Fun Trivia | Quizzes | Games | People | Services | Help | Me
Register - Log In
Currently 8727 players online.   Play, Compete, and Win for FREE!    Click here to Get Started!
Index : M : Monday Night Football Encyclopedia FunTrivia

Structure

Interesting Questions, Facts and Information

  • There are a total of 30 general entries.

Frequently Asked Questions & Answers

  • There are 30 user-asked question matches ( goto )

Special Topics


Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information

    Monday Night Football

    Who was the first NFC team to win a Monday Night Football game?Monday Night Football: Early Years (d2407)

      Detroit Lions. It's fairly widely known that Cleveland beat the New York Jets 31-21 on September 21, 1970, winning the first Monday Night Football game. That contest featured an epic performance by Jets receiver George Sauer, who caught 10 passes for 172 yards, but saw his team lose as the Browns intercepted Joe Namath three times and ran the second half kickoff back for a touchdown. In MNF's second game, the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs thumped the Baltimore Colts (who would go on to win that season's Super Bowl), 44-24, as Johnny Robinson of the Chiefs intercepted Johnny Unitas three times and also returned a Colt fumble for a touchdown. The Detroit Lions won the third game, becoming the first NFC team to win on Monday night as they beat the Chicago Bears, 28-14.

    Which well-known sportscaster served as the play-by-play voice of "Monday Night Football" during its first season (1970)?Monday Night Football (1970-2001) (cag1970)

      Keith Jackson. Though Howard Cosell would spend more than a decade in the "Monday Night Football" booth as the play-by-play voice, Keith Jackson actually did the play-by-play that first season. Jackson is better known as being the voice of ABC's college football coverage.

    Which two teams were featured in the first Monday-night football game?Monday Night Football (1970-2001) (cag1970)

      New York Jets and Cleveland Browns. The first-ever meeting between the Browns, an NFL team that joined the AFC after the merger, and the Jets, an original AFL franchise, was the first Monday-night game ever broadcast. The Browns won the game in front of their home crowd 31-21.

    Which two teams played in the final game of ESPN's Sunday Night Football before NBC obtained the rights to the show?Sunday Night Football on ESPN (jbug1262)

      Dallas Cowboys vs St. Louis Rams. The Rams and the Cowboys closed out ESPN's Sunday Night Football series on January 1, 2006. St. Louis won the game at Texas Stadium, 20-10.

    Which NFL placekicker tied an NFL record on November 18, 1996, by hitting seven field goals in a Monday-night game?Monday Night Football (1970-2001) (cag1970)

      Chris Boniol. Boniol's record-tying night helped propel the Dallas Cowboys to a win against the Green Bay Packers that Monday night, 21-6.

    When Don Meredith left the show after the 1973 season, who first replaced him on the broadcast team?Monday Night Football: Early Years (d2407)

      Fred Williamson. Meredith, the most popular member of the MNF crew, left ABC in 1974 to work at NBC under a contract in which he would both cover football and act on NBC television shows. ABC happily hired actor and former AFL player, Fred "the Hammer" Williamson. With his reputation for saying outrageous things, and with his stardom in "blaxploitation" films of the early 1970s, expected to widen the program's fan base. The network thought they had the recipe for a huge success. Instead, Williamson didn't seem to have much to say, he had no chemistry with the team (the edgy sparring between Cosell and Meredith had been a centerpiece of the first four seasons), and he spurned the conservative announcer wardrobe of the network for open-collared shirts and obscene jewelry. After a few lackluster preseason games, ABC bought out Williamson's contract and replaced him with former Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras. Meredith rejoined the team in 1977.

    When an ABC camera broadcast a fan "giving the finger," what did Don Meredith say?Monday Night Football: Early Years (d2407)

      "He thinks they're number one in the nation!". On October 9, 1972, the Oakland Raiders were headed for a 34-0 thumping of the Houston Oilers (Oakland's third win in as many MNF appearances, scoring 34 points each time). As the fans emptied from the Astrodome stands during the final quarter, the cameras found a wonderful shot: a fan, seemingly alone in his section, was sleeping. "A vivid picturization of the excitement attendant upon this game", was what Howard Cosell called the image of the sleeping man. Then, unfortunately, the man woke up, and less fortunately, "flipped off" the camera. Without missing a beat, Meredith commented, "He thinks they're number one in the nation!" It was another four seasons before the Oilers appeared again on MNF, and two more years after that before Houston hosted another Monday night game.

