Sundayโs NFL Wild Card playoff game between the Chicago Bears and the New Orleans Saints featured a rather well received twist in that it was broadcast not only on CBS, but also on Nickelodeon.
The Nickelodeon broadcast was helmed by play-by-play announcer Noah Eagle (son of longtime broadcaster Ian Eagle) with former NFL wide receiver Nate Burleson and Nickelodeon star Gabrielle Nevaeh Green providing analysis and color, and 14-year-old Nick star Lex Lumpkin serving as the sideline reporter.
๐ ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐๐น๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ @Nickelodeon ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ @GabrielleNGreen & @MrLexLumpkin ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ง๐! @NoahEagle15 ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ด๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐น๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฎ. pic.twitter.com/fKGZ1ZRuM7
โ Nathaniel E Burleson (@nateburleson) January 12, 2021
Burlesonโs work explaining the nuances of an NFL game to what was expected to be a younger audience was especially well-received, while many of the questions Burleson answered throughout the broadcast came from the 15-year-old Green.
Nickelodeonโs Gabrielle Nevaeh Green awed by a punt: pic.twitter.com/R1doES7ZBZ
โ The IC Workstation (@ClippelBoardy) January 12, 2021
Green wasnโt completely unprepared for the broadcast, however. It turns out that, by accident, Green received CBS broadcaster Tony Romoโs 800 page packat of game notes, reports the New York Times.
She was supposed to get a one-page cheat sheet, according to the broadcastโs coordinating producer, Shawn Robbins. When she received a copy of Romoโs monster notes package from a production assistant her mom emailed Robbins, asking, โUm, hey Shawn, what do we need to know from this 800 page packet?โ
In the end, she didnโt need Romoโs notes, as the broadcast averaged 2.06 million viewers and CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus said following the game, โI think itโs probably the first of many collaborations between CBS Sports and the Viacom platforms.โ
Even with the potential for F-bombs to be dropped on a kidsโ channel.
Nickelodeon announcers: "Alright, let's uhh." pic.twitter.com/wtpLAyZwUh
โ NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) January 10, 2021