Nikki Glaser scores big by roasting “Thursday Night Football”.
When it comes to comedy, whether the one doing the hiring or in the audience, you damn sure need to know whom you’re working with and what to expect.
Nikki Glaser took an awful lot of heat for her post-game performance on “Thursday Night Football” following the New England Patriots-NY Jets game. More than a few loyal football fans, who by the way have no issue seeing someone work at their craft with the possibility of a concussion and severe brain injury, voiced the criticism of Glaser’s performance as being “crude”, “over the top”, “disrespectful”, and my personal favorite, “insulting to the players and the game”.
What rubbish.
Before we move into the playbook notes on this performance, here’s the entire bit. It was edited into three segments for social media promotional use, but we’ve gone the extra yard to put it all together for one-shot viewing goodness. Just click on Nikki’s picture and be transported to Met Life Stadium and the scene of the….ominous music, please…..crime.
I will guarantee you, beyond any question and at the risk of having my funny bone ripped out, the following:
1. Amazon Prime not only knew exactly what they were getting in Nikki Glaser, but they told her to go out there and do her act. Everyone in the decision making process saw how she tore up Tom Brady and the dais on the recent roast of the former Pats QB, and that’s exactly why they hired her.
2. The NFL stopped being about just football a very long time ago. It has evolved into the #1 entertainment form of programming in America today. Just look at the ratings and the revenue. The network execs know it. The League knows it. The players and the coaches know it. From the latest musical acts to comedians such as Glaser, every telecast is about entertainment first and football second. It sells.
3. Amazon also knew that having someone as barb-tongued as Glaser would no doubt produce more than a few controversial statements and gags. They were banking on it, because the day after, her comments ripped into social media and bought the company millions of dollars in free advertising and clicks. The Twitter posts featuring Glaser, (not sorry at all but I’m not going in for the “X formerly known as Twitter” nonsense when we all know what it is), were broken into 3 segments of her performance and exploded. Search engines were on fire trying to catch what a lot of people missed, and every single mention and note carried with it a “AS SEEN ON AMAZON PRIME” undercurrent. Again, it sells.
4. The post-game cadre of bubbleheads and former jocks also, all knew what was coming. It’s not as if Glaser sat down without anyone having the slightest idea what she was there for. Everyone was briefed and played along. No one had a “shocked face” at what was said. There’s a good chance some of Nikki’s lines were handed to the sniffers well before the show went on the air. The amount of money and time invested in propping these talkers up means Amazon will take no chances at having someone pissed off at not being told. This isn’t a game, remember. This is an act, same as if it were on stage at a nightclub.
Returning to the very top of this commentary, if you are the one hiring a comedian for any type of event, you need to know exactly what you’re getting. Professional comedians are artists. They have spent years honing their craft, and they’re damn good at it. Some are pure as the drivern snow, others are as raunchy as it gets. Most are somewhere in the middle. They all take great pains to tailor their material to the audience. They want you laughing, not angry. That’s their craft. Your responsibility when hiring someone is to not be hit with any surprises.
That’s the reason why, and yes this is the “plugola” portion of the commentary, we at “Event Laughers” for the corporate event planners and “Toast Boast Roast Comedy” for the individual, spend time walking thru the process with you, ensuring you get exactly the type of comedy you desire. Anything less, you’re just not being served.
A final note on Nikki Glaser? I thought she rocked it. She was getting nothing in return from the jocks, there was no audience providing instant feedback, and she just kept firing with her “A” grade material. I watched it several times and found it all funnier every single time. That is, of course, me. You may not have found it funny, but that’s what makes comedy so special, so unique, and so much fun.
Also didn’t hurt that after the snooze-fest of a performance by the Patriots, Nikki is exactly what this party needed.
Rock On, True Believers.
“Toast Boast Roast Comedy” and “Event Laughers” are the exclusive homes of nationally touring professional comedians who deliver customized comedy to events of every type.