59 Funny Football Moments from ‘The Simpsons’ to Watch Before Super Bowl LIX
Homer Simpson is a simple man. Sure, he loves his family, but beyond that, all he really needs to survive is beer, food and football. Over 36 seasons and nearly 800 episodes of The Simpsons, Homer has taken part in just about every sport ever — including the utterly ridiculous game of lacrosse — but the one he comes back to the most is football.
From entire pigskin-themed episodes like “Lisa the Greek,” “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday” and “Bart Star” to throwaway jokes while Homer watches TV, there have been hundreds of Simpsons gags about the NFL and football in general. That’s why, for Super Bowl LIX — which means 59, I checked — I enlisted a variety of Simpsons Facebook Groups and a few superfans to assemble the list below of 59 hilarious football moments from The Simpsons.
Homer Heckles Flanders
Pretty much all of Season Nine’s “Bart Star” is about football. Ned Flanders is the coach of Bart’s football team, and despite the fact that Flanders is an excellent coach, Homer can’t help but taunt him from the stands by saying “Flaaaaan-ders!” as obnoxiously as possible and throwing a beer can at his head.
‘There’s No Such Team as the ‘Spungos’’
In Season 10’s “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday,” which aired just after Super Bowl XXXIII, Homer and his buddies go to the big game. Michael Zuniga of the Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group says that one of the best bits is when Homer discovers that the tickets are fake. After checking the tickets, the stadium attendant says, “Sorry, fellas, but these tickets are counterfeit. Yeah, see, the hologram’s missing, and there’s no such team as the ‘Spungos’ and, finally, they seem to be printed on some sort of cracker.”
Caricatures by Aikman
“Sunday, Cruddy Sunday” is also stuffed with NFL cameos. Taylor Gibson of the Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group says his favorite is Troy Aikman’s. He’s doing caricatures outside of the stadium, but all of the caricatures are of people riding in dune buggies.
John Madden’s Cameo
For Andrew Fraser of the Simpsons Shitposting Gold Group on Facebook, the best cameo in “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday” is when Pat Summerall interviews John Madden about the episode itself. “John Madden says there wasn’t even any football in it, which is the kind of meta joke I like, reserved at a non-plot relevant spot and able to meaningfully critique the show,” Fraser explains.
‘Give Me 30,000 Tickets’
The scene in “Homer Loves Flanders” where a scalper snatches up all the tickets the moment they go on sale really resonates with Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group member Amanda Rioux. “If he’s anything like the bots that snag every ticket the second a concert goes on sale, he’ll turn around and sell them for 20x the original price,” she says.
‘Stitchface’
Neil Arsenty, who runs the On This Day in Simpsons History accounts on Instagram and Twitter, says that a particularly funny line from “Homer Loves Flanders” comes after Homer gets a game-used football from Springfield Atoms star player Stan Taylor. “Now I have four children. You will be called Stitchface,” he muses while holding the ball close.
The NFL’s Oldest Surviving Player
When Bart and Homer arrive at the Super Bowl in “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday,” Bart points to a very elderly man and says, “Cool! The NFL’s oldest-surviving player!” We then hear the player weakly mutter, “I’m 53 years young.”
Take a Leak with NFL Greats
There are also a bunch of hilarious background gags in “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday,” especially pertaining to the various vendors and exhibits at the Super Bowl entrance. The best of them is the stand with three urinals labeled “Take a Leak with NFL Greats,” where fans can pee in between two hulking football players.
Bart Blocks for Nelson
Mike Vickers of the Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group loves it when Bart blocks for quarterback Nelson in “Bart Star,” as Nelson just carries Bart like a human shield and rams him through the opposing team.
Johnny Unitas’ Infomercial
Johnny Unitas voicing himself in an infomercial for the “Lady Krust Mustache Removal System” in “Homie the Clown” is among the show’s most random football cameos. Fraser points out that it’s one of two Unitas cameos, both with entirely different character designs. This appearance is funny, but the other (see below) is far better remembered by Simpsons fans.
‘The Astonishing Return of Jim Brown’
As Homer is watching a football game in “Homer the Heretic,” a voice explains, “Oh, doctor! A 98-yard triple reverse ties the score at 63-63. We have seen nothing but razzle-dazzle here today, three visits from Morganna the Kissing Bandit and the astonishing return of Jim Brown!”
Per Andrew VanMeter of Simpsons Shitposting Gold, “This line sticks out in my mind as I grew up a Browns fan in the 1980s and 1990s, and we always joked about Jim Brown returning, despite him being in his 50s or 60s.”
