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* CheatersNeverProsper: The teams were not above bending or breaking the rules in the interest of getting points ([[RuleOfFunny especially if it provided laughs]]), but they weren't always allowed to get away with it. In the 2002 Christmas special, while the six panellists were trying their luck with a "Test Your Strength" machine, Gary Lineker decided to sneak a look at his team's cards for "The Name Game". His team were promptly docked ten points, putting them 6-2 behind guest captain Steve Davis. However, this did not stop him from reading off the list he had copied down when the game actually began (in one case admitting he couldn't read his own handwriting), causing the producers to end the round early when they were trailing by just one point.
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* CheatersNeverProsper: The teams were not above bending or breaking the rules in the interest of getting points ([[RuleOfFunny especially if it provided laughs]]), but they weren't always allowed to get away with it. it.
** In a Series 12 episode with Alec Stewart and Clive Anderson, Rory [=McGrath=] claimed that a goal celebration by Emile Heskey in England's 5-1 away victory against Germany in 2001 in which he mimed swinging a golf club was a reference to a charity match he had played against Nick Faldo. Nick Hancock revealed that although that was what he had written on the card, it was a complete fabrication (the celebration was actually a tribute to Heskey's sporting hero, Tiger Woods), and the only way Rory could have known that would have been from looking at the card. And since he had also given the unlikely correct explanations for questions in two of the previous three episodes involving Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova falling out after a charity doubles match in Chile and the Renault Formula 1 team's technical director's claims that their computers were being hacked by ex-East German Stasi members, Nick not only awarded them zero points for the Heskey question, but retroactively docked Gary's team three points for each of the previous two episodes, meaning David's team not only won this episode, but the previous two as well.
** In the 2002 Christmas special, while the six panellists were trying their luck with a "Test Your Strength" machine, Gary Lineker decided to sneak a look at his team's cards for "The Name Game". His team were promptly docked ten points, putting them 6-2 behind guest captain Steve Davis. However, this did not stop him from reading off the list he had copied down when the game actually began (in one case admitting he couldn't read his own handwriting), causing the producers to end the round early when they were trailing by just one point.
** In a Series 12 episode with Alec Stewart and Clive Anderson, Rory [=McGrath=] claimed that a goal celebration by Emile Heskey in England's 5-1 away victory against Germany in 2001 in which he mimed swinging a golf club was a reference to a charity match he had played against Nick Faldo. Nick Hancock revealed that although that was what he had written on the card, it was a complete fabrication (the celebration was actually a tribute to Heskey's sporting hero, Tiger Woods), and the only way Rory could have known that would have been from looking at the card. And since he had also given the unlikely correct explanations for questions in two of the previous three episodes involving Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova falling out after a charity doubles match in Chile and the Renault Formula 1 team's technical director's claims that their computers were being hacked by ex-East German Stasi members, Nick not only awarded them zero points for the Heskey question, but retroactively docked Gary's team three points for each of the previous two episodes, meaning David's team not only won this episode, but the previous two as well.
** In the 2002 Christmas special, while the six panellists were trying their luck with a "Test Your Strength" machine, Gary Lineker decided to sneak a look at his team's cards for "The Name Game". His team were promptly docked ten points, putting them 6-2 behind guest captain Steve Davis. However, this did not stop him from reading off the list he had copied down when the game actually began (in one case admitting he couldn't read his own handwriting), causing the producers to end the round early when they were trailing by just one point.
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* TheSwearJar: In one episode, Nick Hancock announced that Creator/TheBBC were cracking down on foul language in the programme by instituting a swear jar, with all money collected to be donated to Series/ChildrenInNeed. He set the tone for the rest of the episode by declaring this "a ''[[SoundEffectBleep (bleep)]]''ing good idea" and immediately making the first donation. The most prolific contributor was Jonathan Ross, who at one point dumped a pile of coins on the desk in preparation for a series of donations.
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* TheSwearJar: In one episode, a Series 12 episode with Fiona Allen and Audley Harrison, Nick Hancock announced that Creator/TheBBC were cracking down on foul language in the programme by instituting a swear jar, with all money collected to be donated to Series/ChildrenInNeed. He set the tone for the rest of the episode by declaring this "a ''[[SoundEffectBleep (bleep)]]''ing good idea" and immediately making the first donation. The most prolific contributor was Jonathan Ross, who at one point dumped a pile of coins on the desk in preparation for a series of donations.
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* ElmuhFuddSyndwome: Jonathan Ross famously has trouble pronouncing the letter "R", which led to all sorts of laughs if he had to pronounce a name with multiple appearances of the letter.
-->''(from a "Sporting Bluff" round about how then-Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri learned English)''\\
'''Alec Stewart:''' ''(reading card)'' Mr. Ranieri... well, he learned his English from watching ''Series/EastEnders''.\\
'''David Gower:''' ''(reading card)'' Claudio Ranieri learned English from Chelsea fans.\\
'''Jonathan Ross:''' ''(reading card)'' Claudio Waniewi learned English... ''(gets cut off by laughter from audience and Nick Hancock; looks around in mock confusion)'' Claudio Waniewi learned... ''(gets cut off again by more laughter)''\\
'''Nick Hancock:''' Say "Gianluca Vialli", you'll be all right.\\
'''Jonathan:''' ''That bloke'' learned English by going to see West End musicals.
