The National Football League will be brought into people's homes today in a way that has not been done before: With the use of cartoons and slime, of course. Nickelodeon and CBS are partnering for an NFL Super Wild-Card Weekend broadcast between the NFC's No. 7 seed Chicago Bears and No. 2 seed New Orleans Saints at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Noah Eagle -- son of CBS Sports NFL play-by-play broadcaster Ian Eagle -- will be on the call and he will be joined by analyst Nate Burleson and Nick stars Gabrielle Nevaeh Green and Lex Lumpkin during the game.
CBS Sports spoke to Noah Eagle and Green about what viewers can expect from this unique kid-geared broadcast and how they have prepared for opportunity.
Eagle summed up the appeal of the broadcast, saying:
"This is a perfect opportunity to captivate a new audience of sports fans and football fans, while being a family friendly broadcast, so that the family can watch it all as a single unit, and have fun. It's going to be a blend of sports, entertainment, laughs, joy, all of the above, and we're expecting a good game as well, which doesn't hurt."
He added that they plan to focus less on facts like transactions or where players were drafted, and more fun facts like players' favorite Nick characters or ice cream flavors. Eagle said they hope to engage younger viewers by humanizing players and making them relatable to the next generation of sports fans.
When it comes down to it though, they're still calling an NFL game.
"If a big play happens, we're going to call the big play. But we're gonna have fun in all those times in between," Eagle said.
Green and Eagle focused on the "fun," "light," and unexpected elements of the broadcast, but say it's not just for younger viewers.
"We're breaking it down in a way that everyone can understand whether you're nine, or whether you're 32, you can still have fun watching this broadcast," Green said.
She continued, adding that it could be something older fans watch to connect with younger members of their family.
"I feel like adults are really going to enjoy this as well because we are still giving that information that you do need during the game. But we're also putting it in a really interesting and really unique way," she said.
They both have a love and appreciation for pop culture and mixing it with sports, so they were thrilled for an opportunity to mix the two in such an obvious way.
As for that slime part mentioned before? Eagle is expecting it and ready to embrace it, but with a few parameters. "I fully expect to get slimed in a sense that I'm going to be like a coach where you just don't see it coming ... But I've told some other people that I may need to bring a shower cap, because I take my hair very seriously."
They think the approach will show that you can be successful with an NFL broadcast while having cartoon characters popping up, broadcasters being slimed and giving information that is not typically heard during a game.
Green is not just part of an experience never seen before on an NFL stage, she is also inspiring other girls and women.
When asked what it means to show others like her that they belong in any space they want to be in, she said, "That's the most important thing to me ... it's been extremely important to me to continue to inspire girls who look like me, and let them know that, hey, you can do anything that you put your mind to."
"It's an incredible honor to be up in the booth ...to continue to inspire girls who maybe want to do the same thing one day," she said.
Green and Eagle are hoping this is a format that is replicated in the future and say based on what they've seen so far, it will be a success.
How to watch
Date: Sunday, Jan. 10 | Time: 4:40 p.m. ET
Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans)
TV: CBS, Nickelodeon | Stream: CBS All Access, fuboTV (try for free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
