, who accomplished the feat in the 1998 season
1998 NFL season
The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...
as a member of the Minnesota Vikings
1998 Minnesota Vikings season
1998 was the 38th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The 1998 Minnesota Vikings became only the third team in NFL history to win 15 games during the regular season. That year, the Vikings high powered offense scored 556 points...
. Vanderjagt did not miss a kick in the playoffs either, making him the first kicker to accomplish that feat (Anderson missed a field goal in the 1998-99 NFC Championship Game).
On December 22, 2003
2003 NFL season
-Milestones:The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:-Team:-Individual:-Awards:-External Links:**-References:*NFL Record and Fact Book *...
, Green Bay Packers
2003 Green Bay Packers season
The 2003 Green Bay Packers season finished with an overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the playoffs, after the Packers defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round in overtime off an interception return for a touchdown by Al Harris...
quarterback Brett Favre
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
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
2003 Oakland Raiders season
The 2003 Oakland Raiders season was the teams's 44th in the National Football League. They were unable to improve upon their previous season's output of 11–5, instead winning only four games. The team had a five game losing streak in the middle of the season, and they lost seven games by a...
, his father, Irvin, died suddenly of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. 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
Raider Nation
The Raider Nation is the unofficial name for the fans of the NFL's Oakland Raiders. They are particularly associated with a section of the Oakland Coliseum known as the 'black hole' which is usually occupied by rowdy fans...
"). Afterwards, Brett said,
2004
On November 15, 20042004 NFL season
The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
, controversy shrouded Philadelphia Eagles
2004 Philadelphia Eagles season
-Regular season:-Playoffs:-Week 1: vs. New York Giants:The highly-anticipated Eagles' season began with a convincing rout of the division-rival New York Giants in a game that was not as close as the 31–17 score. New York scored the first points when Ron Dayne finished a first quarter drive with a...
wide receiver Terrell Owens
Terrell Owens
Terrell Owens is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Owens has been one of the dominant receivers of his era...
when he appeared with popular TV actress Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan is an English film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Edie Britt on Desperate Housewives and as Paige Matheson on Knots Landing.-Early life:...
(of the new hit ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
series Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
) in an introductory skit which opened that evening's MNF telecast, in which Owens and the Eagles
2004 Philadelphia Eagles season
-Regular season:-Playoffs:-Week 1: vs. New York Giants:The highly-anticipated Eagles' season began with a convincing rout of the division-rival New York Giants in a game that was not as close as the 31–17 score. New York scored the first points when Ron Dayne finished a first quarter drive with a...
played the Cowboys
2004 Dallas Cowboys season
Even before 2004 season began, the Cowboys would face adversity and be forced to adjust. Coming off their first winning season in 5 years, the team, under Bill Parcells direction, would continue to bring in veteran talent and draft promising prospects. In the off-season, the Cowboys would sign...
at Texas Stadium
Texas Stadium
Texas Stadium was a football stadium in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The stadium opened on September 17, 1971.Built to replace the aging Cotton Bowl, it was the home field of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and had a seating capacity of 65,675...
. The skit was widely condemned as being sexually suggestive (see video) 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
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
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 commercial.
"The Monday Night Massacre"
On December 5, 20052005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
, dubbed "The Monday Night Massacre" by NFL Films
NFL Films
NFL Films is a Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based company devoted to producing commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries on the National Football League, as well as other unrelated major events and awards shows...
, the Seattle Seahawks
2005 Seattle Seahawks season
The 2005 Seattle Seahawks season saw them advance to the Super Bowl for the first time in the team's history. They were the NFC representative in Super Bowl XL, a game they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Seahawks compiled a 13-3 record in the regular season, easily winning the NFC West and...
shut out the Philadelphia Eagles
2005 Philadelphia Eagles season
-Schedule:-Week 1: at Atlanta Falcons:at the Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GeorgiaThe Eagles' 2005 season-opener on Monday Night Football was more famous for what happened before the game, when Pro Bowl linebacker Jeremiah Trotter was ejected for a scuffle near mid-field during pre-game warmups...
