Athletes Turned SNL Hosts: Yay or Nay?

September 15th, 2008

Okay, so, if you didn’t catch the season premiere of Saturday Night Live this weekend, you missed out on what was one of the best sketches and opening monologues in recent memory. Hosted by part-Dolphin/part-Aquaman, Michael Phelps, the opener was comedy gold, with Phelps doing his best to keep up with a number of comedy veterans, as well as a surprise cameo from William Shatner, of all people! Beyond that, I enjoyed the skit on the Michael Phelps diet, which was hilarious, although a little awkward.

Below are some of the funnier athlete appearances on SNL that have shown up over the years. Sadly, no Wayne Gretzky for this article. As awesome as the Great One is, his ability as an actor leaves something to be desired. But hey, at least he was better than when Nancy freaking Kerrigan hosted.

PEYTON MANNING

The best hosts are the ones who are able to take a joke about themselves and get on there and have fun. Peyton Manning, coming off of his Superbowl victory, must have been in a good mood, as he allowed himself to be the butt of a number of jokes. Not only that, but he actually displayed some decent comedic acting chops, showing that there’s really not a whole lot he can’t do. Next up for Peyton? An appearance on ER, where he’ll discover a cure for cancer.

Our Favourite: Watching a grown man throw footballs at little kids never gets old, but it’s Peyton’s well known knack for actually throwing passes to players and not seeing if they’re open, combined with his trash talking, that makes this clip solid gold.

TOM BRADY

While it may be weird to see an appearance on this list from a host whose acting wasn’t exactly all that great, Tom Brady still tried to look good up there. Unfortunately, he came across as being stiff and awkward, unlike Manning. That said, Brady was up for getting made fun of, as one of the sketches (which also featured current Daily Show correspondent Rob Riggle) centered around Brady’s inability to throw a football.

Our Favourite: Tom Brady gives some advice on how to avoid sexual harassment lawsuits, the only way Tom Brady can.

MICHAEL JORDAN

Way back in 1991, basketball belonged to Air Jordan, although TV, outside of ESPN, really wasn’t his bag (anyone remember that godawful ProStars cartoon?) So, when it was announced that Jordan was to be host for an episode of SNL, I don’t think anyone could have expected macho Jordan to give Stuart Smalley a genuine pep talk and then go on and offer him a comforting hug.

Our Favourite: – Michael Jordan’s “ad” for Feminine Secret. Yeah, no matter how you slice it, Michael Jordan walking with a young girl along the bank of a river comes off as creepy, but it’s a hilarious kind of creepy, so it’s all good!

JOE MONTANA

Joe Montana co-hosted a 1987 episode of SNL, alongside Walter Peyton. While this season was from a rather bad year of SNL (only three of the cast members made it over to the next year) this particular episode was pretty good, thanks in part to Montana being a gamer and having some fun. Combine that with one skit in particular, alongside Phil Hartman, and you have one of the most quoted lines that I’m sure Joe STILL hasn’t lived down to this day: “Oh, you won’t disturb me. I’ll be in my room masturbating.”

Our Favourite: No video for this one, but folks who remember the “I’ll be in my room” sketch won’t need anything else. Those who haven’t seen it need to hunt it down.

CHARLES BARKLEY

Sir Charles’ appearance on SNL was another solid appearance, which, if anyone who watched television in the 90s would tell you, isn’t a surprise, considering Barkley’s acting chops. Barkley had a couple of good skits, including one where he tried to teach donkey basketball to kids, as well as giving a celebrity endorsement to the Big & Tall & Black Store. Fun fact: it was unknown if Barkley was going to be able to appear as host of this particular episode, so Lorne Michaels had set up Jeff Goldblum as a back-up plan in case the NBA decided that Barkley couldn’t host. Because when I think of people similar to Charles Barkley, a nerdy Jewish actor is the first thing that springs to mind…

Our Favourite: “The Round Mound of Rebound”, famous for going up against another well known gigantic lizard (like in this Nike commercial), takes Barney the Purple Dinosaur to school in some hilarious one on one. Better watched with the sound off, as it’s nothing but “I Love You, You Love Me” (which is now stuck in my head).

So, where would you slot Phelps in amongst some of these legendary skits? Leave a comment at the beep!

Photographs Courtesy Getty Images, except Michael Phelps

Posted on Monday, September 15th, 2008 at 5:42 pm by Trevor P. and is filed under We <3 TV.