Battle of the Gridiron Stars(2005)

Battle of the Gridiron Stars is a sports competition series that aired on ESPN, pitting NFL players from the American Football Conference against the National Football Conference in a series of athletic challenges. Filmed at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, the show draws inspiration from classic competition programs like Battle of the Network Stars and The Superstars. Each team is coached by a former NFL quarterback—Archie Manning leading the National Conference squad and Ken Stabler commanding the American Conference roster. The series debuted in spring 2005 as ESPN sought programming to fill the gap left by the NHL lockout. Strong ratings and ESPN's loss of hockey broadcasting rights led to a renewal in 2006. Produced by IMG, the world's leading sports management firm, the show features original athletic events rather than actual NFL team names or game footage.