All the things that made Nickelodeon’s Bears-Saints broadcast so great
The NFL is one of the most rigidly-run organizations I can think of, which is why when I saw that the Saints-Bears wild-card game would be broadcast on Nickelodeon as well as CBS, I was quite surprised. Would Nick play it relatively straight, or would they bring in their own trademarks to make the broadcast interesting and different?
Fortunately, they went with the latter.
The broadcast had Noah Eagle doing the play-by-play, with Nate Burleson and Gabrielle Neveah Green doing color, and Lex Lumpkin on the sideline. From start to finish, it was an absolutely delightful experience, and the NFL should broadcast at least one game every week on Nick after this.
Here are some of the many awesome moments to behold.
The field zone graphics were... AMAZING.
Even the most intelligent football fans might not understand field zones, so the good people at Nick made it easier for all of us. The red zone starts at the opponents' 20-yard line, and after that, really awesome things happen. https://twitter.com/NFLUpOfficial/status/1348416135646097413
Slime cannon touchdowns!
This may have been the best thing overall. Score a touchdown, get slimed. Why did it take us so long at any level of football to figure this out? And yes, Pro Football Reference, slime cannon touchdowns should be an official and separate statistic. https://twitter.com/Nickelodeon/status/1348392794130362374 https://twitter.com/BryanDFischer/status/1348417232456482820 https://twitter.com/jaynotjackie/status/1348417023697629186
Young Sheldon explaining penalties
Forget Mike Pereira, Terry McAulay, Dean Blandino, and any other "professional" rules analyst. Y'all ain't got nothing on Young Sheldon. https://twitter.com/cjzero/status/1348395106525708288
Forget the dots; here come the blocks.
We all love the Next Gen Stats dots, detailing what players are doing on plays. But when you do it this way, it's just more charming. https://twitter.com/NFL_DougFarrar/status/1348425242151014400
Great kid questions, great adult answers.
One of the best things about the broadcast is that the younger broadcasters asked intelligent questions, and the more experienced football people gave the answers back without a hint of condescension. It was clear that everyone involved was enjoying this. https://twitter.com/Jeff_Nowak/status/1348414722845061120 https://twitter.com/ChrisVannini/status/1348388578901057536 Late in the game, Gabrielle Neveah Green mentioned that Saints running back Alvin Kamara just "zigs through all the players." Nate Burleson's response: "It's like the show, 'Legends of the Hidden Temple.' He's like the running back with the hidden football. Even when he has it, you don't know that he has it, because he's so hard to tackle. And he sets up his blocks so well. He hesitates, and then he gets behind the block and times it perfectly, where he uses his explosion." You can explain what makes a player great with all the terminology you want, but major kudos to everyone involved for explaining an incredibly complicated game in a down-to-earth manner without ever talking down to anybody. If you've ever talked about football in any capacity, you know how hard that is to do.
The bio graphics!
It just warms your heart. Unless you're a Bears fan, probably. https://twitter.com/ArifHasanNFL/status/1348403265348763649
SpongeBob in the uprights!
Well, that might make you miss. https://twitter.com/NFL_DougFarrar/status/1348397050191175680 https://twitter.com/BryanDFischer/status/1348400210834116609
