Monday Night Football Monday Night Football ( MNF ) is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN . From 1970 to 2005 it aired on ABC . " Monday Night Football " was , along with " Hallmark Hall of Fame " , and the " Walt Disney anthology television series " , one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series ever , and one of the highest - rated , particularly among male viewers . " Monday Night Football " can also be seen in Canada on TSN and RIS , and in most of Europe on ESPN America . On 29 March 2010 it was announced that MNF would be shown on ESPN UK , in most of Australia on One HD , in Portugal on SportTV 3 and SportTV HD and on TV 2 Sport in Denmark , and in some regions of the world outside the U . S . on ESPN International . A Spanish language version airs on ESPN Deportes in the U . S . and on ESPN International in Latin America . The games are also made available on regular over - the - air television stations in each participating team ' s local market so that households without cable television can still see the telecast . As of December 27 , 2010 , the " Monday Night Football " franchise had aired a total of 643 games . Overview . After 41 years , there now have been a total of 730 games televised by the " Monday Night Football " franchise . Scheduling problems . To avoid any scheduling unfairness where a team may have five days between games and others six before the first playoff game , there is no Monday night game during the final week of the regular season . From 2003 until 2005 , one game was played on Thursday and another Monday under the " Monday Night Football " banner . Starting in 2006 , when the series moved to cable , two games are played on the opening Monday night to capitalize on fan interest during " Kickoff Weekend " . Monday night games early in the season are often highly anticipated since records are new , teams usually are showcasing fresh talent and potential , and storylines coming into the season are often played out as fans try to see if these hyped teams are up to form . Since no one knows during the first month of the season if a team is indeed good , or will rebound from a difficult start , interest is usually high for the first few weeks of the " MNF " season . Unfortunately , since the " MNF " schedule is set in April and cannot be changed , the league and network cannot guarantee a late season match up will have any significance or be highly anticipated . Teams thought to be good during the off - season could be out of playoff contention by mid - season ( a prime example occurring in 1999 , when the 49ers and Falcons both entered the season ' s final MNF game with 4 - 11 records . It had seemed like a good pre - season matchup since the Falcons had played in the previous season ' s Super Bowl and the 49ers coming into the ' 99 season had posted 16 consecutive 10 - win seasons ) . It is also possible for a team like the 1999 St . Louis Rams not to be scheduled for a Monday night game because of its dismal record the year before , and many other NFL teams have had huge unforeseen turnarounds that result in lack of MNF attention ( these teams generally receive multiple MNF spots the year after their breakout success , which is great for viewers if those teams continue to play well , and not so great if they return to mediocrity or worse ) . However , the forecasting abilities of the NFL ' s schedule - makers have generally been proficient over the years , resulting in most late - season MNF games featuring at least one team that is either headed to the playoffs or needs to win the MNF game to clinch / get closer to a playoff spot . The problem of having a national spotlight game which during the season ' s most critical weeks late in the year probably would not show the most important game of the week was long known by the league and network . As a result of this , the league wished to move the " Game of the Week " idea to Sunday nights as to make flex scheduling possible . This was a move which would ultimately mean the end of " Monday Night Football " on ABC . ( Cable games are protected from the NFL ' s flexible scheduling rule adopted for the 2006 – 07 season . The new rule applies only to CBS , Fox , and NBC ' s Sunday night games . ) Franchises with the most appearances . The franchise with the most Monday night appearances is the Miami Dolphins . The most common " Monday Night Football " pairings are Denver vs . Oakland ( matched up 15 times as of the start of the 2009 – 10 season ) , and Dallas vs . Washington ( matched up 14 times as of the start of the 2009 – 10 season ) ; both are division games between bitter rivals and draw substantial interest from fans