Monday Night Football kicked off on ESPN for its 18th season. To add to the festivities, the Worldwide Leader revealed that it made another cosmetic change to its scorebug. The network debuted yet another scorebug for its premier sports telecast for the MNF opener between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets.
ESPN proudly displayed the new scorebug at the bottom level of the screen. Just as we pointed out within the last week, Monday Night Football is one of the only telecasts on the Worldwide Leader not to feature its BottomLine.
The scorebug is sleek and not too distracting. Unlike the scorebug for its NBA coverage, the team logos are featured in the bug. This was a noticeable feature in the NFL on Fox scorebug too, and unlike its college football scorebug, the NFL’s did not feature any text. Neither does this bug, either, as the team logos are prominently featured with plenty of space between the logo and the score.
ESPN’s decision to render the scorebug with, essentially, a black background is an easy victory. It’s easier on the eyes, and it avoids anything entirely too distracting. This, personally, plagued the Fox scorebugs for many years when they had brighter colors like yellow be the background color. What’s also a nice addition? The bright, neon, and vibrant streaking lines across the bottom of the team’s score boxes. It’s both subtle and eye-popping and should offer some really nice possibilities later in the season with other teams and colors.
All told? A really strong effort for ESPN Monday Night Football. While other scorebugs have relied on “simple and effective,” this one succeeds with a sense of elaborateness to it. The crown jewel for the network has to look pretty, and the Worldwide Leader succeeded in doing that. May the Monday Night Football broadcasts look a bit more vibrant this year.
[Photo Credit: ESPN Monday Night Football]