    What was the name of the television variety show starring Howard Cosell, that ran during the 1975-76 season?Monday Night Football: Early Years (d2407)

      Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. It seems unthinkable, or maybe just a bad joke, but Cosell had become such a big star by 1975 that he persuaded ABC to let him host a Saturday evening variety show. The act of titling itself, "Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell", forced NBC to title its own live show, also debuting that season, simply "NBC's Saturday Night" to avoid confusion. The first Cosell show featured tennis star Jimmy Connors singing. The second featured the American debut of the Bay City Rollers, modestly hyped by Cosell as the next Beatles. The show actually did have some bright spots. Billy Crystal made his national television debut on the show, and its repertory company, the "Prime Time Players", featured Bill Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray, both of whom would eventually be regulars on Saturday Night Live (or "NBC's Saturday Night"). The Cosell variety show failed to take off, and was cancelled in January 1976. The NBC show renamed itself, "Saturday Night Live", and was still going strong at the turn of the century.

    What did Don Meredith say during a 1973 broadcast from Denver, to the great discontent of the network and sponsors?Monday Night Football: Early Years (d2407)

      "Welcome to the Mile High City, and I really am!". This was at the start of Denver's first appearance on MNF. Meredith had apparantly greatly enjoyed himself at a pre-game cocktail party, and led the broadcast off with that bit of cheer, undoubtedly causing millions of young fans across the US to ask their parents what exactly Dandy Don had meant.

    The very first regular season game on ESPN was an inter-conference matchup between which two teams?Sunday Night Football on ESPN (jbug1262)

      New York Giants vs New England Patriots. On November 8, 1987, ESPN televised its very first regular season NFL game. It was a Week Nine contest between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots which the Giants won, 17-10.

    The first season of Monday Night Football used the announcing team of Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, and Keith Jackson. How did Jackson find out that he was being replaced by Frank Gifford?Monday Night Football: Early Years (d2407)

      Several reporters left messages asking him about it. The book, "Monday Night Mayhem," about the early years of Monday Night Football, memorably describes the replacement of Jackson with Gifford. ABC producer Roone Arledge was a friend of Gifford and had wanted him to be on MNF, but Gifford was under contract to CBS through 1970. When Arledge signed Gifford in April of 1971, Jackson was traveling for ABC. As he checked into his hotel, he was presented with a thick stack of messages from reporters seeking his reaction to being replaced. Jackson saved the messages and later, when Arledge told him, "I tried calling you," Jackson threw the message slips on Arledge's desk and said, "Show me the message!" Jackson went on to become a popular college football announcer on ABC.

    On January 3, 1983, in a game at Minnesota, Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett set the NFL record for the longest running play from scrimmage. How far did Dorsett run?Monday Night Football (1970-2001) (cag1970)

      99 yards. Dorsett's electrifying run capped off ABC's Monday-night coverage of the strike-shortened 1982 season. Though he got a record, the Vikings recorded a 31-27 win.

    Of the 26 teams in the NFL when Monday Night Football was first broadcast, which was the last team to appear in a Monday night game?Monday Night Football: Early Years (d2407)

      Buffalo Bills. Monday Night Football managed to include 21 of the 26 NFL teams in its first season of broadcasts, excluding only the San Francisco 49ers, Boston Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos, and Buffalo Bills. The 49ers (the only excluded team to have a winning record in 1970) played their first MNF game in 1971, then the Patriots played a 1972 game. ABC made good with the remaining teams in 1973, as the Patriots lost to the Cowboys on September 24, then the Broncos tied the Raiders on October 22. The following week, the Bills beat the Chiefs, 23-14, winning in style as the last 1970 NFL team to appear on MNF.

    In which year did former Washington Redskins quarterback, Joe Theismann, join Mike Patrick in the booth as a color commentator? Sunday Night Football on ESPN (jbug1262)

      1988. In 1988, Joe Theismann began his broadcasting career as a color analyst on ESPN's Sunday night NFL telecasts. He and Patrick would continue as a two-man team until 1998 when they would be joined by former Buffalo Bill and NBC color analyst Paul Maguire.