of other teams as well . The show as entertainment . " Monday Night Football " has continued to provide as much entertainment as sports throughout its run . In addition to the extra cameras , the show has also pioneered technological broadcast innovations , such as the use of enhanced slow motion replays and computerized graphics . Celebrity guests , such as former Vice President Spiro Agnew , singers Plácido Domingo and John Lennon ( formerly of The Beatles ) , President Bill Clinton , and even Kermit the Frog , were often featured during the game to " liven up " the broadcast . The December 9 , 1974 contest featured a rare instance of two celebrities entering the booth , with Lennon being interviewed by Cosell and California governor Ronald Reagan speaking with Gifford , with Reagan explaining the rules of American football ( off - camera ) to Lennon as the game went along . However , the late 1990s and early 2000s saw an even more increased reliance on the entertainment factor . Some halftime shows , featuring popular music stars , were broadcast in full rather than being ignored in favor of analysis of the game by the commentators , as in previous seasons . Hank Williams , Jr . reworked his country music hit " All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight " to be included in the telecast ' s introduction . ( The original introduction music was an organ - based piece called " Score " , written by Charles Fox and recorded by Bob ' s Band . ) In addition , Edd Kalehoff modernized the classic " Heavy Action " theme in 1989 . It was Williams , Jr . who literally had the last word on ABC ' s last broadcast , with his rendition of Don Meredith ' s famous song , " " Turn Out the Lights , The Party ' s Over " " , shown as the broadcast ended . On October 23 , 2006 , Hank Williams Jr . shouted the catchphrase , live , on top of the " Cowboy star " at the 50 - yard line of Texas Stadium before kickoff of the Dallas Cowboys game that evening . In December 1980 , one of the most memorable moments of MNF occurred when Cosell announced in a news flash that John Lennon had been shot and killed in New York City . The program ' s affiliation with ABC / ESPN also resulted in numerous promotional crossovers between " MNF " and other ABC / ESPN programs . 2006 summary . For its 2006 debut on ESPN , Williams , Jr . re - recorded the " MNF " opening theme with an all - star jam band that included Brian Setzer , Little Richard , Questlove , Joe Perry , Clarence Clemons , Rick Nielsen , Bootsy Collins , Charlie Daniels , Steven Van Zandt and others . The 2006 telecast generally began with a cinematic tease produced by Rico Labbe , Michael Sciallis and Jason Jobes . It was during one of these teases that Barack Obama spoofed his announcement for the 2008 Presidential candidacy . The tease is followed by the show open produced by Los Angeles - based The Syndicate called Transformation . It features computer - generated imagery showing a city being transformed into a football stadium and passers - by on the street turning into players , coaches , fans , and officials set to an updated orchestral treatment of the " Heavy Action " theme song . The sequence begins every week with a different celebrity walking down the street , picking up a glowing football helmet with the ESPN logo on the side and saying , " " I ' m ready for some football ! Are you ? " " , thus beginning the transformation process . Celebrities for 2006 included Arnold Schwarzenegger , Matthew Fox , Hugh Hefner , Paris Hilton , Spike Lee , Ashton Kutcher , Samuel L . Jackson , Ludacris , Jack Black , Kiefer Sutherland , James Belushi , Ben Stiller , Tyra Banks , Carmen Electra and Eva Longoria . Also , the stars returned in full force to the booth , though this proved to be the major criticism of the ESPN ' s first " MNF " season . On the opening weekend , Arnold Schwarzenegger , another celebrity turned California governor , was in the booth at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland , California ; before that , Jamie Foxx appeared at FedExField in suburban Washington , D . C . Following them have included NBA basketball superstar Dwyane Wade , Basketball Hall of Fame player Charles Barkley , NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon , comedian Jimmy Kimmel ( whose opening words to Joe Theismann were " " how ' s the leg ? " " ) , actor Sylvester Stallone , director Spike Lee , hip hop artist Jay - Z , and " MNF " theme singer Hank Williams , Jr . Digital on - screen graphics . ESPN ' s score banner used since acquiring " Monday Night Football " from sister - channel ABC is placed in the middle of the screen on the bottom . It looks all black , and with