Jason Kelce on MNF Credit: ESPN
ESPNNFLBy Sean Keeley on

If you were a Philadelphia Eagles fan, watching ESPN’s presentation of the Monday Night Football matchup between the Eagles and Atlanta Falcons must have felt like you were getting a de facto home broadcast.

If you were an Atlanta Falcons fan, you probably weren’t as thrilled.

And if you’re a fan of a different NFL franchise and don’t like the Eagles very much, you probably got your fill of them for the rest of the season.

It made sense why ESPN went all-in on the Philly of it all Monday night. Jason Kelce is already a breakout star in his new role for Monday Night Countdown and the network took advantage of his Eagles-ness during a pre-game celebration in which the former NFL star pulled out all his patented charms and loud noises.

ESPN also turned the evening into something of a Jason Kelce Appreciation Night, with Adam Schefter donning an outfit like the one Kelce wore at Philly’s Super Bowl parade in 2018. The former Eagles player also appeared in the booth with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman during the broadcast, which ended with him saying “Go Eagles” to the camera.

Falcons fans found little respite on ESPN as the ManningCast featured Bill Belichick in the first half. Perhaps due in part to Atlanta deciding not to hire him as head coach this offseason, Belichick seemed particularly spicy in regards to their poor play and even took a cheeky shot at owner Arthur Blank.

He was followed with an appearance by actor Miles Teller, a huge Eagles fan.

It wasn’t until the final segment that the ManningCast got some Falcons-friendly help from Matt Ryan, who quarterbacked the team for 13 seasons.

All told, the Eagles-centric broadcast rubbed a lot of viewers the wrong way, including those in sports media who got a little tired of seeing so much green and white in the booths.

If there was any saving grace for Falcons fans and Eagles haters, it’s that Philadelphia botched the game late and handed victory to Atlanta. The schadenfreude was strong for many.

Even when the game isn’t in Philadelphia, expect to see a whole lot of Jason Kelce on your TV screen on Monday nights. Then again, between all the commercials and media appearances, you can probably expect that for every NFL game this season. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is entirely up to you.

While Monday’s Eagles-focused broadcast might have been a bit much, it still pales in comparison to ESPN’s New York Knicks-fest during the NBA playoffs this past season.

[ESPN]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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