Monday Night Football: the once great NFL show is now the worst on television

[mysteryowl]

Last edited Tue Nov 26, 2019, 02:46 PM - Edit history (2)

Overblown announcing, incoherent analysis and bizarre graphics: ESPN’s broadcast checks every box when it comes to bad TV.
The NFL has a real problem when the marquee match-up for its most famous broadcast is best enjoyed on mute.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/nov/26/monday-night-football-espn-booger-mcfarland-joe-tessitore-nfl

Take it off the air.

[randr]

1. Stopped watching it when they went to ESPN

Good game coverage requires investment and good announcers

[underpants]

18. It does have a Mid-week college football game feel to it

Moving it to ESPN was a telling move by ABC.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

42. same here ...

Before the move, ABC began using MNF as a marketing vehicle, putting guests in the booth who were simply Disney products there to promote Disney products. It was all downhill from there.

[maxsolomon]

2. All football is better on mute.

It's not like you can't figure out what's going on.

[old guy]

7. I'm sure glad somebody else feels this way.

I thought I might be the only one.

[exboyfil]

10. I listen to music or podcasts

Sometimes listen to music, read between plays, and exercise.

[Dave Starsky]

25. TV football announcers are garbage.

Just a bunch of white teeth and pretty faces who don't know jack shit about what they're talking about, but who feel like they have to prattle on and on inanely to keep their audience from getting "bored".

My advice, always, is to find the radio station that broadcasts your favorite team's games and listen to that instead, while you keep the TV on mute. Radio announcers offer far better descriptions of the action, and they generally have more experienced color analysts who don't have to worry about being camera-friendly.

[pstokely]

40. radio lags behind TV

nt

[jayfish]

56. Do you use a DVR?

If so, pause the DVR until the radio broadcast catches up then sync the two.

[pstokely]

83. I don't record sports, I watch them live

streaming audio lags even further behind AM/FM

[Drahthaardogs]

59. Tony Romo does a brilliant job

Love listening to him.

[Roland99]

66. Heck yeah. And I like Al and Troy and evening Collinsworth

Joe Buck needs to go away tho

[Greybnk48]

69. We LOVE to hear Tony Romo's play by play.

What a huge difference from most of the rest. We seem to get stuck way too often with Buck and Aikman (Beavis and Butthead) calling our Packer games.

[Dave Starsky]

75. Romo IS good.

I suppose I shouldn't broadbrush, but the vast majority of them are fucking awful.

[jayfish]

30. Pro-Tip

If you use a surround sound system while watching sports you can disconnect the center channel speaker to eliminate commentary. In a discrete surround feed, commentary is isolated to the center channel. Just turning off the center channel will not work as your receiver will downmix the center to the other speakers in your system. It must be physically disconnected.

[drbtg1]

39. Great advice!

There have been times I turn the center channel volume down so that it doesn't dominate and I get a better "at the stadium" feel with the crowd noise and the ref calls. Fortunately, it doesn't give me the stadium PA announcers and their ads ("Hey, what a great pick 6! And you can have your own pick 6 with the state's lotto! Just pick 6 numbers and you can win!&quot

Unfortunately a lot of OTT stearmers (i.e. Sling, YouTube TV, etc.) only broadcast stereo instead of 5.1 sound which screws it up.

[Silent3]

35. I go the extra step...

...of turning off the picture too. Much better that way! 🤓

[maxsolomon]

49. LOL, i try to follow your advice

it's worked on every sport but Murikan Futbol.

[Yavin4]

43. The Oakland A's use to broadcast a game on their local PBS station without announcers.

They used the natural sounds of the game and light graphics. it was actually quite good.

[Bob Loblaw]

3. One of the star's is named Booger

What else do you need to know?

[Flo Mingo]

9. You may be interested to know

That Booger McFarlane was a nose tackle for the TB Buccaneers.




True Story

[Bob Loblaw]

11. Thank you

[yonder]

13. Hillarious

[3catwoman3]

45. DU is so educational.

I am not a football fan(not American football, anyway), but this is worth knowing anyway, just for the laughs it gave me.

[Flo Mingo]

55. Glad to oblige!

Every now and then it pays off knowing many trivial things.

[3catwoman3]

65. Indeed it does.

Just last night, I impressed my husband when I knew the right answer to this question - “How do you tell if a cranberry is fresh?”

