Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary on Sunday night. An institution in the world of American culture, SNL has made it a point to touch on everything over the years, and the world of sports has been a big part of that. For years, athletes have hosted or made cameo appearances on the show, and while they’ve not always been big hits, some of the most memorable moments in the show’s history have come as a result of athletes getting involved. Usually, they poke fun at themselves when that happens.
To celebrate the show’s anniversary, we looked back at some of our favorite cameos from athletes in SNL history. This isn’t a comprehensive list, because there have been plenty of other times when athletes have made their mark at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, but these are certainly some of the best moments.
Charles Barkley as Shaq on “Inside the NBA”
There is zero doubt about this getting a spot on the list. Charles Barkley making fun of Shaq is always good television, and for it to happen on SNL is even better, particularly because this sketch hits on a lot of the notes that make Inside so much fun. Kenan Thompson’s Chuck impression is terrific, and you just know that Barkley loved looking at him and saying “people love you, Charles Barkley.”
Michael Jordan gets a Daily Affirmation
The Stuart Smalley x Michael Jordan collaboration that no one knew we needed ended up being a real joy. Unfortunately, Jordan was able to keep himself from busting out laughing, but he sure did come close. I like to think that, even after this segment came to an end, Jordan continued to do this exact thing as a daily affirmation every day for the remainder of his professional career.
Peyton Manning for the United Way
I mean, yeah. This is just flat out one of the funniest things SNL has ever done, and that would’ve been the case if this was someone just doing a Manning impression. Instead, you have Manning being the absolute worst influence in the world, and the result is pure magic.
Point/Counterpoint, with Derek Jeter and Red Sox fan Seth Meyers
The balance between Jeter acting like this is a real point/counterpoint and Meyers (I presume) just repeating stuff that he’s said while he was three beers deep at Fenway really is terrific. My only complaint as a Yankee fan is that Jeter leaned in a bit more to the fact that he won four rings in six years at the time of this sketch, but that’s fine.
LeBron’s Read to Achieve ad
Jason Sudeikis does a fantastic job playing every guy who has ever talked about their high school basketball accomplishments like they’re on the same level as anything LeBron James has done. The line about Dwyane Wade having a ring three years before James joined the Heat is fun to watch in retrospect, and James looked incredibly proud of himself after he caught Sudeikis with an elbow before dunking and reading his line.
John Cena in The Karate Teen
This is here because of John Cena’s weird accent, which is very funny, and the final battle between Cena and Mikey Day, which goes exactly how this exact thing should go.
Wayne Gretzky goes fishing with the Anal Retentive Chef
Admittedly, this is mostly on here because it’s a reason to watch Phil Hartman, but Gretzky does a good job as the person who is trying to do something urgently while Hartman is, well, not doing that. Plus the visual of Gretzky trying to beat the hell out of a giant fish with a net is terrific, too.
Eli Manning embarrasses himself to get found not guilty
I absolutely hate watching this sketch, which I am pretty sure is the point. It’s hilarious in a deeply uncomfortable way, as Manning has to act out a bunch of emojis and read out his texts and search history on his computer. It’s awful, and it’s so funny.
Travis Kelce teaches self-defense
Just in general, Travis Kelce playing a self-defense instructor named Curt Lightning whose hair looks like that is extremely good. The sketch itself is incredibly chaotic, as well, between Kelce throwing some monster right hands, a game of Russian roulette that is initiated by a grandma, and a whole lot else.