    In the first season of Monday Night Football, during a 23-20 Philadelphia Eagles victory over the New York Giants, Howard Cosell left the game at halftime and didn't return. According to just about everyone but Cosell, what had happened that caused him to miss the second half?Monday Night Football: Early Years (d2407)

      He drank too much and got sick on Don Meredith's shoes. Cosell was slurring his words during the first half of the November 23, 1970 game and departed at halftime. Popular speculation (including opinions by those sharing the booth with him that night) was that, broadcasting from an unheated booth at Philadelphia's old Franklin Field, Cosell "fortified" himself with alcohol to ward off the chill, until getting sick on Meredith's cowboy boots. In Cosell's version of the story, told in his autobiography, he ran laps before the game with sprinter Tommie Smith, inducing dizziness that caused him to get sick during the game. Whatever the reason, the incident cemented MNF's reputation as "must see/must hear" television.

    In the final Sunday night game of the 1999 season, the playoff bound-Washington Redskins played the struggling San Francisco 49ers in a hard fought game. The Niners held the 'Skins to less than 100 yards rushing, while amassing a triple-digit rushing total themselves. How many yards did the 49ers run for?Sunday Night Football on ESPN (jbug1262)

      250. On December 26, 1999, the San Franscico 49ers (4-11) ran roughshod over the powerful Washington Redskins (9-6) gaining 250 yards on the ground. Normally, with a running attack that successful, a team will win the game; however, this was not the case in the contest. Although the Redskins ground game was inept, their passing attack, led by Brad Johnson, was amazing. Johnson threw for 471 yards and the 'Skins came back from a 20-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to win the game in overtime, 26-20.

    I'm sure everyone remembers Joe Namath's ill-conceived statement to ESPN sideline repoter, Suzy Kolber, that he wanted to kiss her during a late December Sunday night game, in 2003. But, do you remember which two teams were playing?Sunday Night Football on ESPN (jbug1262)

      New York Jets vs New England Patriots. During the December 20, 2003, Sunday night game between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots, Joe Namath muttered his ill-advised statement to Suzy Kolber after she asked him his opinion on then-Jets' QB Chad Pennington. He later apologized to her saying that he had made the comment under the influence of alcohol and sought treatment for his problem.

    En route to a Super Bowl championship in the 1985 season, the Chicago Bears played on Monday night twice. Their second appearance yielded their only loss that season. Which team beat them?Monday Night Football (1970-2001) (cag1970)

      Miami Dolphins. It was only fitting that the only perfect team since the merger, the Miami Dolphins, spoiled Chicago's run toward perfection. Every bounce of the football went the Dolphins' way as they won 38-24.

    Before taking over the full 16-game, Sunday night schedule, ESPN only televised the final eight games of the NFL season. Which cable channel had the honor of broadcasting the first eight Sunday night games of those seasons?Sunday Night Football on ESPN (jbug1262)

      TNT. ESPN broadcast the second half of NFL Sunday night games from 1987-1989. Then, in 1990, the first eight Sunday night games were carried by the TNT network while ESPN continued to carry the second half of the season's games. This bi-network sharing of NFL games continued to until end of the 1997 season when ESPN finally took over the full season of Sunday night games.

    As the St. Louis Cardinals administered a 38-0 thrashing to the Dallas Cowboys in 1970, what did the Cowboys fans watching the game do?Monday Night Football: Early Years (d2407)

      Chanted for Don Meredith to come out of the broadcast booth and help their team. "We want Meredith!", chanted the fans at the Cotton Bowl, hoping to entice their former quarterback, who had retired two seasons earlier, on to the field to avert what was the worst home loss the Cowboys had suffered to that point. "No way you're getting me back down there," said Meredith. A good friend of singer Willie Nelson, Meredith eventually began incorporating Nelson's, "Turn Out the Lights", song into games, singing it when a contest had turned into an irreversible blowout.

    As the result of his work with the "Are You Ready For Some Football?" theme for "Monday Night Football", Hank Williams, Jr. became the first country singer to win an Emmy.Monday Night Football (1970-2001) (cag1970)

      T. A musical legend in his own right, Williams won four straight Emmy Awards for his composition of the "Monday Night Football" theme (1990-1993). The theme is based on his 1984 single, "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight".

