| Fox NFL Sunday | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | NFLpre-game show |
| Presented by | Curt Menefee Terry Bradshaw Howie Long Michael Strahan Rob Gronkowski Jay Glazer Erin Andrews Pam Oliver Mike Pereira (for past hosts,see article) |
| Narrated by | Dick Ervasti (1994–2001) John Garry (2014–present) |
| Theme music composer | Scott Schreer |
| Composer | Scott Schreer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 32 (through2025 season) |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Fox Network Center (Fox Studio Lot Building 101), 10201 WPico Blvd,Century City,Los Angeles,California |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Fox Sports |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox |
| Release | September 4, 1994 (1994-09-04) – present |
| Related | |
| Fox NFL Kickoff | |
Fox NFL Sunday is an American sports television program broadcast on theFox television network. The show debuted on September 4, 1994, and serves as thepre-game show for the network'sNational Football League (NFL) game telecasts under theNFL on Fox brand. An audio simulcast of the program airs on sisterradio networkFox Sports Radio, which is distributed byPremiere Radio Networks. As of 2014, the program has won fourEmmy Awards.
For sponsorship purposes, the show's full name isFox NFL Sunday Presented byGMC.
Fox NFL Sunday debuted on September 4,1994, when Fox inaugurated its NFL game broadcasts through the network's recently acquired broadcast rights to theNational Football Conference (NFC);[1] it was originally hosted byJames Brown,Terry Bradshaw,Howie Long andJimmy Johnson (both Brown and Bradshaw had joined the network fromCBS to help helm Fox's NFL coverage). The program was notable in being the first hour-long NFL pregame show on a broadcast television network; network pregame programs that existed beforehand, such as CBS'The NFL Today orNBC'sNFL Live!, aired as 30-minute broadcasts. Fox's show also adopted a looser, more irreverent approach than its predecessors in order to also appeal to the network's younger-skewing audiences.Fox NFL Sunday was also the first network pregame program to originate fromLos Angeles, whereas the CBS and NBC pregame shows were produced inNew York City (CBS continues to broadcast its pregame from New York, while NBC uses facilities inStamford, Connecticut).
During Jimmy Johnson's initial season onFox NFL Sunday, he would often join the show via satellite from his home inFlorida. There was much speculation that Johnson would return to coaching during the first year of the program's run. Prior to the end of the year, Johnson made an "announcement", saying he was happy with his new career in broadcasting. But in1996, he left the program to become head coach of theMiami Dolphins;Ronnie Lott was brought in to succeed him, and stayed with the program for two seasons.
During Jimmy Johnson's initial run on the show, the opening introduction would typically feature a comedicskit involving several or all of the hosts.
On-location broadcast sites
| Week | Location |
|---|---|
| Week 3 (1997) (September 14) | FedExField (Arizona Cardinals atWashington Redskins) |
| Week 4 (1997) (September 21) | Lambeau Field (Minnesota Vikings atGreen Bay Packers) |
| Week 6 (1997) (October 5) | Lambeau Field (Tampa Bay Buccaneers atGreen Bay Packers) |
| Week 13 (1997) (November 23) | Lambeau Field (Dallas Cowboys atGreen Bay Packers) |
| Divisional Playoffs (1997) (January 4) | Lambeau Field (Tampa Bay Buccaneers atGreen Bay Packers) |
In1998, on the heels ofNBC losing the broadcast rights to the NFL'sAmerican Football Conference (AFC) toCBS,Cris Collinsworth joinedFox NFL Sunday as an analyst – subsequently replacing Ronnie Lott.
During this period, promotionalclaymation spots and teases became a popular fixture on the program, in which the four hosts were depicted as animated characters inlive-action situations, usually starring real-life NFL players. Beginning with the1999 season, comedianJimmy Kimmel (then the co-host ofComedy Central'sThe Man Show andWin Ben Stein's Money) began making weekly game predictions and performing comedy skits on the show; thefollowing year,Jillian Barberie (then the weather anchor/co-host of Los Angeles Foxowned-and-operated stationKTTV'sGood Day L.A.) was added to the program to provide weather forecasts for each week's game sites.
