Former President Barack Obama was one of the featured guests during the ManningCast edition of Monday Night Football with Peyton Manning and Eli Manning on Oct. 24. Obama shared stories of his love for sports and offered several opinions on political reporting and getting out to vote.
What Happened: ESPN airs Monday Night Football on both its flagship channel with a traditional broadcast and on NFL+. The ManningCast covers 10 games on ESPN2, while four of those games are on ESPN+. Hosted by the two Manning brothers, Manningcast offers more laid-back commentary and viewing of the game along with interviews with guests during the game.
Monday’s game between the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots featured Obama chatting about the Bears and when both Mannings were invited to the White House by Obama after winning Super Bowls.
“Both of you guys were gentlemen … there was some silverware missing after your visit, but we couldn’t directly trace it to you,” Obama joked.
Obama also jested it was their brother Cooper Manning that got him to do the ManningCast, thanks to his performance in commercials for Caesars Entertainment CZR.
Obama being on the show during the Bears' 33-14 upset over the Patriots may have been perfect for a hometown Chicago fan.
“Since I left the White House, we’ve had a little drought pretty much across every sport. But you look at the Bears, young team, new coach, they’re playing hard,” he said.
Obama said he remained loyal to the Bears and other Chicago teams.
With the Bears playing well, Obama quipped he should be on ManningCast more often. Obama also joked it was hard for him to once welcome the Green Bay Packers, who are division rivals to the Bears, to the White House after winning the Super Bowl.
“I’m a big believer in you’re loyal all the way through, as long as they’re playing hard, as long as they look like they care, then I’m gonna stick with them and keep rooting for them. Our day will come.”
The former president was also able to briefly talk politics and share his thoughts on efforts to get people out to vote in elections.
“When teams are playing together, they can play better than if they’re divided.”
Obama also said political reporting is a lot like sports reporting.
“People are always looking for the controversy. To stir stuff up, because that’s clickbait. Most people don’t think that way.”
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Why It’s Important: Walt Disney Co DIS, which owns ESPN, is one of several media companies that pays millions of dollars annually for the rights to National Football League games. Disney has taken its rights to NFL games for Monday Night Football and split it into two telecasts.
Obama’s appearance is the perfect example of how this could be winning for ESPN. When Obama came on ManningCast or started talking politics, some viewers might have been unwilling to listen to the former president. Instead of turning off the game, viewers had the option to tune into the other Monday Night Football broadcast.
Likewise, some viewers who aren’t huge football fans might have tuned into the broadcast to hear Obama talk.
ESPN has two broadcasts that can now attract different fan bases to Monday Night Football.
The Mannings host athletes and celebrities on their broadcast which could bring new fans in. Monday’s broadcast featured comedian Bill Burr and actor Vince Vaughn in different segments after Obama left.
The appearance by Obama also comes as the former president is being linked to rumors of buying part of a National Basketball Association team.
Podcaster Bill Simmons discussed a rumor this week of Obama being linked to a group looking to buy the Phoenix Suns.
“I heard Obama’s involved in one of the groups, and that’s the one guy — that I feel like — they would make him the actual face and the money guys would be so happy to have him at the front,” Simmons said.
The rumor came against Obama being a die-hard Chicago Bulls fan, which could make a deal less likely.
Simmons raised points about Obama’s love of sports and his strong leadership qualities that have been looked up to by many NBA stars.
The Suns, who are partially owned by Blue Owl Capital OWL, are expected to sell for $3 billion to $4 billion. This could mean a group of investors makes sense given the high price tag.
Some names rumored to be interested include Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle Corporation ORCL founder Larry Ellison and former Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Photo: Marlin360 via Shutterstock
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