Hank Williams Jr is set to make a return to Monday Night Football for the first time since the 2011 season.
Williams’ “All My Rowdy Friends” was justifiably pulled midseason in 2011 after the singer made controversial comments comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler. He also referred to VP Joe Biden as “the enemy”.
A new version of the song, with its signature catchphrase, “Are you ready for some football?”, will debut ahead of the first MNF game this season, a September 11 meeting between the Saints and the Vikings. The original song had been played during MNF since 1989.
“I think it’s a return to our past in that it’s such an iconic song associated with football,” ESPN senior vice president of events and studio production Stephanie Druley told The Tennessean. “It was the original. It belongs to Monday Night Football. It really is about returning to what fans know. It’s a Monday night party, and that’s what we’re all hoping to get back to.”
The new video was filmed in Nashville, TN on Sunday.