Hank Williams, Jr. and 'All My Rowdy Friends' returns to 'Monday Night Football'

ESPN is bringing back Williams six years after political remarks led to his ouster

Are you ready for some football? Because football is about 100 days away and there will be a surprise return to the airwaves when Hank Williams, Jr. returns to sing the theme song for ESPN's "Monday Night Football."

Six years ago, Williams was banished from the ESPN airwaves following some political comments from Williams about then-President Barack Obama. 

Williams had been the face of the introduction to "MNF" for more than 20 years, with a version of "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" serving as the theme and Williams becoming synonymous with "MNF." 

The version that airs before games during the 2017 season will be a new version but also a "return" to ESPN's past.

"I think it's a return to our past in that it's such an iconic song associated with football," Stephanie Druley, ESPN's senior vice president of events and studio production, told the Tennessean.

For Williams, he has essentially steered completely clear of associating himself with "Monday Night Football" since he was removed and seemed genuinely surprised that the relationship was being renewed. 

"I never said, 'Are you ready for some football' on stage one time the last five or six years, but I will now," Williams told the Tennessean during a break from filming the new intro. "I'm feeling at home and it's a real good thing ... It's kind of like the Nashville Predators playing for the Stanley Cup, it's like 'Wow.'"

Here's Williams discussing the return with the paper.

"I hope there will be some happy people on Monday night again," Williams said. "It feels natural, fulfilling and satisfying at this point when you've kind of done it all."