Tonight's Monday Night Football Broadcast Will Feature The Muppets for Some Reason

ESPN Front Row — Starting at the top of the telecast (8 p.m. ET, ESPN), Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy will make their debut in the broadcast booth while Fozzie Bear reports from the field, Statler and Waldorf join from the stands, and Animal comes in with the drums. Then, right before kickoff, the Muppets will return for a Carol of the Bells music video.

I know nobody watches linear television anymore, but given the fact that one of the few things people do still turn out in droves to watch is the NFL, does Monday Night Football really need to turn itself into a Muppets Christmas special to boost viewership?

I'd imagine this is some sort of Disney synergy play to boost A Muppet Christmas Carol or something, but just let us watch football. We're already putting a playoff game on Nickelodeon with slime end zones and all sorts of other nonsense, we don't need Beaker breaking down Mike Tomlin's decision to go for it on fourth down from his own 40-yard line.

But as I think about it, I might tune in more intently than I otherwise would tonight just to see how the hell ESPN is going to incorporate the Muppets into a football broadcast. Damn it, they've done it again.

So if the Steelers and Bengals don't get you going late in the season, tune in tonight for the Muppets singing Carol of the Bells and breaking down JuJu Smith-Schuster's TikToks.