NFL Gets Animated With 'The Simpsons' For Bengals-Cowboys ESPN 'MNF' Game
Tuesday, October 29, 2024 at 10:34AM By Barry Janoff
October 29, 2024: Figuring that the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals weren’t facing enough challenges on the field this season, the NFL has now paired them with Bart, Homer and the rest of The Simpsons clan for a special animated edition of ESPN’s Monday Night Football.
ESPN, Disney, The Simpsons and the NFL will premiere The Simpsons Funday Football on Monday, Dec. 9, with the alt-broadcast to air on Disney+ and ESPN+.
The game will be transformed in real-time into the iconic Simpsons world using Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology.
The Simpsons’ Atoms Stadium in Springfield will host the fully immersive fan-viewing experience. The Simpsons Funday Football will see every snap, run, pass, score and more from the real-life Bengals and Cowboys matchup in AT&T Stadium as it happens.
Each Bengals and Cowboys player will appear as a motion-enabled, animated player for the special prime time game.
ESPN said The Simpsons creators “have collaborated on the look, sound and feel with ESPN and the NFL to ensure the authenticity of the longest running prime time scripted series with more than 750 episodes.”
The telecast will feature dozens of the show’s iconic characters, with each character playing into their well-known persona.
Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner and Yeardley Smith will voice several of their characters in prerecorded bits and skits.
Bart Simpson will side with QB Joe Burrow and the Bengals while Homer aligns with QB Dak Prescott and the Cowboys.
For most of the game, Bart and Homer will let their new Bengals and Cowboys teammates manage the action.
But they also will select key opportunities to play offense and/or defense, replacing a player and joining the other ten teammates on the field.
Surrounding the gameplay, Marge and Lisa will interview players during the game and Maggie will fly the SkyCam, "while popular characters, show references and aesthetics will bring a real Sunday-night-with-the-Simpsons feel to Monday Night Football."
The Simpsons Funday Football will have its own animated commentators, as ESPN’s Simpsons enthusiasts Mina Kimes and Dan Orlovsky will provide football strategy discussion with Drew Carter calling the game action.
Outside of the live game, Simpsons producers have written original content for the telecast that will be utilized before, during and after the game.
This is the second consecutive year ESPN, Disney and the NFL have presented a Funday Football telecast.
ESPN’s Toy Story Funday Football in October 2023 was also presented by Disney, ESPN and the NFL, and utilized NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Sony’s Beyond Sports’ Technology and Hawk-Eye Innovation’s skeletal data.
That presentation for the NFL won three Sports Emmys: Outstanding Production Design, George Wensel Technical Achievement and Outstanding Graphic Design.
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