Hail Mary Is On

[German Corner]

I liked Unitas color because he was very accurate in his comments.

Interesting that coach Landry utilized two Oklahoma rookies off the 1974 national title team to contribute to the game the more important one being him not hesitating to put Kyle Davis in for the all important shotgun snaps there at the most crucial part of the game.

I always thought the coolest end zone celebration of all time was Drew Pearson pointing, then fireing the ball into the crowd utilizing his old Tulsa U qb skills. That play and the td catch against the Falcons in 1980 playoff were the best.

As neat as it was to watch this nostalgic broadcast it doesn't even compare to today's technology and presentation.

Yet I've got the 1983 broadcast of Dallas / Washington Monday night on ABC and it definately compares to today.

33 years later, way to go Cowboys!

 

[lurkercowboy]

I liked Unitas color because he was very accurate in his comments.

Interesting that coach Landry utilized two Oklahoma rookies off the 1974 national title team to contribute to the game the more important one being him not hesitating to put Kyle Davis in for the all important shotgun snaps there at the most crucial part of the game.

I always thought the coolest end zone celebration of all time was Drew Pearson pointing, then fireing the ball into the crowd utilizing his old Tulsa U qb skills. That play and the td catch against the Falcons in 1980 playoff were the best.

As neat as it was to watch this nostalgic broadcast it doesn't even compare to today's technology and presentation.

Yet I've got the 1983 broadcast of Dallas / Washington Monday night on ABC and it definately compares to today.

33 years later, way to go Cowboys!

There was a big improvement in the way TV presented the games between 1975 and the early 1980s. I'd love to have some old tapes from each year and compare. My memory is not great, but I recall the 1979 games being much more 'modern' than the Hail Mary game. More and better graphics, better camera angles, etc.

 

[DavyBaby]

Did you notice that the NFL network edited out several key events in the game?

1. The Referee being knocked out by a whiskey bottle thrown by the charming Viking fans (after the Hail Mary Play).

2. (After the Hail Mary) Tarkington, instead of focusing on hitting a couple of quick passes to get into field goal range, gripes to the officials the last three plays of the game (after each play). Keep in mind the Vikings still had all three of their timeouts. Great time management Fran.

3. The Vikings defense starts to enter the tunnel even before the game is over.

Also--did you notice on the key Dallas fumble in the first half, that Cliff Harris was trying to signal for a fair catch and a Viking defender bumped him and shielded him from the ball? Thus, a penalty should have been called on the Vikings (thus no fumble). Unitas did briefly mention the Viking interference on this play later in the game, but inexplicably the announcers never made a big deal out of the missed call. Thus the Vikings only had one legitimate touchdown.

Dallas pretty much outplayed them all game long. Check the stats:

Dallas Passing: 256 Minnesota Passing: 135
Dallas rushing: 127 Minnesota Rushing: 115

Dallas Total: 383 Minnesota Total: 250

Remember Dallas had 12 rookies on a 45 man roster and Minnesota had the home field advantage.

Maybe the Vikings deserved to lose?

 

[burmafrd]

The phony excitement of todays announcers pales in comparison when the professionals back then got excited. You KNEW it was a big deal when they got excited.

 

[SALADIN]

I hope this isn't off topic but it is about my #12

Does anyone know or did anyone have the football action figures that where about 7, maybe 8" tall with the removable helmets? I think they were the first ones to have the swivel arm battle grips.

I'll be 35 on monday (not a reach out for b-day wishes) but I was 7 or 8 when I got them for x-mas. Someone else had to have had these other than me.

I had Roger and several other players around the league but some how, on the last play of EVERY game, before I had to go to bed Roger Staubach not only managed to thow the winning touchdown pass (but for me) he also some how managed to catch it for the winning touchdown with no time left...and before I had to go to bed.

I need to know where I can get those.

I'm 1000 and 0

 

[STAR GAZER]

One of the nice things about these "NFL's Greatest Games" broadcasts, is that the video comes straight from the NFL Films archives.

Some of the older captures by VCR's are so degraded in quality, that when you get an original broadcast, it is too difficult to watch. I know that they are over edited most of the time, but the quality more than compensates for the quantity.

BTW, the 1980 NFC game Cowboys vs Atlanta (NFL's Greatest Games), Danny White's signature game, is on-line at "Cowboys Media". "It's the "Video of the Month".

 

[Temo]

Thats funny, I actually prefer todays style vs the old style of commentating. I love hearing the excitement in the broadcasters voice.

That was the first time I had watched the hail mary pass, and I felt that the commentator was rather calm for such a big play. I even thought to myself, was that the play that everyone was talking about on the forum?

But I guess it just depends on when you grew up watching the game.

You must hate Joe Buck then.