Answer - they bounce when you drop them.

He learned it on the Food Channel just yesterday. I’ve known it for years, but have no clue how I came across this tidbit.

[Bradshaw3]

57. He is absolutley horrible

Everything he does is overblown from the praise to the nonstop criticism, which is based on much less knowledge than he thinks.

[Initech]

4. The Rams were a total snooze fest last night.

[Ron Green]

5. Many of us who loved Monday Night Football in its early days

have grown up.

[Roland99]

6. I had a blast watching Lamar last night!

#L1C4 !

[Aristus]

8. I haven't watched televised football in decades.

Not when I realized that all one needed in order to achieve 'authenticity' in one's color commentary was a Southern accent.

"Jew see hee-im kitch 'at bawl?"

[cwydro]

24. Funny, I don't remember Howard Cosell having a southern accent.

And I’m pretty sure Gifford was from California...

[Dave Starsky]

33. Maybe he's thinking of Dandy Don Meredith.

But Dandy Don was pretty entertaining. And he DID have football experience.

[cwydro]

72. Yep, his "authenticity" was much more than a southern accent.

One of the odder posts I’ve seen here.

[MyOwnPeace]

50. Gonna' sound like a

"Git the hell off my lawn" kinda' guy, but I truly believe MNF hasn't been the same (nor as good) ever since Howard left - and he didn't leave by choice (but not sayin' he was right, the dumb ass!).

[LisaM]

12. I don't think it's the WORST show on television, but it's not what it was.

Their team isn't that great, and it's definitely not the "event" that it used to be; part of the problem being that other than the Thanksgiving games, it was the only game shown at a different time than the regular Sunday games. Now it's not even anything special, with all the Sunday night and Thursday night games. And, it's not as fun, but then again, sports just isn't as fun as it used to be in general, because of this laser focus on playoffs and winner-take-all. I'm not arguing that people don't play sports to win - they do, and should - but it seems that it used to be that just beating your rivals or winning a division was enough to count as a successful season and now it's not.

This is not just the NFL, they've sucked most of the fun out of the NBA and college football, too. (I so miss the old bowl system, where 28 teams could go home happy).

[OriginalGeek]

16. I LOVE Football

I watch just about any game on, college and pro, even when it's not my favorite team.

But I could do without the Thursday night games. It's just too much and I agree, it's no longer special. And on top of that it's a super PITA to remember to check my fantasy teams in case someone is playing on Thursday.

I wish Tony Romo would get a lot more games. That dude is a super smart football guy. I actually learn about football when listening to him call games.

Either him more on my TV calling games or return to the Cowboys as a coach.

Sunday and Monday is plenty of football for me.

[LisaM]

19. I love football too; my dad coached at the high school level for many years.

We just grew up watching it.

I remember in the 1990s, travelling home for Christmas, that often the Bowl season had begun and it was so festive. I didn't care if I was at a layover in someplace like Denver watching the Astro Bluebonnet Bowl or the Copper Bowl with some team like Montana State. People were just having a lot of fun and it was a blast to watch them. Just getting to the bowl was a victory for a bunch of those teams.

Why the NCAA felt that the soul-sucking system we have now (which vastly favors Southern teams, if it was a real playoff, those teams would have to come north and play in the snow once in a while) is better, I don't know. I listen to a lot of sports radio and this time of year, the college football shows are bogged down by endless "scenarios" being posited by a bunch of people I've never heard of.

[OriginalGeek]

26. Yes! Bowl season is great

My favorite is watching teams play in driving snow from the warmth and comfort of my living room lol.

I'm not against championship tourneys but I think they system is totally weird. It's probably impossible to figure out a fair way to do it since teams often play wildly different strength of schedules. I don't know how to do it but I know the current way is dumb.

[LisaM]

54. When Alabama or Clemson come play in the Big House in a blizzard...

then I'll take a playoff seriously (it could also be at the Horseshoe, or Notre Dame, or anywhere where there is some real winter weather).

[Cuthbert Allgood]

61. I don't think the players like Thursday games, either.

If they are going to keep up with that stupid plan, they need to make sure that only teams with a bye the previous week have a Thursday game. That's way too fast of a turn around.

[ritapria]

14. Sunday Night Football is the NFL Marquee Prime Time Football Game of the Week

ESPN's Monday Night Football is now an afterthought ……….I gave up on the NFL a long time ago ...Televised Sports is the new opiate of the masses ….

