| FOR USE AS DESIRED | ||
| NFL-44 9/1/00 |
WHAT A WAY TO END LABOR DAY: RAMS, BRONCOS & DENNIS MILLER
Excitement. Electricity. Eclecticism.
That’s what this Monday night promises to deliver in St. Louis when the defending Super Bowl-champion Rams host the Denver Broncos, and ABC’s new broadcast team debuts in the regular season on ABC’s NFL Monday Night Football.
"Bring on the Broncos," says Rams cornerback DEXTER MC CLEON. "We all know we're ready to play, and we can't wait to get started."
The Broncos are as ready.
"Anybody who knows football knows the Rams have a high-powered offense and they go out and make plays," says Broncos linebacker AL WILSON. "It’s that simple. But we know our talents and what we can do. And we're very confident going into the game."
Describing it all will be ABC’s new announcing lineup of AL MICHAELS, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback DAN FOUTS, and football fanatic and humorist DENNIS MILLER, who is sure to provide his unique, wide-ranging view of the game.
Monday-night producer DON OHLMEYER is pleased with the cohesion the group developed in the preseason.
"The talent and experience that Dan has coupled with the talent and experience of Al is what allows you to form a group like this," says Ohlmeyer. "The assimilation of the group is a tribute to Al and Dan.
"While the publicity for Dennis has centered around some of his whimsical lines, he’s had some very astute observations and he’s generated through questions to Dan and Al some very interesting conversations," continued Ohlmeyer. "There’s a lot more there than whimsy."
Fouts is a Miller fan. "Working beside him is funny," says Fouts. "There are a lot of times when he absolutely slays you. There were times in the last game that I took my head-set off because I was laughing so hard."
CHAMPIONS OPENING ON MNF: Super Bowl champions are 6-7 when they open the season on Monday Night Football. Defending champions are 1-3 in Monday-night openers when they play the Super Bowl champion that preceded them.
Following are the four previous matchups of the two most-recent Super Bowl winners competing in the first Monday-night game of the season (defending champion bolded):
| GAME | DATE | WINNER | SUMMARY |
| Dallas at Washington | 9/6/93 | Washington 35-16 | The Redskins defeat the defending champion Cowboys 35-16 on the strength of Brian Mitchell’s 116 yards rushing and two touchdowns. |
| San Francisco at N.Y. Giants |
9/2/91 | N.Y. Giants 16-14 | Matt Bahr kicks a 35-yard field goal with five seconds remaining to give the defending champion Giants a 16-14 win over the 49ers. |
| Washington at N.Y. Giants |
9/5/88 | N.Y. Giants 27-20 | The Giants defeat the defending champion Redskins 27-20 when they score two fourth-quarter touchdowns on returns (blocked punt & fumble). |
| N.Y. Giants at Chicago | 9/14/87 | Chicago 34-19 | The defending champion Giants fall to the Bears 34-19. Chicago quarterback Mike Tomczak throws for two touchdowns and runs for one. |
BRONCOS-RAMS MNF EXPERIENCE: This Monday marks the first MNF appearance for the Rams since 1991 when -- as the Los Angeles Rams -- they lost 33-10 to the San Francisco 49ers. The Rams last Monday-night victory came in 1988 when they defeated the Chicago Bears 23-3. Overall, the Rams are 17-20 on Monday nights.
The Broncos are 19-23-1 on Monday nights, including 7-4 since 1995. They went 1-2 last season, losing to Miami 38-21 in the season opener, defeating Oakland 27-21 in overtime, and falling to Jacksonville 27-24. Their last road victory on Monday night came at Kansas City in 1998 when they defeated the Chiefs 30-7.
It has been 14 years since St. Louis hosted a Monday-night game. On September 29, 1986, the visiting Dallas Cowboys triumphed 31-7 over the St. Louis Cardinals. The last time the home team won in St. Louis on MNF was the year before, when the Cardinals defeated the Cowboys 21-10 on November 4.