Hank Williams Jr.’s Iconic Opening Theme Song is Returning to Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is about to get a little “rowdy” once more! ESPN announced that Hank Williams Jr. will be returning with a brand new version of All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight. The new version will, of course, feature the programming’s catchphrase, “Are you ready for some football?!”
The new version of the theme song will make its debut before the first Monday night game of the season airing on September 11th. The New Orleans Saints will face off against the Minnesota Vikings.
The original Hank Williams had been used to open the Monday Night Football show starting in 1989 but, in 2011, the song was pulled from the broadcast mid-season. The censorship was due to controversial comments made by Williams when according to ESPN he, “compared then-President Barack Obama golfing with then-Rep. House Speaker John Boehner to a meeting of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Adolf Hitler. Williams also called Obama and Joe Biden ‘the enemy.'”
ESPN senior vice president of events and studio production Stephanie Druley made a statement about Williams’ return to The Tennessean. She said:
“I think it’s a return to our past in that it’s such an iconic song associated with football. It was the original. It belongs to Monday Night Football. It really is about returning to what fans know. It’s a Monday night party, and that’s what we’re all hoping to get back to.”
Hank Williams Jr. told USA Today:
“I hope there will be some happy people on Monday night again. It feels natural, fulfilling and satisfying at this point when you’ve kind of done it all.”
What do you think of Hank Williams Jr. returning to Monday Night Football with a brand new opening theme song? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
A karaoke obsessed, craft beer enthusiast and lover of all things pop culture, Denise enjoys all facets of entertainment from Broadway to box office blockbusters. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, concerts (lots and lots of concerts), volunteering, reading and playing with her rescue kitten, Samantha (who rescued who, right?).
