Week 14 ends with a matchup of disappointing teams on Monday Night Football. However, a unique presentation from ESPN, Disney, and the NFL will spice up an otherwise dreary contest between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys.
For the second consecutive season, the NFL will have a Funday Football telecast, providing viewers with a new experience based on the world of “The Simpsons.” What is “The Simpsons Funday Football,” and who is calling the alternative broadcast?
Who Is Calling ‘The Simpsons Funday Football’ Game?
“The Simpsons Funday Football” announcers are Drew Carter on play-by-play, with Mina Kimes and Dan Orlovsky on analysis.
Carter is best known as the Boston Celtics’ primary play-by-play announcer, taking over full-time this season after splitting road games with legendary broadcaster Mike Gorman. Gorman called Celtics games for 43 years, retiring last season as the franchise raised its record-setting 18th NBA championship banner.
Orlovsky and Kimes should be more familiar to hardcore NFL fans. The two are among the primary analysts on the daily studio show “NFL Live,” which runs Monday to Friday on ESPN.
Both have experience as color commentators on football broadcasts as well. Orlovsky has called college football games and Monday Night Football doubleheader games on ESPN, while Kimes calls Los Angeles Rams preseason games.
(Gerald Ford voice) Say internet…do you like football?
8:15 pm on espn+ Disney+ pic.twitter.com/QwwNConafP
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) December 9, 2024
Viewers can tune in on ESPN+, Disney+, or on a mobile device utilizing NFL+. This is available in addition to the traditional Monday Night Football telecast on ESPN, ESPN+, ABC, and ESPN Deportes, while “Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli” will be available on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
ESPN, Disney, and the NFL will be looking to replicate the success that their first “Funday Football” broadcast had in Oct. 2023. Last season’s edition of the unique presentation featured the classic movie “Toy Story” instead of “The Simpsons” and received rave reviews.
“The first-of-its-kind presentation for the NFL won three Sports Emmys — Outstanding Production Design, George Wensel Technical Achievement, and Outstanding Graphic Design — and was recognized with four additional US Festival Awards,” according to the NFL’s press release.
What Is ‘The Simpsons Funday Football’?
“The Simpsons Funday Football” will be an alternate viewing presentation that will transform the live broadcast of Monday night’s matchup between the Bengals and Cowboys into “The Simpsons” universe that many have known since the famous animated television show made its half-hour prime-time show debut in 1989.
"I hope viewers enjoy seeing their favorite characters bringing a new aspect to viewing an #NFL game."
ESPN Creative Studio's designers share how their fandom inspired their work on '@TheSimpsons Funday Football'
🍩Monday | 8p ET | ESPN+, Disney+
More: https://t.co/jITXWX8Vxe pic.twitter.com/4Z0svx0qJ8
— ESPN Front Row (@ESPNFrontRow) December 9, 2024
The broadcast will utilize Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology to transform the game in real time and send viewers to Atoms Stadium in Springfield. The NFL revealed more details about the technology behind the unique experience in the event’s press release:
“Each Bengals and Cowboys player will appear as a motion-enabled, animated player for the special primetime matchup. Through state-of-the-art tracking technology enabled by NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Sony’s Beyond Sports, combined with Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations’ optical tracking, fans enjoying ‘The Simpsons Funday Football’ will see every snap, run, pass, score and more from the real-life Bengals and Cowboys matchup at AT&T Stadium as it happens.
“Sony’s Beyond Sports makes it possible to combine two data sources, analyze, validate, enhance, translate to a 3D environment, and stream to a desired platform in real-time, and Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations’ optical tracking creates dynamic player and character movement including detailed limb movement and mannerisms.”
Fans of “The Simpsons” will notice that Bart Simpson will side with the Bengals, while Homer Simpson will side with the Cowboys. Bart, Homer, and several other iconic characters from the legendary show will appear throughout the unique broadcast.
This year’s broadcast has a lot to live up to, and it remains to be seen if Springfield is as suitable a site for an NFL game as Andy’s Room.
