Monday, January 11, 2021

Nickelodeon Slimes Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton to Celebrate First-Ever NFL Game on Nick

With the news that Nickelodeon would be broadcasting its first NFL playoff game this week, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton pledged to “get slimed, whatever that means” during a press conference days before kickoff with the Chicago Bears. And while he initially lost sight of that item on his checklist in the minutes after eliminating Chicago, Payton doubled down in his postgame press conference, promising to try it out after finishing his media obligations.

After the Saints' 21-9 victory on Sunday afternoon, Payton was asked if he would follow through on his promise. The 57-year-old coach answered the question faster than you can say "Welcome to Good Burger."

"I am. They're waiting so as soon as I finish here, I told Nickelodeon that I would do it. I just saw the buckets and, yeah, we're going to do that here in a few minutes," Payton said not long before taking his green shower.



Unlike his players — who were doused with computer-generated slime by the broadcast crew during their game — Payton was hit with the full thing, taking a bucket full of green goo on the chin.

“Hi I’m Sean Payton, head coach of the New Orleans Saints, and I’m about ready to get slimed after our Super Wildcard win on Nickelodeon this weekend,’' the coach said, before pulling up his mask and letting out an ‘ahhhhhhh’ as the green stuff was poured over his head.

“Man,’' he added after the dousing while someone in the background congratulated him. “Thank you guys.’'

From virtual slime cannons that doused the end zone every time there was a touchdown to a giant SpongeBob graphic wedged between the goal posts during field goals, this game was out-of-this-world fun. Oh, and who could forget Young Sheldon giving the referees a run for their money with his A+ rule breakdowns?

Payton's sliming, which can be seen above, was the perfect ending to an action-packed day for "Who Dat Nation" before they have to get serious again when the Buccaneers come to town next week.

The video was later played in slow motion, adding to the laughter.

"It was pretty cold. It felt like Jello that's not quite finished being Jello," Payton said.

Often seen as a big influencer in the sport, Payton knows how to make football as fun as a Saturday morning cartoon.

Will this become a Saints’ ritual a la the Gatorade bucket that was first made famous by the 1986 New York Giants and head coach Bill Parcells? If New Orleans keeps winning, Payton just might give the thumbs up.

To find out more about the NFL Wild Card Game on Nickelodeon, click here.

From Vulture:

Nickelodeon’s Wacky NFL Game Ends With Saints Coach Sean Payton Drenched In Slime

Between the virtual slime cannons, the SpongeBob goalpost, and cartoony mid-play filters, Sunday’s Chicago Bears versus New Orleans Saints Wild Card game was exactly what you might picture when you hear the words “NFL on Nickelodeon.” Beyond mere silliness, however, the game took the time to approach the (honestly, very complicated) game of football in a way the network’s elementary-aged audience might really enjoy, between the one-and-only Young Sheldon explaining first downs and former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Nate Burleson offering what we have to assume is the most wildly demanded explainer for the kids at home: What, exactly, do you do when you have to go to the bathroom during a play?

“That’s a great, great question,” he laughed during the telecast when asked by fellow analyst and All That reboot star Gabrielle Nevaeh Green. “Now here’s the thing: You can go inside, but then you don’t want to miss anything, right? Or, you can go into one of these little tents. It’s kind of like a Porta-Potty, and it’s sanitary, you know? But, Gabi, you do what you gotta do to get through the game. Sometimes? You just gotta hold it.”

Uh, does the regular CBS broadcast give you gems like this?! Okay, maybe sometimes, but they’re definitely not giving you actual slime on top of everything else. It wouldn’t be a Nickelodeon production without someone’s sneakers getting dyed neon green, and on Sunday, the honor went to Saints coach Sean Payton, after his team took home the win 21 to 9. Check out a few of the game’s other highlights below.

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New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton delivers on slime promise to cap off entertaining Nickelodeon broadcast

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton understood how crisp his white and shining patent leather Jordan 11 retro low tops were.

He also understood he made a promise.

"I told Nickelodeon I would do it," Payton said after the Saints' 21-9 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday. "I just saw the buckets. And yeah, we're going to do that here in a few minutes."

Cue the splash of green goo cascading over Payton as he sat on the floor in front of a Nickelodeon poster backdrop. Yes, the Super Bowl-winning coach got slimed.

"That was a no brainer," defensive end Cameron Jordan, wearing a Dexter's Laboratory sweater, said. "I'm more mad I couldn't set him up for me to dump the bucket on him. But somebody had to get slimed and I'm glad it was him."

Payton's sliming capped off an entertaining debut NFL broadcast on Nickelodeon, an effort by Nick parent company ViacomCBS to engage new football fans.

Touchdowns prompted an explosion of virtual slime, a trademark SpongeBob smile stretched between the uprights during field goal and extra-point attempts, and Drew Brees’ accuracy was explained in audience-appropriate terms.

“He’s that kid at recess who never misses you in dodgeball,” former NFL receiver Nate Burleson, who served as color analyst, said on the broadcast.

Even as the Saints controlled the game and each team was low-scoring for most of the contest, Nickelodeon “Nick-ified” the contest with bright colors and nostalgia-inducing graphics. Fifteen-year-old Nickelodeon star Gabrielle Nevaeh Green joined Burleson and play-by-play analyst Noah Eagle in the Superdome booth as they explained the game to football beginners in terms that would best relate to their audience.

Take Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ touchdown dump to running back Latavius Murray, Brees staying poised even as the Bears' vaunted pass rusher Khalil Mack swarmed. Burleson had already likened the collapsing pocket to a hide-and-seek game, when picking a crevice too small might cause panic as time elapses.

“Check out Khalil Mack right in his face,” Burleson said after Mack pressured Brees on the 6-yard touchdown. “That’s like a Mack truck literally running after you. … Imagine the composure of Drew Brees being in that pocket and then seeing one of the most feared defenders right in your face, Khalil Mack, and still having the calm to say: ‘All right, let’s not panic.’"

New spins continued from a comparison between the success of running back Alvin Kamara and Alvin Seville of "Alvin and the Chipmunks," to a hearty celebration in SpongeBob’s Bikini Bottom after Kamara gashed the Bears defense. In celebration of Kamara tearing up the defense, Nickelodeon animators teed up a clip of SpongeBob literally tearing himself apart.

Even penalties were fun. Some were explained by the child adaptation of Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon, Young Sheldon noting of defensive pass interference: “That’s a complicated rule. I like it.” Viewers learned that players and coaches call flags laundry.

“For all the kids out there listening,” Burleson added, “help your mom and dad with the laundry.”

The life lesson continued, from plays under review — always check your answers before turning in your test! — to first-down conversions building incremental progress necessary to score a touchdown just as homework moves you steadily toward a touchdown. No end zone arrival was devoid of slime.

Green also personalized players by sharing fun facts ranging from their favorite foods (tie between chocolate and vanilla ice cream for one) to their fears (6-foot-7 tight end Jimmy Graham, she noted with amusement, said he’s afraid of heights). The broadcast remained poised through an audible expletive from Bears receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, with Eagle noting that Patterson “obviously, uh, disagreed” with the call. Nick star Lex Lumpkin served as sideline reporter, with in-game reports and a postgame interview with Jordan.

Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who completed 19-of-29 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown, handily won Nickelodeon's valuable player NVP award despite his team losing. 

The Saints will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC divisional round.

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Originally published: Monday, January 11, 2021 at 02:54 GMT.

Original source: SaintsWire; Additional sources: NFL.com, SILive.com.

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