Will Forte is basically a comedy scientist who specializes in testing exactly how long a human being can endure awkwardness before they snap. Usually, the audience snaps first. But in the legendary Will Forte SNL locker room sketch—officially titled "Locker Room Motivation"—it was the cast that crumbled.
Honestly, if you haven't seen it, the premise is paper-thin. It’s March 24, 2007. Season 32, Episode 16. Peyton Manning is hosting, and he’s proving to be one of the best athletes to ever grace the Studio 8H stage. The sketch opens on a struggling basketball team at halftime. They’re down. They’re dejected. They need a miracle.
Enter Will Forte.
The Song That Ruined Bill Hader’s Life
Forte plays the coach, but not the "win one for the Gipper" type. He tells his team that instead of a speech, he’s going to play a song that his own coach once played for him. He hits play on a boombox, and out comes "Casino Royale" by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass.
It’s a jaunty, horn-heavy 1960s instrumental. It’s the least "basketball" song in existence.
Forte starts to dance. It isn't just dancing; it’s a full-body possession. He’s doing these tiny, rhythmic hand gestures, clenching his jaw, squinting his eyes, and vibrating with a level of intensity that feels genuinely dangerous.
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Why Everyone Broke
The beauty of the Will Forte SNL locker room sketch is that it’s a masterclass in "the break." In SNL lore, "breaking" is when an actor loses their cool and laughs during a scene. Most of the time, it’s a little smirk. Here? It was a massacre.
- Bill Hader: He is famously a "breaker," but this sketch destroyed him. You can see him visibly burying his face in a towel. His face turns a shade of red that suggests he might actually stop breathing.
- Kenan Thompson: Even Kenan, who is usually the rock of any sketch, cannot handle the leg-sweep move Forte performs.
- Peyton Manning: This is what made Manning a legend. He stands there, 6'5" of pure athletic intensity, trying to keep a straight face while a man half his size does interpretive jazz dance inches from his nose. Manning eventually cracks, hiding his smile behind his jersey.
There’s a rumor—one that’s been kicked around by SNL nerds for years—that Forte used a completely different song during the dress rehearsal. When the live show started, he swapped the track to "Casino Royale" specifically to catch the other actors off guard. Whether that’s 100% true or just backstage myth, the reactions on screen are undeniably authentic.
The Anatomy of a Forte Sketch
Will Forte didn't write sketches for the "average" viewer. He wrote for himself and for the other writers. He loved repetition. He loved characters who were 10% too loud and 50% too confident.
In the Will Forte SNL locker room bit, the comedy doesn't come from a punchline. There is no "joke." The joke is the commitment. Forte doesn't wink at the camera. He doesn't let you in on the gag. He stays in character as a man who sincerely believes that a Tijuana Brass song will help a basketball team overcome a 20-point deficit.
The "Hidden" Details
If you rewatch the clip today, look at Fred Armisen and Jason Sudeikis in the background. They are trying so hard to be the "tough guys" on the team. Sudeikis, in particular, has this look of utter confusion that slowly melts into a "please don't look at me or I'll die" grin.
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It’s one of those rare moments where the energy in the room shifted. Usually, if a cast breaks that much, the sketch falls apart. Here, it actually makes the sketch better. It feels like you’re watching a group of friends who are all in on a very weird, very specific secret.
Why You Can't Find It Easily
If you go to the official SNL YouTube channel, you might notice something annoying. This sketch is often missing or only available in "best of" compilations.
Music licensing is the killer of great comedy.
Because the sketch relies entirely on "Casino Royale," NBC has to pay royalties every time it's broadcast or streamed. For a long time, this kept the Will Forte SNL locker room sketch in the "vault," only available on bootleg sites or old DVDs. It’s a tragedy, really, because it’s easily one of the top five things Forte did during his eight-year run.
What This Sketch Taught Us About Peyton Manning
Before this episode, athletes on SNL were hit or miss. Usually miss. They’d read the cue cards like they were reciting a grocery list.
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But Manning was different. He understood the timing. In the locker room sketch, his job was to be the "straight man," the anchor that allows the chaos to happen. By staying (mostly) serious, he made Forte’s dancing look even more insane. It paved the way for other athletes like Eli Manning and Blake Griffin to realize that the key to SNL isn't being "funny"—it's being committed to the bit.
How to Appreciate the Will Forte Legacy
If you want to understand why this sketch is such a touchstone for comedy fans, you have to look at it through the lens of Forte’s entire career. This is the same guy who spent years doing "MacGruber," a sketch that had the exact same ending every single time for three years, and it never stopped being funny.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans:
- Hunt down the full clip: Don't settle for the 30-second TikTok crops. Find the full four-minute version to see the slow build-up of the dance.
- Watch for the "Leg Sweep": Pay close attention to the moment Forte goes to the floor. That is the exact second Bill Hader officially leaves his body.
- Explore the "Potato Chip" Sketch: If you liked the locker room vibe, search for the sketch where Forte and Sudeikis are NASA employees and a potato chip becomes a point of extreme contention. It has that same "how did they write this?" energy.
- Check out "The Falconer": For more of Forte’s "intense man in a weird situation" brand, this recurring sketch is the gold standard.
The Will Forte SNL locker room sketch remains a peak example of what happens when you let a truly weird person follow their most absurd instincts. It wasn't designed to be a viral hit; it was designed to make his friends laugh. And twenty years later, it’s still doing exactly that.