ESPN's MNF "Not Ready For" Hank Williams Jr. Anymore
Written by Bob Whalon, Monday October 03 2011
While some of us are old enough to remember the original opening theme song for Monday Night Football, most fans of the National Football League only associate one song with the NFL's marquee game of the week. That song would be "All My Rowdy Friends", by Hank Williams, Jr.
The familiar song will be missing for the first time in 20 years tonight when Monday Night Football on ESPN broadcasts the game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Tamp Bay Buccaneers. And it appears that the song will be gone for good, due to some controversial comments made by Williams regarding President Barack Obama.
It seems that Williams compared President Obama to Adolph Hitler on Fox News Channel's "Fox and Friends" show on Monday morning.
ESPN released a statement that read: "While Hank Williams, Jr. is not an ESPN employee, we recognize that he is closely linked to our company through the open to Monday Night Football. We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result we have decided to pull the open from tonight's telecast."
The comments that got Williams embroiled in this controversy were not taken out of context. As a matter of fact Williams, whose song has opened Monday Night Football since 1991 on ABC and now ESPN, defended his comments.
Williams told "Fox and Friends" that he thought Speaker of the House John Boehner playing golf with President Obama "would be like Hitler playing golf with (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu.....In the shape this country's in?"
When "Fox and Friends" anchor Brian Kilmeade said that he didn't exactly understand the analogy, Williams said: "I'm glad you don't, brother, because a lot of people do. They're the enemy." Asked who the "enemy was", Williams responded, "Obama and Biden. Are you kidding? The Three Stooges."
Anchor Gretchen Carlson also seemed uncomfortable with the Hitler reference and asked Williams why he would compare the President to one of the most hated men in history. "Well that's true," Williams responded. "But I'm telling you like it is."
The genesis of Williams's ire was apparently when Boehner played golf with Obama in June during the height of the national budget debate in Washington, D.C.
While Williams misguided comments may have cost him his high-profile job opening up Monday Night Football each week, you can be sure that ESPN would forget all about the comments if it cost them money. Disgraced athletes like Michael Vick and Tiger Woods were dropped by sponsors at the height of their infamy only to be brought back by those same sponsors once they could make the companies money again. If dumping Williams ends up costing ESPN any money, he will be back again next year and nobody will even remember the stupid comments that he made. It's just business.
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