Over the past couple months, I’ve become a huge fan of NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football”. I really think it’s become the best sports show on TV, for reasons I outlined in a previous article (which you can read here: https://medium.com/@dushanewalker90/why-good-morning-football-is-the-best-sports-show-on-tv-521248a5eb57 ).
I’ve been watching the show A LOT lately, and I can’t think of a single episode that hasn’t been engaging and fun throughout. That’s pretty impressive for a show that runs for multiple hours every weekday and has such a specific focus.
While I’m a big TV fan, I’m selective about what I watch and I’ve never watched any sort of morning show, late night show, or even live TV show such as GMFB. I like shows like “The Wire”, “Sons of Anarchy”, “Atlanta”, and “Californication”. But lately, I find myself on the elliptical every morning, watching GMFB. In fact, I find the show and the cast so engaging that I even joined Twitter (which I despise), just so I can weigh in on the topics that are discussed on the show.
While I watch the show’s segments, I can’t help but think about some of the things I’d like to see on GMFB. So while none of these ideas may ever make it to the show, I figure there’s no harm in making a list of things I’d like to see. So here goes:
- Madden Draft and Simulated Season: The GMFB cast members constantly get in debates about things such as the most important positions on the field, the best player at each position, and draft strategy (“You’re on the clock, bro!”). So imagine if Kay, Kyle, Peter, and Nate were actually put to the test. I’m not a Fantasy Football guy, but I love Madden, and the game provides the perfect “bragging rights” platform for the GMFB cast. My suggestion is for the GMFB team to create a league and hold a draft on Madden. Use custom rosters, where each cast member starts a team from scratch (Kay and Kyle can flip a coin to see who gets the Bears). The league could have every team (with the console simulating the draft for the non-GMFB teams) or only teams controlled by the cast. Guys like Will Selva and Matt Hamilton could get in on it, or it could just be for the four lead cast members. Hold the draft and then go ahead and simulate the games. Over the course of the season, we’ll see who ends up with the best team. And of course there has to be some sort of trophy. I’ll leave that for the team to figure out. So, who do I think would win the competition? If this was a multi-year franchise, I would definitely go with Schrager emerging as the victor over a five yer period (or longer). But I assume this will be a single season endeavor so I’ll go with…still Schrager. Tough call as to who finishes second. I guess there’s only one way to find out if I’m right- make it happen GMFB. Just imagine, prior to the start of the 2018 season, the team holds a draft and we see which positions the cast members prioritize, which players they select, and how they deal with the pressure of being on the clock (preferably while also trash-talking one another). Then the season starts and the simulated games reflect the real NFL schedule. We get to predict who will win on Twitter and get some highlights each Friday from the games. And at the end of the season, a victor is crowned.
- Team Stocks: My background is in business, so I can’t help but think about the business end of sports…or finding ways to apply business to sports (without getting TOO serious about it). I would love to see each cast member make some team “stock picks” , for each of the following categories:
- Long-term investment: This is the team you plan to invest in for the long haul, and we are talking multiple seasons. A team with a good long-term outlook. Perhpas you want to buy the Browns at a low price and take them years into the future because you like what the organization is doing. Or maybe you think the Giants provide a good value buy right now after a horrible season, and you believe in the “blue-chip” organization that is the NY Football Giants. Or maybe you are just hopeful that the Bengals will ever win anything of importance.
- Short-term investment: This is the team you are betting on for this season, but you may unload once the Super Bowl has come and gone. your big bet. Maybe you want to bet on a tried and true organization like the Pats, convinced they will get back to the promised land this year but worried about how much Tom Brady has left once the season ends. Or maybe you want to take a risk on a stacked team like the LA Rams, who you are sure will disband after the season due to basically every player on the team becoming a free agent. Or maybe you want to just take the Super Bowl Champion Eagles.
