sport historian
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The NFL Network is now running a series titled, "A Football Life." Last week the subject was Walter Payton. This week it's NFL Films founder Ed Sabol. Next week, Mike Ditka will be profiled, then Tom Landry and finally Al Davis.
The Ed Sabol episode was interesting. For those who don't know, 1964 was the year pro football became Show Business. That year Sabol's NFL Films company took on the job of romanticizing and glorifying the NFL through film. The combination of John Facenda's voice ("The autumn wind is a Raider.") and bombastic music became the norm.
Another staple was making the coaches and players epic super-heroes, Vince Lombardi ("Lombardi, the name has a special magic.") was made the Patron Saint of pro football by NFL Films. Ed Sabol told Lombardi he would make him the John Wayne of football. Lombardi liked the idea.
Another idea of Sabol's was shooting the games in slow motion. This may be a reason why the DWFs think football decades ago was "slow."
When the NFL Network started, it was thought the NFL Films library would be a programming staple. It has not. Those in charge of the NFL Network don't like anything before around 1990.
Many fans complain of being tired of the NFL Network's endless loops of talking heads, but this is what you get.
The Football Life series is something of an exception to the usual fare.
The Ed Sabol episode was interesting. For those who don't know, 1964 was the year pro football became Show Business. That year Sabol's NFL Films company took on the job of romanticizing and glorifying the NFL through film. The combination of John Facenda's voice ("The autumn wind is a Raider.") and bombastic music became the norm.
Another staple was making the coaches and players epic super-heroes, Vince Lombardi ("Lombardi, the name has a special magic.") was made the Patron Saint of pro football by NFL Films. Ed Sabol told Lombardi he would make him the John Wayne of football. Lombardi liked the idea.
Another idea of Sabol's was shooting the games in slow motion. This may be a reason why the DWFs think football decades ago was "slow."
When the NFL Network started, it was thought the NFL Films library would be a programming staple. It has not. Those in charge of the NFL Network don't like anything before around 1990.
Many fans complain of being tired of the NFL Network's endless loops of talking heads, but this is what you get.
The Football Life series is something of an exception to the usual fare.