Monday Night Football

07 Oct 2024

Taylor Swift Pairs Plaid Dress With Knee-High Boots (And Glitter Freckles!) at Chiefs vs. Saints Monday Night Football Game

Forget the red carpet. Taylor Swift‘s new runway is the red-walled tunnels of Arrowhead Stadium.

On Monday night (Oct. 7), Swift made a fashionable entrance to watch Travis Kelce‘s Kansas City Chiefs take on the New Orleans Saints for Monday Night Football, pairing a plaid, off-the-shoulder minidress with black knee-high platform boots. But the most striking touch of her ensemble was a series of glitter freckles strategically placed across her nose and cheeks. Some football fans paint their faces in the team colors, and some sprinkle on some sparkly freckles.

This isn’t the first time Swift has rocked sky-high boots at a Chiefs game. Last month, Swift wore blood-red over-the-knee boots with a denim corset and jean shorts as Kansas City played Baltimore for the first Thursday Night Football game of the season.

Swift has also been on a plaid streak lately. In August, when she took her Eras Tour staff for a night out in London before her return to Wembley Stadium, she wore a Vivienne Westwood plaid jacket and miniskirt set with a white ruffled blouse. Then, at September’s MTV Video Music Awards, Swift channeled Cher from Clueless with a yellow plaid Dior corset dress and black hot pants. Is she trying to tell the Swifties something with the plaid kick?

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In addition to her game day fashion, fans are always curious about who is sitting in the suite with her. This time, she was joined by the dads: her own father Scott Swift and Travis’ father Ed Kelce.

Travis Kelce celebrated his 35th birthday on Saturday, so a Chiefs win on Monday night could turn into quite the birthday party in Kansas City.

See Swift making her entrance at the game below:

29 Aug 2024

J Balvin to Be Music Curator for ESPN’s Monday Night Football

J Balvin has been tapped as ESPN’s official music curator for the 2024-25 NFL Season. Balvin will work with ESPN throughout the 2024-25 NFL season to curate music for select ESPN Monday Night Football games. Balvin’s music selections will play in Monday Night Football promo spots, live telecasts and Monday Night Countdown for seven weeks this season, including two NFL Playoff weeks.

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In all, Balvin will provide music for seven games, kicking off his curation stint with his new song “DOBLEXXO” featuring Feid, off his recently released album Rayo. The first game for which Balvin will curate is the New York Jets at San Francisco 49ers on Monday, Sept. 9. However, Balvin’s music selection will begin playing this Friday (Aug. 30), when his track will be used during ESPN’s Week 1 Monday Night topical spot, a fast-moving clip featuring players from the Jets and the 49ers on the field, with Balvin’s music playing as the soundtrack. You can watch it here.

Balvin is the latest superstar to join the Monday Night Football music curation program, joining a list that includes music curators Timbaland and Justin Timberlake (2023), Marshmello (2022), Drake (2021), DJ Khaled (2020) and Diplo (2019).

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“ESPN’s Music curation program with Monday Night Football continues with an artist that will amplify the bold and new music strategy,” said Curtis Friends, ESPN’s vp of sports marketing, in a statement. “J Balvin is a global icon whose influence hits with diverse cultures and genres. His music choices embrace the anticipation and excitement the ESPN football season offers, and we can’t wait for him to come along the season-long ride with us.”

Following the first game on Sept. 9, Balvin will select one song to use for each designated week. Although the tracks to be used have not been announced, they can be his own or someone else’s.

Here is J Balvin’s music curation schedule for the 2024-25 NFL season:
• Week 1: New York Jets at San Francisco 49ers
• Week 5: New Orleans Saints @ Kansas City Chiefs
• Week 6: Buffalo Bills at New York Jets
• Week 11: Houston Texans at Dallas Cowboys
• Week 18 Doubleheader: TBD
• Monday Night Super Wild Card: TBD
• Divisional: TBD

Balvin has long been associated with different sports and athletes, and in 2022, he became the first Latin artist to headline an NFL kickoff concert, performing at Long Beach, Calif., ahead of the first regular season game of 2022. Below is the first spot using Balvin’s music.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=wcd0bPJgjck&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

18 Sep 2023

Chris Stapleton & Snoop Dogg Reimagine ‘In the Air Tonight’ for ‘Monday Night Football’ Theme Song

ESPN’s Monday Night Football put a fresh spin on a nostalgic hit Monday night (Sept. 18), as the broadcast opened with a new music video featuring Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and drummer Cindy Blackman Santana reimagining Phil Collins‘ classic “In the Air Tonight.”

The clip led into ESPN’s broadcast of the New Orleans Saints facing off against the Carolina Panthers at 7:15 p.m. ET, as well as ABC’s broadcast of the Cleveland Browns game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at 8:15 p.m. ET. It will now continue for all Monday Night Football games, as well as ESPN’s Week 18 Saturday Doubleheader, Super Wild Card and its first Divisional playoff game, per a press release.

“It was fascinating to me to see how one song could get you in that mode to go kick some tail,” said the Steelers’ Hines Ward in an ESPN feature about the song, before Washington Commanders’ Terry McLaurin added, “I don’t care if you are the home team, the away team, you are hearing that song no matter what [before the game].”

“In the Air Tonight” first appeared on Collins’ debut solo album, Face Value, in 1981. Released as a single, it reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. The rock ballad bubbled under the Hot 100 for six weeks in the fall of 1984 after it was featured on NBC’s buzzy hit Miami Vice. The song was later featured on the Miami Vice soundtrack, which topped the Billboard 200 for 11 weeks in 1985-86.

The new twist on “In the Air Tonight” isn’t the only music moment for this season. As previously announced, ESPN teamed up with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake throughout the 2023-24 NFL season to curate music for select Monday Night Football games. The curated music from the superstar duo will run in Monday Night Football promotional spots, live telecasts and pre-game shows for seven weeks this season.

Watch a preview of “In the Air Tonight” below.