Don’t have a cow, man, but Disney+ and ESPN+ scored big with their animated alternative Monday Night Football telecast set in The Simpsons universe.
Bengals fans were happy with the 27-20 win, but fans of The Simpsons had to be elated at seeing all of their favorite characters during a very enjoyable three-hour telecast.
Through computerized magic, and strategic substitutions, Bart Simpson replaced Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow to throw two touchdown passes to his sister Lisa, and another to the very un-athletic Ralph Wiggum.
Homer Simpson was inserted into the Dallas Cowboys lineup just in time to throw a touchdown pass to Ceedee Lamb on the opening drive, and to intercept one of Bart’s passes, and to sack Bart late in the game.
How could they do it?
Thanks to my old school portable radio, I learned that The Simpsons Funday Football game was always several plays behind the real game on ESPN and ABC. Radio announcers Dan Hoard and Dave Lapham told me their game was at half-time while the animated game in Springfield’s Atom Stadium was at the two-minute warning of the second quarter.
So the animators could sub in Simpsons characters after seeing key plays. That’s why Moe the bartender was the Cowboys linebacker bursting into the backfield and pressuring Burrow, or why Bart snagged the pass deflected by Cam Taylor-Britt. When Tee Higgins’ apparent fumble was ruled an incomplete pass, the animators replaced Higgins with nerdy Millhouse to drop the ball.
But the actual game was just part of a very entertaining program populated by The Simpsons characters and with clever nods to the long-running show.
In The Simpsons universe, donuts and Krusty burgers were stacked on the goal post uprights. Marge Simpson went onto the field to pick up penalty flags and put them in her laundry basket. Bart introduced himself as being from the University of South Melbourne, “also known as U Smell.” Homer was listed as the “long napper,” not a long snapper. Bart claimed his overweight dad was flagged for “gas interference.”
In the real world, coaches hide their faces with a play sheet when discussing strategy. Homer hid his face on the sidelines behind a Krusty Burger menu and said, “I’m licking peanut butter off the card. I learned this trick from [Bill] Belichick.”
Peyton and Eli Manning, who comment on MNF on their ESPN2 alt cast, were animated to interview Homer before the game. Homer told them: “I’ve been a big fan of this show as soon as someone explained it to me five minutes ago. You guys taught me what’s really important in life — finding a job where you only have to work three hours a week.”
Announcers Drew Carter, Dan Orlovsky and Mina Kimes did a good job juggling play-by-play and commentary around the recorded cartoon bits, such as Marge and Lisa interviewing Burrow, Ted Karras, Tee Higgins, Sam Hubbard and other players.
When the Cowboys took the opening kickoff and marched down the field for Homer to throw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Lamb, Carter remarked about “the Swiss cheese Bengals defense.” After Ralph Wiggum scored, Kimes commented that “if you had Ralph Wiggum on your fantasy team, congrats! And, what were you thinking?”
A couple of times the announcers got caught up in the real game. After Bart scrambled from the pocket and threw a 16-yard bullet to Lisa, Kimes said: “I can’t say enough about Joe Burrow’s pocket movement — I mean Bart’s pocket movement.”
Often they commented on The Simpsons writers sight gags — Groundskeeper Willie sitting behind Marge Simpson and unable to watch the game because of her tall hair; Police Chief Wiggum holding a “Go Chiefs” sign; the Krusty Burger end zone celebration after touchdowns; nuke plant owner C. Montgomery Burns sharing a skybox with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones; or Homer eyeing a tray of turnovers after his interception.
The Simpsons brain trust did a great job involving about two dozen Springfield characters: Comic Book Guy, Sideshow Bob, Barney Gumble, the Spider Pig, and barfly Lenny Leonard, who was the holder for Carl Carlson’s second quarter field goal for the Cowboys.
Throughout the night, viewers saw Simpsons Funday Football Breaking News alerts in a red banner atop the screen. “Statisticians confirm nobody understands the quarterback rating” … “Football playbook sold, to be turned into a movie” … “EPA heading to Springfield to clean up garbage quarterback play” … ”A formation proved best with Helvetica font” ….”Discount funeral home sues over term ‘coffin corner’ “ … “Announcers call Daylight Saving Time ‘poor clock management.’ ”
On the game-winning drive, the Burrow-to-Chase tandem was replaced by Bart and Lisa, who scored on a 40-yard pass from her brother. The game ended with 11 Barts playing 11 Homers on the field.
Those who watched the real game on ESPN or ABC saw Burrow complete 33 of 44 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns. Chase caught 14 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns.
Those who watched The Simpsons Funday Football animated alt cast also saw a great game with marvelous technologic achievement that placed their favorite Simpsons characters on the field in critical situations without hurting the integrity of the game, and while providing laugh-out-loud comedy bits equal to The Simpsons high standards.
Everyone should be pleased — except maybe some Dallas fans. As announcer Drew Carter noted, the game at Springfield’s Atom Stadium "turned into a Treehouse of Horrors for the Dallas Cowboys."
