Player

Monday, November 30, 2020

Promo Theatre: Y'all ready for some football?

 This 1985 college football promo just doesn't feel like TBS...until halfway through:


Yes, veteran broadcaster Lindsay Nelson shows up and I think, "Ah, yes, this feels like TBS." It's SUPER Football Saturday Night! "I'm Lindsay Nelson, and I'm part of it!" "All riiiight."

It's easy to forget the Superstation showed college football games in the 1980s, but in fact it was the first cable outlet to show games on a national basis, even beating ESPN. it was a limited package, but it was football! Then TBS began showing SEC games in 1984, but as you can see from this promo, it also showed key intersectional match-ups like...Boston College vs. Army.

(For more about TBS, check out our episode about the Superstation here!)

In case you're curious, Army crushed the Eagles 45-14. B.C. was coming off a great season culminating in a Cotton Bowl win but had lost star QB Doug Flutie to the USFL. Army would go on to finish 9-3 (but with a loss to Navy!), including a narrow victory over Illinois in an exciting Peach Bowl. 

Here's a glimpse of the B.C.-Army match-up . Notice that Harry Kalas leads off the highlights by mentioning the national television audience:



No comments:

Post a Comment