-->''(from a "Sporting Bluff" round about how then-Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri learned English)''\\
'''Alec Stewart:''' ''(reading card)'' Mr. Ranieri... well, he learned his English from watching ''Series/EastEnders''.\\
'''David Gower:''' ''(reading card)'' Claudio Ranieri learned English from Chelsea fans.\\
'''Jonathan Ross:''' ''(reading card)'' Claudio Waniewi learned English... ''(gets cut off by laughter from audience and Nick Hancock; looks around in mock confusion)'' Claudio Waniewi learned... ''(gets cut off again by more laughter)''\\
'''Nick Hancock:''' Say "Gianluca Vialli", you'll be all right.\\
'''Jonathan:''' ''That bloke'' learned English by going to see West End musicals.
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** Few sporting figures came under fire as often as David Gower and Gary Lineker themselves. Gower would be mocked for his posh background and unfortunate tendency to get bowled or caught or run out at inconvenient moments (often exaggerated to imply that he was regularly out for a duck[[note]] Though at least one episode did acknowledge that he was second only to Graham Gooch in his career total number of runs scored for England; he has since fallen to third behind Gooch and Alec Stewart.[[/note]]), while Lineker would be teased for his "good guy" image and his prolific goalscoring frequently being the result of being just in front of goal after a midfielder had done all the hard work getting the ball into the box.
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** Few sporting figures came under fire as often as David Gower and Gary Lineker themselves. Gower would be mocked for his posh background and unfortunate tendency to get bowled or caught or run out at inconvenient moments (often exaggerated to imply that he was regularly out for a duck[[note]] Though at least one episode did acknowledge that he was second only to Graham Gooch in his career total number of Test runs scored for England; he has since fallen to third fourth behind Gooch Alistair Cook, Gooch, and Alec Stewart.[[/note]]), while Lineker would be teased for his "good guy" image and his prolific goalscoring frequently being the result of being just in front of goal after a midfielder had done all the hard work getting the ball into the box.
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* TheSwearJar: In one episode, Nick Hancock announced that Creator/TheBBC were cracking down on foul language in the programme by instituting a swear jar, with all money collected to be donated to ChildrenInNeed. He set the tone for the rest of the episode by declaring this "a ''[[SoundEffectBleep (bleep)]]''ing good idea" and immediately making the first donation. The most prolific contributor was Jonathan Ross, who at one point dumped a pile of coins on the desk in preparation for a series of donations.
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* TheSwearJar: In one episode, Nick Hancock announced that Creator/TheBBC were cracking down on foul language in the programme by instituting a swear jar, with all money collected to be donated to ChildrenInNeed.Series/ChildrenInNeed. He set the tone for the rest of the episode by declaring this "a ''[[SoundEffectBleep (bleep)]]''ing good idea" and immediately making the first donation. The most prolific contributor was Jonathan Ross, who at one point dumped a pile of coins on the desk in preparation for a series of donations.
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You\'d think I\'d have known, I have SEEN \"The Name\'s the Same\".
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* TheNamesTheSame: Acknowledged in-universe; when Lee Hurst was a regular on the series, there was a player at Southend United FC also named Lee Hurst. Inevitably, he was the subject of David and Lee's round of "Feel the Sportsman" in the 1996 Christmas special. There were also several rounds of "The Name Game" with this as the theme (athletes who share their names with other famous people).
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* TheNamesTheSame: NamesTheSame: Acknowledged in-universe; when Lee Hurst was a regular on the series, there was a player at Southend United FC also named Lee Hurst. Inevitably, he was the subject of David and Lee's round of "Feel the Sportsman" in the 1996 Christmas special. There were also several rounds of "The Name Game" with this as the theme (athletes who share their names with other famous people).
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-->''(after seeing footage of Michael Owen scoring a goal against Newcastle United and then rubbing his hands in celebration[[note]] a tribute to a friend of Liverpool teammate Jamie Carragher's whom Owen met in a pub and who wouldn't stop rubbing his hands with delight at the experience of meeting Owen[[/note]])''\\
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* TheSwearJar: In one episode, Nick Hancock announced that Creator/TheBBC were cracking down on foul language in the programme by instituting a swear jar, with all money collected to be donated to ChildrenInNeed. He set the tone for the rest of the episode by declaring this "a ''[[SoundEffectBleep (bleep)]]''ing good idea" and immediately making the first donation. The most prolific contributor was Jonathan Ross, who at one point dumped a pile of coins on the desk in preparation for a series of donations.
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-->''(after seeing footage of Michael Owen scoring a goal against Newcastle United and then rubbing his hands in celebration[[note]] a tribute to a friend of Liverpool teammate Jamie Carragher's whom Owen met in a pub and who wouldn't stop rubbing his hands with delight at the experience of meeting Owen[[/note]])''\\
'''David Gower:''' Just thinking, Gary, is it true that in scoring that ''one goal'', he actually covered more distance than you did in an entire career?\\
'''Rory [=McGrath=]:''' David, what's the distance from the wicket to the pavilion?
'''David Gower:''' Just thinking, Gary, is it true that in scoring that ''one goal'', he actually covered more distance than you did in an entire career?\\
'''Rory [=McGrath=]:''' David, what's the distance from the wicket to the pavilion?
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* TheNamesTheSame: Acknowledged in-universe; when Lee Hurst was a regular on the series, there was a player at Southend United FC also named Lee Hurst. Inevitably, he was the subject of David and Lee's round of "Feel the Sportsman". There were also several rounds of "The Name Game" with this as the theme (athletes who share their names with other famous people).
