A sad day, as ESPN puts an end to wacky 'Booger mobile' on Monday nights

Senior writer

Thu, Mar 7, 2019, 11:04 PM

Well, no more jokes about about the contraption analyst Booger McFarland would ride around on the sideline during “Monday Night Football.”

McFarland and ESPN tried out what became known as the “Booger mobile” last season, providing commentary from field level on a moveable cart with Jason Witten and play-by-play man Joe Tessitore in the booth. Fans couldn’t see around it and it seemed fairly unnecessary.

In 2019, it will be parked in the garage. Michael McCarthy of the Sporting News reported ESPN is retiring the “Booger mobile.” What that means for McFarland, now that Witten decided to leave ESPN to play again for the Dallas Cowboys, is unknown.

Booger McFarland’s cart will be retired

McFarland was the breakout star of “Monday Night Football,” which was surprising because Witten replacing Jon Gruden got all the attention.

The three-man team was still awkward, in part because it was Witten’s first time broadcasting, and partially because the three men weren’t together for most of the season. McFarland was riding around in his weird cart at field level while the other two were up in the press box. Whatever benefit McFarland got from that vantage point — and it seemed to work for him, because he provided fresh and honest commentary all season — was overshadowed by the weirdness of it all.

So ESPN will move on without the “Booger mobile,” while we wait to see if they’ll move on without Booger himself.

McFarland could replace Jason Witten

Witten needs to be replaced and McFarland makes a lot of sense. He is coming off a good season, he played in the NFL, he’s engaging and good on television. He’s already comfortable to “Monday Night Football” viewers after last season.

ESPN will have plenty of interesting candidates, from internal candidates like Louis Riddick to a possible big catch from outside the network like Peyton Manning. We’ll see what direction they go in.

But one thing is sure: Booger won’t be riding around in his cart next season. RIP, “Booger mobile.”