MNF goes AWOL tonight

ABC is pulling the plug on what was a mainstay of Americana tonight as Monday Night Football will be pulled from the primetime lineup after tonight's Pats - Jets game. The show will be moved over to ESPN next season, after a 35 year run on one of the original big three networks.

Who's to blame for this disaster? Chalk it up to all involved. ABC was responsible for promoting the same teams over and over (how many times have the Patriots played on MNF over the last four years), while fans want to see good football games. Take tonight broadcast as an example. Nobody wants to see the Jets get it handed to them, so the finale is already primed to be a stinker.

Also throw blame at the league for failing to a) setup intriguing matchups, and b) continuing to maintain their archane broadcasting rules. If a team doesn't sellout their game, local broadcasts are blacked out. Brilliant marketing tactics there. Let's promote our sport by making it elitist.

And finally, blame it on the fans. Television viewers are fickle, but the lack of loyalty is simply unacceptable. So what if you're forced to work 12 hour days in order to make ends meet. Get in the office at 5 a.m. then! (Notice we accounted for your one hour commute). So what if you're already committing 3 to 10 hours of football viweing the day before (think three games, and pre and post game coverage). Where is the loyalty?

Don Meredith is supposed to be in attendance tonight, to, "...turn out the lights, the party's over. They say that all good things must end...."

Indeed.