Hank Williams Jr. will not ask you if you’re ready for some football tonight. Instead, ESPN announced on Monday afternoon that the famous “Are You Ready for Some Football?” intro will not be part of tonight’s Monday Night Football broadcast after Williams made comments likening President Obama to Adolf Hitler.
“While Hank Williams, Jr. is not an ESPN employee, we recognize that he is closely linked to our company through the open to Monday Night Football,” the network said in a statement. “We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result we have decided to pull the open from tonight’s telecast.”
ESPN’s decision not to use the pre-taped Williams opening before tonight’s Colts-Buccaneers game comes after Williams said on Fox News Channel that House Speaker John Boehner should not have played golf with Obama because, “That would be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu. Not hardly. In the shape this country is in?”
When Brian Kilmeade of Fox News said he didn’t understand the analogy, Williams replied, “I’m glad you don’t brother, because a lot of people do. They’re the enemy . . . Obama! And Biden! Are you kidding? The Three Stooges.”
Williams has performed the theme song for Monday Night Football, which is based on his 1984 song “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight,” for more than two decades.
