I think I just sprained something. Let's hope it's nothing more serious than turf tongue. Monday Night Football's Nielsen ratings are simultaneously triumphant and dire, and ABC, unlike many a retired quarterback, is fully cognizant of its situation. Last year was the lowest rated in the show's 30-year history, but MNF also finished No. 3 in prime time programming, the highest ranking ever. This seeming contradiction means that while viewership of all network programs decline, Monday Night Football has secured its base of football fans.
Football fans deliver football ratings.
What ABC needs, however, is entertainment ratings. While Miller's prolixity may be doomed within the crammed 3-man booth, he has, unlike the Steeler's offense, worked out some of the kinks over the course of the preseason. On the other hand, the articulate, intelligent Al Michaels seems to think that Miller is fun now, and will evolve into something other than a heavily thesaurused side-show. Or maybe not. If Miller can become a team player, which he was never able to do on Saturday Night Live, and if he begins to value brevity, which is anathema to his self-indulgent rant style, Monday Night Football is a comedic opportunity not seen since Shecky Green got a mouthful of Henny's fiddle at the Friars club.