Speaking Of Monday Night Football...

[Big RR]

I was actually watching that game when the Disney Show cut off the last few (and deciding) moments.

[Lord Jim]

I remember watching that game with my father when I was a kid...

He went ballistic...my mother thought it was hilarious...

[MajGenl.Meade]

That's nothing... my girlfriend (I speak of days gone by) and I were watching a John Wayne movie when the BBC cut in with an endless live feed of the Iranian Embassy siege in London. Ridiculous! As if some smoke and whizz-bangs tossed about by the SAS could possibly pre-empt The Quiet Man.

Oh, I see that was in May 1980. Hmm, that was during a very bleak period in which I ran away to England. Not to worry - I came back to the USA all right!

[wesw]

I watched that all star game that ended in a tie. it was the last allstar game I watched. I doubt that I ll ever watch another.

the all star game meant nothing then, but baseball games don t end in ties, it was disrespectful to the game.

soccer, hockey, football all can end in ties, but not baseball.

I would assume that there are no ties in cricket as either. I know I make fun of the Michelin man look that the batters are so fond of in cricket, but I really have a secret crush on the game. I wish I had had a chance to play it.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Oh, cricket matches end in ties all right. The ROW is not obsessed with there being a winner - RESULT can be a tie, except in the USA. (Of course, in knock-out/play-off competition, there must be a winner to move on)

[BoSoxGal]

I remember watching that game with my father when I was a kid...

He went ballistic...my mother thought it was hilarious...

That was my experience, too!

[Guinevere]

OK, I'm a sports fan, but admit I have come to enjoy football later in life. What's the "Heidi game?" I don't think I've ever heard of it.....

[Lord Jim]

Here you go Guin:

The Heidi Game or Heidi Bowl was an American football game played on November 17, 1968. The home team, the Oakland Raiders, defeated the New York Jets, 43–32. The game is remembered for its exciting finish, as Oakland scored two touchdowns in the final minute to overcome a 32–29 New York lead. The Heidi Game obtained its name because the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) controversially broke away from the game with the Jets still winning to air the television film Heidi at 7 p.m. in the Eastern Time Zone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Game

[Long Run]

That is a difference between tv watching of football (and other sports) between East and West coasts. On the left side, sports are on pretty much when you wake up and the most games are done well before the sun sets. Even Sunday/Monday night football are done at a reasonable hour. The right side people have to figure out something to do with their morning before the games start, then have to stay up late to watch the end of them.

The Heidi game was a legend to us since it was not preempted, but instead was blacked out in the Bay Area (another bygone relic). Most people believe the story is a myth, not able to conceive that the Raiders used to be a good team.

[Guinevere]

Here you go Guin:

The Heidi Game or Heidi Bowl was an American football game played on November 17, 1968. The home team, the Oakland Raiders, defeated the New York Jets, 43–32. The game is remembered for its exciting finish, as Oakland scored two touchdowns in the final minute to overcome a 32–29 New York lead. The Heidi Game obtained its name because the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) controversially broke away from the game with the Jets still winning to air the television film Heidi at 7 p.m. in the Eastern Time Zone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Game

Thanks LJ, that explains why I have no memory of the game, I was a baby!

[BoSoxGal]

I remember watching that game with my father when I was a kid...

He went ballistic...my mother thought it was hilarious...

That was my experience, too!

OMG I'm a liar! I wasn't even born yet!


Was there another such event in the early 70s?

[MajGenl.Meade]

I doubt it, bsg. After that game, the networks signed contracts promising never to do that again. Football had to finish and the other programming could run late.

Are you perhaps thinking of this:

On November 23, 1975, NBC planned to air the heavily promoted children's film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, right after a game between the Raiders and Washington Redskins. When the game went into overtime, NBC stayed with it for almost 45 minutes and then joined the Wonka film in progress, prompting angry calls from parents

Maybe mom went ballistic while dad chuckled and rubbed his hands with glee? Or perhaps they both were upset (on your behalf)

[Lord Jim]

I doubt it, bsg. After that game, the networks signed contracts promising never to do that again.

They actually even went further than that....

It's kind of "quaint" when one looks back from the age of cell phones...

NBC executives had ordered that Heidi must begin on time, but given the exciting game, they decided to postpone the start of the film and continue football coverage. As 7 p.m. approached, many members of the public called NBC to inquire about the schedule, to complain or opine, jamming NBC's switchboards, and the change could not be communicated. Heidi began as scheduled, preempting the final moments of the game and the two Oakland touchdowns in the eastern half of the country, to the outrage of viewers...

The Heidi Game led to a change in the way professional football is shown on network television; games are shown to their conclusion before evening programming begins. To ensure that network personnel could communicate under similar circumstances, special telephones (dubbed "Heidi phones") were installed, with a connection to a different telephone exchange from other network phones. ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Game

[Econoline]

...special telephones (dubbed "Heidi phones")...

You just made that part up, didn't you?

[oldr_n_wsr]

The right side people have to figure out something to do with their morning before the games start,

That has been fixed by the networks.
Many an ex-player now have jobs thanks to the pre-game shows.
So much intelligent insight they give about the upcoming games.
What each team needs to do in order to win (aka score more than the other team).
What they can't do else they lose.
Really riveting TV.

[Sue U]

The right side people have to figure out something to do with their morning before the games start, then have to stay up late to watch the end of them.

Don't you have "tailgating" on the West Coast?

[TPFKA@W]

As a fan of Heidi I was completely on board with that decision.

[Econoline]

Heidi ho!

[MajGenl.Meade]

Oh Econo! That's just a rumor!

[Bicycle Bill]

Heidi ho!

Oh Econo! That's just a rumor!

Had to think about this for a minute...... I'm not that sharp this early in the AM.

-"BB"-