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Touchdown in Toontown?!? Simpsons to Host NFL Game

CGI Simpsons football field with the logo for ESPN The Simpsons Funday Football. Ullman-era Homer is about to throw a football while Hans Moleman stands nearby.

For years, football has postponed The Simpsons, but soon you’ll be able to watch both at the same time! In what will surely be a terrible strain on the animators’ wrists, Monday Night Football is heading to Springfield where a live NFL game will be animated and brought into the Simpsons world using advanced VTuber technology.

An ESPN press release has all the details on this grotesque display of corporate synergy:

ESPN, Disney, the Simpsons and the National Football League will premiere The Simpsons Funday Football on Monday, Dec. 9, an animated Monday Night Football game transformed in real-time into the iconic Simpsons world using Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology. Atoms Stadium in Springfield will host the fully immersive fan viewing experience featuring the Cincinnati Bengals at the Dallas Cowboys, ESPN’s Monday Night Football game that evening.

The Simpsons Funday Football alternate viewing presentation will stream on Disney+ and ESPN+, and, on mobile, with NFL+. The traditional Monday Night Football telecast will be available on ESPN, ABC and ESPN Deportes with Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli on ESPN2. Both the traditional telecast and Peyton and Eli will also be on ESPN+, making each distinct presentation available in the ESPN App. All telecasts will begin at 8 p.m. ET.


Nickeloden and CBS Sports pioneered this style of alternate broadcast in 2021 with NFL on Nickelodeon, which adds wacky graphics to an actual game, culminating in a SpongeBob-themed version of the Super Bowl earlier this year. Not to be outdone, Disney took this a step further by using motion capture to make the players appear as animated characters, first in a Big City Greens-themed hockey game and again in last year’s Toy Story Funday Football. Personally I thought the technology was pretty wonky, with the animated players awkwardly poofing away and disappearing once the actual player leaves the field of view. Also one of the commentators for the latter said it was all taking place in Andy’s imagination, which is an egregious misunderstanding of Toy Story lore, so I hope they brush up on their Simpsons knowledge.

With Springfield’s Atoms Stadium as the setting, The Simpsons Funday Football will be a true family affair as Bart Simpson sides with Joe Burrow and the Bengals while Homer aligns with Dak Prescott and the Cowboys. For most of the game, Bart and Homer will let their new Bengals and Cowboys teammates manage the action, but the iconic father and son duo won’t sit on the sidelines for the entire game. Each will select key opportunities to play offense and/or defense, replacing a player and joining his other 10 teammates on the field.

Homer’s dream from “Cape Feare” is coming true!

Surrounding the gameplay, Marge and Lisa will interview players during the game and Maggie will fly the SkyCam, while popular characters, show references and aesthetics will bring a real Sunday-night-with-the-Simpsons feel to Monday Night Football.

MAGGIE IS A BABY. THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA.

Authentic Simpsons Voices: Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner and Yeardley Smith will voice several of their characters in prerecorded bits and skits.

Picking Sides: Homer and Bart will rally their supporters who will join them on their respective sidelines throughout the matchup. Lisa, Krusty, Nelson, Milhouse and Ralph will be with Bart (Bengals); while Carl, Barney, Lenny and Moe will be with Homer (Cowboys).

Unsurprisingly, Harry Shearer is not participating, but his character Lenny is listed, so I guess he’ll just be sitting in silence the whole time. Also, it’s pretty rude Homer didn’t invite noted Cowboys fan Hank Hill.

The Simpsons Music: The timeless theme song and more jingles from the show will be employed.

Not sure what music from the show would constitute a jingle. Will they play the Itchy & Scratchy theme if the players start fighting?

The Simpsons and ESPN: Animated segments incorporating Stephen A. Smith, Peyton and Eli Manning and more will appear in the telecast, with their segments written by the Simpsons creators.

I googled to see if Stephen A. Smith had been on the show before and it turns out he has a Simpsons doppelganger that’s been in half a dozen episodes. Who knew? And speaking of Simpsons creators, Matt Groening’s signature is nowhere to be found on any of the art assets…

This is what the players will look like, which isn’t very Simpsons-y. It appears they’re reusing the models from the Toy Story one.

Will The Simpsons Funday Football live up to this NFL on Fox promo from 1995?

I guess we’ll find out on December 9.