Monday Night Football, now on ESPN, is an American institution. Many of the best games in history have been featured over the years on Monday Night Football. Monday Night Football games have been popular with fans and players alike. Fans love it because it usually features teams that were successful during the previous season, and players like it because of the national television exposure during prime time. Here are some great Monday Night Football trivia items.
- Monday Night Football was the second longest running prime time show on network television behind 60 Minutes.
- The number of Monday Night Football games shown on ABC during its 36 year run: 555.
- The broadcaster with the longest tenure on Monday Night Football was Frank Gifford who manned one third of the broadcast team from 1971 until 1998, a total of 28 years.
- The first ever MNF game was won by the Cleveland Browns over the New York Jets on September 21st, 1970.
- Only one time in Monday Night Football history has the game ended in a tie. In 1984, the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Giants played to a 20-20 overtime tie.
- The New York Jets hold the distinction of losing the first ever Monday Night Football game broadcast on ABC (to the Cleveland Browns), as well as the last ever MNF game broadcast on ABC (to the New England Patriots).
- 1989 was the first year that Hank Williams Jr. sang All My Rowdy Friends Are Here On Monday Night as part of the Monday Night Football introduction.
- The Indianapolis Colts hold the distinction of scoring the most points in a Monday Night Football game with 55 points on October 31, 1988. Two other teams have also scored 50 or more points in a MNF game: on December 23rd, 1991 the San Francisco 49ers scored 52 points and on December 20, 1982 the San Diego Chargers scored a nice round 50 points.
- On November 26, 2007, due to incredible poor field conditions in Pittsburgh, the Steelers vs. Dolphins game totaled the fewest points in MNF history with a final score of Steelers 3, Dolphins 0.
- The most one-sided game in MNF history occurred on December 19, 2005 when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Green Bay Packers by a score of 48-3 (a difference of 45 points).
- The record for the most shutouts in Monday Night Football history is held by the Seattle Seahawks, having shut out their opponents five times.
- During the 2007 season, the four ESPN Deportes Spanish language announcers covering Monday Night Football games did their announcing of the games from ESPN’s Bristol, Connecticut headquarters, never once traveling to the actual games.
Monday Night Football on ABC was an American tradition that many people scheduled their weekends around. Many say that it was ABC’s treatment of MNF as more than a game, but as an event itself, that raised the NFL above Major League Baseball as America’s Game. ABC’s sister cable sports station ESPN now carries Monday Night Football, and though the channel is different, the game remains the highlight of the week in football.
Proudly WWW.PONIREVO.COM
by Mark Peters