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* TheNamesTheSame: Acknowledged in-universe; when Lee Hurst was a regular on the series, there was a player at Southend United FC also named Lee Hurst. Inevitably, he was the subject of David and Lee's round of "Feel the Sportsman".Sportsman" in the 1996 Christmas special. There were also several rounds of "The Name Game" with this as the theme (athletes who share their names with other famous people).
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* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Creator/StephenFry delivered quite a blistering one to Nick Hancock and the producers on his appearance in Series 4 when he, Gary, and Rory had to explain a clip of the Albanian game of well defending in "What's Going On?". He asserted that countries all over the "Second and Third World" (as they once were) were deliberately inventing ridiculous "traditional" games so that Creator/TheBBC would buy footage of them for the ''They Think It's All Over'' team to use for easy laughs while the people in the footage pocketed the profits and laughed at how gullible the British were for thinking these were real games.
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* ShoutOut: The series' title is a reference to Kenneth Wolstenholme's commentary from the BBC broadcast of the final seconds of England's 1966 FIFA World Cup victory, which is played over the end of the opening titles (though with an impersonator providing the commentary): "And here comes Hurst! He's got- some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over! ''(Hurst fires the ball into the back of the net)'' It is now!"[[note]] Wolstenholme was reportedly not flattered by the reference, finding the programme loutish.[[/note]]
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* ShoutOut: The series' title is a reference to Kenneth Wolstenholme's commentary from the BBC broadcast of the final seconds of England's 1966 FIFA World Cup victory, which is played over the end of the opening titles (though with an impersonator providing the commentary): "And here comes Hurst! He's got- some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over! ''(Hurst fires the ball into the back of the net)'' It is now!"[[note]] Wolstenholme was reportedly not flattered by the reference, finding the programme loutish.[[/note]][[/note]] Hancock would also quote the commentary in his closing spiel: "My name's Nick Hancock, they think it's all over, it is now."
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* RunningGag: Many, as detailed under TakeThat, including David Gower's poshness and inconsistent performance at the crease, Gary Lineker's tendency to score goals after another player had done all the work getting the ball into position, Rory [=McGrath's=] weight, Lee Hurst's baldness, Jonathan Ross' extroverted dress sense, the implication that Jonathan was having an affair with Gary's then-wife Michelle, Phil Tufnell's prolific use of marijuana, the ineptitude of the England cricket team, the popular perception that matches involving Manchester United would continue as far past 90 minutes as necessary for them to take the lead, and more besides.
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* RunningGag: Many, as detailed under TakeThat, including TakeThat.
** Relating to the regulars, there were many jokes about David Gower's poshness and inconsistent performance at the crease, Gary Lineker's tendency to score goals after another player had done all the work getting the ball into position, Rory [=McGrath's=] weight, Lee Hurst's baldness, Jonathan Ross' extroverted dress sense, and the implication that Jonathan was having an affair with Gary's then-wifeMichelle, Phil Tufnell's prolific use Michelle.
** In the wider world ofmarijuana, sport, many episodes featured jokes about the ineptitude of the England cricket football/rugby/cricket/whatever team, the popular perception that matches involving Manchester United would continue as far past 90 minutes as necessary for them to take the lead, the sex and drug scandals that had dogged former sport presenter Frank Bough, the idea that champion javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread was really a man, Phil Tufnell's prolific use of marijuana, and more besides.
** Relating to the regulars, there were many jokes about David Gower's poshness and inconsistent performance at the crease, Gary Lineker's tendency to score goals after another player had done all the work getting the ball into position, Rory [=McGrath's=] weight, Lee Hurst's baldness, Jonathan Ross' extroverted dress sense, and the implication that Jonathan was having an affair with Gary's then-wife
** In the wider world of
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Sport-themed PanelShow which aired on Creator/TheBBC from 1995 to 2006. The series was initially presented by Nick Hancock, and featured two teams captained by former England cricketer David Gower and former England footballer Gary Lineker, with regular spots taken by comedians Lee Hurst on Gower's team and Rory [=McGrath=] on Lineker's. The guests were generally either athletes or comedians, although occasionally politicians (such as Creator/AlastairCampbell or Jeffrey Archer) or broadcasters (such as [[Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire Chris Tarrant]] or [[Series/TopGear Richard Hammond]]) would appear as the third member of the team. Hurst left the series in 1998 to concentrate on running his comedy club in Bethnal Green, and after a series of guest comedians, his place was permanently taken by presenter Jonathan Ross.
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Sport-themed PanelShow which aired on Creator/TheBBC from 1995 to 2006. The series was initially presented by Nick Hancock, and featured two teams of three panellists captained by former England cricketer David Gower and former England footballer Gary Lineker, with regular spots taken by comedians Lee Hurst on Gower's team and Rory [=McGrath=] on Lineker's. The guests were generally either athletes or comedians, although occasionally politicians (such as Creator/AlastairCampbell or Jeffrey Archer) or broadcasters (such as [[Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire Chris Tarrant]] or [[Series/TopGear Richard Hammond]]) would appear as the third member of the team. Hurst left the series in 1998 to concentrate on running his comedy club in Bethnal Green, and after a series of guest comedians, his place was permanently taken by presenter Jonathan Ross.
