They said that after “Nipplegate” we’d never see pop music combine with the purity of the National Football League again.
But the NFL is bouncing back tonight with a special Thursday night edition of “Monday Night Football,” including a star-studded concert, to kick off the 2004 season.
Of course, the kickoff concert will air after the game on the West Coast, but you’ll stick around to watch the Boston Pops, Mary J. Blige, Destiny’s Child, Elton John, Toby Keith, Lenny Kravitz and Jessica Simpson, right?
Who knows what Elton John and the Boston Pops might flash?
In case you were hiding in a cave or tucked away in a spider hole somewhere, there was a big stir over this year’s Super Bowl performance when Justin Timberlake, knowingly or not, ripped off a piece of Janet Jackson’s top during a performance.
The famously dubbed “wardrobe malfunction” – which, incidentally, initiated a formal federal investigation more quickly than the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – was to be the end of the attack on the sanctity of pro football.
The NFL, you see, prefers supple, surgically enhanced breasts that are slightly less exposed while women mud wrestle over whether a beer “tastes great” or is “less filling.”
Tonight’s game, between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots starts at 6 on ABC and ushers in the 35th season of “Monday Night Football.”
While everyone panics over “Monday Night’s” ratings, it remains one of the most-watched shows of the week.
The veteran announcer duo of Al Michaels and John Madden have brought some stability to the show’s audience draw and the addition of sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya should solidify the commentators’ roster.
Tafoya brings much-needed experience and knowledge of the game to a position that hasn’t been stable, really, since Lynn Swann left in 1997.
The five years that followed brought all kinds of experiments.
Leslie Visser was the first in a string of female sideline reporters and lasted two years. Melissa Stark took over and left to have a baby, which is when the position took a turn for the worse.
Lisa Guererro, who it was widely agreed knew very little about football, was hired as eye candy and thankfully dismissed after just one season.
Now Tafoya, who should have gotten the job last year, is expected to offer up some insightful commentary and interesting questions in those 30-second spots from the sidelines.
Michaels will be stellar, as always, and Madden, who you either love or hate, will continue to entertain and educate folks on the game.
‘Joey’ is back
Tonight, if you’re not watching football, you’re watching NBC.
The moment everyone’s been waiting for – or at least 31 percent of people, according to a recent poll by Phillips Electronics – the “Friends” spinoff arrives on NBC tonight at 8.
“The Apprentice 2,” which had 23 percent of folks salivating, kicks off tonight at 8:30 with a 90-minute season premiere.
“CSI: New York” was the most anticipated show of this season, with 47 percent of the 1,000 polled saying they were looking forward to the next installment in the CBS drama’s franchise. It premieres at 10 p.m. on Sept. 22.
I’m still on the edge of my seat for “CSI: Boise.”
Columnist Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.
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