One of the NFC Wild Card games looked a little different this season with the popular kid’s station, Nickelodeon, televising the Bears and Saints game.
It was a blast from the past for many fans of football that watched the NFC Wild Card game which featured the Bears against the Saints. In an effort to promote the game to a younger generation of fans, the NFL decided to partner with Nickelodeon and televise the game on the Nickelodeon channel. The game had personalities that are familiar with young fans that called the game which included Noah Eagle, former NFL wide receiver Nathaniel Burleson, Nickelodeon star Gabrielle Nevaeh, and Nickelodeon star Lex Lumpkin.
The game featured easy to understand comparisons for kids such as comparing Drew Brees and Taysom Hill to Spongebob and Patrick as they are best friends and Brees and Hill are perfect combination on offense. They also had Iain Armitage, the actor that plays young Sheldon, breaking down penalties during the game and trying to explain them for younger viewers.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Nickelodeon take over without their popular feature, slime, which came out virtually onto the field after someone scored a touchdown. The slime was activated a total of four times, three for the Saints thanks to Michael Thomas, Latavius Murray on catches from Drew Brees and a rushing touchdown Alvin Kamara, and one from the Bears Jimmy Graham.
The Saints would end up winning the game by a final of 21-9 thanks to the great combination of offense and defense, but what this game meant for younger generations of fans might have been even greater. After the game, Nickelodeon had fans vote for Nickelodeon’s Valuable Player (NVP) which went to Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky which was certainly a surprise. Saints head coach, Sean Payton, was also slimed after their victory as he expressed interest in it should his team come up with the win.
This game also caught the attention of many fans on Twitter, most of which had fun with the game while having some laughs. Here are some of the best ones on Twitter:
Overall, the game seemed to be a success from both fans young and old as younger fans were able to learn about the game through iconic Nickelodeon characters. Older generation fans were able to live back from some of their childhood as I, along with many others, were fans of some of their shows such as Spongebob Squarepants, Drake&Josh, and many others. This was a great way to promote and grow the game for kids that aren’t too sure about sports and helping them understand it.
If the NFL and other sports leagues were to try and get in on Nickelodeon and other kid friendly networks for coverage, it may benefit them in growing sports as a whole.
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