the road team on the left side , and the home team on the right side . Also , the team colors are on the sides of the scoreboard . When a touchdown happens , a side of the team who scores the touchdown opens with a team logo , and next to it is " TOUCHDOWN " and the score changes number - by - number . ESPN Monday Night Football is the only time this score banner is used . In other sports , a red parallelogram shaped score banner was used . The other on screen graphics are intact . " Monday Night Football " began using a more traditional score banner , the " MNF Dashboard " , at the bottom of the screen in 2008 , with player stats and information being displayed the score and time . ESPN ' s NFL broadcasts , even before acquiring " MNF " , have been traditionally somewhat of a testing ground for new graphics for the network ' s other play - by - play properties . Beginning with the 2008 season , the score banner was given a cosmetic makeover . A virtual on - field graphic showing an arrow pointing towards the direction of advancement and the down / yardage information were used on all plays . A play clock was added to the virtual on - field graphic the following season , beginning with the September 14 , 2009 game between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots . MNF ' s scoring banner was slightly changed for its 40th season in 2009 . Additionally ( beginning with Week 4 ) , timeout indicators were added below each team ' s abbreviations . ( Note : This was first used on the ESPN networks ' college football coverage , beginning in 2007 . ) On December 19 , 2009 , ESPN debuted a variation of this scoring banner and a graphics package mirroring that of MNF for its college football coverage , beginning with the 2009 New Mexico Bowl . On March 14 , 2010 , the scoreboard debut for the NBA on ABC . On April 4 , 2010 , ESPN Major League Baseball debuted their graphics package on the 2010 MLB Opening Day , the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox . The MNF scoring banner underwent some significant changes for the 2010 season , mirroring that of what was first used during the 2010 college football season on the ESPN family of networks a week earlier . When the scoring banner is displayed , the " Monday Night Football " logo appears before showing the time and score . Also , the time remaining in each quarter is slightly larger than before . The team logos appear alongside their abbreviations , and The timeout indicators are more visible than the previous year . Also , the word " TIMEOUT " ( in capital letters ) appears in place of the team abbreviations and score after a team takes a timeout . And the graphic reading " TOUCHDOWN " appears in conjunction with the score change ( after which the team scores a TD ) . 2007 summary . ESPN cut back to only one opening tease for the 2007 season . Williams Jr . and the all - star band returned , only this time they played in a " juke joint " set on a country road . The lead singer arrives in a GMC Yukon truck ( GMC paid for product placement ) with the license plate " BOCEPHUS " , which is Williams ' nickname . The Syndicate ' s computer - generated tease was removed and replaced by short pre - taped films focusing on a team or player in the game . Some of them have featured actor Jamie Foxx . The guest visits continued : Barkley returned to the booth on September 17 in Philadelphia . Other guests throughout the season have included Kimmel ( another returnee ) , Drew Carey , Miley Cyrus , Russell Crowe , and Terry Bradshaw . In addition , Gordon was a halftime guest on the game just before the season - ending Ford 400 and was joined by teammate Jimmie Johnson . When the game ends , Williams returns to say , " See you in ( city that is the site of the next week ' s game ) . " Both the open and close contain helmets of the participating teams , organized in the style of a concert poster . 2008 summary . Despite the de - emphasis on entertainment on the overall telecast , ESPN did bring back Hank Williams , Jr . for his 20th season as part of the opening . This time , the open was set in a private residence . At the end of the song , Williams Jr . touched a foot pump which supposedly contained the helmets of that night ' s participating teams . The helmet s were launched from the home toward the stadium at which the game was held . Through computer - generated imagery , the helmets " land " at midfield during a live shot , and then explode . The " exploding helmets " gimmick was also used at various times in the 1980s and 1990s during the pre - game tease . Williams Jr . then appeared again at the end of the game to promote the next week ' s matchup . ESPN also continued to promote upcoming albums through its use in bumper music . On September 29 ( Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers ) , ESPN used " Another Way to Die " , a duet between Alicia Keys and Jack White of the White Stripes . The song was part of the soundtrack for the 2008 movie " Quantum of Solace " , the latest in the James Bond series . " Monday Night Football " celebrated their 600th game on Monday , October 20 , 2008 in a game where the New England Patriots defeated the Denver Broncos 41 – 7 . The 39th season of MNF ended December 22 , 2008 in Chicago , when the Bears beat the Green Bay Packers , 20 – 17 , in overtime . 