View Full Version : The Last of MNF: 36 Years of Prime Time Dreck
Is anybody really going to miss MNF on ABC? They can barely pick a decent game during a season. The talking heads make Paul Page look good. Has there been anything new since Howard Cosell was broadcasting plastered and Dandy Don had to keep him from drowning in his own vomit? "Look at that little monkey go!"
The only good memories I have of MNF involve either the broadcasts of Jack Buck and Hank Stramm on radio or a large delivery pizza and a decent bottle of Italian red.
I for one will miss it, for many reasons. One of which as I have seen darn near all of them (including the first one!)
IMO, the year that they had Fouts and Dennis Miller were the absolute best. While Miller was a real cut up, he was without a doubt a huge student of the game, not unlike hundreds of thousands who watch at home. Football is a great, fast paced sport taylor made for TV.
Al Michaels is a tool. To watch him in the booth at the Hoosier Dome is to laugh at. He sits alone by himself. Has his own valet and makeup person at his beck and call. People who I know in this "business" say he is a complete prima dona.
I very much enjoy MNF, and I think alot of people do. It's hard to pick a schedule (gee, ask the Twirl and Champcar about that one) While it goes without saying any of the traditional AFC West games should be above average, along with AFC Central (save the Browns of late), well I could go on, but you dont have to be a rocket scientist to know the rivalries. The NFL money machine has hitched their ponies to un-desserving athletes IMO, such as Vick and McNabb who have no results no matter how much sizzle they put into their "hype." Bona Fide stars such as Tomlinson and Gates, Moss of Washington dont get the box covers and the endorsments of some very over rated players (can you say Ray Lewis?)
Thats my take, and I will watch it on any Network. Mondays pretty much suck anyway. Always have
Ziggy
well its awfully hard for them to pick a decent game at the start of the year with so much parity in the NFL.
were not the jets supposed to be good this year?
honestly i totally forgot it was the last game. i may record it to see if they do anything real special.
what are michaels and madden doing next year? are they going to espn or do we have to put up with those no nothings that do the sunday night games?
I think the fat man's moving over to NBC's SNF
WickerBill
12-26-05, 08:17 PM
The lineups so far are:
NFL Primetime: off the air (in its current format)
Sunday Night Football: Collinsworth and Madden (no PBP announced yet)
Monday Night Football: Al Michaels and Joe Theismann
For what it's worth, I think Theismann will be more bearable without the worst announcer in the history of football, Paul Maguire, yelling in his ear. And since I love falling asleep to Jon Miller and Joe Morgan announcing Sunday Night Baseball, it will be nice to be able to do the same to Madden on SNF. There's no falling asleep when Paul "Let me tell you something" Maguire is screaming after every play.
So all in all, I think this is an improvement. I can't imagine many hardcore NFL fans who don't have ESPN crying about the move from network -- the franchise will continue....
Pre-ESPN, MNF was the shizzle. However, it became less and less relevant with the explosion of sports on cable, Sunday night foosball, etc. The only way MNF could have been saved was the flexible schedule, but I seriously doubt that will help much for the future SNF and MNF redux. RIP, MNF. I enjoyed it while it lasted. It'll be a fun walk down memory lane 2night.
-Kevin
Sean O'Gorman
12-27-05, 12:33 AM
I don't really care one way or another about MNF, but I'm going to really miss ESPN's coverage of SNF. Maguire is tolerable, but Patrick and Theismann were my favorite broadcasting team. The games just seemed more laid back. I think it might just be my bias, as I've spent a few times over the past two seasons sitting in nearly empty bars watching SNF with no one around to annoy me. :)
Also, why is Giants Stadium dry tonight?
Also, why is Giants Stadium dry tonight?
Think Bad Santa. :)
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Alcohol will not be sold during Monday night's game between the Jets and Patriots at the Meadowlands in an attempt to quell rowdy fan behavior.
The ban comes after nine fans were arrested during the Jets-Saints game Nov. 27. One man was charged with stabbing two fans in a restroom, and a state trooper broke his leg while trying to eject a fan who reportedly threw a beer bottle.
Jets spokesman Ron Colangelo said Tuesday the ban was put in place to protect fans.
Colangelo said alcohol will be available at the Jets' season finale Jan. 1 against Buffalo, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. EDT.
-Kevin
Sean O'Gorman
12-27-05, 12:58 AM
Well that just sounds like typical NY behavior if you ask me.
And Flutie vs. Testaverde? What is this, 1987? :saywhat:
Well that just sounds like typical NY behavior if you ask me.