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 less than 200 yards of offense. Andre Dyson
Andre Dyson
Andre Dyson is a former American football cornerback. He was originally drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Utah. Currently, he coaches cornerbacks at Weber State, in Ogden, Utah.He is the younger brother of former NFL wide...
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
Michael Boulware
Michael Boulware is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State.Boulware has also played for the Houston Texans in his career...
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
1984 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 1984 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with an 8–8 record, and fourth place finish in the AFC West.Pro Bowl safety Gary Barbaro became the most notable Chiefs player to defect to the rival United States Football League, signing with the New Jersey Generals on February 2 after sitting out the...
in 1984
1984 NFL season
The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana....
. The defeat was the Eagles third worst in team history. The Eagles also lost their star RB Brian Westbrook
Brian Westbrook
Brian Collins Westbrook is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft after playing college football at Villanova...
due to an injury in this game.
In addition, ABC used a time-score banner across the bottom of the screen. This was used for the network's final season of MNF through Super Bowl XL.
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 HousewivesDesperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
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
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
starting with the 2006 season
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
, a move some Disney shareholders (as well as NFL fans and purists) 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
2005 New York Jets season
The 2005 New York Jets season was the 46th season for the team, and the 36th in the National Football League. The team tried to improve upon its 10–6 record from 2004. The Jets finished the season 4–12.-2005 NFL Draft:-Regular season:-External links:*...
hosted the New England Patriots
2005 New England Patriots season
The 2005 New England Patriots season was the 36th season for the team in the National Football League and 46th season overall. They finished with a 10–6 record and the division title before losing in the playoffs to the Denver Broncos....
, from Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...
. 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
Vinny Testaverde
Vincent Frank Testaverde is a former NFL quarterback. Testaverde last played for the Carolina Panthers and had previously played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots. Testaverde holds the NFL record for having...
holds the distinction of throwing the last TD pass in ABC's MNF telecast history; it was to wide receiver Laveranues Coles
Laveranues Coles
Laveranues Leon Coles is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State University....
. Also, Testaverde's pass set an NFL record: most consecutive seasons with a touchdown pass, 19 seasons (1987–2005). Patriots linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
Mike Vrabel
Mike Vrabel
Michael George "Mike" Vrabel is an assistant coach at Ohio State. He is a retired American football linebacker in the National Football League. Vrabel spent 14 seasons in the NFL, having played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and most recently, the Kansas City Chiefs...
in the last ABC MNF broadcast on 26 December 2005
2005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
set a record of note, becoming the first player to catch 2 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
passes and record a quarterback sack
Quarterback sack
In American football and Canadian football, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass, or when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and the intent of what he was going to do is unclear...
in the same game. The final play of the ABC era was a Pats kneeldown by 44-year old reserve quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Doug Flutie
Doug Flutie
Douglas Richard "Doug" Flutie is a former American and Canadian football quarterback. Flutie played college football at Boston College, and played professionally in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, and United States Football League...
. John Madden said at the show's ending:
During its final NFL television contract, ABC was awarded the telecasts to Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
, Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 2002 regular season...
, and Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
. 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 20062006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
, ESPN began airing the Monday night games and NBC
NBC Sunday Night Football
NBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of Sunday evening National Football League games on NBC that began airing on Sunday, August 6, 2006 with the pre-season opening Hall of Fame Game. Al Michaels serves as the play-by-play announcer, with Cris Collinsworth as the color...
got ESPN's Sunday night package
ESPN Sunday Night Football
ESPN Sunday Night Football is the ESPN cable network's weekly television broadcasts of Sunday evening National Football League games. The first ESPN Sunday night broadcast occurred on November 8, 1987, while the last one aired on January 1, 2006....
. The Sunday night game is now the "showcase" game of the week on the NFL schedule.