On-location broadcast sites
| Week | Location |
|---|---|
| Week 1 (1998) (September 6) | Giants Stadium (Washington Redskins atNew York Giants)[2] |
| Week 7 (1999) (October 24) | (Washington Redskins atDallas Cowboys)[3] |
| Week 15 (1999) (December 19) | RCA Dome (Washington Redskins atIndianapolis Colts) |
| NFC Championship (1999) (January 23, 2000) | Trans World Dome (Tampa Bay Buccaneers atSt. Louis Rams) |
| Week 17 (2000) (December 23 and 24) | On board theUSS Harry S. Truman |
| NFC Championship (2000) (January 14, 2001) | Giants Stadium (Minnesota Vikings atNew York Giants) |
| Week 3 (2002) (September 22) | Ford Field (Green Bay Packers atDetroit Lions; inaugural game at Ford Field)[4] |
Cris Collinsworth left the program in 2002, when he was promoted to Fox's newly formed "A Team" of NFL game announcers, alongsideJoe Buck andTroy Aikman (replacingPat Summerall andJohn Madden). Fox produced severalpromos featuring Buck, Collinsworth and Aikman dressed as characters from thepopular 1980s action series of the same name to promote the network's NFL coverage.
Initially, the vacated fourth seat was to feature a rotating series of guest analysts, with Jimmy Johnson returning in Week 1.John Elway sat in during Week 2. For Week 3, Johnson returned, and took over the position permanently (he remained on the program until his retirement afterSuper Bowl LIX). Jimmy Kimmel left the program after the 2002 season a month before the premiere of hislate-night talk show onABC,Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He was replaced by comedianFrank Caliendo – at the time, a cast member on Fox's late night sketch comedy seriesMADtv – who had previously guest starred during Kimmel's skits (performing his well-known impersonation of John Madden). Caliendo's prognostication skits began to feature his various spot-on celebrity impersonations, including Madden,Jay Leno,Jim Rome andGeorge W. Bush, as well as show hosts Brown, Bradshaw, Long and Johnson. James Brown left the program after the2005 season, in order to return to CBS to host its rival pregame showThe NFL Today.
On-location broadcast sites
| Date | Location (Game) |
|---|---|
| Week 8 (2003) (October 26) | Heinz Field (St. Louis Rams atPittsburgh Steelers)[5] |
| Week 6 (2004) (October 17) | Gillette Stadium (Seattle Seahawks atNew England Patriots)[6] |
2005 was the last season in which Fox (along with CBS) aired Saturday afternoon NFL games towards the end of the regular season in December. On these occasions, Fox would precede its coverage with a studio pregame show titledFox NFL Saturday, which had no change in format outside of the day in the title.
On August 13, 2006, Fox announced that Joe Buck andCurt Menefee would succeed James Brown as hosts of the program. Because Buck was already serving as the lead play-by-play announcer for theNFL on Fox game broadcasts, each week's edition ofFox NFL Sunday was broadcast from the site of the network's top game of the week, in a move similar toFox's NASCAR coverage, in which the pre-race show is telecast from the site of that week's race. Menefee hosted the halftime and postgame segments on location with theFox NFL Sunday crew. Chris Rose served as the update host during game breaks. As a result of Buck going on assignment forFox's MLB postseason coverage, Menefee substituted for Buck as the full-time host from Hollywood. During Weeks 6 through 8, while the show broadcast from Hollywood, Jillian Reynolds (née Barberie) returned as weather anchor for the game-day forecast segments.
During Weeks 16 and 17, Buck served as the full-time host from Hollywood, with the rest of theFox NFL Sunday crew.Dick Stockton took over as the main play-by-play analyst alongsideTroy Aikman andPam Oliver, while Menefee returned to the booth as secondary play-by-play analyst alongsideDaryl Johnston andTony Siragusa. Though the show returned to Hollywood for two weeks, Jillian Reynolds was absent, presumably having gone onmaternity leave, as she was pregnant with her first child at the time.
During Wild Card weekend, Menefee substituted for Buck as host of the Hollywood-originated pregame show broadcast. Meanwhile, Buck called the January 7, 2007 game between theNew York Giants at thePhiladelphia Eagles. During the Divisional Playoffs, Menefee once again substituted for Joe Buck as host, as the pregame show again originated from Hollywood for both games. Stockton called the Saturday, January 13 game between thePhiladelphia Eagles at theNew Orleans Saints and Buck called the Sunday, January 14 game between theSeattle Seahawks at theChicago Bears.
For the 2006 NFC Championship Game between theNew Orleans Saints andChicago Bears on January 21, 2007, Joe Buck hosted the pregame show with theFox NFL Sunday crew on location fromSoldier Field. After Buck joined Aikman for play-by-play duties, Menefee took over as host for the remainder of the game and hosted the halftime and postgame shows. Terry Bradshaw handled the trophy ceremony during the postgame show.
