Admin December 9, 2024
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unbranded – Entertainment
The Cincinnati Bengals are traveling to Arlington to face the Dallas Cowboys on “Monday Night Football” in Week 14, but NFL fans will have an opportunity to be transported to Springfield – the fictional setting of the long-running show “The Simpsons” – for the game instead.
ESPN is debuting its latest alternate broadcast for Week 14’s “MNF” game. “The Simpsons Funday Football” will be a live-animated version of the Monday night game. It will show the biggest plays of the game with avatars for players and participation from notable Simpsons characters.
Homer Simpson will partake in the animated contest as part of the Cowboys. His son Bart Simpson will support and play for the Bengals. Meanwhile, Marge and Lisa Simpson will be on the sideline interviewing players while baby Maggie operates the SkyCam.
It isn’t clear exactly how many other Simpsons cameos will be a part of the broadcast, but voice actors Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner and Yeardley Smith are all confirmed to participate in the program. That will make the Simpsons alt-cast one of the more interesting efforts from ESPN’s brain trust, which previously tested a live-animated game in 2023 by using “Toy Story” characters for one of the NFL’s London games.
While the animation will be the main draw of the “Funday Football” broadcast, ESPN will still have a normal booth consisting of a play-by-play announcer and a couple of color commentators. Here’s what to know about who will be in the booth for the NFL’s first Simpsons game.
Who are the announcers for the NFL’s Simpsons game
ESPN will be employing a three-person booth for “The Simpsons Funday Football” broadcast. The crew will be as follows:
- Drew Carter (play-by-play)
- Mina Kimes (game analyst)
- Dan Orlovsky (game analyst)
The trio will call the contest from the ESPN studio in Bristol, Conn., so they will not be in attendance for the Cowboys vs. Bengals game. During the broadcast, they will also appear as Simpsons-inspired animated versions of themselves.
Who is Drew Carter?
Carter is a 27-year-old broadcaster who has been affiliated with ESPN since 2021. According to his ESPN Pressroom page, he calls “a variety of sports” for the network, “including college football, college basketball, men’s and women’s collegiate lacrosse, softball and the PLL.”
Carter also became the full-time play-by-play voice for NBC Sports Boston’s coverage of the Boston Celtics starting in the 2024-25 season. He joined the network as its primary road host for Celtics games during the 2023-24 campaign and was chosen as the successor for Basketball Hall of Famer Mike Gorman.
Who is Mina Kimes?
Kimes is a senior writer for ESPN’s platforms and is one of the network’s main on-air NFL talents. She appears on “NFL Live” regularly and has also been a staple in recent seasons of “Around the Horn.”
Kimes has served as a color analyst for the Los Angeles Rams‘ preseason games since 2019 and has plenty of live-game broadcast experience.
Who is Dan Orlovsky?
Orlovsky is a 12-year NFL veteran who transitioned to a media career after his 2017 retirement. Orlovsky joined ESPN shortly after he called it quits and has since developed into one of the network’s top NFL talents.
Orlovsky is part of ESPN’s No. 2 NFL broadcast team, along with Chris Fowler (play-by-play) and Louis Riddick (color commentary). They typically take the call during “Monday Night Football” doubleheaders.
Orlovsky also appears on shows like “NFL Live” and “SportsCenter,” among others.