‘Who Do You Like in the Afternoon Games?’
According to Arsenty, Season Three’s “Lisa the Greek” is “a great football episode and one of the top Homer-and-Lisa episodes,” which generally tend to be the show’s most touching. This exchange is just plain funny, though:
Homer: Who do you like in the afternoon games?
Lisa: Well, I like the 49ers because they’re pure of heart, Seattle because they’ve got something to prove and the Raiders because they always cheat.
Smooth Jimmy
Fraser loves the gambling ads from “Lisa the Greek” starring the cigar-chomping Smooth Jimmy, who says, “When you’re right 52 percent of the time, you’re wrong 48 percent of the time.”
Lock of the Week
Speaking of Smooth Jimmy, Simpsons Shitposting Gold’s Ned Ofthewatsons cites the sight gag of a giant padlock that he pulls out for his “Lock of the Week” segment. Even better is when Homer switches channels to another gambling expert who pulls out a giant shoe for his “Shoe-in of the Week” segment.
‘Oh, Don’t Worry, We’ll Still Have Enough Left to Buy the Cleveland Browns’
A favorite line of Drew Pelto’s from the Obscure Simpsons Characters Group originates from “Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk,” when two Germans question a drunk Homer if Mr. Burns would be willing to sell the nuclear power plant. Homer tells them Burns won’t sell for less than $100,000,000. The Germans quickly open a briefcase and count their money, before one German tells the other, “Don’t worry, we’ll still have enough left to buy the Cleveland Browns.”
‘We Interrupt This Public Affairs Program to Bring You a Football Game’
When Homer turns on the TV in “Homer the Heretic” only to find a PBS-esque news show on, he’s completely bored until it’s interrupted with the announcement, “We interrupt this public affairs program to bring you a football game,” a joke Alice Crystal of the Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group adores.
Tom Landry’s Hat
The beloved Hank Scorpio episode “You Only Move Twice” has some great football jokes. For instance (courtesy of John Cruz of Simpsons Shitposting Gold), when Homer sees Tom Landry’s hat in a memorabilia store window. The real payoff, though, is the inscription on the hat: “To Berman’s Dry-Cleaning. Best wishes, Tom Landry.”
‘What You Got Riding on this Game?’
Toward the end of “Lisa the Greek,” Homer and Lisa have a falling out because Lisa feels Homer was just using her for her football handicapping prowess. At Moe’s, Homer is crying while watching the game when a barfly asks him, “What you got riding on this game?”
“My daughter,” Homer responds.
To which, the barfly whistles and says, “What a gambler!”
‘Warning: Tickets Should Not Be Taken Internally’
At the start of “Homer Loves Flanders,” Kent Brockman tells his viewers that the only way to cure the “football fever” caused by the upcoming Springfield-Shelbyville “Pigskin Classic” is to “take two tickets and see the game Sunday morning.” There is then a disclaimer that warns, “Tickets should not be taken internally.” After which, Homer boasts to Marge, “See, because of me, now they have a warning.”
‘I Crippled Him Myself’
A favorite bit of Australian Simpsons fan Karina Martin occurs early on in “Homer Loves Flanders” when Mr. Burns is talking to his football team, the Springfield Atoms. “Men, there’s a little crippled boy sitting in a hospital who wants you to win this game,” he tells them. “I know because I crippled him myself to inspire you.”
Anton Lubchenko’s Severed Leg
“Severed leg. Football. I think it speaks for itself,” says Chris Martin of the Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group, referring to the moment in “Faith Off” when an injured player’s leg detaches during a game.
Friends from Arlen, Texas
As Jaime Milani from the Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group points out, “Bart Star” has a good little meta joke where Hank, Peggy, Bobby and Luanne from King of the Hill show up in the stands of a game.
‘Oh, I Should Have Punted!’
In “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace,” the Simpsons family shows Homer, who’s in the throes of a midlife crisis, clips of his past to prove to him that he’s led a full and rewarding life. Alice Crystal’s favorite clip is one where Homer is playing football with his kids. They sweetly tackle him as they all laugh and fall to the ground. But when depressed Homer sees the clip, he frustratedly says, “Oh, I should have punted!”
‘I’ve Been Carried Out of Moe’s Like that Hundreds of Times’
When the kids win one of their games in “Bart Star,” they all cheer on Coach Flanders and carry him off the field on their shoulders. A jealous Homer then tells Marge, “Big deal. I’ve been carried out of Moe’s like that hundreds of times.”