While the ESPN broadcasts still have the MNF name and heritage, NBC (like ABC) is a broadcast network, whereas ESPN is a cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
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
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
(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 TheismannJoe Theismann
Joseph Robert "Joe" Theismann is a former quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League . He achieved his most enduring fame in his 12 seasons playing for the Washington Redskins, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler and quarterback of the winning team in Super Bowl XVII...
in the booth with Michele Tafoya
Michele Tafoya
Michele Tafoya is an American sportscaster.-Early life and career:Tafoya received a B.A...
and Suzy Kolber
Suzy Kolber
Suzanne Lisa "Suzy" Kolber is a football sideline reporter, co-producer, and sportscaster for ESPN. She was one of the original anchors of ESPN2 when it launched in 1993. Three years later, she left ESPN2 to join Fox Sports, but rejoined ESPN in late 1999....
serving as sideline reporters. However, on February 8, 2006, ESPN announced that former NBA studio host Mike Tirico
Mike Tirico
Michael Todd Tirico is an announcer for ESPN's presentation of Monday Night Football, and second lead broadcaster for ESPN's presentation of the NBA. In addition, Tirico hosts a multitude of programming on ESPN/ABC. He was the host of ABC's golf coverage from 1996 to 2007, and continues in that...
would replace Michaels in the booth in 2006, joined by Theismann, and Tony Kornheiser
Tony Kornheiser
Anthony Irwin "Tony" Kornheiser is an American sportswriter and former columnist for The Washington Post, as well as a radio and television talk show host...
. ESPN announced the following day that it had "traded" the contract of Michaels to NBC to join Madden on their Sunday Night Football
NBC Sunday Night Football
NBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of Sunday evening National Football League games on NBC that began airing on Sunday, August 6, 2006 with the pre-season opening Hall of Fame Game. Al Michaels serves as the play-by-play announcer, with Cris Collinsworth as the color...
broadcast in exchange for some NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
properties, including rights to Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
coverage, and the return of the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is an anthropomorphic rabbit and animated cartoon character created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney for films distributed by Universal Pictures in the 1920s and 1930s...
(a Walt Disney creation) to ESPN parent The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
after nearly 80 years of Universal ownership. ESPN's first Monday night broadcast was during the preseason on Monday, August 14, 2006, when the Oakland Raiders
2006 Oakland Raiders season
The 2006 Oakland Raiders season, which was supposed to improve on a lackluster 4–12 record from 2005, ended with the Raiders suffering through a 2–14 campaign, the worst record in the 2006 NFL season, the worst season since the club went 1–13 in 1962 and their worst since the National Football...
visited the Minnesota Vikings
2006 Minnesota Vikings season
2006 was the 46th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 46th regular season of the National Football League.The 2006 Minnesota Vikings season began with the team trying to improve on their 9–7 record in 2005 which was the last under embattled head coach Mike Tice...
, publicized as the return of Randy Moss
Randy Moss
Randy Gene Moss is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft...
to Minnesota for the first time since the Vikings traded him after the 2004 season
2004 NFL season
The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
. 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
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
. The game featured the visiting Minnesota Vikings at the Washington Redskins
2006 Washington Redskins season
The 2006 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 10-6 record from 2005.-Offseason:After the end of the 2005 season, the Redskins were reported to be $20 million over the salary cap...
at FedEx Field. The Vikings won 19–16.
The September 25 edition of Monday Night Football highlighted the New Orleans Saints
2006 New Orleans Saints season
The 2006 New Orleans Saints season began with the team trying to improve on their 3-13 record in 2005. All of the team's 2006 regular season home games were played in the Louisiana Superdome, which had been damaged all of the previous season by Hurricane Katrina...
' first game back in the Louisiana Superdome
Louisiana Superdome
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
following Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
to take on the Atlanta Falcons
2006 Atlanta Falcons season
-Roster:-Schedule:-Week 1: at Carolina Panthers:at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina The Falcons opened the regular season on the road against the Carolina Panthers on September 10...
