Post by TheShadow on Apr 2, 2006 9:13:05 GMT -5
www.qctimes.com
By Bruce Kauffmann - Bruce's History Lesson
.
Unbeknownst to most Americans, a major battle in our nation’s Kulturkampf
(culture war) occurred this week in 1968. It was a rout.
.
The battlefield was, fittingly, that square little box that millions of
Americans spend their evenings and weekends watching. On Sunday, November
17, professional football’s Oakland Raiders were playing the New York Jets
and NBC was broadcasting the game nationwide.
.
But it was not just any game. The Raiders and Jets not only were two of the
best teams in football — each had a 7-2 record — and not only did they
feature many of the game’s marquee players, including Jet’s quarterback
“Broadway Joe” Namath, but also they had developed a rivalry that approached
pure hatred. Winning this game meant ultimate bragging rights, both for the
players and their rabid fans.
.
What’s more, the game was a classic. There were five lead changes, several
amazing plays — both Namath and Oakland’s quarterback, Daryle Lamonica,
threw for over 300 yards — and a slew of penalties that resulted from
several vicious hits, cheap shots and fights. In other words, a fan’s
delight, and with just over a minute left in the game, the Jets kicked a
field goal to give them a 32-29 lead. As NBC went to commercial break the
millions of fans watching sat back in anticipation of a thrilling finish.
.
Which they never got to see. In part because of the many penalties, the game
had run over its three-hour time limit and at 7 p.m. NBC was contractually
obligated to broadcast the made-for-TV movie “Heidi.” To the horror of
millions of football crazies, coming out of the commercials they were
greeted not with the sounds of behemoth ballplayers grunting on a gridiron,
but the sounds of a pig-tailed goat herder yodeling on a mountain.
.
The fans went berserk, especially when they learned of the game’s miracle
finish in which the Raiders scored two quick touchdowns to win 43-32. The
switchboard at NBC headquarters lit up with so many fan complaints that the
phone system crashed. The next day NBC’s president apologized publicly and
in the wake of the “Heidi Game” the NFL wrote contracts that bound the
networks to broadcast games in their entirety — a television first.
.
Today, of course, sports — but especially football — dominates the American
cultural scene. In the years since 1968, college football has become more
popular than ever, while pro football has given us Monday Night Football,
Thursday Night Football, Saturday playoff football and the granddaddy of
them all, the Super Bowl, which boasts the 10 most watched television events
in history.
.
As for “Heidi,” a movie designed for wholesome family viewing, it is still
shown occasionally, a quaint artifact from America’s cultural days of yore.
