Monday Night Football viewers will not hear Hank Williams Jr.The voice of them welcomes the weekly broadcast of the 2020-2021 NFL season. ESPN has removed the country star’s “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night” from upcoming games — but this time, the reason isn’t political.
Sports Business Daily Reports that ESPN is concerned that Williams Jr.’s song may not make sense for this NFL season, as games will be played in mostly empty stadiums due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the network will use a version of Little Richard’s song “Rip It Up” that will feature the late artist’s vocals and a modern melody from a Virginia band named Butcher Brown; rather than having the artists on screen during the opening theme, the song will soundtrack a compilation of the game’s highlights:
“All my rowdy friends…” was the Monday Night Football theme song from 1989 to 2011, during which time the games were broadcast first on ABC (until 2005) and then on ESPN. However, after Williams Jr. compared a golf outing between then-President Barack Obama, his Vice President Joe Biden and fellow politicians John Boehner and Josh Kasich to “Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu,” ESPN removed his theme song.
ESPN welcomed Williams Jr. back as its Monday Night Football theme performer in 2017. The network, according to Sports Business Daily, has not decided whether it will return to using “All My Rowdy Friends…” next NFL season.
The 2020-2021 NFL season begins Thursday, September 10. The first one Monday Night Football the match will take place on September 14.
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