. The game had a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
-like atmosphere with performances by the Goo Goo Dolls
Goo Goo Dolls
The Goo Goo Dolls are a Grammy-nominated American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik and vocalist and bass guitarist Robby Takac. Since the end of 1994, Mike Malinin has been the band's drummer, a position previously held by George Tutuska...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, and Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
before the game. The NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
tapped producer Don Mischer
Don Mischer
Don Mischer is an American television events producer and director.Mischer has produced television programs since 1976, when he produced a special for Barbra Streisand...
and director Hamish Hamilton
Hamish Hamilton
Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half-Scot half-American Jamie Hamilton . Confusingly, Jamie Hamilton was often referred to as Hamish Hamilton...
to produce the event. Former President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
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
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
telecast of the New York Giants
2006 New York Giants season
The 2006 New York Giants season began with the team trying to improve on their 11–5 record in 2005, which saw them win the NFC East. They did not win the NFC East or improve on that record, falling to 8-8 on the season after starting 6-2...
–Dallas Cowboys
2006 Dallas Cowboys season
The 2006 Dallas Cowboys season began with the team trying to improve on their 9–7 record in 2005. The base offense was changed to a 2-TE formation. Several high profile free agents were signed including controversial wide receiver Terrell Owens and kicker Mike Vanderjagt...
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
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA) debate between Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
and Ross Perot
Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot is a U.S. businessman best known for running for President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962, sold the company to General Motors in 1984, and founded Perot Systems in 1988...
. 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
2006 Arizona Cardinals season
The 2006 Arizona Cardinals season began with the team trying to improve on their 5-11 record in 2005. They also moved into the Cardinals Stadium in Glendale, Arizona . The stadium was christened University of Phoenix Stadium on September 26...
led the Chicago Bears
2006 Chicago Bears season
The 2006 Chicago Bears season was their 87th regular season and 25th post-season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 13-3 regular season record, the best in the NFC, improving on their previous year’s record of 11-5...
23–3. Arizona seemed to have the game wrapped up, as rookie quarterback Matt Leinart
Matt Leinart
Matthew Stephen Leinart , is an American professional football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League...
was having a great day, and Arizona had forced 6 turnovers out of Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman
Rex Grossman
Rex Daniel Grossman, III is an American football quarterback for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League . Grossman played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he has played professionally for the Chicago Bears, Houston Texans and Washington Redskins of...
. 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
Devin Hester
Devin Hester is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League . He played college football at the University of Miami, where he became the first person in the university’s recent history to play in all three phases of American football...
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 JaworskiRon Jaworski
Ronald Vincent "Ron" Jaworski is a former American football quarterback and currently an NFL analyst on ESPN. He is also CEO of Ron Jaworski Golf Management, Inc., based out of Blackwood, New Jersey, and manages golf courses in southern New Jersey, northeast Pennsylvania, and West Virginia...
replaced Joe Theismann
Joe Theismann
Joseph Robert "Joe" Theismann is a former quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League . He achieved his most enduring fame in his 12 seasons playing for the Washington Redskins, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler and quarterback of the winning team in Super Bowl XVII...
in the booth beginning with the 2007 season. Theismann was offered a prominent football analyst job with ESPN.
2007
On December 3, 20072007 NFL season
The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
17.5 million people watched the undefeated New England Patriots
2007 New England Patriots season
The 2007 New England Patriots season was the 38th season for the team in the National Football League and 48th season overall. They finished with a perfect 16–0 regular season record but lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII....
defeat the Baltimore Ravens
2007 Baltimore Ravens season
-Game summary:The Ravens began their 2007 campaign on the road against their AFC North foe, the Cincinnati Bengals, in the first game of a Monday Night Football doubleheader. In the first quarter, Baltimore lost two fumbles early on, with the Bengals turning the second fumble into QB Carson...
, 27–24, breaking the previous record of 17.2 million for corporate sibling Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
's showing of High School Musical 2.
Revamp after disappointing 2007 season
After experiencing low ratings and criticism about the production during the 2007 season, ESPN announced that long-time sideline reporters Suzy Kolber
Suzy Kolber
Suzanne Lisa "Suzy" Kolber is a football sideline reporter, co-producer, and sportscaster for ESPN. She was one of the original anchors of ESPN2 when it launched in 1993. Three years later, she left ESPN2 to join Fox Sports, but rejoined ESPN in late 1999....
and Michele Tafoya
Michele Tafoya
Michele Tafoya is an American sportscaster.-Early life and career:Tafoya received a B.A...
would have reduced roles for the 2008 season.
