Tonight, NBC presents the Saturday Night Live Sports Extra (7 pm, EST), a clip collection. I’m guessing it’ll include fairly recent smart sketches such as Peyton Manning nailing some kids with footballs all in the name of mentoring — a fine example of a celebrity unafraid to spoof himself. And I’d guarantee that you’ll see Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri as Spartan cheerleaders. But the one clip SNL had better show is perhaps my favorite sports-related bit, Harry Shearer, Martin Short, and Christopher Guest’s brilliant 1984 parody of synchronized swimming.
So, sports fans (and are there many of you out there reading this? EW doesn’t cover sports TV very much — should we?): What Saturday Night Live sports-related sketches will you be looking for tonight?
I don’t remember any specific sketches, but I do recall Chris Evert as being remarkably game and surprisingly funny when she hosted.
The pairs skating sketch, where they constantly crashed. Scott Hamilton was the commentator, and he was hilarious.
I’m a fan of sports TV, and would love to see more of a marriage between EW and the Wide World, so to speak. The personalities in sports (and often in sports journalism) are enough to warrant the kind commentary served up by EW on a regular basis.
any sketch with OJ Simpson
Does the “Oops I Crapped My Pants” commercial count? After all, they were playing tennis at the beginning of it…
DA BEARS!!!
I remember a Buddweiser commercial where Joe Piscipco cheap shotted Robin Williams on a Hockey faceoff that I couldn’t stop laughing over. The two of them starting a brawl on the ice and then drinking the fake beer while in the Penalty box was hilarious. An SNL staple, I wish they would play them like the fake commercials they were.
Where can you find a copy of that?
Nothing beats the Peyton manning mentor sketch.
The synchronized swimming is the Best! Martin Short saying that he is not a strong swimmer kills me. Peyton Manning’s United Way is hilarous and Michael Jordon on “Daily Affirmation” with Stuart Smalley is classic. Best Cameo? Mike Ditka telling Chris Farley’s Super Bear Fan that he is not the Chicago Coach, he is the Saints coach and “We suck”!
The one where Chris Kattan (playing a little kid) got harassed by a slew of baseball stars streaming out of his closet.
http://snltranscripts.jt.org/97/97ibaseball.phtml
DAAAAA BEARS DA BEARS DA BEARS DA BEARS DA BEARS DA BEARS
and Chris Farley figure skating. So, absolutely graceful.
(3) John Belushi smoking and pitching Donuts in the Wheaties parody. I know it’s one-note, but it’s vintage SNL.
(2) Your pick: “Hey, you! I know you!” Absolutely brilliant and the funniest sports-related sketch I can think of next to…
(1) “Oh! Another skier accidentally shot by Claudine Longet!” I didn’t get the cultural reference when I first saw it (I was watching SNL way young), but I knew there was one, and wipeouts set to gunshots are funny even as a non sequitur — as long as everyone’s okay.
Nothing beats all the Spartan Cheerleader sketches! One of the few things I actually like Will Ferrell in.
The synchronized swimming sketch was killer “I like to swim.” Now, being from Chicago the DA Bears sketches were awesome, especially when Chris Farley, if I remember correctly, had his baker’s dozen in heart attacks after eating some sausage.
I love just about all the SNL sketches mentioned on here so far, but the synchronized swimming spoof is probably my favorite. I never liked Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri as cheerleaders though. I would love it if EW covered more sports!