Review: Funday Football From Monstropolis Shows the True Potential of ESPN’s Alt-Casts

Monday night’s alt-cast of the Los Angeles Chargers and the Philadelphia Eagles football game brought the NFL action to Monstropolis, with ESPN’s Drew Carter and Dan Orlovsky transformed into monster broadcasters. Cheer canisters lined the field as fans powered them up with their cheers, echoing the Monsters, Inc. energy system and feeling a bit like the Laugh Floor at Magic Kingdom.

Members of the CDA served double duty as aerial camera operators and referees, swooping around the action, while an extremely long-tongued monster served as the yard marker and adorably sideline jumprope, too. From the opening snap, the broadcast made it clear: football had crossed over into monster territory.

Compared to previous animated attempts, such as the Simpsons game, on-field action was much easier to follow. Fewer moments of seemingly random actions on the field, while various overlays added to the monster world fun. Runners sometimes left trails of flames behind them, and punny text labels like “BOO-tiful” and “HAIR-raising” would pop up alongside play. The yard marker, an oversized monster tongue, also served as a sideline jump rope, and I often found myself staring at the delightfully odd creation.

The clear improvement in alt-cast technology made it all the more amusing when the animation broke during a second-quarter chaos play: a Hurts interception by the Chargers, returned and fumbled, recovered by Hurts, then fumbled again and recovered by the Chargers. So many turnovers in one sequence left the ball simply sitting on the field while seemingly oblivious players strolled by, and viewers had only Drew and Dan’s description of the madness as it happened.

They did a wonderful job of bringing along new viewers with their commentary style. Taking a moment to explain football expressions, running the clock, or slant route. While interstitials narrated by Mike or Sulley appeared throughout the broadcast, offering basic illustrations of football terms like “flea flicker,” “pancake block,” and “pick six.” Even the ad breaks added to viewers' knowledge banks with Monsters or NFL trivia—like the founding year of Monsters University (1313) and the Chicago Bears’ “Monsters of the Midway” nickname.

Drew and Dan’s game commentary was peppered with in-universe references that made the Cheer Floor feel lived-in and connected to the Monstropolis we know from the original films.

After a sideline chat with Mike Wazowski about his “hissing-head beauty” Celia Mae, Drew casually mentioned that the pair call each other Giggly Bear and Smoochie Poo. Later, he hoped Boo was watching “Kitty,” Sulley’s nickname from the films. He even slipped in a nod to “Put That Thing Back Where It Came From (Or So Help Me)."

With Sulley playing for the Chargers and Mike Wazowski lined up for the Eagles, we were treated to delightful calls like “Sulley’s on the pass rush, making it tough for Hurts to find Mike Wazowski. And Dan Orlovsky yelling, “Drive through the hip, Mike! Big hit by the little guy,” as the one-eyed monster made a big stop. Cameos from George Sanderson, Needleman, and Smitty added to the sense that the entire Monsters, Inc. campus showed up for Monday Night Football.

Roz, serving as sideline reporter, popped up repeatedly with pre-recorded questions for players - from “What’s something people don’t know about you?” (Zac Baun learned the Rubik’s Cube to impress girls, Jalen Hurts has a killer crawfish recipe) to “Are you afraid of monsters?” which led to stories of nightlights and checking under beds. She also tried stirring a bit of clubhouse drama, asking who, like her, always gets their way.

Dan even noted that Roz’s blunt evaluation of Mike Wazowski on field play felt like something Stephen A. Smith might have delivered.

The broadcast used halftime for lots more Monsters fun, unveiling a Mike vs. Sulley Cheer Canister Challenge. After Orlovsky jokingly scolded the crowd’s lack of energy and prompted them to “Roar,” the three-event contest played out like a Monsters Inc. mini-festival. Mike found a clever way to win the opening ball toss; Sulley claimed the High Striker after Mike’s comedic miscalculation; and tug-of-war became the deciding showdown.

When Sulley invited Mike’s biggest fan to give the little guy a hand, many from the stands responded by joining in force, ultimately pulling Sulley straight into the sock pit and giving Mike Wazowski the win. The victory snapshot captured Sulley smiling in full view while Mike was reduced to a pair of dangling limbs behind the trophy. 

After halftime, the broadcast continued with more sideline interviews from Mike, Sulley, and Roz, including a standout moment where Sulley compared Jim Harbaugh to Roz, saying Harbaugh made her seem like a teddy bear and that they could have used someone with his intensity on the Scare Floor. Sulley was also asked whether Monstropolis could ever host a Super Bowl; he teased that he plans to meet with Commissioner Roger Goodell.

ESPN is hosting the 2027 Super Bowl and has hinted that alt-casts will be part of the presentation, which makes it hard not to wonder whether this Monsters world is a test run for something much bigger. The broadcast also included animated look-ins on children watching from global NFL locations such as Ireland, Spain, and Germany, which served as a reminder of how international the league’s audience has become.

Beyond the animation and worldbuilding, the football itself was unusually wild. The game featured: an excess of turnovers, sometimes multiple in a single play, a missed field goal going into halftime, and ultimately, overtime. While that kept the game more interesting, I think the alt-cast might have been better served by less on-field intensity. However, it was fun for a time when the score was 16-19, and it looked for a moment like we’d get a 23-19 final.

But Sulley—and the Chargers—ultimately secured a 22–19 win (so close!) with an interception in overtime. And Mike Wazowski walked away with his own honors: the Cheer Canisters win, the SC Top 10 chain, and a celebratory sludge shower.

Funday Football from Monstropolis showcased one of the amazing ways all the data they’re collecting for sports analytics can be used to create new experiences for the fans. Just another step in reshaping the ways we consume sports events off-site. For me, that’s the real magic of ESPN’s alt-casts. I love the action on the field, but I grew up going to big sporting events in person, and there’s an entire ecosystem of activity you can only take in when you’re actually there. At a college game, I’d watch the play, then sneak a glance at the band; at a ballpark, I’d drift toward the dugout between pitches. At home, I’m limited to whatever the producer puts in frame.

Alt-casts widen that frame. The easy banter of ManningCast and the playful fun of a night in Monstropolis recreate the parts of sports I’ve always loved. Not just the action, but the atmosphere around it. They scratch that itch for everything happening just outside the play, those sports-adjacent moments that make the game feel bigger than what’s on the field. Most of all, they pull me in. I’m not just watching the game; I’m actively engaged with it in a way that feels lively and personal, the way sports have always felt to me.