Remember when i was 10, i would watch MNF just for this opening theme and, of course, the halftime hjghlights. Man, i'd give almost anything to go back to this time and era.
It's important to remember that in the 1970's, there was no NFL Network, no ESPN, no endless supply of cable and satellite channels and no games during the middle of the week. You had college football on Saturdays and NFL on Sundays and then there was MNF. That's it. MNF was special, now it's just one of several games you can watch during any given week.
It wasn't just Monday night football it was an event you couldn't wait to see as a 10 yr old back in the day. Howard, frank and dandy Don the best trio of announcers assembled of all time!!!!
Thank you for a trip down memory lane. At 14 yrs old , had a black and white 12" tv with rabbit ears wrapped in tinfoil in my room, always watched mnf, always fell asleep and woke up to the star spangled banner. Had to get up and shut it off. No remotes or cable in those days. Wow
"turn out the lights, the party's over..... they say that all good things must end...." - "Dandy Don" Meredith RIP Frank Gifford, RIP Howard Cosell and RIP Dandy Don, there will never be another MNF crew anywhere as great as this.
The opening shot (and the closing shot in the first two years' opening) was from Tiger Stadium in Detroit, filmed during an exhibition game in August 1970.
synthesizers back then were not as sophisticated as they later became.. you had essentially an organ type instrusment, basic band setup (drums, bass, rhythm guitar) also a horn section. Nice theme that would well today I think.
Roone Arledge was a genius.. Him an Pete Rozzell abxolutely changed the game... Wish the game was still as simple as it was back then... Compare this MNF intro to the one NOW... it doesn't even look like the same game... and you can't get through the current MNF intro without heavy doses of "T n A"... just give me some freakin' football already! I guess I'm a purist.
First credited weekly TV show theme for future 2x Oscar nominee & 2x Emmy winner Charles Fox. Charlie had ghost-written ABC's "Wide World of Sports" theme in 1965 for $500.
back when ...FOOTBALL WAS FOOTBALL..back then when a player scored a touchdown he would hand the reff the ball...nowdays they dance like their on soul train....give me the olden days any time..
"Directed by Andy Sidaris" According to wiki, " pioneered what he called the "honey shot", close-ups of cheerleaders and pretty girls in the stands at sporting events."
@texsportpub This was the year I was born,but I most definitely remember MNF in later years,long before there was ESPN or TSN.The games had therefore meant 10 times more because of it.
wow, that brings back old memories,when i was young watching the game with my dad and brothers, ... i would love to see and hear the 1970 version of MNF..its alittle different..the music is the same i think ..but the players are running aganist a black background.
Actually the first time that "DUH-DUH-DUH-duuhhhhh" theme was used(to my knowledge) was in ABC's intro to its live coverage of the Ali/Lyle fight on 5/16/75.
@BillyT92679 When I first saw Sidaris' name, I thought, "Wait is that the same one...?" Talk about a guy belonging in the Guy Hall of Fame: director of Monday Night Football when it was truly the shit, then directing soft core porn.
lol, there was no espn back then. you had to read about everything. halftime highlights was the practically the only time you saw film of other teams. 'in for the score' kids don't realize berman is imitating cosell.
The huge TV contracts generated huge profits from the advertisers, players salaries escalated, as did profits for the team owners, as well as for the cites they hosted teams in. He may be up for a Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in 2012. Contact the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio and let them know it's time for Howard Cosell to get a Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in 2012. Pro Football Hall of Fame 2121 George Halas Dr. NW. Canton, OH 44708 Phone: 330-456-8207
HOWARD COSELL MISSING FROM THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME??? Cosell needs no explanation of why he belongs in Canton. As the lead of the ABC Monday Night Football trio of the 1970s and early '80s, Monday Night Football made the NFL the dominant professional sports league in America. Everyone else associated with that team in the broadcast booth Frank Gifford, Don Meredith, Dan Dierdorf, and producer Roone Arledge, have won the Pete Rozelle Radio-TV Award for broadcasting. What about Cosell?
