I’m a "Manning Cast" addict. I don’t know how I’ll ever watch "Monday Night Football" the old way.
In case you haven’t seen it yet, on some of the "Monday Night Football" broadcasts this year, Peyton and Eli Manning go split screen to watch the same game that we’re watching and give commentary along the way. It’s got a "Mystery Science Theater 3,000" meets "ESPN Coaches Room MegaCast" feel to it. You’re getting tons of football information thrown your way, an A-list of guests, and some good old-fashioned brotherly battles.
Sure, this week’s big story is about Eli throwing up a pair of middle fingers when recalling a game he played in Philadelphia where a nine-year-old did that to him. However, the broadcast is so much more than that. It’s hard for me not to feel like there will be some form of this that’s always a part of our sports watching future.
Week 3 of the "Manning Cast" featured four guests, which appears to be the general format each week. Matthew Stafford, Lebron James, Nick Saban, and Chris Long rolled through the Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles game with the Manning brothers. Previous weeks have seen Charles Barkley, Travis Kelce, Russell Wilson, and many more.
There is, “Hey, they’ll have guests join them,” and then there’s, “Oh wow, Matthew Stafford fresh off a four-touchdown performance in a win over the defending Super Bowl champs is going to watch some of the Monday night game with you.”
The whole thing is a treat.
In an era where football fans are, perhaps, hungrier than ever for inside looks at the game, stories from years gone by, or just anything other than Matt Millen telling you that it’s important to get into “third-and-manageable,” the "Manning Cast" hits.
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In some ways, the "Manning Cast" changes the game in the same way that Twitter changed the sports world. We didn’t always have a thrilling end to a Sunday night game that’d have Lebron James, Tom Hanks, Serena Williams, Wolf Blitzer, and insert any other random names you’d like reacting to the events in real time. Twitter became the live water cooler of the sports world.
Sure the production value might need a little more, because sometimes you might want to hear the officials explain what a call in the game is, and sometimes the Zoom call from their guest might be a little low, or whatever. But the pandemic really normalized all that Zoom stuff. Of course, we can watch a game with the Mannings and their Zoom guest. What’s really lost?
The broadcast isn’t about the experience of watching that game so much as it’s about watching a game with other people. It’s Twitter. It’s a chat room. The “Manning Cast” feels like a group text. It’s re-inventing what it’s like to watch a game.
This week, the Mannings revealed that they’ll be taking a few weeks off and returning after the Buffalo Bills-Tennessee Titans Monday night game. Majorly disappointed over here, because I would certainly have gone back to watch the “Manning Cast” on Tuesday night.
The regular broadcast will tell you that every single player is good and in a good situation and loving it, and momentum is very important. The “Manning Cast” might just offer a quick line from Russell Wilson about that time he got sacked by Jerry Hughes, you never know. Instead of the same old predictable broadcast where the highlight is either Cris Collinsworth sliding in the shot, or Gus Johnson nearly dying screaming, you’re getting memorable anecdotes.
It’s too bad we won’t get them for Bills-Titans, but hopefully they’re on Bills-Patriots game later in the season.
Hopefully, they’re on every “Monday Night Football” broadcast going forward.
Football is generally appointment television, as live sports tend to be. The “Manning Cast” manages to be appointment television’s appointment television.
It’s a win for everyone.