Monday Night Football: Season 32

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Season Details & Credits

ESPN | Season Premiere Date: September 10, 2001

Starring: Dennis Miller, Al Michaels, Dan Fouts

Summary: "Monday Night Football really got on the air because of Pete Rozelle," recalls former producer Don Ohlmeyer. Indeed, it was Rozelle's reputation for public relations and marketing that created a prime-time venue for the National Football League.

The prototypes for Monday Night Football were those annual Monday night games staged from"Monday Night Football really got on the air because of Pete Rozelle," recalls former producer Don Ohlmeyer. Indeed, it was Rozelle's reputation for public relations and marketing that created a prime-time venue for the National Football League.

The prototypes for Monday Night Football were those annual Monday night games staged from 1966 to 1969 inclusive on CBS. St. Louis hosted three of them, and it seemed natural for the NFL to make Monday night their regular turf.

The only trouble was, Rozelle couldn't get a network to agree. CBS did not want to lose Gunsmoke. NBC had Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, TV's highest-rated show the past two years. Even ABC, floundering in third place in the ratings, was unsure. Rozelle then threatened to put the Monday night package in syndication via the Hughes Television Service. So ABC bought in.

NFL owners themselves weren't keen on Monday Night Football. Some thought the gates would be dormant. But then-Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell, who knew a thing or two about marketing himself, agreed to host the first MNF game. He asked that the Browns face the Jets to maximize ABC's first-night audience. The result was a smashing success.

For 36 years, Monday Night Football would air on ABC at Mondays at 9pm ET/6pm PT ever since (except for when it aired at 8pm ET). Though two teams would always meet on the field, viewers often got their fill from watching the original ABC broadcasters.

Don Meredith and Howard Cosell were, along with Keith Jackson, part of the original team that started in 1970. After Jackson returned full-time to ABC's college football broadcasts, the network hired Frank Gifford away from CBS. From there, Monday Night Football began its most memorable years. It got ratings thanks to the wide appeal that Cosell, Meredith, and Gifford collectively garnered. Except for a shift in the mid-70s that sent Meredith briefly to another network, ABC played a strong football card for twelve years.

The separate departures of Meredith and Cosell left the Monday Night Football booth in a shaky transition period during the mid-80s. Though they sometimes got it right on the field, with the high-water mark being Miami's romping of the eventual Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears in 1985, it was plain that the booth could not work with three ex-players (what Howard Cosell had labeled "jockocracy"). The likes of Fred Williamson, O.J. Simpson, and Joe Namath were quickly disposed.

The second-most-stable team was assembled in 1986, when veteran ABC sportscaster Al Michaels joined Gifford. Rounding out the booth was future Hall of Fame offensive lineman Dan Dierdorf. They would share more than a decade of prime time football coverage, including three Super Bowls.

For all its considerable charm and novelty, one thing Monday Night Football did not achieve was a proper farewell to Frank Gifford. After the 1997 season, the booth welcomed the recently-retired Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason. Gifford was cramped in a studio to introduce pregame and halftime stories for the 1998 season. Neither change worked, as Gifford was out of ABC after one year and Boomer Esiason agreed to a contract settlement in 2000.

The next two years were the least successful. Joining Al Michaels was ABC college football analyst Dan Fouts and, of all people, Dennis Miller. Even though their first season had an abundance of nail-biters (witness the Jets' Midnight Miracle over the Dolphins), the new recruits were unable to get in focus. Miller in particular was over-rehearsed in the hours leading up to a broadcast. Both he and Fouts were out of the booth after January 7, 2002.

ABC needed a lift for the show, and thought they had it when John Madden (who had recanted on his offer to join ABC in 1994) came over from another network. Monday Night Football went from planes to buses for the next four years. Again, though, the players were meant to be bigger stars than Madden or Michaels. Sometimes it showed, such as the Colts' stunning comeback over the defending World Champion Buccaneers in 2003. But in all honesty, the hundred forces that had emerged after 1970 to compete with Monday Night Football, were collectively getting the better of ABC.

Thus, on April 18, 2005, a new eight-year contract sent Monday Night Football to ABC's adopted sister network, ESPN.… Expand

Genre(s): Sports, Sports, Talk & Interview

Season 32 Episodes

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S32:E17. 2001 Week 17: Minnesota Vikings at Baltimore Ravens
Air Date: January 7, 2002
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S32:E16. 2001 Week 16: Baltimore Ravens at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Air Date: December 29, 2001
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S32:E15. 2001 Week 15: Tennessee Titans at Oakland Raiders
Air Date: December 22, 2001

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Seasons & Episodes

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Series Overview
Season 44

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- Season 44 Overview
  Air Date: September 1, 1970
Season 43

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- Season 43 Overview
  Air Date: September 10, 2012
Season 42

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- Season 42 Overview
  Air Date: September 12, 2011
Season 41

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- Season 41 Overview
  Air Date: September 13, 2010
Season 40

