The end of the NFL's labor dispute with the NFL Referees Association and the return of regular NFL referees last night provided plenty of fodder for late night talk shows. Below is a brief round-up monologues:
NBC’s Jay Leno: “Coming into work today, I went through the drive-thru at Jack In the Box. They messed up my order. They gave me the wrong change. So I guess it's official: The replacement refs are back to their old jobs. … Last night, the NFL reached an agreement with real referees. Well, things kind of changed after that blown call last Monday night. Apparently negotiations went something like this: ‘Please come back! I beg you, please! Please! We promise we'll give you whatever you want!’” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 9/27).
CBS’ David Letterman: “How about these replacement referees? Well, that is a lot of fun, wasn't it? You know who really got burned in the phoney referees were gamblers. People who gambled were really getting screwed by the phony referees. So guess what, they're gone. Phony referees gone, ladies and gentlemen. They were taking the place of the real referees and the phony referees were actually fathers of the NFL players that would take turns each game refereeing” (“Late Show,” CBS, 9/27).
ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel: “Some good news for football fans. Late last night, the NFL lockout is over. The refs will be back to work and I am happy to say, there will never be a bad call again. The new collective bargaining agreement is an eight-year deal. The referees got better pension, more money and most importantly, what they wanted more than anything, Sundays off so we might still have a problem” (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 9/27).
Read more on late night television's treatment of the NFL referee issue.