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** Few sporting figures came under fire as often as David Gower and Gary Lineker themselves. Gower would be mocked for his posh background and unfortunate tendency to get bowled or caught or run out at inconvenient moments (often exaggerated to imply that he was regularly out for a duck[[note]] though at least one episode did acknowledge that he was second only to Graham Gooch in his career total number of runs scored for England[[/note]]), while Lineker would be teased for his "good guy" image and his prolific goalscoring frequently being the result of being just in front of goal after a midfielder had done all the hard work getting the ball into the box.
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** Few sporting figures came under fire as often as David Gower and Gary Lineker themselves. Gower would be mocked for his posh background and unfortunate tendency to get bowled or caught or run out at inconvenient moments (often exaggerated to imply that he was regularly out for a duck[[note]] though Though at least one episode did acknowledge that he was second only to Graham Gooch in his career total number of runs scored for England[[/note]]), England; he has since fallen to third behind Gooch and Alec Stewart.[[/note]]), while Lineker would be teased for his "good guy" image and his prolific goalscoring frequently being the result of being just in front of goal after a midfielder had done all the hard work getting the ball into the box.
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* RunningGag: Many, as detailed under TakeThat, including David Gower's poshness and inconsistent performance at the crease, Gary Lineker's tendency to score goals after another player had done all the work getting the ball into position, Rory [=McGrath's=] weight, Lee Hurst's baldness, Jonathan Ross' extroverted dress sense, the implication that Jonathan was having an affair with Gary's then-wife Michelle, Phil Tufnell's prolific use of marijuana, the ineptitude of the England cricket team, the popular perception that matches involving Manchester United would continue as far past 90 minutes as necessary for them to take the lead, and more besides.
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* CheatersNeverProsper: The teams were not above bending or breaking the rules in the interest of getting points ([[RuleOfFunny especially if it provided laughs]]), but they weren't always allowed to get away with it. In the 2002 Christmas special, while the six panellists were trying their luck with a "Test Your Strength" machine, Gary Lineker decided to sneak a look at his team's cards for "The Name Game". His team were promptly docked ten points, putting them 6-2 behind guest captain Steve Davis. However, this did not stop him from reading off the list he had copied down when the game actually began (in one case admitting he couldn't read his own handwriting), causing the producers to end the round early when they were trailing by just one point.
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* CrossOver: In both 1999 and 2001, the series crossed over with ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' and ''Series/NeverMindTheBuzzcocks'' for a UsefulNotes/ComicRelief special entitled ''Have I Got Buzzcocks All Over''. Nick Hancock was a captain on both specials (accompanied by Phil Tufnell and newsreader Carol Barnes in 1999, and by David Gower and Creator/StephenFry in 2001), and in both specials his team played variations on "Feel the Sportsman" ("Feel the Pop Star" in 1999 with guest Samantha Fox, "Feel the Politician" in 2001 with guest Roy Hattersley), while the 2001 special finished with "The Name Game" but with names from politics and pop music as well as sport.
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* CrossOver: In both 1999 and 2001, the series crossed over with ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' and ''Series/NeverMindTheBuzzcocks'' for a UsefulNotes/ComicRelief special entitled ''Have I Got Buzzcocks All Over''. Nick Hancock was a captain on both specials (accompanied by Phil Tufnell and newsreader Carol Barnes in 1999, and by David Gower and Creator/StephenFry in 2001), and in both specials his team played variations on "Feel the Sportsman" ("Feel the Pop Star" in 1999 with guest Samantha Fox, "Feel the Politician" in 2001 with guest Roy Hattersley), Hattersley[[note]] who, in a nod to one of the most famous ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' episodes, appeared on stage carrying a tub of lard[[/note]]), while the 2001 special finished with "The Name Game" but with names from politics and pop music as well as sport.
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* CallBack: In several episodes, one of the guests in "Feel the Sportsman" would be at the centre of a story referenced earlier in the episode. For example, the 1999 Christmas special referred to a magazine article in which gay cabaret performer Paul Hull named Gary Lineker as a celebrity crush; Hull was then brought on for Gary and Rory to identify during "Feel the Sportsman" (Rory seemed to be in on the joke, as he mostly left the identification up to Gary). Gary eventually started writing down the names of people referenced in the early rounds in case he needed to remember them for "Feel the Sportsman".
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* PunnyName: The whole point of "The Name Game". After a few familiar names the teams could recognise from a basic description of their sport, Rory and Lee/Jonathan would then have to give clues for athletes whose names generally involved some sort of pun, frequently a DoubleEntendre such as "Lucky Idahor" (a Nigerian footballer, Rory's clue for whom was "Fortunately, I engaged the services of a lady of the night").
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* PunnyName: The whole point of "The Name Game". After a few familiar names the teams could recognise from a basic description of their sport, Rory and Lee/Jonathan would then have to give clues for athletes whose names generally involved some sort of pun, frequently a DoubleEntendre such as "Jesus Arce" (Jonathan's clue for whom was "Son of God's backside") or "Lucky Idahor" (a Nigerian footballer, Rory's clue for whom was "Fortunately, I engaged the services of a lady of the night").