[LisaM]

20. But listening to Collinsworth rattle on and on....UGH.

No woman could ever get into broadcasting with a nasal voice like that. He really needs to get a little speech training.

[Ferrets are Cool]

23. Collinsworth is the most knowledgeable talking head

in the broadcasting box. He does more homework than anyone else. Look it up if you don't believe me.

[LisaM]

53. That may be, but he still talks at too much length for a second banana

and his voice gets so nasal I practically have to run screaming from the room with my hands clapped over my ears. It doesn't matter how much he knows if he can't take a diction class. To make what is (to me) an apt comparison, could you listen to Janice from "Friends" describe plays, no matter how much she knew?

[stopbush]

76. Al Michaels' voice is much more nasal than Colingworth's.

[LisaM]

88. Al Michael's voice is more adenoidal, sounds as if it's coming from the back of his throat.

To me, Collingsworth sounds as if he's talking through his nose, like those kids who always had to wear nose plugs at the pool.

[Judi Lynn]

85. You're not alone. It got the best of me long ago. I hated him so much, couldn't understand why

because his personality sucks as much as his hideous voice I couldn't grasp what aspect of him sucked more.

Every bit as unbearable as Chris Matthews' voice.

You keep wondering why no one tells them to show some control over their horrific voices which could make a maggot gag.

[tishaLA]

58. With respect, I think Romo is light years ahead of him

I'd take Aikman over Collingsworth, too. And IMO Mike Tirico should be in Al Michaels' seat.

[LisaM]

87. Yes, I like Mike Tirico.

Aikman doesn't bother me either. I don't mind a Southern accent, fine with me, though what I really like in a broadcasting team is balance, and to be able to tell them apart.

[RainCaster]

15. I only watch when my team is playing, and I listen with my radio

They are as bad as the Faux Robot.

[stopdiggin]

17. Hank Williams Jr ... nothing further need be said (nt)

theme song .. then kicked off .. then brought back ..

[a kennedy]

21. and May I say, don't even get me started on Thursday night football.....

[mysteryowl]

28. ...and don't even get me started on the male-sports-weekend-TV-monopoly.

If the patriarch feels sports is the only programming they can manage for some reason on the weekends, do you think they could find equal broadcasting of female sports?

[ornotna]

78. Do you have a problem with the Europa League?

It's not the top teams but there is some good football.

[Ferrets are Cool]

22. I disagree

[Ferrets are Cool]

27. I think it's more to the point that America has fallen in love with the Red Zone Channel and

is addicted to none stop action, which Thursday and Monday night football just doesn't have.

[stonecutter357]

29. As long as it's not Gary Danielson I'm good ...

[brewens]

31. When I miss Dennis Miller, that makes it officially a shitshow! n/t

[highmindedhavi]

84. he was the best!

He once said that the Saints coach had Bert Baccarat hair!

[Evergreen Emerald]

32. Seahawks next week on Monday

It will not be a snooze fest!

[Dave Starsky]

36. Against the 8-3 Vikings.

And the 9-2 Seahawks are unbeaten on the road this season.

That's going to be a game to watch.

[Wounded Bear]

46. They're playing here at home in Seattle IIRC...

[Cuthbert Allgood]

62. Correct. Must win for both teams.

Vikings fan here, so best of luck to you.

[Dave Starsky]

74. You're right. I spaced it.

That's going to make it even more of a nail biter.

[Silent3]

34. It was once great?

[redstateblues]

37. Blowouts like last night are never compelling (unless it's your team)

I'm sure it's no fun for the announcers either

[Auggie]

38. ESPN's production team is not good ...

they can't help with the poor venues, but they certainly can get better announcers and do a better job with replays and camera work. It feels like a second-rate effort -- and ABC saving money.

[Johonny]

41. I find the NFL product overall is terrible these days

The team I used to follow hasn't been competitive in decades. Who cares?

[Yavin4]

44. The overall quality of the games is really poor.

This is what happens when you let 32 billionaires run everything. You get a less than mediocre product.

[Johonny]

68. That's how I feel

Most of the old guard from the merger days are gone. Most of the families sold the franchises to billionaires. Those families that didn't sell seem to be run by hopelessly incompitent people. Some of the new owners seem to care. A lot seem to not care about the product at all or think they're football geniuses and run the franchise like Bain capital runs a company.

