This is a moderated phorum for the CIVILIZED discussion of the Miami Dolphins. In this phorum, there are rules and moderators to make sure you abide by the rules. The moderators for this phorum are JC and Colonel.
I just read that former Cowboys QB and MNF Announcer Don Meredith passed away. I was too young to see him play (he was on the Cowboys when they were a brand new team) but he was part of the classic team of broadcasters along with Howard Cosell on Monday Night Football. His country ways were a great complement to Cosell's own brand of banter.
A few of the funniest broadcasting moments on MNF were attributable to Don. One time in the closing minutes of a blowout ( I don't remember the teams who were playing ) the camera panned the near-empty stands of the home team that was losing, and showed a guy sitting by himself. The fan flipped the camera the bird, and Don quipped something like "see that fan still believes his team is Number One"
Another time, the camera zoomed in on a pretty blonde in the stands who was unaware that she was being photographed. With the live camera zoomed in on her face, she began picking her nose. Don said "Well, she was *almost* perfect."
One of my funniest memories of that era was when the camera was panning the crowd and stopped for a moment on a HUGE sign with HOWARD spelled out over a picture of Cosell. Someone in the crowd must have had their portable 70's TV with them because as soon as the camera stopped the bottom of the sign unfolded with SUCKS! written across it.
That one silenced the crew, even Don. Gifford finally got out something like: 'Well...chuckle...2nd and 10 at the 30.'
KB Wrote:
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> I remember Don, Frank and of course HOWARD.
>
> One of my funniest memories of that era was when
> the camera was panning the crowd and stopped for a
> moment on a HUGE sign with HOWARD spelled out over
> a picture of Cosell. Someone in the crowd must
> have had their portable 70's TV with them because
> as soon as the camera stopped the bottom of the
> sign unfolded with SUCKS! written across it.
>
> That one silenced the crew, even Don. Gifford
> finally got out something like:
> 'Well...chuckle...2nd and 10 at the 30.'
>
> Classic TV.
YES!!! It was in the early days of the Buccaneers franchise, maybe early 80s. I remember it slightly differently if we're talking about the same thing.
They had one of those generic banners to get themselves on TV. something like "ABC and Bucanneers #1...etc" then once the camera was on them they dropped the front banner and behind it was a caricature of Cosell (classic cartoon drawing, enlarged head, big ears etc) and it said in big capital letters "HOWIE SUCKS" I laughed my ass off and it's all my friends and I talked about the next day at school.
JC Wrote:
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> KB Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I remember Don, Frank and of course HOWARD.
> >
> > One of my funniest memories of that era was
> when
> > the camera was panning the crowd and stopped for
> a
> > moment on a HUGE sign with HOWARD spelled out
> over
> > a picture of Cosell. Someone in the crowd must
> > have had their portable 70's TV with them
> because
> > as soon as the camera stopped the bottom of the
> > sign unfolded with SUCKS! written across it.
> >
> > That one silenced the crew, even Don. Gifford
> > finally got out something like:
> > 'Well...chuckle...2nd and 10 at the 30.'
> >
> > Classic TV.
>
>
> YES!!! It was in the early days of the Buccaneers
> franchise, maybe early 80s. I remember it
> slightly differently if we're talking about the
> same thing.
>
> They had one of those generic banners to get
> themselves on TV. something like "ABC and
> Bucanneers #1...etc" then once the camera was on
> them they dropped the front banner and behind it
> was a caricature of Cosell (classic cartoon
> drawing, enlarged head, big ears etc) and it said
> in big capital letters "HOWIE SUCKS" I laughed my
> ass off and it's all my friends and I talked about
> the next day at school.
You may be right JC. Seems I do remember 'HOWIE' instead of 'HOWARD'. The late 40's often bring CRS disease.
berkeley223 Wrote:
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> the first MNF broadcast team I recall was OJ
> Simpson, Joe Namath, and Frank Gifford. Yuck! I
> think they called the 1985 Bears Phins game
I don' recall this but it certainly was not the first. Joe and OJ were playing. The first were Frank and Howard. Then Don came in after Frank put the word in for him.
Great times. Best cast ever!! "Turn out the Lights, the parties over" By Don we miss you!!
Leon In Denver Wrote:
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> berkeley223 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > the first MNF broadcast team I recall was OJ
> > Simpson, Joe Namath, and Frank Gifford. Yuck! I
> > think they called the 1985 Bears Phins game
>
> I don' recall this but it certainly was not the
> first. Joe and OJ were playing. The first were
> Frank and Howard. Then Don came in after Frank put
> the word in for him.
>
> Great times. Best cast ever!! "Turn out the
> Lights, the parties over" By Don we miss you!!
I think berkeley meant that was the first team *he* remembers watching...translation: he's younger than we are.
(edited for spelling)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2010 05:53AM by JC.
JC Wrote:
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>
> I think berkeley meant that was the first team
> *he* remembers watching...translation: he's
> younger than we are.
>
> (edited for spelling)
The first MNF broadcast team was Keith Jackson, Howard, and Don Meredith. That lasted for 1 year, and then Gifford replaced Keith Jackson. My earliest MNF team was Frank, Don, and Howard. They were the broadcaster's version of rock stars. I am very fortunate to have a ton of 70's-early 80's MNF games on DVD, and watching those 3 today, and comaring to what broadcasts today's NFL is like comparing a great steak to a happy meal.
RIP Danderoo
BobT Wrote:
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> I am
> very fortunate to have a ton of 70's-early 80's
> MNF games on DVD, and watching those 3 today, and
> comaring to what broadcasts today's NFL is like
> comparing a great steak to a happy meal.
> RIP Danderoo
I agree they were a good trio.
