Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
Meanwhile, Marge and Lisa set out to find the missing parts of "Vincent Price's Egg Magic", a celebrity-endorsed craft kit.
The episode features several guest-stars, including comedian Fred Willard, country singer Dolly Parton, Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch, sports commentators Pat Summerall and John Madden, and former American football players Troy Aikman, Rosey Grier and Dan Marino.
The episode pokes fun at folk singer Burl Ives, former United States president Bill Clinton and the series' fans, among other things.
After its original broadcast, however, a scene in the episode involving a fictitious, sexually suggestive Super Bowl commercial for the Catholic Church became a subject of controversy.
The two watch a special on the Super Bowl while drinking at Moe's, and Wally explains that his agency is sending a charter bus to the game.
To get free seats for himself and Bart, Homer helps Wally fill the bus by persuading many prominent male citizens of Springfield to sign up.
Homer, Bart, and the men arrive at Miami's Pro Player Stadium for pre-game festivities, only to discover that Wally has bought counterfeit tickets.
After Dolly Parton—a friend of Wally's and one of the halftime entertainers—breaks them out, they make their way into a skybox suite and spend more time gorging themselves on free food and drinks than they do watching the game.
Confronted by the box's owner, Rupert Murdoch, the group flees toward the field but is promptly swept into the locker room by the victorious Denver Broncos whom they have triumphed over their rival team, the Atlanta Falcons.
They share in the celebration, with Homer taking a congratulatory phone call from President Bill Clinton, and several of the men wind up with Super Bowl rings as they board the bus to return to Springfield.
When the kit proves to have no feet for the egg, Marge calls the company's help line and finds herself listening to Price on a voice mail greeting.
As Homer's group leaves Miami, Pat Summerall and John Madden analyze the events of the episode, their initially favorable opinion quickly souring.
It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on January 31, 1999, right after Super Bowl XXXIII and the premiere of Family Guy.
[1] The episode's subplot was the result of the Simpsons writers trying to find activities for Marge and Lisa to participate in while Bart and Homer were at the Super Bowl.
When Moe mentions that his favorite team is the Atlanta Falcons, he holds a glass in front of his mouth, obscuring his lip movements.
[1][3] This technique was also used in reference to the ongoing impeachment scandal, as when the characters mention that the President and First Lady will be watching, they cover their mouths when calling them by name.
Scully stated that, when athletes guest-star in television shows, their performances are "not always the greatest", however, he asserted, Aikman, Grier, and Marino were all "really funny" and "did a great job".
In their list 15 Simpsons Moments That Perfectly Captured Their Eras, Genevieve Koski, Josh Modell, Noel Murray, Sean O'Neal, Kyle Ryan, and Scott Tobias of The A.V.
In a scene in the episode, Clinton calls to congratulate the Super Bowl victors from the Oval Office, but is distracted by Al Gore measuring a window.
[6] As Scully recalls, at the time, the Simpsons writers were confident Gore would win the 2000 presidential election, which eventually was marginally, and controversially, won by George W.
It finished in 10th place in the ratings for the week of January 25–31, 1999, making it the second most watched scripted program on Fox, after the premiere of Family Guy.
One lifts the hood suggestively while another slides the gas pump nozzle into the tank in an image too obvious to ignore, but the driver's eyes are riveted to a shiny cross dangling from one woman's quivering cleavage as the rock music soars.
After failing to receive an answer several times, Donohue was at last given a reply written by Thomas Chavez, manager for broadcast standards and practices.
The network agreed, and Roland MacFarland, Fox's vice president of broadcast standards, ordered Scully to cut the word from the episode or eliminate all reference to religion.
She wrote, "Hollywood has always been gun shy of controversy, but recent displays of self-censorship on the part of entertainment industry executives make us cringe [...] Granted Catholics, as a group have endured an ample amount of bashing, but The Simpsons is an equal opportunity offender.
[12] Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood of I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide called the episode "A thoroughly enjoyable romp through what happens when a bunch of lads go for a Sunday out at the ball game."
They enjoyed the guest-stars, writing "both Dolly Parton and, bizarrely, Rupert Murdoch – spice things up nicely", however they were most fond of Fred Willard as Wally Kogen.
[25] Phillip Stephenson of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the episode "classic",[26] and Susan Dunne of The Hartford Courant described it as "debauched but hilarious".
"[29] Jake McNeill of Digital Entertainment News wrote that the episode is "so jam-packed with guest celebrity voices that they ran out of room for a plot.
"[30] Chris Barsanti of Filmcritic.com gave a negative review as well, and wrote that the episode is "lost amid a flurry of celebrity walk-ons and lazy jokes.