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-->"They come from near Lochgelly\\
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-->"They come from frae near Lochgelly\\
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* FandomRivalry: Frequently referenced in-universe in "Sing When You're Winning", and not just limited to top-flight sides; for example, in the 1996 Christmas special, David Gower's team had to complete the chant with which Scotland's East Fife FC taunt their local rivals Cowdenbeath FC (sung to the tune of the theme from ''Series/TheAddamsFamily''):
-->"They come from near Lochgelly\\
They havnae got a telly\\
They're dirty and they're smelly\\
The Cowden family"
* FilkSong: Sometimes found in "Sing When You're Winning", with the terrace chants of various clubs set to the tunes of folk or pop songs or television theme tunes. For example, in the ''No Holds Barred'' video episode, Sunderland fans sang the following spoof version of the folk song "In My Liverpool Home"[[note]] for which there are already "official" versions for both Liverpool and Everton fans to poke fun at each other[[/note]]:
-->"In your Liverpool homes\\
In your Liverpool homes\\
You speak with an accent exceedingly rare[[note]] Which Rory [=McGrath=] labelled HypocriticalHumour, as the Mackem accent is just as impenetrable to outsiders as the Scouse accent.[[/note]]\\
You all wear pink shell suits and have curly hair\\
In your Liverpool homes"
-->"They come from near Lochgelly\\
They havnae got a telly\\
They're dirty and they're smelly\\
The Cowden family"
* FilkSong: Sometimes found in "Sing When You're Winning", with the terrace chants of various clubs set to the tunes of folk or pop songs or television theme tunes. For example, in the ''No Holds Barred'' video episode, Sunderland fans sang the following spoof version of the folk song "In My Liverpool Home"[[note]] for which there are already "official" versions for both Liverpool and Everton fans to poke fun at each other[[/note]]:
-->"In your Liverpool homes\\
In your Liverpool homes\\
You speak with an accent exceedingly rare[[note]] Which Rory [=McGrath=] labelled HypocriticalHumour, as the Mackem accent is just as impenetrable to outsiders as the Scouse accent.[[/note]]\\
You all wear pink shell suits and have curly hair\\
In your Liverpool homes"
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* PunnyName: The whole point of "The Name Game". After a few familiar names the teams could recognise from a basic description of their sport, Rory and Lee/Jonathan would then have to give clues for athletes whose names generally involved some sort of pun, frequently a DoubleEntendre such as "Lucky Idahor" (a Nigerian footballer, Rory's clue for whom was "Fortunately, I engaged the services of a lady of the night").
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* TokenMinority: Parodied in the 1999 Christmas special, in which David and Jonathan's teammate was Nick Hancock's former Cambridge Footlights castmate David Baddiel, who is Jewish and {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d the bizarre logic behind inviting him onto a ChristmasEpisode. In "Sing When You're Winning", after seeing a group of Nottingham Forest fans sing, "Away in a manger, no crib for a bed / The little lord Jesus looked up and He said...", Baddiel suggested the next line was "I'm not the Messiah, you know!"
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* TokenMinority: Parodied in the 1999 Christmas special, in which David and Jonathan's teammate was Nick Hancock's former Cambridge Footlights castmate David Baddiel, who is Jewish and {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d the bizarre logic behind inviting him onto a ChristmasEpisode. In "Sing When You're Winning", after seeing a group of Nottingham Forest fans sing, "Away in a manger, no crib for a bed / The little lord Jesus looked up and He said...", Baddiel suggested the next line was "I'm not the Messiah, you know!"know!"[[note]] The correct answer was half a dozen or so repetitions of "We hate Derby", followed by "We are the Derby haters! Sheep, sheep, sheep shaggers!"[[/note]]
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** The football fandom allegiances of the regulars (or, in Gary Lineker's case, the clubs for which he played) were also often mocked, particularly Nick Hancock's support of Stoke City (when he ribbed Gary for never having scored at Stoke's home ground, Gary sniped back that he had never played in the lower leagues), Rory [=McGrath's=] support of Arsenal, and Gary's career at Spurs (when he bristled at the use of footage of Marcel Desailly scoring for Chelsea against Spurs, Rory quipped that goals against Spurs were easier to find).
* TokenMinority: Parodied in the 1999 Christmas special, in which David and Jonathan's teammate was Nick Hancock's former Cambridge Footlights castmate David Baddiel, who is Jewish and {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d the bizarre logic behind inviting him onto a ChristmasEpisode. In "Sing When You're Winning", after seeing a group of Nottingham Forest fans sing, "Away in a manger, no crib for a bed / The little lord Jesus looked up and He said...", Baddiel suggested the next line was "I'm not the Messiah, you know!"
* TokenMinority: Parodied in the 1999 Christmas special, in which David and Jonathan's teammate was Nick Hancock's former Cambridge Footlights castmate David Baddiel, who is Jewish and {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d the bizarre logic behind inviting him onto a ChristmasEpisode. In "Sing When You're Winning", after seeing a group of Nottingham Forest fans sing, "Away in a manger, no crib for a bed / The little lord Jesus looked up and He said...", Baddiel suggested the next line was "I'm not the Messiah, you know!"
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* CensoredForComedy: As detailed in ProductPlacement, when Gary Lineker was replaced as the face of Walker's Crisps by Michael Owen (or, rather, recast as the villain of the ad campaign with Owen the hero) in 1998, Nick Hancock announced at the beginning of an episode with Greg Rusedski and Fred [=MacAulay=] that the word "Walker" would be treated as a swear word and bleeped; the bleeping was done in such a way that the beginning and end of the word were still audible, making it sound as though the word being bleeped was "wanker".
