So I posted some pretty harsh comments about jumping the MNF ship last week, and I’m not sure I have to many opposing thoughts just yet. You know how much I love it.

Tonight’s installment of Monday Night Football was definitely on a better track, despite the pace of the game and the need for the commentators to fill dead time. The intro was good, the HDTV was beautiful, the commercials for the real deal in just 2 weeks were intriguing, and the offense/defense introductions were REALLY good. That’s the best part of the show for me so far – because the sideline reporters still sound like their reading from a script instead of really knowing their stuff or even being eye candy, and I’m still not connecting totally with the commentators.

Joe needs to settle down and not make such bold statements and generalizations about the quaterbacks. Tony still just seems out of place, he really fits PTI well but I’m not sure here. I want him to grow on me, I really do. And I do appreciate the community effort they’re putting behind him. Tirico has to deal with following class act perfection of Al Michaels. Good luck with that.

There’s a great article Is MNF Still Special? that is a must-read on the subject. Here’s a clip:

I know it’s early. I know it’s preseason. But I just don’t think Monday Night Football is going to seem like Monday Night Football anymore.

Even when the regular season gets under way, I wonder if MNF will still have the excitement it used to have. It was once a significant part of American culture — not just sports culture, but our culture in general. Then it evolved into just another night and just another game. Now it has sunken even lower as it’s on ESPN instead of ABC. That’s right. It’s on cable TV! What are they going to do next? Start sending it out on a Web cast that only Mac users can get?

Is today’s generation going to rush home from work to watch Monday Night Football as previous ones did? I don’t think so. As far as the three new commentators go, I know that if there is any chemistry there, it’s going to take a while for it to develop. But I’m not that optimistic.

JG