Chronicle Staff Report
SPRINGFIELD – One of the most significant weekends of football in the southern Willamette Valley is about to kick off in a mashup of “in real life” and in virtual reality. And Prime Time Sports Bar & Grill will be the place to take in all of the action and fun.
The University of Oregon, ranked No. 1 in the country, plays in its first Big 10 conference championship game Saturday, hoping to cement a first-round bye in the new college football playoffs.
Then, on Monday Dec. 9, Prime Time is hosting the first-ever Officially Unofficial Watch-O-Rama as the NFL Monday Night Football game will be simulcast on Disney+ and ESPN+ streaming apps, showing an animated version of the game being played in The Simpsons’ “Springfield.”
Players in the animated game – billed by the NFL and The Simpsons as a special FunDay game – will have their movements synched to the actual players in the real game. “Bart’s Bengals” are taking on “Homer’s Cowboys” in the animated broadcast.
The Ducks game against Penn State on Saturday kicks off at 5 p.m. and the Monday Night Football event is 5-9 p.m.
There is no cover charge or cost to attend either game at Prime Time, 1360 Mohawk Blvd.
The Watch-O-Rama will include plenty of real football expertise, a Simpsons-based menu that includes versions of Krusty Burgers and Duff-like beer, Simpsons trivia, raffles, prizes, and local football legend Ken Woody.
It’s a glorious intersection of football and pop culture.
“Nothing excites me more than uniting the pop culture world of The Simpsons with the sports culture world of the NFL, other than helping out these charities in the process,” said Chris Rohaney, owner of Area 51 Tattoo also known as “Chris 51.”
Rohaney will be emceeing the event, hosting trivia, and raffling off gifts that include exclusively designed Simpsons characters by his team of tattoo artists.
The City of Springfield has also donated posters from the 2007 “Simpsons Movie” as part of the event.
Participants will be able to do more than just party and watch the game and Simpsons animation. Several charities will benefit from the night’s activities.
The V Foundation, ESPN’s primary nonprofit campaign, is supporting the FunDay in Springfield. The Chronicle has established a donation page on the V Foundation website.
Additionally, three local charities will benefit from money raised during the Watch-0-Rama:
■ Ronald McDonald House of Springfield
“The Chronicle is delighted to participate in this event,” said publisher Noel Nash. “Community involvement is essential to our mission, and this should be a fun way to help nonprofits generate more revenue.”