‘Atlanta Falcons’
Linsay Williamson of Simpsons Shitposting Gold says she loves the moment from “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday” when Homer invites Moe on a charter bus to the Super Bowl, and Moe says, “Absolutely! My favorite team is in it” before lifting a beer mug in front of his mouth and finishing with, “The Atlanta Falcons.”
Because the episode had to be animated far in advance of the 1999 Super Bowl, the year it aired, the writers had no idea who would be in the game. While voice actors like Hank Azaria could do a last-minute audio recording, the animation would already be locked in at that point, so the writers invented a hilarious running joke where the characters’ mouths were covered every time they mentioned the team names.
Dolly Parton’s Cameo
The most random cameo in “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday” is Dolly Parton, who the writers use to poke fun at the utter randomness of Super Bowl halftime shows (she’s performing with Rob Lowe and STOMP while wearing a Snoopy head). Kendra Bounds of the Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group says Parton has her favorite cameo in the episode, especially since Parton busts Homer and the guys out of the Super Bowl stadium’s prison.
‘Look at That Blimp!’
Sean Lafoors of Simpsons Shitposting Gold cites a football-adjacent joke from “Natural Born Kissers” when Homer is dangling from a runaway hot air balloon, which floats past a football game. When Sideshow Mel, who’s at the game, sees Homer, he shouts, “Look at that blimp! He’s hanging from a balloon!”
Inside Football Today
It’s a tiny gag, but the opening graphic of Homer’s sports program Inside Football Today is a hilarious bit of animation featuring a football player getting decapitated.
Motivational Moe
This past December, Fox aired a live event called Simpsons Funday Football, where various Simpsons characters and graphics were inserted into a game between the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals. A lot of it fell flat, but Moe’s pep talk to the Cowboys was pretty funny.
‘Man, Homer, I Really Envy That Hairline of Yours’
Not too dissimilar to Simpsons Funday Football, Fox had the Simpsons crew produce a two-minute cartoon to introduce The NFL on Fox at the start of the 1995 season. Arsenty says that you can tell that not much effort was put into the writing of it, but there is a good joke at the end about Terry Bradshaw being jealous of Homer’s hairline.
‘Sometimes, Even I’d Rather Be Watching Football’
In “Homer the Heretic,” Homer decides to stop going to church, and in a dream, he has a conversation with God in which God admits, “Sometimes, even I’d rather be watching football.” God then asks Homer, “Does St. Louis still have a team?”
“No, they moved to Phoenix,” Homer answers.
“What makes this so funny,” Arsenty says, “is the idea that the omnipotent God doesn’t know that the Cardinals moved to Arizona.”
TV Sports
“Homer’s generic ‘TV Sports’ flag from ‘Skinner’s Sense of Snow,’ is a great little visual gag,” says Arsenty.
‘The ‘X’ Is for Extreme!’
Arsenty also points out a funny moment from 2002’s “The Old Man and the Key” when Marge has to break the news to Homer that the XFL won’t be returning.
‘The Boy Nobody Wanted Just Won the Super Bowl!’
In a moment that’s as heartfelt as it is funny, there’s a scene in “Bart vs. Thanksgiving” where Bart, who has run away from home, plays football by himself on the roof of the Simpson house.
‘You Can’t Catch a Football? Let’s See If You Can Catch a Rock!’
Simpsons Shitposting Gold’s Timothy Wiltberger argues, “You can’t go wrong with the ‘Joy of Sect’ episode. While the episode has nothing to do with football, there is a small scene where various Springfieldians welcome the football team back from their loss in the championship by throwing rocks at them and overturning their plane. Pure gold.”
‘Ralph, That’s a Basketball’
Early on in “Bart Star,” each kid throws a football at Coach Flanders. Suddenly, though, a basketball rolls into frame. “Uh, Ralph, that’s a basketball,” Flanders points out.
Milhouse Tests Bart’s Cup
Another funny moment in “Bart Star” is when Milhouse begins vigorously kicking Bart’s groin after Bart asks Milhouse to test out his new cup.
The Springfield Meltdowns
In Season 17’s “Million Dollar Abie,” Homer tries, and fails, to get the NFL to give Springfield a team called the Springfield Meltdowns. The best joke about the Meltdowns is their stadium’s name: Duff Beer Krusty Burger Buzz Cola Costington’s Department Store Kwik-E-Mart Stupid Flanders Park.