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** In a 1998 episode, after Lineker had been replaced as the face of Walker's Crisps by Michael Owen, Hancock declared at the beginning of the programme that the word "Walker" would be treated as a swear word and bleeped. Inevitably, ''every'' athlete Gary and teammate Fred [=MacAulay=] had to identify in "The Name Game" was called "___ Walker", which was asterisked out.
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** In a 1998 episode, after Lineker had been replaced as the face of Walker's Crisps by Michael Owen, Hancock declared at the beginning of the programme that [[CensoredForComedy the word "Walker" would be treated as a swear word and bleeped.bleeped]]. Inevitably, ''every'' athlete Gary and teammate Fred [=MacAulay=] had to identify in "The Name Game" was called "___ Walker", which was asterisked out.
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* AllGermansAreNazis: Invoked by both teams in the 2002 Christmas special, in which the clues had to be given in mime. When giving a clue for Boris Becker, Jonathan Ross mimed playing tennis, then put his finger on his upper lip and did a Nazi salute; when giving a clue for Michael Schumacher, Rory [=McGrath=] mimed driving a car and then made the same finger-on-lip-Nazi-salute gesture.
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* AllGermansAreNazis: Invoked by both teams in the 2002 Christmas special, in which the clues for "The Name Game" had to be given in mime. When giving a clue for Boris Becker, Jonathan Ross mimed playing tennis, then put his finger on his upper lip and did a Nazi salute; when giving a clue for Michael Schumacher, Rory [=McGrath=] mimed driving a car and then made the same finger-on-lip-Nazi-salute gesture.
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* AllGermansAreNazis: Invoked by both teams in the 2002 Christmas special, in which the clues had to be given in mime. When giving a clue for Boris Becker, Jonathan Ross mimed playing tennis, then put his finger on his upper lip and did a Nazi salute; when giving a clue for Michael Schumacher, Rory [=McGrath=] mimed driving a car and then made the same finger-on-lip-Nazi-salute gesture.
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* CrossOver: In both 1999 and 2001, the series crossed over with ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' and ''Series/NeverMindTheBuzzcocks'' for a UsefulNotes/ComicRelief special entitled ''Have I Got Buzzcocks All Over''. Nick Hancock was a captain on both specials (accompanied by Phil Tufnell and newsreader Carol Barnes in 1999, and by David Gower and Creator/StephenFry in 2001), and in both specials his team played variations on "Feel the Sportsman" ("Feel the Pop Star" in 1999 with guest Samantha Fox, "Feel the Politician" in 2001 with guest Roy Hattersley), while the 2001 special finished with "The Name Game" but with names from politics and pop music as well as sport.
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* TheNamesTheSame: Acknowledged in-universe; when Lee Hurst was a regular on the series, there was a player at Southend United FC also named Lee Hurst. Inevitably, he was the subject of David and Lee's round of "Feel the Sportsman". There were also several rounds of "The Name Game" with this as the theme (athletes who share their names with other famous people).
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Sport-themed PanelShow which aired on Creator/TheBBC from 1995 to 2006. The series was initially presented by Nick Hancock, and featured two teams captained by former England cricketer David Gower and former England footballer Gary Lineker, with regular spots taken by comedians Lee Hurst on Gower's team and Rory [=McGrath=] on Lineker's. The guests were generally either athletes or comedians, although occasionally politicians (such as Creator/AlastairCampbell or Jeffrey Archer) or broadcasters (such as [[Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire Chris Tarrant]] or [[Series/TopGear Richard Hammond]]) would appear as the third member of the team. Hurst left the series in 1998 to concentrate on running his comedy club in Bethnal Green, and after a series of guest comedians, his place was permanently taken by presenter Jonathan Ross.
The series was to sport what ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' is to politics and ''Series/NeverMindTheBuzzcocks'' is to pop music: ostensibly a quiz about the people and events in sport, but really a showcase for the comedic talents of the regulars and an excuse to poke fun at the world of sport. The basic rounds included:
* '''Excuses:''' The teams would be shown footage of sporting failure or controversy (or, occasionally, success) and asked to identify the excuse the people involved gave when asked to explain themselves.
* '''Celebrations:''' The teams would be shown footage of an unusual goal celebration in a football match (or similar celebratory moment) and asked to explain the bizarre antics of the people involved.
* '''Sing When You're Winning:''' The teams would hear the first part of a song sung on the terraces of a particular football ground as rendered by a group of fans, and have to guess what the next lines were.
* '''Sporting Bluff:''' The teams would hear three possible explanations for a sport-related story, and have to guess which one is correct.
* '''What's Going On?:''' The teams would be shown an unusual piece of sporting footage, and have to answer the question in the round's title: what's going on?
* '''Photo-fit:''' The teams would be shown a bizarre composite picture of three sports personalities, and have to identify the three people whose faces/bodies had been cut and assembled into the picture. (Rory [=McGrath=] would frequently claim to have slept with the "subject".)
* '''Injury Board:''' The teams would be shown a grid of twelve numbers, and behind each number would be an athlete and an item that had injured him/her in an unusual way; they would then have to explain how the injury happened.
* '''Feel the Sportsman:''' Perhaps the most well-remembered round of the series. The team captains and resident comedians would don blindfolds, and a guest athlete or team would then be brought onto the stage and have to be identified by touch alone. This was the source of many of the series' biggest laughs, both from blindfolded panellists (especially Rory [=McGrath=] and Jonathan Ross) getting overfamiliar with the person (or people) on stage or from the production team finding excuses to pelt the blindfolded panellists with projectiles or otherwise assault them.