2006–2007 on-location broadcast sites
| Week | Location (Game) |
|---|---|
| Preseason Week 1 (August 14, 2006) | FoxHollywood Studio 2A (Indianapolis Colts atSt. Louis Rams) |
| Preseason Week 2 (August 18, 2006) | Giants Stadium (Kansas City Chiefs atNew York Giants) |
| Preseason Week 3 (August 24, 2006) | Bank of America Stadium (Miami Dolphins atCarolina Panthers) |
| Week 1 (September 10, 2006) | Alltel Stadium (Dallas Cowboys atJacksonville Jaguars) |
| Week 2 (September 17, 2006) | Lincoln Financial Field (New York Giants atPhiladelphia Eagles) |
| Week 3 (September 24, 2006) | Qwest Field (New York Giants atSeattle Seahawks) |
| Week 4 (October 1, 2006) | Bank of America Stadium (New Orleans Saints atCarolina Panthers) |
| Week 5 (October 8, 2006) | Lincoln Financial Field (Dallas Cowboys atPhiladelphia Eagles) |
| Week 6 (October 15, 2006) | Fox Hollywood Studio 2A |
| Week 7 (October 22, 2006) | Fox Hollywood Studio 2A |
| Week 8 (October 29, 2006) | Fox Hollywood Studio 2A |
| Week 9 (November 5, 2006) | FedExField (Dallas Cowboys atWashington Redskins) |
| Week 10 (November 12, 2006) | Heinz Field (New Orleans Saints atPittsburgh Steelers) |
| Week 11 (November 19, 2006) | Giants Stadium (Chicago Bears atNew York Jets) |
| Week 12 (Thanksgiving) (November 23, 2006) | Texas Stadium (Tampa Bay Buccaneers atDallas Cowboys) |
| Week 12 (Sunday) (November 26, 2006) | Gillette Stadium (Chicago Bears atNew England Patriots) |
| Week 13 (December 3, 2006) | Giants Stadium (Dallas Cowboys atNew York Giants) |
| Week 14 (December 10, 2006) | Bank of America Stadium (New York Giants atCarolina Panthers) |
| Week 15 (December 17, 2006) | Giants Stadium (Philadelphia Eagles atNew York Giants) |
| Week 16 (December 24, 2006) | Fox Hollywood Studio 2A |
| Week 17 (December 31, 2006) | Fox Hollywood Studio 2A |
| NFC Wild Card Playoff (Sunday) (January 7, 2007) | Fox Hollywood Studio 2A |
| NFC Divisional Playoff (Saturday) (January 13, 2007) | Fox Hollywood Studio 2A |
| NFC Divisional Playoff (Sunday) (January 14, 2007) | Fox Hollywood Studio 2A |
| NFC Championship Game (January 21, 2007) | Soldier Field (New Orleans Saints atChicago Bears) |
In March 2007, it was announced that the program (then branded on-air asThe Built Ford Tough Fox NFL Sunday, via a sponsorship agreement withFord Motor Company)[7] would resume studio broadcasts for the2007 season, with Curt Menefee assuming full-time hosting duties and Joe Buck reverting to play-by-play only. Jillian Reynolds, who was coming off maternity leave, returned full-time as the program's weather anchor. However, the pre-game show was on-site atLambeau Field for the 2007 NFC Championship Game between theNew York Giants and theGreen Bay Packers and atSuper Bowl XLII.
For the 2007 season,Fox NFL Sunday introduced a new feature, a pre-recorded segment titled "Grumpy Old Coaches", in which Jimmy Johnson and fellow formerDallas Cowboys head coachBarry Switzer discuss the past week in football. A segment of highlights and commentary of the previous day'scollege football games was also featured, as a gesture to Fox's then recent acquisition of broadcast rights to theBowl Championship Series (BCS). This segment was dropped following the 2007 season.
On June 24, 2008, it was announced that former New York Giants defensive endMichael Strahan would join the show as an analyst.[8] On November 8, 2009, a special two-hour edition of the program was broadcast on-location fromAfghanistan, featuring an audience of U.S. soldiers. While the regularFox NFL Sunday crew did the pregame show,Chris Rose served as the studio host and anchored the in-game highlights, asJohn Lynch andTrent Green served as studio analysts for the halftime and post-game reports during the broadcast. On January 24, 2010,Fox NFL Sunday broadcast on-location fromNew Orleans for the 2009 NFC Championship Game.
On January 23, 2011,Fox NFL Sunday also broadcast an on-location edition atSoldier Field inChicago for the 2010 NFC Championship Game; the program held itsSuper Bowl XLV pregame show inArlington, Texas on February 6, 2011.
Starting with the2011 NFL season, the show introduced a new feature called "Fox :45", which is usually formatted a sing-along parody of a famous song, or as a comedic sketch. The parodies and sketches usually relate to current events occurring during the football season. The program also introduced the "Twitter Tracker", which scrolls tweets from NFL players and coaches.
