Football's Unknown Legend
If you're a fan of the National Football League, there's every chance in the world that, in some way, Steve Sabol got you there. Y'see, Steve and his father Ed were the creators of NFL Films, what became the official PR division of Pro Football. Seen a commercial for the NFL? The Sabols invented the style used. Any of the hundreds of documentaries, or team season highlight packages? NFL Films did it. In the process, the Sabols created a dramatic style that works brilliantly for football, and has been blatantly stolen by just about every sport since. It's colloquially known as "Tight On The Spiral," because of the use of a zoomed-in camera shot on a football in slow-motion. Throw in dramatic music, isolation shots on the "hidden game", and a sense of the ridiculous, and you get... well, this:
NFL Films can make the most boring, terrible game seem like a titanic struggle of immense importance akin to Normandy and the Battle of Britain all rolled into one. Arguably, the NFL wouldn't be anywhere near as successful as it is without the creative genius of Steve and Ed Sabol. He personally won 40 Emmy awards, and NFL films over 100 under his direction.
Steve Sabol passed away today at the age of 69. There had best be a moment of silence at every game this Sunday.
NFL Films is based just over the river from me, so this news was a bit of shock and surprise. It still is amazing that they have the footage (However incomplete it is.) of Superbowl I, among their other achievements.
Fun fact: the long time 'voice' of NFL Films was also the long time 'voice' of the Philadelphia Phillies. You might not know the name of the late, great Harry Kalas, but if you watched anything by NFL Films, you will have heard his voice sometime.
C.T.
Posted by: cxt217 at September 19, 2012 03:41 PM (rdM3d)
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I'm a baseball fan, CXT. Trust me, I know the name Harry Kalas... and the voice!
Posted by: Wonderduck at September 19, 2012 04:26 PM (yqnY1)
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It's the NFL Films music that does it for me; Sam Spence and David Robidoux are their in-house musical geniuses, and you can find dozens and dozens of their tracks on YouTube. I own a CD copy of The Power and The Glory, complete with 18 Sam Spence tracks and snippets of commentary from the late great John Facenda, and I'm considering breaking open my piggy bank and buying their 10-CD box set, Autumn Thunder.
Posted by: Peter the Not-so-Great at September 19, 2012 09:03 PM (ElBzz)
He was one of the folks that built the so-called "sports dynasty" and forced it to include the NFL. He is as big a loss to the NFL as John Facenda was. Without the melliflous voice....
Just my opinion....
Posted by: The Old Man at September 20, 2012 12:19 PM (dBz2M)