2009 summary . For the 40th season of " Monday Night Football " , Hank Williams , Jr . is seen on the steps of a building ( presumably a museum ) , surrounded by dancers , football fans , and statues / busts patterned after those at the Pro Football Hall of Fame . The statues begin to move and dance along with everyone else in the scene . The transition to Williams Jr . is a book , with the chapter number ( in Roman numeral s , sequentially with each week ) and a tag line about the game to be played that night . At the end of the song , Williams Jr . plugged in the cords , thereby launching animated " helmets " into space . The helmets were launched from the building toward the stadium at which the game was held ( with the exception of October 5 , 2009 , when the helmets zoomed towards Brett Favre instead ) , passing the International Space Station . And just like the previous season as mentioned above , the helmets " land " at midfield during a live shot and then crashed into each other . Williams Jr . appeared again at the end of the telecast to promote the following week ' s matchup , and the book closed , signifying the end of the " chapter , " or game . The scene was filmed in the summer of 2009 at The Parthenon in Nashville , Tennessee . Before Williams Jr . appears , Frank Gifford gives a short vignette about a memorable moment in the history of " Monday Night Football " featuring one or both of the teams playing that night ' s game . The 40th season of " Monday Night Football " ended December 28 , 2009 with the Minnesota Vikings - Chicago Bears game in Chicago . The Bears defeated the Vikings in overtime , 36 – 30 . The telecast ended with a vignette that featured Gifford taking a look back at highlights of the last 4 decades – and the 40th season – of MNF . After that , the book closed , signifying the end of the season . 2010 summary . The opening was identical to the previous season , except for the final scenes . This time , Williams Jr . turns a wheel filled with paint and then , through computer - generated imagery , colors blast into the air and the helmets containing logos of participating teams are revealed . The helmets stay on top of the building . In one other minor difference , the chapter numbers in the " book " are Arabic numeral s , not Roman ones . Gifford is providing new vignettes and the Parthenon scenes are repeated from the year before . The 2010 season marked Williams ' 22nd as part of the telecast open . In an unusual coincidence , both games which had the New York Jets as a home team at New Meadowlands Stadium were delayed by heavy rain and lightning . The first time , September 13 against the Baltimore Ravens , the game was delayed 25 minutes ; the second delay , prior to the October 11 contest against the Minnesota Vikings , lasted for 40 minutes . Prior to the 9 / 13 game , the last ESPN telecast to encounter weather problems was on October 2 , 1999 ( a Sunday night ) when lightning halted Seattle Seahawks at Kansas City Chiefs during the second quarter . The first delay forced ESPN to again use ESPN2 for a game telecast , this time for the Chiefs ' home opener against the San Diego Chargers . As in 2007 , the broadcast was shifted to ESPN once the first game was over . The game between the Jets and the Vikings was both Brett Favre ' s first game in East Rutherford since his only season there in 2008 and marked Randy Moss ' return to the Vikings . Moss played only four games for Minnesota until he was waived on November 2 . Foreign language versions . Spanish version . Since 2006 , a Spanish - language telecast is also broadcasted on ESPN Deportes , the Spanish version of ESPN and on ESPN Latin América featuring NBA and NFL play - by - play announcer Alvaro Martin , Super Bowl winner Raul Allegre as color commentator and John Sutcliffe as the field reporter . This is the same crew of La NFL Dominical , the Spanish version of ESPN Sunday Night Football , until 2005 . The announcers of the second game of the 2006 doubleheader were Eduardo Varela ( play - by - play ) , Robert