MichiganPackerFan
08-04-2009, 03:34 PM
Here's the link to the full article, which is a fun read.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/specials/remember-when/football/25things.html
Here's the spoiler list, I stripped it down for those of you with ADD!!!
25 Things We Miss About Football
1. The USFL:
It offered an opportunity for all-comers, with little egos from the players (outside of those involved in a bidding war with the NFL), plenty of offense (including the two-point conversion) and innovation (the use of instant replay).
2. Over-the-top touchdown/sack dances:
Any one of us would turn into Chad Ochocinco or Terrell Owens if we reached the end zone in front of a national audience.
3. Al Davis when he was a football genius:
The more he meddles, the harder it is to remember a time when Davis was the football equivalent of King Midas.
4. Single-Bar Facemasks:
Back in the 1980s, the only thing separating a gridiron great from an oncoming 300-pound (OK, back then they were probably more like 250) lineman was a gray, acrylic bar.
5. The College All-Stars vs. defending Super Bowl champions game:
…can you imagine the interest if this game replaced the current yawn-inducing Pro Bowl today?
6. Well-dressed coaches:
Quite simply, the man looked like he was going to work.
7. College football games played only on Saturday:
…the fact that the entire nation's focus was, for that one day, entirely on campuses across the land.
8. The Statue Of Liberty Play in the NFL:
"The Statue of Liberty [play] has a high explosion rate, meaning that if it blows up, it blows up bad," former Bengals Sam Wyche told SI in 1987.
9. Old Mile High Stadium:
How can you not love a stadium where home fans sustained the world's loudest roar for 10 seconds (a reading of 128.74 decibels in 2000, beating the previous world record by 3.34 decibels)?
10. Quarterbacks calling their own plays:
It's a skill that's become all but extinct.
11. Frank Broyles:
More Southern than sweet tea and grits, Broyles teamed with Keith Jackson to form college football's definitive announcing team, back before it took a network roster to figure out who was in the booth.
12. Straight-on kickers:
The NFL hasn't had a full-time straight-on kicker since Mark Moseley retired in 1987.
13. Spiked Footballs after TDs:
Before "The Fun Bunch," before Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, before the "Ickey Shuffle," and long before the "Lambeau Leap," there was Homer Jones.
14. Drop kicks:
(Didn’t Green Bay attempt one last season? (My Comment)
15. The NFL in L.A.:
Then again, some would argue the Trojans are already a professional program.
16. Two-bar facemask:
Terry Bradshaw wore one.
17. Tearaway jerseys:
You've seen the footage countless times: running back Earl Campbell runs around and over the Rams in November 1978, his No. 34 Houston Oilers jersey ending up in tatters before defenders finally bring him down.
18. Jack Buck and Hank Stram calling CBS Radio's Monday Night Football games:
Both are gone now, which means a whole generation of football fans will never enjoy the pleasure of falling asleep listening to one of the great sports broadcasting partnerships.
19. Stickum and Eye-Black:
The eye black of old was made of actual grease, not over-priced tape with a cute little logo that is merely an extra licensing/merchandising arm for the league.
20. The Wishbone:
Remember the tight end and the fullback?
21. Pete Rozelle:
Simply the best commissioner to ever serve a sport…
22. The Orange Bowl in the Orange Bowl:
It was one of the few things that ever made sense about the Bowl Championship Series.
23. Barefoot kickers:
“There was a 28-below-zero wind chill,” Karlis told SI in 1984. “I made a 24-yard field goal. But later, a woman stopped me in a Denver bank and told me I was a wimp.”
24. Brent Musburger beginning a telecast on CBS: “You are looking LIVE …” :
The call never seemed better than when he issued it on The NFL Today during the opening montage of the day's marquee games.
25. Aloca Presents … Fantastic Finishes:
The words immediately grabbed your attention at the tail end of an NFL broadcast in the 1980s.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/specials/remember-when/football/25things.html
Here's the spoiler list, I stripped it down for those of you with ADD!!!
25 Things We Miss About Football
1. The USFL:
It offered an opportunity for all-comers, with little egos from the players (outside of those involved in a bidding war with the NFL), plenty of offense (including the two-point conversion) and innovation (the use of instant replay).
2. Over-the-top touchdown/sack dances:
Any one of us would turn into Chad Ochocinco or Terrell Owens if we reached the end zone in front of a national audience.
3. Al Davis when he was a football genius:
The more he meddles, the harder it is to remember a time when Davis was the football equivalent of King Midas.
4. Single-Bar Facemasks:
Back in the 1980s, the only thing separating a gridiron great from an oncoming 300-pound (OK, back then they were probably more like 250) lineman was a gray, acrylic bar.
5. The College All-Stars vs. defending Super Bowl champions game:
…can you imagine the interest if this game replaced the current yawn-inducing Pro Bowl today?
6. Well-dressed coaches:
Quite simply, the man looked like he was going to work.
7. College football games played only on Saturday:
…the fact that the entire nation's focus was, for that one day, entirely on campuses across the land.
8. The Statue Of Liberty Play in the NFL:
"The Statue of Liberty [play] has a high explosion rate, meaning that if it blows up, it blows up bad," former Bengals Sam Wyche told SI in 1987.
9. Old Mile High Stadium:
How can you not love a stadium where home fans sustained the world's loudest roar for 10 seconds (a reading of 128.74 decibels in 2000, beating the previous world record by 3.34 decibels)?
10. Quarterbacks calling their own plays:
It's a skill that's become all but extinct.
11. Frank Broyles:
More Southern than sweet tea and grits, Broyles teamed with Keith Jackson to form college football's definitive announcing team, back before it took a network roster to figure out who was in the booth.
12. Straight-on kickers:
The NFL hasn't had a full-time straight-on kicker since Mark Moseley retired in 1987.
13. Spiked Footballs after TDs:
Before "The Fun Bunch," before Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, before the "Ickey Shuffle," and long before the "Lambeau Leap," there was Homer Jones.
14. Drop kicks:
(Didn’t Green Bay attempt one last season? (My Comment)
15. The NFL in L.A.:
Then again, some would argue the Trojans are already a professional program.
16. Two-bar facemask:
Terry Bradshaw wore one.
17. Tearaway jerseys:
You've seen the footage countless times: running back Earl Campbell runs around and over the Rams in November 1978, his No. 34 Houston Oilers jersey ending up in tatters before defenders finally bring him down.
18. Jack Buck and Hank Stram calling CBS Radio's Monday Night Football games:
Both are gone now, which means a whole generation of football fans will never enjoy the pleasure of falling asleep listening to one of the great sports broadcasting partnerships.
19. Stickum and Eye-Black:
The eye black of old was made of actual grease, not over-priced tape with a cute little logo that is merely an extra licensing/merchandising arm for the league.
20. The Wishbone:
Remember the tight end and the fullback?
21. Pete Rozelle:
Simply the best commissioner to ever serve a sport…
22. The Orange Bowl in the Orange Bowl:
It was one of the few things that ever made sense about the Bowl Championship Series.
23. Barefoot kickers:
“There was a 28-below-zero wind chill,” Karlis told SI in 1984. “I made a 24-yard field goal. But later, a woman stopped me in a Denver bank and told me I was a wimp.”
24. Brent Musburger beginning a telecast on CBS: “You are looking LIVE …” :
The call never seemed better than when he issued it on The NFL Today during the opening montage of the day's marquee games.
25. Aloca Presents … Fantastic Finishes:
The words immediately grabbed your attention at the tail end of an NFL broadcast in the 1980s.