‘Before I Sing the National Anthem…’
Another Arsenty favorite is from “Lisa the Beauty Queen,” when, after winning a beauty contest, one of Lisa’s ceremonial duties is singing the National Anthem at a college football game. She characteristically tells the audience, “Before I sing the National Anthem, I’d like to say that college football diverts funds badly needed for education and the arts!”
With that, a pack of scrawny nerds run out of the stands and chase off the hulking football players. The gag is then followed up by a spinning newspaper with the headline “Nerds Pummelled in Football Melee.”
Instant Replay
A background gag in “Principal Charming” shows an instant replay of a football injury. “It’s like the worst football injury imaginable, and it’s made even more grotesque by this fantastic slow-mo animation,” Arsenty says.
Football’s Greatest Injuries
Mike Seuffert of the Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group points out another great piece of animation in Season Three’s “Saturdays of Thunder,” where Homer is watching Football’s Greatest Injuries on TV and a player gets a horrifically wrenched neck.
‘Go Kiss a Kennedy!’
In Season 28’s Boston-themed “The Town,” the Springfield Atoms spark up a rivalry with the Boston Americans, which inspires this hilarious bit of trash talk at Moe’s Bar:
Lenny: Go kiss a Kennedy you rule-breaking, cranberry-squeezers!
Boston American Fan: We don’t cheat! We won 12 division titles in 10 years fair-and-square!
Gerald Ford’s Cameo
After Homer forces former President George H.W. Bush from Springfield in “Two Bad Neighbors,” the much more relaxed Gerald Ford moves in. Brittany Jensen of the Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group says she likes the stilted way Ford asks Homer, “Do you like football? Do you like nachos?”
‘The Ball Is Turning into a Fat, Bald Guy’
In the second “Treehouse of Horror” episode, there’s a segment where Bart controls all of reality. And so, when Bart wants to watch Krusty the Clown, but Homer is watching football, Bart simply makes Homer disappear. A second later — and before Bart can flip over to Krusty’s show — we hear the announcer say, “The kick is up. It’s looking good. The ball is turning into a fat, bald guy,” before Homer slams into the goal post.
“What makes that gag for me is the total lack of surprise in the delivery that the ball is turning into a ‘fat bald guy,’” says Travis Timmerman of the Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group.
Super Bowl Krusty
Michael Burfitt of the Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group points out a great football joke in the beloved “Treehouse of Horror” segment where Groundskeeper Willie is a Freddy Krueger-like dream invader. Thinking he’s defeated Willie, Bart says, “Now I can get back to my normal dreams — me and Krusty winning the Super Bowl.” Krusty then runs in and gives a detailed play before Willie returns and scares Krusty off.
‘I Represent the Arizona Cardinals’
Being a Simpsons fan and a Cardinals fan, Anthony Aguilera says he’s personally delighted by the joke in “A Tale of Two Springfields” when Homer rebrands Springfield as “New Springfield” and says, “Now we just sit back and wait for an NFL franchise.” A second later, a man in a suit walks up and introduces himself as a representative with the Arizona Cardinals. To which Homer quickly replies, “Keep walkin’!”
The Canadian Football League Draft
A funny throwaway gag in Season Three’s “When Flanders Failed” involves Homer lying on the couch watching the Canadian Football League draft.
‘Cin… Cin… Nat… Ti’
Jose Luis Galicia Gomez of the Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group mentions the bit in “Lisa the Greek” when Homer calls a pay-per-minute tip line for betting on football games. The slow, dragged-out way the tips are recited is hilarious, particularly the way the voice slowly says, “Cincinnati.”
Homer’s Homemade Football
Brittany Jensen thinks it’s funny that a great football sight gag is actually in the baseball-themed episode “Homer at Bat.” When Homer is about to make his own baseball bat from a downed tree limb, he shoves aside his homemade football, which is a hilariously misshapen lump of leather and string.
‘It Was Just Vapor Lock’
For Gomez’s money, the greatest NFL cameo in Simpsons history is Joe Namath in “Bart Star.” Late at night, Bart is in the backyard trying to figure out how he can become a great quarterback. Suddenly, Namath wanders by, saying that his car broke down in front of the Simpson house. Bart asks for some pointers, and Namath begins by offering, “There’s only one thing you need to know to be a great quarterback.” Suddenly, though, a female voice from the street interrupts him: “Joe, honey, I fixed it. It was just vapor lock.”
