Are you ready for some football? ESPN is bringing back Hank Williams Jr. for their Monday Night Football theme song.
Hank's play on his hit song "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" spawned a theme that lasted more than 20 years. But the brazen personality lost his gig when he compared President Obama to Adolf Hitler in 2011. The network then returned to the original song "Heavy Action" by Johnny Pearson, which it used from 1976-1989.
"I never said, 'Are you ready for some football' on stage one time the last five or six years, but I will now," Williams told The Tennessean. "I'm feeling at home and it's a real good thing. It's kind of like the Nashville Predators playing for the Stanley Cup, it's like 'Wow.'"
Of course, Williams singing the football theme song is nothing like the NHL team reaching the finals. But ESPN dropping the singer certainly made the news.
Williams tried to say that he decided to no longer sing the theme song. He called the matter stepping on his First Amendment rights. Of course, those rights don't pertain to whether or not a private company drops you for saying dumb things.
But for Hank Williams Jr., most of the current generation only knows him as the guy from the Monday Night Football theme. His heyday includes the songs "There's A Tear In My Beer" and "A Country Boy Can Survive." He also released questionable songs such as "If The South Woulda Won." So, you know.
As for the decision to bring Williams back, well, the network certainly lost some mojo recently. Back in the 1990s, the "Worldwide Leader In Sports" dominated the market. But now, fans have dozens of sports broadcasting options.
The shift in climate caused some serious changes. In April, the network laid off 100 personalities, including some notable names, like Trent Dilfer and Ed Werder.
Can Hank Williams Jr. return the network to its glory days with his theme song? Well, we'll find out soon enough.