And Flutie vs. Testaverde? What is this, 1987? :saywhat:
All 40 year olds should just be buried before it`s too late..right.
I still have friends in Staten Island.
chop456
12-27-05, 03:33 AM
Theisman sucks. They should invite LT to the booth to break his leg again. He and McGuire may be the most annoying broadcast crew in the universe.
Remember the Joe Theisman pencil sharpener on Letterman? :laugh:
Even his helmet sucked. :D
One name could turn the whole thing around...
Alex Karras. :D
Andrew Longman
12-27-05, 11:06 AM
[QUOTE=Sean O'Gorman]Well that just sounds like typical NY behavior if you ask me.QUOTE]
Whoa there. It's just typical Jet fan behavior. A few years back Jet fans (the few that actually showed up) set fire to the seats in protest to the obsenity they were witnessing on the field. That's when they started banning beer sales whenever they think the fans will revolt.
The Jets disappoint perpetually. They are a Long Island team playing in NJ and mean little to the city. The Jets have never meant much in NY.
Jets fans are rare and generally losers that can't get Giants tickets.
I'm surprised Brown fans haven't taken a lesson from Jet fans :D
Andrew Longman
12-27-05, 11:19 AM
One name could turn the whole thing around...
Alex Karras. :D
Can you say Fred Williamson? OJ Simpson?
MNF has ran its course a many years ago.
There was a time when there was less football (start with 12-14 game seasons), and less football coverage and so having a national primetime audience was a big deal. It was special for a city to have a nation's eyes turn to it for a night. And Howard and Meradeth were authentic (and often drunk it seems) and that seemed new. Now whether it is Madden or McGuier or Goose or whomever, the announcers are trying to be part of "the entertainment."
And the players are different too. Now they play for the cameras and Sportscenter highlight clips nearly every play. There is nothing special about a national audience anymore.
Frankly, now I am too busy and tired to stay up to watch it. I miss most games and haven't sat for a whole game in years. And I don't like to watch the Giants on it because 1) I have to stay up late and 2) I have to wait an extra day for the game and 3) the Giants rarely play well on Monday night (e.g., The Giants lost the famous Theismann game when Jay Schrader came in and threw something like three TD passes)
Oh and Al Michaels is a pompous ass that everyone in the business absolutely hates. He's a nut job control freak with no friends and a huge ego. But he has somehow amassed huge power with the Mouse and so they are stuck with him. I fail to understand how that works. Networks continually think we show up for these games because of who is announcing them. At best I think most of us will only care about the announcers when we hate them so much we turn it off.
At best I think most of us will only care about the announcers when we hate them so much we turn it off.
I can recall in the mid 70's a local bar would sell chances to throw a brick through a TV set during the game when Cosell was blabbering on about something. MNF was very popular then even if Cosell wasn't.
I'm surprised Brown fans haven't taken a lesson from Jet fans :D
They have...recall the end of the Jags game a couple of years ago when they threw bottles, old ladies, and children onto the field to protest a bad call. And then there was the finale @ Municipal when they tore out everything except the plumbing. However, those hard core fans have largely been replaced with the whine and cheese crowd these days.
-Kevin
How ironic that the J-E-T-S were involved in the first and last MNF games, with the final score the same in each game...and the J-E-T-S losing both games. :laugh:
-Kevin
They have...recall the end of the Jags game a couple of years ago when they threw bottles, old ladies, and children onto the field to protest a bad call. And then there was the finale @ Municipal when they tore out everything except the plumbing. However, those hard core fans have largely been replaced with the whine and cheese crowd these days.
-Kevin
The hard core fans are definately still there, seeing the fights in the muni lot before the steelers game attests to that.
The thing is though that hard core fans can't afford to go like they used to be able to. 10,000 fewer seats in the new stadium lowers the supply while demand had stayed high. The PSL's also dramatically hurt the lower income fans.
WickerBill
12-27-05, 02:22 PM
Oh and Al Michaels is a pompous ass that everyone in the business absolutely hates. He's a nut job control freak with no friends and a huge ego.
Honestly, I don't see how this makes an ounce of difference for me. He's good at doing play-by-play (10x better than MPatrick), given us great calls (he did WHAT?, Do you believe in miracles), etc. I couldn't care less if he's got friends or not. Paul Maguire might be the greatest person ever and have a million friends but he is rotten as Tony George's mind as a broadcaster.
My two copper discs.
Lizzerd
12-27-05, 03:35 PM
I can recall in the mid 70's a local bar would sell chances to throw a brick through a TV set during the game when Cosell was blabbering on about something. MNF was very popular then even if Cosell wasn't.
