Many NFL fans enjoyed Celine Dion’s opening last week for Sunday Night Football but it was certainly ripe for parody.
Saturday Night Live’s writers were happy to oblige.
The NBC show hilariously spoofed Dion’s SNF opening on Saturday night, with host Ariana Grande doing an open for UFC 308 (Oct. 26).
Before seeing the spoof, it helps to watch Dion’s SNF open for the Pittsburgh Steelers-Dallas Cowboys game, which went heavy on the nostalgia aspect of that game, featuring Dion’s narration along with historic highlights set to her hit, “It’s All Coming Back to Me Back to Me Now.” Dion’s appearance was made even more special given her much-publicized health struggles.
Naturally, along comes Saturday Night Live and host/pop star Ariana Grande blowing it all up.
“Football. It is a sport that connects who we are to who we were. … That is why I, Celine Dion, last week made a promo for Sunday Night Football, OK?” Grande said solemnly, as similar scenes from the SNF opening were shown.
“But football isn’t the only sport that connects us to our past. There is another sport whose timeless emotions ignite the bittersweet memories that live inside my soul … and in the octagon.”
Grande then sang a version of “It’s All Coming Back to Me Back to Me Now,” accompanied by altered lyrics and funny one-liners, all spoofing UFC’s brutality.
“The hush of the crowd as a 300-pound Bosnian vomits up his own teeth.”
“It’s all coming back to me — but maybe not to them because of all the concussions, no?”
“An angry man with a cauliflower ear and a sideways nose.”
There’s even a cameo by Joe Rogan.
SNL may be the most uneven show around, hilariously funny when it’s on, and painful to watch when its skits miss. This one definitely hit the target.
[Saturday Night Live]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.