    As Monday Night Football's popularity soared, celebrities started "dropping by" the booth during games. Which politician and singer appeared together on a Monday Night Football broadcast?Monday Night Football: Early Years (d2407)

      Ronald Reagan & John Lennon. Reagan and Lennon appeared together at halftime on December 9, 1974, between the Washington Redskins and Los Angeles Rams. That they were together in the same room was amazing, as Reagan, California governor at the time, was viewed as a staunch traditionalist with little use for long hair or radical ideas, and Lennon was fighting a US order to deport him, stemming from an earlier drug conviction. The two got along well, with Reagan explaining American football to Lennon, who was attending his first NFL game. Sadly, six years later and almost to the day, Lennon was killed, and Cosell announced the news during a broadcast of a game between the Patriots and the Dolphins.

    1970 to 2001: which team had won the most Monday-night football games?Monday Night Football (1970-2001) (cag1970)

      Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins won 36 games (in 65 appearances) on Monday night between 1970 and 2001. The 65 appearances also marked the most by any one team during that same span. The Raiders won 34 games (54 appearances); the Cowboys won 35 games (61 appearances); and the Redskins won 24 games (50 appearances).

Frequently Asked Questions about Monday Night Football

    • Who created Monday Night Football? ( goto )


    • Was Howard Cosell one of the first sportscasters on Monday Night Football? ( goto )


    • What was, due to his fear of flying, the only Monday Night Football game which John Madden missed? ( goto )


    • In what year was the first NCAA Basketball Championship played on Monday night? ( goto )


    • When Keith Urban won the Video of the Year award on CMT this past Monday night, he dedicated the award to Joni Foraker. Does anyone know who she is? ( goto )


    • Accrington Stanley resigned from Division 4 of the Football League on Monday 6th March 1962 (see Q# 21933). Their last match, played on Saturday 3rd March 1962, was their 33rd game for the 1961-62 season, and their W-D-L 5-8-20 (goals 19-60) record was expunged. I've hit a brick wall trying to locate their next game, the 34th game of the 46 game season. What was their next game (aka which club got the bye)? ( goto )


    • What comics character frequently declares his hate of Monday? ( goto )


    • Assuming that there is no such thing as Daylight Savings Time, how long does a Monday last hourwise from the time it is Monday anywhere until the time it isn't? ( goto )


    • Who sings a song with the line "I don't have to be me till Monday"? ( goto )


    • What is Walpurgis Night? ( goto )


    • What is Twelve Night? ( goto )


    • When was the 'traditional' work week established, you know, the 9 to 5 Monday through Friday deal? ( goto )


    • Which musician started with Pilgrim Travellers in the 1950s and issued his first LP in 1962 called Stormy Monday? ( goto )


    • Who wrote the poem which contains the line, "but how could anyone ever love Monday?" ( goto )


    • In German, day is tag, Sunday is Sonntag, Monday is Montag, Tuesday is Deinstag and so on, but why is Wednesday 'Mittwoch'? ( goto )


    • Who invented football? ( goto )


    • The 20th world championship of which sport was held in mid Wales on Bank holiday Monday?The event was won in 1 minute 46 seconds. ( goto )


    • How is Arena Football different from NFL football? ( goto )


    • Which is oldest: American football, English football, or rugby? ( goto )


    • Why is Easter Monday celebrated by the Orthodox Church today and the Catholic and Protestant churches celebrate the Resurrection last week, seven days earlier? ( goto )


    • What was the opera in the movie "A Night At The Opera?" ( goto )


    • What was the name of the song from the Saturday Night Live 'Night at the Roxbury' sketch? ( goto )


    • Does anyone know why the Redskins played with some weird helmet in their big loss to the Eagles this past Monday, but today they are using their old helmet again? ( goto )


    • What is Missouri's football team? ( goto )


    • What is the exact weight of a football? ( goto )


    • In what year was 'The Night Before Christmas' written? ( goto )


    • Which reindeer is not mentioned in 'The Night Before Christmas'? ( goto )


    • Why are Mercury and Venus generally invisible at night? ( goto )


    • How do Night Vision Optics work? ( goto )


    • On the show 'Night Court' who was Harry's idol? ( goto )


  • All content is (C)opyright 1995-2006 FunTrivia.com. Content may NOT be copied, reprinted, or distributed without our written consent. Feel free to link to any page you wish.

  • While we try to keep trivia as accurate as possible through a regular volunteer editing process, FunTrivia cannot guarantee the validity of the information found here. FunTrivia offers no professional advice, and you take all responsibility for your use of anything contained herein.
  • Feel free to send a note to a particular item's author for further details or source information; most of our authors love to hear feedback about their work.
  • See our conditions of use for details.