Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The Big Game was an annual parody of the sports finals broadcasted by Cartoon Network (under the Cartoon Network Sports banner), which the network's cartoon characters were pitted against each other (using clips of the program where the characters came from, edited as a football game), being completed with live-action commentaries, fake commercials and a halftime show. It airs on each Saturday in January and it repeated on Super Bowl Sunday between 1998 and 2001.
The Big Game XXVI: Tom vs. Jerry was a marathon that aired on Cartoon Network on Saturday, January 24, 1998 and featured select Tom and Jerry shorts. The marathon coincided with the Super Bowl of that year which was held on Sunday, January 25, 1998. This was the first in a series of four Super Bowl spoof marathons that aired annually on Cartoon Network from 1998-2001. These marathons came to be known as "The Big Game"; however, only the final two actually featured this moniker.
Unlike the later Big Game specials, this one had no real pregame segments between the shorts leading up to the game itself, which itself consisted only of clips from one short, Quiet Please!, commentated by John Madden and Pat Summerall, with Shaggy Rogers from Scooby-Doo appearing as a sideline reporter. Also, Tom and Jerry's score consisted of pictures instead of a numbered score, with Jerry ultimately winning.
The Big Game XXVII: Sylvester vs. Tweety was a 4-hour marathon that aired on Cartoon Network on Saturday, January 30, 1999, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM, with the first hour consisting of a pre-game show that featured analysis by experts Jerry Glanville, Nick Buoniconti and Len Dawson (borrowed from sister network HBO's Inside the NFL) as well as narration by Harry Kalas. The marathon featured 18 Looney Tunes shorts starring Sylvester and Tweety as well as play-by-play and color commentary from Pat Summerall and John Madden during commercials. The marathon was also aired the following day (Super Bowl Sunday) from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM.[1]
This was the second in a series of four Super Bowl spoof marathons that aired annually on Cartoon Network from 1998-2001. These marathons came to be known as "The Big Game"; however, only the final two actually featured this moniker.
The game itself used clips from the Sylvester & Tweety cartoons Bad Ol' Putty Tat (for the first half) and Tweety's S.O.S. (for the second half).
The Big Game XXVIII: Road Runner vs. Coyote was a 4-hour marathon that aired on Cartoon Network on Saturday, January 29, 2000, from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, with the first hour consisting of a pre-game show that featured analysis by experts Jerry Glanville, Nick Buoniconti, Cris Collinsworth and Len Dawson (returning via their duties as hosts of HBO's Inside the NFL) as well as narration by Harry Kalas. The marathon featured 18 Looney Tunes shorts starring the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote as well as play-by-play and color commentary from Pat Summerall and John Madden during commercials. The marathon also featured segments with Scott Hamilton and Bubba Smith providing sideline reports from Chuck Jones Stadium, and Jack Hanna offering a zoological breakdown of the two competitors. The marathon was also aired the following day (Super Bowl Sunday) from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM.[1]
During the "Halftime Show" segment, there is a scene in the control room with Moltar and Fred Jones talking about last year's Scooby-Doo Project.
This was the third in a series of four Super Bowl spoof marathons that aired annually on Cartoon Network from 1998-2001. These marathons came to be known as "The Big Game"; however, only the final two actually featured this moniker.
The Big Game XXIX: Bugs vs. Daffy was a 4-hour marathon that aired on Cartoon Network on Saturday, January 27, 2001, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM, with the first hour consisting of a pre-game show that featured analysis by experts Jerry Glanville, Nick Buoniconti, Dan Marino, Cris Collinsworth and Len Dawson (for the final time, borrowed from sister property HBO's Inside the NFL) as well as narration by Harry Kalas. The marathon featured 18 Looney Tunes shorts starring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck as well as play-by-play and color commentary from Pat Summerall and John Madden during commercials. The marathon was also aired the following day (Super Bowl Sunday) from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. There was also a tailgate special of Cartoon Cartoon Fridays on January 26, 2001 preceding the game.
This was the fourth in a series of four Super Bowl spoof marathons that aired annually on Cartoon Network from 1998-2001.