[Yavin4]

86. Paints a frightening picture of our overall future doesn't it?

What will we look like when the heirs of the billionaire take over? People love saying how great Bill Gates or Warren Buffet or Jeff Bezos are, but what will the world look like when their heirs take over?

[Wounded Bear]

47. MNF is no longer the "marquee" game each week...

That label goes to Sunday Night on NBC. Once ESPN took over MNF, it became a cable only game, and thus lost viewers.

And Disney hasn't helped, either.

[matt819]

48. Question from a non-fan of professional sports

Are game attendance and viewership up or down for professional sports - basically baseball, football, basketball, hockey. I'm thinking, say, from 1990 to now.

I just don't see the appeal of watching multi-millionaires, working for multi-billionaires, duke it out.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

63. Not researching the numbers, but from recent personal experience:

Went to the Vikings/Broncos game a week and a half ago—pretty much sold out.
Went to the Bucks/Jazz game last night—pretty much sold out.

[Hawaii Hiker]

51. 2 ways to better watch the NFL

1. NFL red zone..Goes from game to game all day from 1-8pm no commericals...Special subscription required, this is different from the regular NFL Network..

2. Watch the highlights on NFL.com end of day...They have a good 7 minutes for each game with the TV announcers...

All the NFL highlight shows on the networks are lousy, too much schtick and no highlights...

[Cuthbert Allgood]

64. If you don't care about spoilers, the NFL package has the games the next day with only the plays.

Watch a game in an hour.

I don't have cable, but I've heard that if you use a VPN, you can do the European subscription for the NFL package. That's what I've heard.

[calguy]

52. I. Don't. Care.

I continue to enjoy football and watch every game no matter who is the announcer.

[oswaldactedalone]

60. Gave up on the NFL 37 years ago

and haven’t missed it. I watch one game a year, the Super Bore... er Bowl because of my wife’s great halftime spread. Do not follow pro team sports either.

OTOH, I have great interest in college football and basketball. I love a fall Saturday with college football or a winter evening following my 3 or 4 favorite teams. I say following as I’m just as likely to listen on TuneIn as watch.

[Kaleva]

70. Does your wife know you post such things?

"...because of my wife’s great halftime spread." TMI?

[oswaldactedalone]

77. That's funny

After the sex, she brings out the food. Sorry for leaving that out.

[DeminPennswoods]

67. Love football, but the NFL has oversaturated TV

Sunday night, Monday night, Thursday night. It's all too much.

[Kaleva]

71. I got bored with football years ago. Don't really miss it.

[Locutusofborg]

73. Last night's game: 10,925,000 viewers

Was the top rated show on cable television with double the audience of any other show on cable. The next highest rated show that wasn't on ESPN before or after the game was WWE wrestling on USA and the Rams-Ravens had five times the audience.
Monday Night Football is still extremely profitable, it isn't going anywhere.

[oasis]

79. My 7 year old grandson looks foward to MNF. He plays flag on weekends.

I've been watching for decades and rarely miss a game. Those who can't stand it should try a movie, go bowling, or watch Wheel-Of-Fortune.

[brooklynite]

80. Don't watch...

I never have, but I never understand why people feel the need to complain about shows they watch regularly.

[RhodeIslandOne]

81. MNF is rarely the best matchup now

[VOX]

82. I stopped allowing the NFL to own my time decades ago.

A season that now runs into February, too many teams, too many voices cross-talking in the booth, too much show-boating on the field, finesse replaced by POWER, too much “OH! DID YOU SEE THAT HIT!!!, too many party-volume commercials, too many electronic devices on the sidelines and up in the stands to crunch information to coaches, too many superfluous right-wing jerks in the booth (that includes Al Michaels), all the wife-beatings and other ”civilian violence” by juiced-up players off the field, complete loss of spontaneity, everything feels utterly canned, right down to dumping the Gatorade on the coach after the BIG win. The only things that make NFL tolerable are 1) day drinking; and 2) wagering on insignificant matches.

Straightening out my sock drawer would be a better use of time, instead of being a lump on a couch, peering for hours at the “bread and circuses” fare served from a bloated entity that, until 2015, was still tax-exempt as an unincorporated nonprofit association. How Republican! Now it’s no longer required to disclose the salaries of its executive officers. How completely Republican.