On August 2, 2012, Frank Caliendo announced on his official Twitter account that he would not return toFox NFL Sunday as a prognosticator for the2012 season;[9] comedian and formerSaturday Night Live cast memberRob Riggle was eventually named as his replacement.[10]
On December 6, 2015, a special two-hour edition ofFox NFL Sunday was broadcast fromFord Island atPearl Harbor,Hawaii. The location was chosen to commemorate the 74th anniversary of theAttack on Pearl Harbor, with theUSSMissouri being featured in the backdrop of the broadcast.[11]
On September 11, 2016,Fox NFL Sunday was broadcast on location inHouston (the host city ofSuper Bowl LI) for the start of the2016 NFL season. This also marked Curt Menefee's tenth season as full-time host of the pregame show. While the crew did the pregame, halftime and post-game shows,Charissa Thompson (host ofFox NFL Kickoff) served as the studio host and anchored the in-game highlights.
Riggle left the program after the 2019 season and wasn't replaced, with the role of prognosticator dropped from the program starting with the 2020 season.
During the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, Jimmy Johnson was not in the studio, working remotely from Florida as a precaution.[12] Then for the games on November 22, the whole team was momentarily replaced due to greater COVID-19 restrictions within the state of California, with Chris Myers taking over the hosting duties and former players Reggie Bush and Charles Woodson taking over the analyst's roles.[13] Once the Thanksgiving games were underway the regular crew came back minus Bradshaw.
In May 2022, it was announced that former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton would be joining as an analyst on days when Jimmy Johnson would be out.[14]
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"Cleatus the Robot" is an animated robot character that serves as the official mascot forFox NFL Sunday, and the entirety of Fox Sports. Cleatus's design, which was inspired by the eight-year old son of the executive vice president of Fox Sports, Gary Hartley, was a graphic interpretation of a "hybrid robotic football-player-slash-cowboy." It was named through a viewer contest held in the winter of 2007, in which fans were asked to submit entries to select the robot's name.[15][16] Cleatus made his first appearance on the program during the 2005–06 NFL season, but was not used regularly untilthe following season. The character was designed byLegacy Effects.[17]
Cleatus mainly appears during theopening sequence of the program, as well as during end-of-break sponsorship tags within the program and during game telecasts, certain identifications for Fox Sports used to close sports broadcasts and as a cue to Fox stations to air local advertisements during commercial breaks, and brief promotions for movies and television series. In the latter instance, he commonly gets attacked by a CGI character from the subject of the advertisement (such asIron Man,[18] adragon from the movieEragon,[19] aT-1000 robot from the Fox dramaTerminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,[20] andThe Burger King,[21] who taunted Cleatus by throwing objects at him). Cleatus is also seen doing various things such as hopping on two feet, playing anelectric guitar, shaking out his limbs, and performing dance moves such asThe Swim and theElectric Slide; during the Fox broadcast of aDenver Broncos game on December 11, 2011, he also Tebowed (the kneelingprayer position popularized by former Broncos playerTim Tebow).
Games aired on the weekend followingNew Year's Day typically show Cleatus sitting on a bench holding anice pack to his head, as if nursing a hangover. During the MLB postseason in October until the conclusion of theWorld Series (both of which air on Fox), the character is also seen taking baseballs from a basket and hitting them with a bat towards the background. Cleatus is usually replaced with a robotic turkey during Fox'sThanksgiving NFL game broadcasts.
Fox has since manufactured anaction figure of the character, which it sells on the Fox Sports website,[22] available in the character's normal appearance as well as in special uniforms customized for all 32 NFL franchises.
In response to the creation of Cleatus, Fox Sports created Digger, an animated gopher mascot forNASCAR on Fox telecasts; the character was originally seen only during the races when the in-track cameras knowns as the "Digger Cam" were shown, but his role soon expanded. Unlike Cleatus, however, Digger was not well received by fans, and sparked an internet andTwitter outcry for his removal from the broadcast. While Digger was featured heavily in 2009, he only made cameo appearances in 2010 before being phased out completely the following year. Starting in 2014,Frank Krimel is the driver ofFox Sports 1 Cleatus competing inMonster Jam.
Cleatus was included in an episode ofThe Simpsons, "The Spy Who Learned Me", and in sketches onLate Night with Conan O'Brien.
During the 2019WWE draft, Cleatus the Robot would appear in war room-style backstage vignettes with actors portraying Fox executives making selections for theWWE Smackdown brand.
Sky Sports in theUnited Kingdom, which was until October 2018 owned by21st Century Fox, uses a modified version of the Cleatus opening sequence and sponsorship tags with their own branding.
