'NFL Nickmas Game': Bill Fagerbakke Talks Patrick Star's Role on Christmas Day Broadcast (Exclusive)

By Brian Jones

The NFL will have three games played on Christmas Day, and the second matchup of the day will air on Nickelodeon and CBS Sports. The broadcast team for the Nickelodeon NFL Nickmas Game will feature CBS Sports' Nate Burleson, Noah Eagle and Nickelodeon stars Gabrielle Nevaeh Green and Young Dylan. A SpongeBob SquarePants star will also share his analysis on the game between the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams: Patrick Star, who is voiced by Bill Fagerbakke. PopCulture.com spoke exclusively to Fagerbakke about what fans can expect from Patrick Star the NFL analyst. 

"Fans can expect to be part of an experiment because no one's ever done this before," Fagerbakke exclusively told PopCulture. "So I'm going to hope for the best. I'm going to hope that I can just contribute slightly to what is a wonderful way to broadcast a football game, to remind everyone that it is a game and that it's entertainment. And I don't know what I'm going to say, because Patrick takes over. I live to just be a vessel for Patrick. So, we'll see what happens there. But at this point, it's unknown."

Star will be sharing his analysis from Bikini Bottom. It will be interesting to see what he has to say about the game since he lives in a different world from NFL players, coaches and fans. "I think one of the things about an animated character is they're not bound by a reality as we think of it," Fagerbakke added. "So since this whole world, what they're doing with the Nickelodeon broadcast with the slime, and I guess this year there's going to be snow and it's presidents in crazy stuff and SpongeBob, and there's all kinds of crazy stuff that is added to what you see."

It's likely Star will have a lot of fun with the broadcast. As for Fagerbakke, he's looking forward to an exciting game. "I've been a football... An NFL fan since the late '60s," he said. "In 1969, I started following the Rams and they won their first 11 games with Roman Gabriel and Deacon Jones," he said. "That's when I became hooked, even though I was living in Idaho. I became hooked on Deacon Jones and his presence and amazing abilities. So I've been a Rams fan ever since. And so this... I'm the perfect guy for it." 

The Nickelodeon NFL Nickmas Game will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday and will also stream on Parmount+. 

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