The Big Game was an annual parody of the sports finals broadcasted by Cartoon Network (under the Cartoon Network Sports banner), which the network's cartoon characters were pitted against each other (using clips of the program where the characters came from, edited as a football game), being completed with live-action commentaries, fake commercials and a halftime show. It airs on each Saturday in January and it repeated on Super Bowl Sunday between 1998 and 2001.
The Big Game XXVI: Tom vs. Jerry was a marathon that aired on Cartoon Network on Saturday, January 24, 1998 and featured select Tom and Jerry shorts. The marathon coincided with the Super Bowl of that year which was held on Sunday, January 25, 1998. This was the first in a series of four Super Bowl spoof marathons that aired annually on Cartoon Network from 1998-2001. These marathons came to be known as "The Big Game"; however, only the final two actually featured this moniker.
Unlike the later Big Game specials, this one had no real pregame segments between the shorts leading up to the game itself, which itself consisted only of clips from one short, Quiet Please!, commentated by John Madden and Pat Summerall, with Shaggy Rogers from Scooby-Doo appearing as a sideline reporter. Also, Tom and Jerry's score consisted of pictures instead of a numbered score, with Jerry ultimately winning.
The Big Game XXVII: Sylvester vs. Tweety was a 4-hour marathon that aired on Cartoon Network on Saturday, January 30, 1999, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM, with the first hour consisting of a pre-game show that featured analysis by experts Jerry Glanville, Nick Buoniconti and Len Dawson (borrowed from sister network HBO's Inside the NFL) as well as narration by Harry Kalas. The marathon featured 18 Looney Tunes shorts starring Sylvester and Tweety as well as play-by-play and color commentary from Pat Summerall and John Madden during commercials. The marathon was also aired the following day (Super Bowl Sunday) from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM.[1]
This was the second in a series of four Super Bowl spoof marathons that aired annually on Cartoon Network from 1998-2001. These marathons came to be known as "The Big Game"; however, only the final two actually featured this moniker.
The game itself used clips from the Sylvester & Tweety cartoons Bad Ol' Putty Tat (for the first half) and Tweety's S.O.S. (for the second half).
The Big Game XXVIII: Road Runner vs. Coyote was a 4-hour marathon that aired on Cartoon Network on Saturday, January 29, 2000, from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, with the first hour consisting of a pre-game show that featured analysis by experts Jerry Glanville, Nick Buoniconti, Cris Collinsworth and Len Dawson (returning via their duties as hosts of HBO's Inside the NFL) as well as narration by Harry Kalas. The marathon featured 18 Looney Tunes shorts starring the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote as well as play-by-play and color commentary from Pat Summerall and John Madden during commercials. The marathon also featured segments with Scott Hamilton and Bubba Smith providing sideline reports from Chuck Jones Stadium, and Jack Hanna offering a zoological breakdown of the two competitors. The marathon was also aired the following day (Super Bowl Sunday) from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM.[1]
During the "Halftime Show" segment, there is a scene in the control room with Moltar and Fred Jones talking about last year's Scooby-Doo Project.
This was the third in a series of four Super Bowl spoof marathons that aired annually on Cartoon Network from 1998-2001. These marathons came to be known as "The Big Game"; however, only the final two actually featured this moniker.
The Big Game XXIX: Bugs vs. Daffy was a 4-hour marathon that aired on Cartoon Network on Saturday, January 27, 2001, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM, with the first hour consisting of a pre-game show that featured analysis by experts Jerry Glanville, Nick Buoniconti, Dan Marino, Cris Collinsworth and Len Dawson (for the final time, borrowed from sister property HBO's Inside the NFL) as well as narration by Harry Kalas. The marathon featured 18 Looney Tunes shorts starring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck as well as play-by-play and color commentary from Pat Summerall and John Madden during commercials. The marathon was also aired the following day (Super Bowl Sunday) from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. There was also a tailgate special of Cartoon Cartoon Fridays on January 26, 2001 preceding the game.
This was the fourth in a series of four Super Bowl spoof marathons that aired annually on Cartoon Network from 1998-2001.