Was it in Broad Ripple? Across the street from the McDonalds? It's a lawyer office now, I think.
stroker
12-27-05, 03:50 PM
One name could turn the whole thing around...
Alex Karras. :D
Good thing you said it before I did. Alex gets no love in retrospect at all, and I don't understand it. I really enjoyed AK as an announcer.
Guess he wasn't "entertaining" enough.
Sean O'Gorman
12-27-05, 05:31 PM
How ironic that the J-E-T-S were involved in the first and last MNF games, with the final score the same in each game...and the J-E-T-S losing both games. :laugh:
-Kevin
Didn't Uncle Vinny play in both games too? :laugh:
Andrew Longman
12-27-05, 06:16 PM
Honestly, I don't see how this makes an ounce of difference for me. He's good at doing play-by-play (10x better than MPatrick), given us great calls (he did WHAT?, Do you believe in miracles), etc. I couldn't care less if he's got friends or not. Paul Maguire might be the greatest person ever and have a million friends but he is rotten as Tony George's mind as a broadcaster.
My two copper discs.
Fair enough. He does a clean job of calling the game and that's all you really care about.
I just happen to know folks in the biz and after hearing things about him its a huge distraction. But you're right, that's my problem not his.
That said, listening to him go on last night about all the little people that contribute so amazingly to the show and how great its been to work with them seemed very disingenuous. Besides, won't all those people just be moving with him to Sunday night and ESPN next year?
Andrew Longman
12-27-05, 06:24 PM
Good thing you said it before I did. Alex gets no love in retrospect at all, and I don't understand it. I really enjoyed AK as an announcer.
Guess he wasn't "entertaining" enough.
Oh he was entertaining. ABC just never know what he was going to say. Or if he was going to throw Howard out the pressbox window.
I always enjoyed Alex, but not as much as Alex in Blazing Saddles (or Paper Lion)
It's hard to screw up NFL football IMO
but they are trying :rolleyes:
TKGAngel
12-27-05, 09:09 PM
I always enjoyed Alex, but not as much as Alex in Blazing Saddles (or Paper Lion)
Mongo just a pawn in game of life? ;)
WickerBill
12-28-05, 10:09 AM
I just got word from *name drop removed* that Paul Maguire will be doing college football next year.
I'm so happy I could cry. I can listen to almost any big college game on XM and watch with the sound off.
I just got word from *name drop removed* that Paul Maguire will be doing college football next year.
wha.. wha... whaaaat?!?
:cry:
I just got word from *name drop removed* that Paul Maguire will be doing college football next year.
I'm so happy I could cry. I can listen to almost any big college game on XM and watch with the sound off.
Does the satellite delay from XM match the satellite delay from DTV? I tried watching Bengals games with local radio a few times and the delay was just too much.
Does the satellite delay from XM match the satellite delay from DTV? I tried watching Bengals games with local radio a few times and the delay was just too much.
If audio is ahead of the video, there are computer programs that you can run the audio through to delay it.
If the video is ahead of the audio, then you are SOL outside of dropping a boatload of dollars.
Al Czervik
12-28-05, 02:15 PM
wha.. wha... whaaaat?!?
:cry:
Hopefully Big XII games, not Big Ten games!
WickerBill
12-28-05, 02:34 PM
Does the satellite delay from XM match the satellite delay from DTV? I tried watching Bengals games with local radio a few times and the delay was just too much.
Good question -- I've only done local/local in the past, and the radio is about 4 seconds ahead of the telly. I did try local radio with an ESPN2 feed and the delay was almost 10 seconds which was unbearable; for some reason the locals off of my sat have much less delay.
Four seconds is better than Maguire.
Hopefully Big XII games, not Big Ten games!
not so fast my friend.
Big Ten has the primary ESPN contract :D :gomer: :p
So unless he's going to jump to ABC, FSN, or TBS, we're safe :D
devilmaster
12-28-05, 02:58 PM
not so fast my friend.
Big Ten has the primary ESPN contract
So unless he's going to jump to ABC, FSN, or TBS, we're safe
I'll accept him if it means replacing Arute on the sidelines..... Lets send him to Big 12. (actually lets send him to conference usa or the mac ;) )
If audio is ahead of the video, there are computer programs that you can run the audio through to delay it.
If the video is ahead of the audio, then you are SOL outside of dropping a boatload of dollars.
actually never mind that second part. a tivo or other dvr would do a good job of delaying the video if it is ahead of the radio audio.
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