* '''The Name Game:''' The closing round of each show; the regular comedians would be given a set of cards with the names of sporting personalities on them and have to give their teammates clues as to their identities (the only rule being that they could not use rhyming clues, such as "Rubbish cricketer, hair as white as ''flour''" for "David Gower"). Variations included requiring the comedians to give clues in mime, as impressions, or as ''Pictionary''-style drawings. Generally, the first few names would be relatively familiar, and the rest would be obscure and often suggestive, leading the comedians to come up with increasingly creative ways to convey the names.
Gower and Lineker both left the series in 2003, and were replaced by cricketer Phil Tufnell and goalkeeper David Seaman. Seaman only stayed for two series before being replaced by his former Arsenal teammate Ian Wright, while Tufnell left after another series and was replaced by German tennis star Boris Becker. Hancock stepped down as presenter at the same time Tufnell left and was replaced by Creator/LeeMack, and finally Ross left the series and was replaced for two specials by comedian Sean Lock. This frantic revolving door of personnel and the gradual shift in tone of ''Series/AQuestionOfSport'' (of which ''They Think It's All Over'' was conceived as a parody) from serious game show to light-hearted comedy contributed to the series' cancellation in 2006.
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!!This show provides examples of:
* ChristmasEpisode: Once a year from 1995 to 2002, often heralded by having the panellists dress up in pantomime-style costumes (in 1997, Gary Lineker was dressed as the title character from ''Theatre/{{Oliver}}'', while in 2000, Jonathan Ross was dressed as a pantomime cow).
* ManOfAThousandVoices: Inverted with Jonathan Ross, as evidenced by his performance in "The Name Game" when he had to give his clues as impressions; David Gower described his approach as "One voice fits all." Halfway through the round, he forgot he was supposed to be giving the clues as impressions.
* OffTheRails: The "electronic pencil" round which showed up in a few early series frequently wound up here as the panellists simply scribbled all sorts of random nonsense on the picture instead of drawing the correct configuration of Bobby Charlton's combover or Kevin Keegan's atrocious 1970s fashion.
* ProductPlacement: Gary Lineker's sponsorship deal with Walker's Crisps led to a number of comic plugs on the programme.
** Perhaps the shining example comes from the ''No Holds Barred'' video, in which the four regulars take part in a mock school sports day and Lineker's shirt and shorts are festooned with Walker's Crisps logos, while his sack for the sack race looks like a giant crisp packet.
** In a 1998 episode, after Lineker had been replaced as the face of Walker's Crisps by Michael Owen, Hancock declared at the beginning of the programme that the word "Walker" would be treated as a swear word and bleeped. Inevitably, ''every'' athlete Gary and teammate Fred [=MacAulay=] had to identify in "The Name Game" was called "___ Walker", which was asterisked out.
* ShoutOut: The series' title is a reference to Kenneth Wolstenholme's commentary from the BBC broadcast of the final seconds of England's 1966 FIFA World Cup victory, which is played over the end of the opening titles (though with an impersonator providing the commentary): "And here comes Hurst! He's got- some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over! ''(Hurst fires the ball into the back of the net)'' It is now!"[[note]] Wolstenholme was reportedly not flattered by the reference, finding the programme loutish.[[/note]]
* TakeThat: Like most panel games, the series made a habit of getting laughs by poking fun at the people and teams who appeared in footage or stories for various rounds.
** Few sporting figures came under fire as often as David Gower and Gary Lineker themselves. Gower would be mocked for his posh background and unfortunate tendency to get bowled or caught or run out at inconvenient moments (often exaggerated to imply that he was regularly out for a duck[[note]] though at least one episode did acknowledge that he was second only to Graham Gooch in his career total number of runs scored for England[[/note]]), while Lineker would be teased for his "good guy" image and his prolific goalscoring frequently being the result of being just in front of goal after a midfielder had done all the hard work getting the ball into the box.
** The regular comedians were not immune either. Rory [=McGrath's=] beard and weight were the subject of many jokes, as were Lee Hurst's baldness and Jonathan Ross' colourful suits.
** In one instance, the Scottish FA refused to give the BBC footage of Forfar Athletic in action before a question about the club to avoid inviting mockery. The producers responded with a compilation of embarrassing gaffes committed by the Scottish national side, with Hancock saying they didn't need to mock Scottish football: they could just let it speak for itself.
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The series was to sport what ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' is to politics and ''Series/NeverMindTheBuzzcocks'' is to pop music: ostensibly a quiz about the people and events in sport, but really a showcase for the comedic talents of the regulars and an excuse to poke fun at the world of sport. The basic rounds included:
* '''Excuses:''' The teams would be shown footage of sporting failure or controversy (or, occasionally, success) and asked to identify the excuse the people involved gave when asked to explain themselves.
* '''Celebrations:''' The teams would be shown footage of an unusual goal celebration in a football match (or similar celebratory moment) and asked to explain the bizarre antics of the people involved.
* '''Sing When You're Winning:''' The teams would hear the first part of a song sung on the terraces of a particular football ground as rendered by a group of fans, and have to guess what the next lines were.
* '''Sporting Bluff:''' The teams would hear three possible explanations for a sport-related story, and have to guess which one is correct.
