Ok, maybe I’m being unfair by blaming the personalities in the booth for the failure of Monday Night Football on the whole, but they are the face the company puts forward, so you shall bear the brunt of my rant, much like the waitress who didn’t have anything to do with the undercooked steak, but I digress…

So honestly guys, what gives? Monday Night Football used to be like a weekly playoff game. It was the game slot reserved for the genuinely good games. A team was rewarded for their previous year’s success and matched up on Monday nights with others who were predicted to succeed this year. The play-by-play man was Al Michaels, who should be asked to nationally call every single NFL game, even if he’s not at the game, and the color man was John Madden. Ok, Madden isn’t my favorite, but he’s a staple in football, a token I can’t bestow on any of you three. Seriously, it used to feel like an elite game with two elite teams doing battle. I don’t get that anymore.

And what happened to the game of football on TV? It used to be that I’d tune my TV to the station with the game and see what the camera sees, and hear what the crowd hears, plus the booth. Now, I turn on the game and it’s like I’m watching a video game. You might think we want your gimmicks and toys, but we don’t. Jaworski - I know you know the QB position. I know you can read a defense. I even know you can explain to us how offensive linesmen “pull” to the weak side to create a hole for the running back. I don’t need you to explain it to me between every play though; I am watching the same game. Adding your explaination to every play makes me feel stupid, and I’m not stupid; I’ve been watching football almost as long as you have. I don’t need to be spoonfed. Save that crap for the in-depth shows like NFL Primetime or Inside the NFL.

Kornheiser? Dennis Miller only lasted a year in the booth, so where do you get off? You contribute nothing to the telecast, not even close. You do know your sports, I’ll grant you that. You write wonderfully, I’ll even grant you that, but on the screen in the booth with the others is not your place. Even the tone of your voice gets under my skin before half time. You sound like Mike Myers doing his “Coffe Talk” show on SNL. It’s embarrassing. If Tirico has the play-by-play, and Jaworski has the color analysis (which I’ve already stated is too much), then why does the broadcast need you? Oh, you’re supposed to be the comic relief. FAIL. You’re about as funny as the Hurricane Katrina. Stick to sitting quietly and watching a football game, and remember there is nothing wrong with “Mmm, hmm” when someone asks you a “Isn’t that right, Kornheiser?” type question.

Mike Tirico, you’re ok. You get excited at the right time. You’re call is dead on, and your knowledge of the game is appreciated. So where’s my beef? Well it’s that you haven’t demanded the other two be fired and replaced with competent folks. I guess it’s not your fault, so I’ll let it slide. Keep up the good work.

ESPN, you’ve turned Monday Night Football into a joke. You’ve overcommercialized it, overcomplicated it, and overanalyzed it to the point where I won’t watch it unless it’s a game that has an impact on my division. NBC has the better matchup on Sunday night. They also have the benefit of having Michaels, and not having Kornheiser or Jaworski.

And finally, to the NFL - WTF??? Games in London and Canada? Is the almighty buck so important that you would sell out the only truly American Sport? Aren’t there markets in the USA which don’t have an NFL team you could try and appeal to first without going international? This whole international game stuff sucks and you should drop it right now. Sending a team abroad to play for even one game denies the home fans 1/8 of the home games on their team’s schedule. If that were baseball, that would be 21 games. Can you imagine if MLB took 21 home games from the Yankees or Red Sox? I know I’d flip a lid. Besides - nobody is stopping Britain from getting an American-football league together. If they really wanted it, they would have done it by now. And canada? They have a football league. It doesn’t do so well. Take the hint.

I want my NFL back, but “…progress takes away what forever took to find.”