Cris Collinsworth’s iconic “Collinsworth Slide” has been a noticeable absence from the first two weeks of the NFL season. His famous entrance to the commentary booth was a trademark of the games Collinsworth was on air for, but he’s done away with the signature move in 2022. Now, he’s explained why. During a sitdown with Kay Adams on the Up and Adams Show, Collinsworth detailed how the Slide came to be, and why he stopped doing in 2022.
Collinsworth explained that the Slide originated after his producer asked him to move out of the frame of the camera shot while Al Michaels gave his opening monologue. After Michaels said his piece, Collinsworth leaned back into the frame, and thus the “Collinsworth Slide” was born.
The 63-year-old noted that Mike Tirico, whom he now shares the broadcast with, does not do the same monologue that Michaels did. Because of that, he feels the “Collinsworth Slide” no longer makes sense to do in the broadcast.
It doesn’t look as if Cris Collinsworth has any plans to bring it back, at least not in the immediate future, so fans hoping to see his beloved entrance will be sorely disappointed. It’s certainly one of the NFL’s stranger traditions, but one that fans, and the internet, turned into an adored celebration.
Perhaps Tirico ends up taking on the task of running an opening monologue in order to get the “Collinsworth Slide” back in the limelight, but that doesn’t appear to be a major priority for the broadcasting duo at this juncture.
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