Miller Night Football, on HBO

It had been 17 years since Howard Cosell anchored Monday Night Football and 15 years since O.J. Simpson provided color commentary. Those were certainly notable shoes to fill. Arguably, nobody really had, because Monday Night Football had lost some of its luster over the intervening years. To breathe life into Monday Night Football, ABC tried a radical experiment: hiring a comedian. Somehow, they chose Dennis Miller. His tenure was short but memorable. Those involved look back on Miller’s two seasons, mostly fondly, in Jeff Cameron’s short documentary, Miller Night Football, which premieres tomorrow on HBO.

In the year 2000, the broadcast networks were losing viewers to cable. Consequently, Monday Night Football faced considerably more competition, as sports in prime time became relatively common place. ABC hatched a plan to lure viewers back with a less sporty, more entertaining commentator, to supplement Al Michaels, the veteran play-by-play announcer and Dan Fouts, a retried Hall of Fame quarterback. Radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh aggressively pursued the gig, but it is clear ABC would never accept his politics. Proving the point, former coordinating producer David Israel casually smears Limbaugh as “a racist,” after admitting he nailed his audition.

Arguably, that is a highly relevant and telling detail, because Miller’s own commentary turned in a starboard direction following the terrorist attacks of September 11. In fact, 9/11 directly impacted Monday Night Football, postponing one game. When football resumed, the mood of the country remained much more subdued, making it trickier for Miller to fulfill his comedic role on the broadcast.

It is a shame the Miller years didn’t last longer, because he landed some hilarious riffs.  Eventually, ABC replaced Miller and Fouts with John Madden, which made sense to a lot of fans at the time. However, if they had kept Miller for a few more years, they would have had a wealth a material to repackage (like “Miller on the Giants,” “Miller on the Broncos,” “Miller on the Refs,” etc.).

Regardless, Miller can look back at the experience and laugh, which says a lot. So do Miller’s on-air partners, Michaels and Fouts, as well as sideline reporters Melissa Stark and Eric Dickerson, all of whom discuss the 2000-2002 seasons at length during Cameron’s doc. Honestly, Miller was probably too funny for ABC. Just look at their subsequent schedules.

Cameron keeps the mood breezy and light, inviting viewers on an amusing trip down memory lane. Everyone admits the Dennis Miller experiment worked to an extent, because it made Monday Night Football the topic of national conversations again. Maybe more sportscasts should have followed their lead. Recommended for fans of Miller and the NFL, Miller Night Football starts streaming tomorrow on HBO.