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- Season 40 Overview
  Air Date: September 14, 2009
Season 39

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- Season 39 Overview
  Air Date: September 8, 2008
Season 38

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- Season 38 Overview
  Air Date: September 10, 2007
Season 37

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- Season 37 Overview
  Air Date: September 11, 2006
Season 36

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- Season 36 Overview
  Air Date: September 8, 2005
Season 35

tbd
- Season 35 Overview
  Air Date: September 9, 2004
Season 34

tbd
- Season 34 Overview
  Air Date: September 4, 2003
Season 33

tbd
- Season 33 Overview
  Air Date: September 9, 2002
Season 32

tbd
- Season 32 Overview
  Air Date: September 10, 2001
- tbd
  S32:E17. 2001 Week 17: Minnesota Vikings at Baltimore Ravens
  Air Date: January 7, 2002
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  S32:E16. 2001 Week 16: Baltimore Ravens at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  Air Date: December 29, 2001
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  S32:E15. 2001 Week 15: Tennessee Titans at Oakland Raiders
  Air Date: December 22, 2001
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  S32:E14. 2001 Week 14: St. Louis Rams at New Orleans Saints
  Air Date: December 17, 2001
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  S32:E13. 2001 Week 13: Indianapolis Colts at Miami Dolphins
  Air Date: December 10, 2001
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  S32:E12. 2001 Week 12: Green Bay Packers at Jacksonville Jaguars
  Air Date: December 3, 2001
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  S32:E11. 2001 Week 11: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at St. Louis Rams
  Air Date: November 26, 2001
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  S32:E10. 2001 Week 10: New York Giants at Minnesota Vikings
  Air Date: November 19, 2001
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  S32:E9. 2001 Week 9: Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans
  Air Date: November 12, 2001
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  S32:E8. 2001 Week 8: Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
  Air Date: November 5, 2001
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  S32:E7. 2001 Week 7: Tennessee Titans at Pittsburgh Steelers
  Air Date: October 29, 2001
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  S32:E6. 2001 Week 6: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants
  Air Date: October 22, 2001
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  S32:E5. 2001 Week 5: Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys
  Air Date: October 15, 2001
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  S32:E4. 2001 Week 4: St. Louis Rams at Detroit Lions
  Air Date: October 8, 2001
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  S32:E3. 2001 Week 3: San Francisco 49ers at New York Jets
  Air Date: October 1, 2001
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  S32:E2. 2001 Week 2: Washington Redskins at Green Bay Packers
  Air Date: September 24, 2001
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  S32:E1. 2001 Week 1: New York Giants at Denver Broncos
  Air Date: September 10, 2001
Season 31

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- Season 31 Overview
  Air Date: September 4, 2000
Season 30

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- Season 30 Overview
  Air Date: September 13, 1999
Season 29

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- Season 29 Overview
  Air Date: September 7, 1998
Season 28

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- Season 28 Overview
  Air Date: September 1, 1997
Season 27

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- Season 27 Overview
  Air Date: September 2, 1996
Season 26

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- Season 26 Overview
  Air Date: September 4, 1995
Season 25

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- Season 25 Overview
  Air Date: September 5, 1994
Season 24

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- Season 24 Overview
  Air Date: September 6, 1993
Season 23

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- Season 23 Overview
  Air Date: September 7, 1992
Season 22

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- Season 22 Overview
  Air Date: September 2, 1991
Season 21

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- Season 21 Overview
  Air Date: September 10, 1990
Season 20

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- Season 20 Overview
  Air Date: September 11, 1989
Season 19

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- Season 19 Overview
  Air Date: September 5, 1988
Season 18

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- Season 18 Overview
  Air Date: September 14, 1987
Season 17

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- Season 17 Overview
  Air Date: September 8, 1986
Season 16

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- Season 16 Overview
  Air Date: September 9, 1985
Season 15

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- Season 15 Overview
  Air Date: September 3, 1984
Season 14

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- Season 14 Overview
  Air Date: September 5, 1983
Season 13

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- Season 13 Overview
  Air Date: September 13, 1982
Season 12

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- Season 12 Overview
  Air Date: September 7, 1981
Season 11

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- Season 11 Overview
  Air Date: September 8, 1980
Season 10

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- Season 10 Overview
  Air Date: September 3, 1979
Season 9

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- Season 9 Overview
  Air Date: September 4, 1978
Season 8

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- Season 8 Overview
  Air Date: September 19, 1977
Season 7

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- Season 7 Overview
  Air Date: September 13, 1976
Season 6

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- Season 6 Overview
  Air Date: September 22, 1975
Season 5

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- Season 5 Overview
  Air Date: September 16, 1974
Season 4

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- Season 4 Overview
  Air Date: September 17, 1973
Season 3

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- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: September 18, 1972
Season 2

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- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: September 20, 1971
Season 1

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- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: September 21, 1970