Abramowitz ( color ) and Georgina Ruiz Sandoval ( field reporter ) . Preceding the game NFL Esta Noche ( " NFL Tonight " ) , the 30 - minute pre - game show , can be seen on both networks . The four booth announcers called the 2007 season opening games from ESPN ' s Bristol , Connecticut headquarters while watching games on monitor s . None of them traveled to the game sites and there were no sideline reporters in the early weeks . Sutcliffe would later report from the game sites . Allegre did not work the season finale between the Broncos and Chargers ; he was replaced by Abramovitz . In 2008 , Martin and Allegre only travelled to the Cowboys - Eagles game , during the NFL ' s celebrations of the Hispanic Heritage Month . Portuguese version . Since the 1990s , ESPN Latin America has a feed in portuguese language targeted to their viewers in Brazil . Ivan Zimmermann ( play - by - play ) , André José Adler ( play - by - play ) , Roberto Figueroa ( color ) , Marco Alfaro ( color ) among others , were the announcers broadcasting from ESPN ' s headquarters . Since 2006 , the structure of the Brazilian feed was merged with ESPN Brasil and the broadcasting is made from São Paulo . The current announcers are Everaldo Marques ( play - by - play ) and Paulo Antunes ( color ) . Ari Aguiar ( play - by - play ) and Eduardo Agra ( color ) occasionally fill - in . Radio broadcasts . " Monday Night Football " has also been carried on national radio networks over the years . The Mutual Broadcasting System aired the games initially , with Van Patrick ( 1972 – 1973 ) and Lindsey Nelson ( 1974 – 1977 ) announcing . CBS Radio took over in 1978 with Jack Buck and Hank Stram commentating . After a two - year stint ( 1985 – 1986 ) with Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy calling the games on NBC Radio , Buck and Stram resumed with CBS Radio in 1987 . In 1996 , Howard David and Matt Millen replaced Buck and Stram . Marv Albert and Boomer Esiason were the " MNF " radio voices from 2002 to 2009 , with Kevin Harlan replacing Albert in 2010 . In the 1990s , CBS Radio purchased a controlling stake in Westwood One , which in turn had bought out both the NBC and Mutual networks . As of 2008 , Westwood One was no longer controlled by CBS , but the network retained its NFL broadcast rights . TV ratings . The highest - rated " Monday Night Football " telecast on ABC was the Miami Dolphins ' victory over the previously undefeated Chicago Bears on December 2 , 1985 , which drew a national Nielsen rating of 29 . 6 and a share of 46 . ABC ' s lowest - rated " MNF " game was the St . Louis Rams ' defeat of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 18 , 2004 , which drew a 7 . 7 rating . During the 1995 - 1996 TV season , " Monday Night Football " averaged a 17 . 1 household rating . Its main competitor , " Murphy Brown " , averaged a 12 . 3 rating . The highest - rated " Monday Night Football " game on ESPN , and the highest - rated program in U . S . cable television history to date , was the Minnesota Vikings ' defeat of the Green Bay Packers 30 – 23 on October 5 , 2009 , with a rating of 15 . 3 . The game featured the much - hyped matchup of Vikings quarterback Brett Favre facing his longtime former Green Bay team . ESPN noted in a press release that the telecast " was watched by more than 16 . 8 million people . The previous record was more than 13 . 6 million viewers for 2008 ' s Monday night game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys . ESPN also stated that the game drew the highest rating in the network ' s 30 - year history . The 15 . 3 rating beat the 14 . 4 for a Bears - Vikings game on Dec . 6 , 1987 , during ESPN ' s first season of televising NFL games " . ESPN ' s lowest - rated " MNF " game to date was the New York Giants ' defeat of the Atlanta Falcons on October 15 , 2007 , which drew a 5 . 7 rating . ESPN ' s third season of " Monday Night Football " was the most watched series on cable television in 2008 . It set an all - time cable viewership record for the third straight year and drew the year ' s three biggest cable household audiences and 13 of the top 15 . In three seasons on ESPN , " Monday Night Football " has registered seven of the top 10 all - time biggest household audiences in cable history , led by the Eagles - Cowboys telecast on 9 / 15 / 08 , which attracted cable ' s largest household audience ever ( an average of 12 , 953 , 000 million homes ) . ESPN ' s 17 " MNF " telecasts in 2008 averaged a 8 . 9 rating , representing an average of 8 , 679 , 000 households ( 11 , 962 , 000 viewers ) , increases of 3 % , 5 % and 7 % , respectively , vs . 2007 ( 8 . 6 ; 8 , 277 , 000 and 11 , 230 , 000 ) .