Ever since I was a kid, Monday Night Football has been special to me. There's just something about that one game set aside from all the rest that makes it special. For me it started with Gifford, Dierdorf, Michaels, and of course Hank Williams Jr. I knew the song by heart and made sure I was in front of the TV every week right on time so I wouldn't miss what two lines they changed to incorporate the teams playing that week.
I got to see Deion Sanders destroy teams with his legs and had to endure a Broncos loss to the Chiefs where Elway made one of his patented 4th quarter comeback only to have Joe Montana lead the Chiefs on a game winning drive. I got to witness the Jets come back from a 30-7 deficit to tie the game up with a TD pass to an offensive lineman. Even this past Monday, Reggie Bush almost single-handedly willed his team to victory with two punt return TDs (and almost three).
The rise of fantasy football has seen MNF become an arena of heartbreak or redemption. Guys like Gus Frerotte, a fill in fantasy starter at best, have led 4th quarter comebacks they didn't even know about to seal a victory for somebody they will never meet. Reggie Bush, Ryan Longwell, and Gus Frerotte were this week's heroes. There will be others next week.
Tony Kornheiser is annoying. I love the guy on PTI and thought he would be a good addition to MNF but it turns out he's really not that funny. His brand of humor doesn't work within the confines of MNF. I cringe every time he opens his mouth. We've seen this before with Dennis Miller. A good comedian with questionable knowledge of how to call a game gets brought in to shake things up a bit. The Onion said it best this week with its headline, "Tony Kornheiser Not About To Let Football Game Interrupt Tennis Anecdote." The average football fan doesn't want to hear what you think about other sports or about your knowledge of 18th century weaponry.
With that, I give my MNF Dream Team. Mike Tirico, Gus Johnson, and Jay Mohr. I know I've said that the comedy thing doesn't work. I think Mohr would be great though. He's a natural radio guy, he knows enough about sports and respects them enough not to let his agenda get in the way, and he's very quick on his feet. The problem with Miller and Kornheiser is often they would go on clearly rehearsed monologues that would have nothing to do with the game itself. You need somebody who can change things up with the flow of the game. Mohr is that guy. Of course this would never happen because ESPN is too terrified of what might come out of his mouth. Tirico is a very underrated play by play guy. He's very businesslike and lets the other guys do what THEY are paid to do. Gus Johnson is simply the most energetic announcer out there. You can tell the guy loves to do what he does. What's your Dream Team?
-PSon
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5 comments:
I can deal with Tirico, but would add Terry Bradshaw and David Spade. That would make things interesting for sure!
Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson, cloned four times. So they could argue over whether Mantle or Yaz made more noise running down the first base line.
...during a football broadcast, specifically.
I think I'd have to go with Barry Melrose, Mike Ditka, and prop-comic CarrotTop. Could you imagine the props he'd come up with for a "Wide Receiver"? I can't, but I bet they'd be hilarious.
Jay Mohr is awesome but he would get ESPN shut down 20 mins into the broadcast...he would throw out a hooker joke and they would immediately go off the air...
I want to see Tirico, Jaws and John Clayton...during the game Jaws and the professor can go back and forth about how jocks are better than nerds who write for the school paper
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