Moving the Chains: Before Sports lost its Sanity – Part One

Just before halftime in the 57 th Super Bowl — Seriously: LVII? Does anyone actually use Roman numerals for anything? — I couldn’t help but think that the outcome of the game had already been decided.

With a minute to play in the second quarter, the Eagles had a second-and-one on the Chiefs’ 48-yard line. Philly quarterback Jalen Hurts hit Devonta Smith with a 35-yard pass — that was clearly caught with both feet inbounds. However, after an extensive review of replays from a number of different angles — I heard an announcer say there were 57 replay cameras used for the game — the pass was ruled incomplete. Had it been ruled complete, it likely would have led to a touchdown before halftime. So the Eagles had to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown. That’s a swing of four points. The Eagles lost the game by three.

Some of you are probably shaking your heads. If so, you’re probably a Chiefs fan. But hear me out. If the rules stipulate that the ground can’t cause a fumble, then how can a pass that was clearly caught with both feet inbounds be ruled incomplete after the receiver hit the ground, particularly when the ground in question was not even on the playing field but rather out of bounds. To summarize, how can the ground cause a completed pass to be incomplete if the ground can’t cause a fumble? Surely the NFL can’t have it both ways.

The call brought back to mind a time when all of the calls in a game were made by the men on the field wearing the striped shirts. There weren’t 57 replay cameras to review. There wasn’t an official sitting in the replay booth upstairs. There wasn’t a talking head on television or league official in New York weighing in with his two cents. There were no coach’s challenges.

Once a call was made on the field, it was carved in stone.

Then, as I thought about the long, drawn out decision about that particular play in the Super Bowl, it reminded me of a time when football games were over in three hours, not four. Now, the games are lasting nearly twice as long as it takes to play an NBA game, thanks to one review after another — and the endless stream of commercials every time there is a stop in the action.

Clearly, it appears that sports today has lost — or at the very least is in the process of losing — its sanity. I grew up in a time when sports were … well, the best word I can use to describe it, is revered. Sports was admired. Sports was respected. Sports still had its dignity.

Allow me to take you for a walk down memory lane. You’ll understand what I mean.

I still fondly remember the time when:

♦ Sports teams were proud of their names. The Cleveland Indians, with Rocky Colavito and ‘Sudden’ Sam McDowell. The Washington Redskins, with John Riggins and Billy Kilmer. And Stanford University’s mascot — although it was unofficial because the team name is actually Cardinal, for the color — was an Indian. Today, the Cleveland baseball team is called the Guardians and Washington’s’ football team is now the Commanders.

And Stanford’s mascot is now a tree (the Fightin’ Sycamores?).

♦ The American Football League (AFL) proved itself worthy of joining the National Football League when the New York Jets upset the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts in the third (not IIIrd) Super Bowl, a victory Jets’ quarterback Joe Namath’s had guaranteed well before kickoff. Today, including the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win this year, teams from the AFC have won 16 of the past 26 Super Bowls, while the rival NFC has won only 10. Worthy indeed.

♦ ABC introduced the nation to Monday Night Football. In the early days, it regularly featured the premier games of the week, producing its fair share of memorable moments. Lawrence Taylor breaking the leg of Joe Theismann, which led to the latter’s early retirement from playing professional football. The Miami Dolphins giving the

1985 Chicago Bears their only loss of their ‘Super Bowl Shuffle’ championship season.

MNF’s very first game on September 21, 1970, when the Cleveland Browns beat Namath’s New York Jets, 31 — 21. Now, the premier games are played on Sunday nights, while the (more often than not) inconsequential games are split between Monday and Thursday (yes, Thursday) nights.

♦ Monday Night Football was Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, and ‘Dandy’ Don Meredith.

Once they all departed for one reason or another, things went downhill fast once ABC resorted to using an array of less knowledgeable and/or inarticulate announcers. Joe Namath had no problem throwing a football, but he had a problem talking about it in a way that made any sense. OJ Simpson didn’t have any trouble carrying a football, but he was always fumbling his enunciation. Dennis Miller was a comedian, and — let’s be honest — clearly had no business talking about football.

To be continued, because it ain’t over yet…