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

Football fans who grew up in the ’90s remember hearing Hank Williams Jr.’s voice every Monday night. Whether they were fans of country music or not, they got pumped when they heard him belt “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night.” His song kicked off Monday Night Football every week starting in 1989 until 2011 when ESPN dropped the song.

Fans everywhere loved hearing Hank Jr.’s voice before the Monday night football matchup. He even won four Emmy Awards for the song between 1991 and 1994. However, it all came to an end when the “Country Boy Can Survive” singer got a little too honest about his opinions during a Fox and Friends segment in 2011. His controversial statements drove ESPN to drop him from the intro.

[RELATED: Essential Hank Williams Jr. Songs: 4 Deep Cuts for Fans of Bocephus Himself]

ESPN Drops Hank Williams Jr.’s Intro Song

It started on a Monday morning episode of Fox and Friends on Fox News. The hosts asked Hank Williams Jr. who he liked as a Republican presidential nominee. He said he didn’t like anyone in the field. Then, went on what could be called a bit of a tirade.

First, he referenced a golf exhibition between then-Speaker of the House John Boehner and then-President Barack Obama. He claimed that the exhibition “turned a lot of people off.” Then, he added. “That’d be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu. Not hardly. In the country this shape is in? I mean, the shape this country’s in? Nah, I don’t think so.”

“They’re the enemy,” he continued. When asked to clarify, he replied, “Obama and Biden! Are you kidding? The three stooges!”

Later in the interview, one of the Fox News pundits mentions that Hank Jr. had been asking people “Are you ready for some football?” every Monday night for twenty years. “Only in America,” Bocephus said. “A one-year deal that turned into seven Super Bowls, three Emmy Awards, and all that stuff,” he added.

The Return of Bocephus

ESPN stopped using “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night” for six years. Then, in 2017, they renewed their deal with Hank Williams Jr. to be the voice of the intro. However, that wouldn’t last. The network cut ties with him once again in 2020.

During the 2020 season, the NFL was only allowing sparse crowds to gather at games. As a result, they believed that Hank Jr.’s party anthem would send the wrong message to viewers. At the same time, the country was in the middle of political upheaval. So, many criticized the move as politically motivated.

Featured Image by Jason Moore/ZUMA Wire/Shutterstock