The Monday Night Football Promo Shoot
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
An article on the experience at the filming of the Monday Night Football promo.
Last night, Monday Night Football turned 40. Oh, sure, it won't officially happen until the start of football season, but Hank Williams Jr., dancing girls in tight black spandex, and several hundred of his rowdy friends wearing football jerseys of many colors gathered on a steamy night in Nashville for the filming of the show's introductory song. "Are you ready for some football?!"
Yes, yes, god, yes, we all are. It's boiling hot, every sport but baseball is over, and you're singing to a football-crazy city and state. But after a few thousand versions of the same song, we were also ready for some sleep. And air-conditioning, lots of air-conditioning. There's just one problem.
"Where the hell is Hank?" asks a portly woman in a pink Titans jersey standing beside me.
This is Hank Williams Jr.'s 21st consecutive year as the opening act for Monday Night Football. In 1989, ABC contacted him and asked whether he'd be willing to rework one of his popular songs, "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight," into a Monday Night Football introductory theme. Williams obliged, and the result was a song that every person in the free world has now heard, "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here On Monday Night."
Now, we're all crowded in a tight semi-circle in the bright lights on the west facade of Nashville's Parthenon. We're all ready for the crowd shots. All we need is Hank.
...
At that exact moment, Hank Williams, Jr. makes his appearance.
19. Hank is wearing a black leather vest over a bright yellow shirt. He has on dark black jeans and a brown cowboy hat. Around his neck, on a black string, hangs what appears to be a mastodon tooth. Either that or a large powder horn for a Confederate musket.
20. The crowd explodes. Hank picks out random people in the crowd and points at them, grins. His voice, redolent of whiskey and cold beers, pours out over us. "Boy, it ain't as hot tonight as it was last night," he says.
"I love you Hank," screams a man, rheumy-eyed, in a white wife-beater and blue jean shorts.
"Amen, brother," Hank growls.
The crowd roars with laughter, exultant over their proximity to Hank.
21. This is not the first time I've seen Hank. One night during law school, around three in the morning, a limo squealed into Printer's Alley in downtown Nashville. My friend, Amir, stood shivering in the night's chill. The door to the limo opened. Hank Williams, Jr. climbed out. "Good god, boy, you must be freezing," he said, whipping off his full-length leather coat and handing it to my friend. "Put this on."
22. Now, on a much hotter night, Hank is holding a guitar and idly strumming the threads. His fingers are covered in sparkling jewels, catching the bright lights and reflecting with dazzling brilliance. "This time it's for real," says the producer. Labels: hank williams jr. monday night football clay travis tardio
Posted by Clay Travis at 7:22 PM
 
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