Are You Ready for Some Football? Watch Hank Williams Jr.’s Original ‘Monday Night Football’ Anthem

It’s that time of year again. Tonight (September 9) is the first Monday Night Football game of the year. Fans across the country will be tuning in to watch the action. However, sports fans of a certain age may be missing the longstanding opening theme. Hank Williams Jr.’s “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night” was the gridiron anthem for more than twenty years.

After being contacted by ABC, Hank Jr. re-wrote his 1984 hit “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight” to create the new Monday Night Football theme. “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night” premiered in an electrifying promo for the gridiron action. Watch the clip that started it all below.

[RELATED: Why ESPN Dropped Hank Williams Jr. From ‘Monday Night Football’ Twice in Less Than Ten Years]

Bocephus would go on to be the voice of the Monday Night Football intro until 2011. During that time, he won four consecutive Emmy Awards for Best Composed Theme starting in 1991. This did more than add four more trophies to his already massive collection. According to his website, it also made him the first country artist to win an Emmy.

The Genealogy of Hank Williams Jr.’s Monday Night Football Theme

Many football fans agree that Hank Williams Jr.’s Monday Night Football theme is a banger for the ages. However, those who aren’t country fans may not know that it was the third “Rowdy Friends” song from the country legend.

We can trace the lineage of the song back to 1981. That year, he released “All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)” as the first single from the album The Pressure Is On. The song, written by Williams went to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Three years later, Hank Jr. released the closest relative of his MNF theme. “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight” was the second single from his album Major Moves. It peaked at No. 10 on the country chart.

The End of an Era

Hank Williams Jr. was the voice of Monday Night Football for more than 20 years. First, ABC contracted him to write and perform the song. He stayed with the show when it moved to ESPN. Then, in 2011, Williams appeared on Fox and Friends to talk about the upcoming 2012 election. During the interview, he compared then-President Obama to Hitler. He also called Barak Obama and Joe Biden “the enemy” and, perplexingly, “the three stooges.” ESPN cut ties with Williams after the interview aired, hoping to dodge controversy.

The network would reinstate the song in 2017. The new version includes Williams, Florida Georgia Line, and Jason Derulo. However, the reinstatement would be short-lived. They once again axed the theme in 2020 citing concerns that the song would send the wrong message during the pandemic. At the time, all of one’s rowdy friends were urged to stay home and not gather in large groups.

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