Namath then gets up and leaves, saying to Bart, “Remember what I told you.” Not realizing that he’s learned nothing from Namath, Bart goes to throw the ball again as Namath’s voice rings in his head — only to then realize that Namath’s advice was entirely pointless and deciding to just give up.
‘Now, Johnny Unitas, There’s a Haircut You Can Set Your Watch To’
Interestingly, it’s Namath’s free-flowing hair that inspired Homer’s mom to abandon her family for a hippie lifestyle when Homer was just a kid. Meanwhile, when Abe Simpson sees that same head of hair, he says, “Look at them sideburns, he looks like a girl! Now, Johnny Unitas, there’s a haircut you can set your watch to.”
“I still use the phrase ‘a haircut you can set your watch to,’” says Vince Guerrieri of the Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group.
‘That’s Right, a Girl Wants to Play Football!’
“Bart Star” has a great gag when Lisa triumphantly announces that she wants to join the football team saying, “That’s right, a girl wants to play football!” With his usual cheer, Coach Flanders welcomes her on board and says that the team already has four girls. This, however, deflates Lisa, and she now decides she doesn’t really want to join the team.
‘Faster, Bart, Faster’
This is from a Tracey Ullman Show Simpsons short simply called “Football.” “‘Football’ is a great example of how simple those shorts were,” explains Arsenty. “Bart has to catch a football, and it’s Homer throwing it. Every gag is just Homer throwing the football and Bart getting injured. It’s all physical, which is very different from what the show would become known for. It’s also the first time Homer says, ‘Let’s go out for frosty chocolate milkshakes,’ a line that’s become a symbol for old, Tracey Ullman Homer.”
‘Nacho Nacho Man’
“Homer and Flanders as friends, whether reluctantly or not, is always gold,” Shane Campbell from the Obscure Simpsons Characters Facebook Group says. “Inevitably, Homer’s selfishness and Flanders kindness will lead to tension. But Ned will always forgive Homer, and the cycle repeats.”
Case in point: “Homer Loves Flanders,” in which Flanders scores himself and Homer tickets to the Pigskin Classic. Undoubtedly, the most memorable part of their time at the game is Homer’s catchy little tune when Flanders buys him a cheese-filled tortilla hat, and Homer sings, “Nacho, nacho man. I want to be a nacho man!”
‘I Am Invincible!’
When Springfield wins the Pigskin Classic, Homer can’t help but gloat to the Shelbyville fans in attendance. After dodging a beer can, Homer taunts the crowd by saying, “I am invincible!” just before getting nailed by a keg.
‘You’re Cut’
“The GOAT of Simpsons football moments will always be ‘You’re cut,’ from ‘Bart Star,’” says Amanda Rioux, referring to when Homer becomes coach of Bart’s football team and immediately begins cutting players.
“Homer cutting all of the kids cracks me up because of Dan Castellaneta’s delivery,” Travis Timmerman adds. “It has just the right amount of matter-of-factness and joy. He manages to cut a bunch while also continuing to subvert expectations. Just when you think he's done, he cuts more. It turns into a running gag in the end credits, too.”
‘Aw, the Denver Broncos!’
In “You Only Move Twice,” Homer confides in his new boss, Hank Scorpio, that his dream is to own the Dallas Cowboys someday. At the end of the episode, Scorpio disappears, but he leaves a parting gift for Homer with a note that reads, “This will get you a little closer to that dream of yours. It’s not the Dallas Cowboys, but it’s a start.” Homer then discovers that Hank bought him the Denver Broncos, which Homer is hilariously disappointed by.
‘I Want to Be John Elway!’
Another funny Broncos-related gag comes when the Simpsons are entering the Witness Relocation Program in “Cape Feare.” A government agent tells Homer he can get a new identity, and Homer says, “I want to be John Elway!” before fantasizing about himself as Elway in an old-timey leather football helmet.
‘Man Getting Hit By Football’
In The Critic crossover episode, “A Star Is Burns,” one of the entries in the Springfield Film Festival is Man Getting Hit By Football, where the ever-ill-fated Hans Moleman gets walloped in the crotch by a football — something Homer thinks is the funniest thing he’s ever seen. “Homer dying laughing at Man Getting Hit By Football is hilarious because Homer finds it so hilarious,” Timmerman says.
“This moment is very much a meme now, and you don’t have to watch football to get it,” Arsenty adds. “It’s more of a hit-in-the-balls gag than it is a football gag. Plus, at the end of the episode, the fact that Man Getting Hit By Football is remade as a big Hollywood production starring George C. Scott makes it all the funnier.”