* '''What's Going On?:''' The teams would be shown an unusual piece of sporting footage, and have to answer the question in the round's title: what's going on?
* '''Photo-fit:''' The teams would be shown a bizarre composite picture of three sports personalities, and have to identify the three people whose faces/bodies had been cut and assembled into the picture. (Rory [=McGrath=] would frequently claim to have slept with the "subject".)
* '''Injury Board:''' The teams would be shown a grid of twelve numbers, and behind each number would be an athlete and an item that had injured him/her in an unusual way; they would then have to explain how the injury happened.
* '''Feel the Sportsman:''' Perhaps the most well-remembered round of the series. The team captains and resident comedians would don blindfolds, and a guest athlete or team would then be brought onto the stage and have to be identified by touch alone. This was the source of many of the series' biggest laughs, both from blindfolded panellists (especially Rory [=McGrath=] and Jonathan Ross) getting overfamiliar with the person (or people) on stage or from the production team finding excuses to pelt the blindfolded panellists with projectiles or otherwise assault them.
* '''The Name Game:''' The closing round of each show; the regular comedians would be given a set of cards with the names of sporting personalities on them and have to give their teammates clues as to their identities (the only rule being that they could not use rhyming clues, such as "Rubbish cricketer, hair as white as ''flour''" for "David Gower"). Variations included requiring the comedians to give clues in mime, as impressions, or as ''Pictionary''-style drawings. Generally, the first few names would be relatively familiar, and the rest would be obscure and often suggestive, leading the comedians to come up with increasingly creative ways to convey the names.
Gower and Lineker both left the series in 2003, and were replaced by cricketer Phil Tufnell and goalkeeper David Seaman. Seaman only stayed for two series before being replaced by his former Arsenal teammate Ian Wright, while Tufnell left after another series and was replaced by German tennis star Boris Becker. Hancock stepped down as presenter at the same time Tufnell left and was replaced by Creator/LeeMack, and finally Ross left the series and was replaced for two specials by comedian Sean Lock. This frantic revolving door of personnel and the gradual shift in tone of ''Series/AQuestionOfSport'' (of which ''They Think It's All Over'' was conceived as a parody) from serious game show to light-hearted comedy contributed to the series' cancellation in 2006.
----
!!This show provides examples of:
* ChristmasEpisode: Once a year from 1995 to 2002, often heralded by having the panellists dress up in pantomime-style costumes (in 1997, Gary Lineker was dressed as the title character from ''Theatre/{{Oliver}}'', while in 2000, Jonathan Ross was dressed as a pantomime cow).
* ManOfAThousandVoices: Inverted with Jonathan Ross, as evidenced by his performance in "The Name Game" when he had to give his clues as impressions; David Gower described his approach as "One voice fits all." Halfway through the round, he forgot he was supposed to be giving the clues as impressions.
* OffTheRails: The "electronic pencil" round which showed up in a few early series frequently wound up here as the panellists simply scribbled all sorts of random nonsense on the picture instead of drawing the correct configuration of Bobby Charlton's combover or Kevin Keegan's atrocious 1970s fashion.
* ProductPlacement: Gary Lineker's sponsorship deal with Walker's Crisps led to a number of comic plugs on the programme.
** Perhaps the shining example comes from the ''No Holds Barred'' video, in which the four regulars take part in a mock school sports day and Lineker's shirt and shorts are festooned with Walker's Crisps logos, while his sack for the sack race looks like a giant crisp packet.
** In a 1998 episode, after Lineker had been replaced as the face of Walker's Crisps by Michael Owen, Hancock declared at the beginning of the programme that the word "Walker" would be treated as a swear word and bleeped. Inevitably, ''every'' athlete Gary and teammate Fred [=MacAulay=] had to identify in "The Name Game" was called "___ Walker", which was asterisked out.
* ShoutOut: The series' title is a reference to Kenneth Wolstenholme's commentary from the BBC broadcast of the final seconds of England's 1966 FIFA World Cup victory, which is played over the end of the opening titles (though with an impersonator providing the commentary): "And here comes Hurst! He's got- some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over! ''(Hurst fires the ball into the back of the net)'' It is now!"[[note]] Wolstenholme was reportedly not flattered by the reference, finding the programme loutish.[[/note]]
* TakeThat: Like most panel games, the series made a habit of getting laughs by poking fun at the people and teams who appeared in footage or stories for various rounds.
** Few sporting figures came under fire as often as David Gower and Gary Lineker themselves. Gower would be mocked for his posh background and unfortunate tendency to get bowled or caught or run out at inconvenient moments (often exaggerated to imply that he was regularly out for a duck[[note]] though at least one episode did acknowledge that he was second only to Graham Gooch in his career total number of runs scored for England[[/note]]), while Lineker would be teased for his "good guy" image and his prolific goalscoring frequently being the result of being just in front of goal after a midfielder had done all the hard work getting the ball into the box.
** The regular comedians were not immune either. Rory [=McGrath's=] beard and weight were the subject of many jokes, as were Lee Hurst's baldness and Jonathan Ross' colourful suits.
** In one instance, the Scottish FA refused to give the BBC footage of Forfar Athletic in action before a question about the club to avoid inviting mockery. The producers responded with a compilation of embarrassing gaffes committed by the Scottish national side, with Hancock saying they didn't need to mock Scottish football: they could just let it speak for itself.
----
