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Nfl Films Impact On Your Fandom


thebluefood

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There's a lot to hate about the NFL right now, but whenever I feel like there's nothing to love about the league (especially after a Redskins loss) I come across something by NFL Films. Whether it's the music, the slow motion shots or the candid comments from players and coaches, NFL Films made the NFL what it is today. As a matter of fact, I don't think I'd be a football fan today.

 

How has NFL Films impact you as a fan, if at all?

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The Sabols were brilliant filmmakers, especially Steve. The dude could write, direct, MC, act, edit, work the cameras; you name it, Steve did it.

 

NFLF's collection of work is better than any history book one could write about this league over the past half century. Television reels fade and get grainy. Film is beautifully preserved in color forever.

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Vividly remember watching the NFL films show with Steve Sabol on ESPN every day as kid (I'm talking 5-6 around 1998-2000). I think that's why sports history/nostalgia is so important to me.

 

Plus, if it wasn't for that and the SB films, a young me would have thought that the Skins had been losers forever lol.

This was my experience as well. I became a football fan just before the '99 season and a big part of that was the NFL Presents shows on ESPN. I remember the weeks leading up to Super Bowl XXXIV, they'd always show highlights from previous Super Bowls. I'll never forget hearing John Facenda's voice over the highlights for Super Bowl XVII for the first time and how he described 70 Chip.

 

I was hooked for life after that.

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The Sabols could and should probably be in the HOF, but maybe it's a slippery slope. I don't know who else in media you could compare to them when it comes to the NFL. They set the bar for teaching the history of a sport through film. The NFL owes them a lot. Still watch my Skins DVD when I need a football fix in the offseason. Riggo's 4th and 1 is done so badassly. Yes, badassly.

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Yes, I recall many of the NFL Films going back into the '70s.  Too bad those old ones aren't readily available on the internet, it would be fun to see some of those again.

 

If you haven't seen it, check out the "A Football LIfe" of Steve Sabol:

 

http://www.nfl.com/videos/a-football-life

Yeah, there used to be a bunch of NFL Films features, including all the Super Bowl highlights, on Hulu. Then one day they all kinda just went away.

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back when I was a kid, there where only 2 games on TV on Sunday, plus the Monday Night game.  Being from Canada meant that one, if not both of those NFL games would be blacked out or the local carrier would decide to carry something else (funny, to think of a time when a TV exec decided to show a few episodes of "Wok with Jan" rather than a NFL game because the cooking show did better numbers). This was early to mid 1980's. 

 

NFL films as the lead in- or sometimes filler after the 1pm game- was pretty much what made me a fan.  I can still hear John Facenda in my head today, as well as some of that great musical score that accompied the slo-mo shots of a sprial as it flies through the air.  As a kid, I remember that the NFL films programs came on TV more consistantly, and that they only showed highlights (or bloopers, what kid doesn't like a blooper reel with funny sound effects?) and didnt have any of that boring stuff you find while watching a live game.  As a kid I thought it was better to watch the NFL films than the game, and figured if I missed anything good during the game, NFL Films would tell me about it in a week or so.

 

I know NFl films has changes, but if I am flipping through the channel's and see a NFL Films production on (usually on the NFL network now) I will stop and watch.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyfP4JFpAiY

 

Man, this is probably one of my favorite things to listen to. First time I remember hearing it was on this video Safeway was giving out in the 90's about the Redskins history. It was played during the part about Bobby Mitchell. It was so good.

 

That song, that Redskins tape, NFL Follies, and NFL Yearbook are probably the biggest reasons I know so much about NFL History. And NFL Films is the reason behind all of that. 

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