An inside look at how 'Monday Night Football' comes together
Even before kickoff, its theme song has excited football fans for generations.
"Monday Night Football's" fanfare is so iconic it even makes the people who headline the show stop in awe.
"I remember the first game we called back on week one, and that theme music for 'Monday Night Football' came on and the hair on my neck stood up," "Monday Night Football" analyst Troy Aikman told "Nightline."
"Nightline" went behind the scenes of the operation in September and spoke with the new hosts about carrying on its legacy.
"Monday Night Football" first aired in 1970 on ABC and later shifted to ESPN in 2005. Both networks are owned by the Walt Disney Company.
This season, Aikman and Joe Buck were hired to be the show's game analyst and play-by-play commentator, respectively.
The pair broadcast football games for over 20 years at Fox Sports and have worked six Super Bowls together. Buck told "Nightline" that the move was emotional for him as he followed in the footsteps of his father, the late sportscaster Jack Buck.
"My dad would be so proud. He died 20 years ago, but he would be so proud...that his 'Pup' was doing 'Monday Night Football' on TV," Buck told "Nightline."
Like many of his former NFL colleagues turned Monday Night Football commentators, Aikman said he has been proud of the producers, editors and other crew members who help put the production together.
"There's a lot of behind-the-scenes people that don't get talked about enough, but it takes an army in order to pull this off," he said.
Six production trucks travel with the crew to each game every week and house over 125 crew members. Jimmy Platt, "Monday Night Football's" director, told "Nightline" that there is a sense of calm the day before games, and that carries over during game time.
"In the heat of the chaos in the game... if you let the game speed you up, you end up making mistakes or things fall through the cracks," he told "Nightline."
In the booth, both commentators said they spend a lot of time preparing to cover the action. Aikman, a Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback, watches "countless hours of film to get ready for each game," according to Buck.
When asked about pre-game rituals Aikman nodded to his days as a Dallas Cowboy, but said he hasn't carried any over to his Monday night routine.
"I ate the same pre-game meal and I had the same player pull my jersey over my shoulder pads every week," he said.
Buck joked that he has now taken over that role as Aikman's "road wife."
"I put his coat, pull his shirt on," Buck laughed.
Aikman noted that his booth partner also has a diligent routine.
"You can't be Joe Buck without putting in the time and the effort and being meticulous 'about it and he does that," he said.
While calling the games can be exhausting for the 18 weeks a year, Aikman and Buck said they are up to carry the show's legacy for future generations.
"The minute that camera goes off, this tie's coming off and I'm going to schlump my way back to the car and I'll be tired in the car getting out of here and it's like 'Oh it's onto next week,'" he said.
ABC News' Sally Hawkins and Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.
