The NFL on Nickelodeon is back, as the network will air another NFL game on Christmas Day in 2023. This year’s NFL Nickmas Game will feature the Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, and it’s likely the game will be a taste of what fans can expect from the network’s Super Bowl coverage in February. PopCulture.com spoke to Dylan Schefter and Micah Abbey, both of whom will be working the game in different capacities. Schefter, ESPN reporter Adam Schefter’s daughter who is a correspondent on Nickelodeon’s NFL Slimetime, will be the sideline reporter and is ready for all the chaos.
“I think this game’s going to stand out because it’s going to be 10 times better than I feel like last year because everything’s more amplified,” Schefter told PopCulture. “There’s going to be better effects, there’s going to be an updated slime cannon, which is going to be insane, if I do say so myself. I think there’s going to be better effects, obviously, we’re going to get Santa coming back for year two now, and I think it’s going to be a really fun experience for everyone at home, even adults.”
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Abbey, who voiced Donatello in the Nickelodeon film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, will reprise his role for the game. Donatello will pop up during the game to explain penalties. “I’m really excited. I’m a big NFL fan, and obviously, I’m part of the Nickelodeon family, so it’s a great combination,” Abbey told PopCulture. “I love football, so it was nothing new to me. Yeah, and it’s also really fun to be a part of somebody’s learning experience. I know when I first got introduced to football, it was kind of hard, and it was good having someone explain the rules. So having a character that someone’s used to pop up and explain the rules is definitely something incredible and amazing to be a part of.”
With the game featuring the Chiefs, Schefter would love to talk to players like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. However, with Kelce dating Taylor Swift, Schefter could find a way to talk to her since she is a big fan. “I think there’s a request sent in, something like that,” Schefter said. “It’s definitely a surprise. We’ll definitely see what’s going to happen. I’m not sure logistically, but I’m really hoping that it’ll happen. I went to her Eras Tour and I stood out in the rain for three hours. It was like one of the rainiest shows of the tour, and I stood out there, I looked like I walked out of a shower by the end of it, but it was one of the best experiences.”
Abbey is looking forward to the game, despite being a supporter of a team that wears black and gold. “I am a Steelers fan. It’s in my blood. Steelers nation,” Abbey revealed. “Hopefully, we’ll see them in the Super Bowl, although that is probably not likely. But I love to support my teams, and I am also a big Patrick Mahomes fan, just to see him do what he’s doing in the league, which is so awesome. And I’m a big Davante Adams fan, a big Isiah Pacheco and Travis Kelce, so they’re all superstars. And it would be awesome to meet them too.”
The Nickelodeon NFL Nickmas Game will also air on CBS and Paramount+.