- Short: This is the team you are betting completely collapses, in epic fashion. Maybe you choose the Rams here, convinced even Boy Genius will be unable to get all his new assets on the same page (or concerned that Jared Goff fails to match last season’s performance). Or maybe you think the Chiefs are putting too much risk on young, unproven Pat Mahomes, and you are willing to bet they fall off after a strong 2017 season with Alex Smith at the helm.
Of course, the GMFB team could take this even further. Imagine each cast member is given $10 million to invest. Does Kay bet it all on a Rams collapse? Does Nate put money on the Cardinals as a short-term investment? Who takes big risks and who plays the conservative game, diversifying their portfolio (I feel like Schrager might)? I think this could be fun, and involved as the team wants it to be.
3. Alternate Careers: One of my favorite parts of GMFB is that we learn so much about the players outside of football. Whether it’s segment on potential draft picks or an interview with a player we may not know much about, it’s always fun to see a side of the players we may not otherwise get to see. It’s a “humanization” of players that the game has gotten away from. In recent years, all we have heard about is player hold-outs, domestic abuse cases, CTE issues, and legal troubles. What the NBA has done that has made it so engaging over the last couple years is highlight individual players and their storylines. It may be easier in basketball, but it can abslutely be done with football, and GMFB proves that. If I was a PR person or agent, I would immediately take the player I represent on GMFB and have them engage with the cast. For example, Alabama CB Tony Brown was on earlier today and made a great impression with fans, and possibly with decision-makers in the league that watch the show. The NFL needs to highlight the guys in the league who are positive and fun and showcase them. This may be the ultimate team game, but we still like individual storylines and GMFB gives us those. So with that being said…I love learning about the other interests players have and it’s kind of fun to think about what their alternate careers could be. It would be fun to have the team think about the alternate careers for players. Who would be the best stuntman? Actor? Receptionist? Show producer? Fashion mogul? Runway model? The possibilities are endless. Pick players and think about their alternate careers, or pick alternate careers and think about who would be best in those roles. I think Kyle would excel at this.
4. Cast Combine: I’m not talking 40-yard dashes and bench presses here. I think the GMFB producers need to develop a combine, consisting of four to six events, that the cast members have to compete in. The players get put on display with all eyes on them. Let’s put the cast members in the same position. Mike Mayock could even host.
5. Player Marketing: Back to business. I worked in marketing for many years, and it can be a very fun job. I’d like to see what campaign each of the cast members would put together for various players. Maybe it’s a player coming off a bad season or injury, trying depserately to make a comeback. Maybe it’s a rookie or a player that is considered to have an attitude problem. Maybe it’s an underappreciated or often-overlooked player. Or maybe it’s a free agent. What’s your marketing slogane for the player? What are you going to do to generate fan interest? Coach interest? Management interest? What endorsements are the perfect fit for that player?
6. Field Goal Kicking Contest: This would just be hilarious. I don’t care if it’s just the cast members or they make non-kicking NFL players participate. Anyone who has ever tried to kick a FG knows just how difficult it can be and how foolish you can look. One thing I love about this cast is that none of them ever seems to be above making fun of themselves. This may be the best way to do that. I feel like watching Kyle get frustrated while attempting kicks would make this must watch TV. (Note: I just looked online and found footgae of Nate and Kay trying to kick FGs. Damn)
7. Player Theme Songs: Boxers and wrestlerts get to come out to theme music. Baseball players get to choose what music plays as they head to the batter’s box. But footbal players don’t really get to express themselves in the same manner. And they should be able to! Let’s let the GMFB crew pick theme songs for players from around the league. For example:
- Ndamukong Suh: Dave East (ft. A$AP Ferg)- Paper Chasin’
- AJ Green: T.I.- Rubberband Man
- OBJ: Jeremih- Imma Star
- LA Rams: Kanye West- All of the Lights
And on and on. There are potentially a few candidates for “Keep Their Heads Ringing’” by Dr. Dre and “No Dope on Sundays” by CyHi the Prince, but I think they may want to steer clear of those two.
So what say you, GMFB team?