Hank Williams Jr.'s "All My Rowdy Friends" is returning to Monday Night Football after being pulled from ESPN in 2011 after Williams made controversial remarks on Fox News.
Williams made those remarks midseason that year, comparing a golf outing between former President Barack Obama and then-Rep. House Speaker John Boehner to "a meeting of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Adolf Hitler," according to ESPN. The remarks that also included an "enemy" reference when he mentioned both Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden.
Prior to being pulled from Monday Night Football, the iconic song had been part of the broadcast since 1989.
Stephanie Druley, ESPN's senior vice president of events and studio production, said Williams' song "belongs to Monday Night Football," per The Tennessean.
"I think it's a return to our past in that it's such an iconic song associated with football," Druley said. "It was the original. It belongs to Monday Night Football. It really is about returning to what fans know. It's a Monday night party, and that's what we're all hoping to get back to."
Williams has recorded a new version of the song, but it still has its signature opening: "Are you ready for some football?"
"I hope there will be some happy people on Monday night again," Williams said, according to The Tennessean. "It feels natural, fulfilling and satisfying at this point when you've kind of done it all."
"I never said, 'Are you ready for some football' on stage one time the last five or six years, but I will now," the singer said. "I'm feeling at home and it's a real good thing…It's kind of like the Nashville Predators playing for the Stanley Cup, it's like 'Wow.'"
Druley said some backlash is expected, but she's not worried.
"I'm sure there'll be some, but I'm not concerned. It was the right time," Druley said. "We discussed it internally and it was just the right time to bring him back."
Williams will be debuting the new "All My Rowdy Friends" in Minneapolis on Sept. 11 when the New Orleans Saints take on the Minnesota Vikings.
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