2008
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.Also, ESPN replaced the aforementioned bottom center-screen time-score box (which was used from 2006 to the 2008 preseason) with a time-score banner across the bottom of the screen.
2008 election eve
On the night before the 2008 United States Presidential Election, studio host Chris Berman interviewed both major party candidate, John McCainJohn McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
at halftime. The game featured the Washington Redskins
2008 Washington Redskins season
The 2008 Washington Redskins season was the 76th season for the team in the National Football League. They failed to improve upon their 9-7 record from 2007...
losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers
2008 Pittsburgh Steelers season
The 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 76th season in the National Football League . The season concluded with the team winning Super Bowl XLIII to become the first franchise in the NFL with six Super Bowl titles....
, 23-6.
2009 season
Tony Kornheiser has stepped down for the 2009 season2009 NFL season
The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at...
and was replaced by former Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
head coach Jon Gruden
Jon Gruden
Jon David Gruden is an American football analyst and former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for seven seasons and prior to that the Oakland Raiders for four seasons. In his first year as the head coach of Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII, defeating the Raiders whom he had...
. The rest of the team remain intact.
Secondary broadcast teams
Since the program's move to ESPN in 20062006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
, the network has broadcast two games in a doubleheader
Doubleheader (television)
Doubleheader is used by network television to refer to two games in any sport aired back-to-back on the same network, even though they do not involve the same two teams . A doubleheader purposely coincides with a league's scheduling of "early" and "late" 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 for the second game were Brad Nessler
Brad Nessler
Bradley "Brad" Nessler is an American sportscaster, who currently calls college basketball and college football games for ESPN with occasional appearances on ESPN on ABC. He will also call Thursday Night Football on NFL Network beginning in 2011, and appears annually as a commentator in EA Sports'...
, Ron Jaworski, and Dick Vermeil
Dick Vermeil
Richard Albert "Dick" Vermeil is a former American head coach for the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles , St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs...
. On September 10, 2007
2007 NFL season
The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
, the team of Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic
Mike Golic
Michael Louis "Mike" Golic is a co-host of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning and a former defensive lineman at Notre Dame and in the NFL. The NFL website lists him as and ....
(co-hosts of Mike and Mike in the Morning
Mike and Mike in the Morning
Mike and Mike in the Morning is an American sports-talk radio show hosted by Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg on ESPN Radio and simulcast on television, normally on ESPN2. If ESPN is broadcasting a live sporting event during the show's timeslot, Sportscenter will air on ESPN2, and the show's...
) was used along with Mike Ditka
Mike Ditka
Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head...
. For both games, the sideline reporter was Bonnie Bernstein. The secondary team for September 8, 2008
2008 NFL season
The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the...
was again Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic and Mike Ditka with Suzy Kolber
Suzy Kolber
Suzanne Lisa "Suzy" Kolber is a football sideline reporter, co-producer, and sportscaster for ESPN. She was one of the original anchors of ESPN2 when it launched in 1993. Three years later, she left ESPN2 to join Fox Sports, but rejoined ESPN in late 1999....
on the sidelines. On September 14, 2009
2009 NFL season
The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at...
Greenberg and Golic were joined by Steve Young, again with Kolber. On September 13, 2010
2010 NFL season
The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,...
, Nessler and Trent Dilfer
Trent Dilfer
Trent Farris Dilfer is a former football quarterback in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sixth overall in the 1994 NFL Draft and went on to play for the Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers. He played college football...
teamed to call the second game, with Kolber again on the sidelines.
Hank Williams Jr. controversy
On October 3rd, 2011, Hank Willams Jr. appeared on Fox and Friends and compared President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
to Speaker of the House John Boehner
John Boehner
John Andrew Boehner is the 61st and current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, he is the U.S. Representative from , serving since 1991...
, referring to their golf match that they had in the summer. He referred to the two political figures as Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
. As a result, his opening theme was dropped from the program permanently.