And Bob for the love of humanity you MUST find that clip of the "Howie Sucks" banner in the Tampa Bay stands,
JC Wrote:
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> BobT Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I am
> > very fortunate to have a ton of 70's-early 80's
> > MNF games on DVD, and watching those 3 today,
> and
> > comaring to what broadcasts today's NFL is like
> > comparing a great steak to a happy meal.
> > RIP Danderoo
>
> I agree they were a good trio.
>
> And Bob for the love of humanity you MUST find
> that clip of the "Howie Sucks" banner in the Tampa
> Bay stands,
Let's see...
MNF games during the Cosell era involving the Bucs:
10/6/80 Bucs at Bears (got it)
11/29/82 Dolphins at Bucs (got it-spanish commentary over the english)
12/12/83 Packers at Bucs (got it)
other ABC games:
9/11/80 (TNF) Rams at Bucs (got it)
So, I must have it in my games somewhere. Any idea which team might have been playing Tampa? Was it a home game? If you can help narrow it down, I'll find it, and post the clip on You Tube...
Wow, Keith Jackson was first? I know I had to work the late shift at the Airport back then so missed a lot of Monday night games till I could bid Monday off. Sunday/Monday off. Greatest days off ever!!
BobT Wrote:
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> JC Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > BobT Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > I am
> > > very fortunate to have a ton of 70's-early
> 80's
> > > MNF games on DVD, and watching those 3 today,
> > and
> > > comaring to what broadcasts today's NFL is
> like
> > > comparing a great steak to a happy meal.
> > > RIP Danderoo
> >
> > I agree they were a good trio.
> >
> > And Bob for the love of humanity you MUST find
> > that clip of the "Howie Sucks" banner in the
> Tampa
> > Bay stands,
>
> Let's see...
> MNF games during the Cosell era involving the
> Bucs:
> 10/6/80 Bucs at Bears (got it)
> 11/29/82 Dolphins at Bucs (got it-spanish
> commentary over the english)
> 12/12/83 Packers at Bucs (got it)
> other ABC games:
> 9/11/80 (TNF) Rams at Bucs (got it)
> So, I must have it in my games somewhere. Any idea
> which team might have been playing Tampa? Was it a
> home game? If you can help narrow it down, I'll
> find it, and post the clip on You Tube...
Bob, I think it must have been the 9/11/80 one..i'm not going by the opponent but that it was at Tampa and that I don't think it was against the Dolphins. 12/12/83 was definitely after this happened, so my money is on 9/11/80. But don't spend (waste?) too much time researching on my account. Still you will be my hero if you can find it
JC Wrote:
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> BobT Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > JC Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > BobT Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > > I am
> > > > very fortunate to have a ton of 70's-early
> > 80's
> > > > MNF games on DVD, and watching those 3
> today,
> > > and
> > > > comaring to what broadcasts today's NFL is
> > like
> > > > comparing a great steak to a happy meal.
> > > > RIP Danderoo
> > >
> > > I agree they were a good trio.
> > >
> > > And Bob for the love of humanity you MUST
> find
> > > that clip of the "Howie Sucks" banner in the
> > Tampa
> > > Bay stands,
> >
> > Let's see...
> > MNF games during the Cosell era involving the
> > Bucs:
> > 10/6/80 Bucs at Bears (got it)
> > 11/29/82 Dolphins at Bucs (got it-spanish
> > commentary over the english)
> > 12/12/83 Packers at Bucs (got it)
> > other ABC games:
> > 9/11/80 (TNF) Rams at Bucs (got it)
> > So, I must have it in my games somewhere. Any
> idea
> > which team might have been playing Tampa? Was it
> a
> > home game? If you can help narrow it down, I'll
> > find it, and post the clip on You Tube...
>
> Bob, I think it must have been the 9/11/80
> one..i'm not going by the opponent but that it was
> at Tampa and that I don't think it was against the
> Dolphins. 12/12/83 was definitely after this
> happened, so my money is on 9/11/80. But don't
> spend (waste?) too much time researching on my
> account. Still you will be my hero if you can
> find it
I was planning on watching a Meredith called game this week anyway to commemorate his passing- might as well be the 9/11/80 game...
BobT Wrote:
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>
>
> I was planning on watching a Meredith called game
> this week anyway to commemorate his passing- might
> as well be the 9/11/80 game...
haha, well keep us posted on what you see between plays!
BobT Wrote:
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> JC Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > BobT Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > >
> > >
> > > I was planning on watching a Meredith called
> > game
> > > this week anyway to commemorate his passing-
> > might
> > > as well be the 9/11/80 game...
> >
> >
> > haha, well keep us posted on what you see
> between
> > plays!
> It wasn't a Meredith game, but I found it :
> Howie Sucks sign
HAHAHHAAA YES!!!!
Almost exactly how I remember it.
I wonder why Meredith wasn't there? He was still part of the MNF team that year, I think.
thank you SOOO much for posting that. Made my day.
When ABC expanded their package (Thursdays, Saturdays and the 16 game schedule), Meredith didn't want to do the extra games, so they hired Fran Tarkenton to fill in when Meredith didn't do a game- this was one of them...
BobT Wrote:
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> When ABC expanded their package (Thursdays,
> Saturdays and the 16 game schedule), Meredith
> didn't want to do the extra games, so they hired
> Fran Tarkenton to fill in when Meredith didn't do
> a game- this was one of them...
AHa, I thought it had something to do with Thursday night games.
berkeley223 Wrote:
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> they had thurs night games back then? I though
> that was a new thing
As far as I can tell, the earliest Thursday prime time ABC game is Vikings at Cowboys on 10/26/78. Meredith was one of the broadcasters that night. It looks like Meredith took at least one game off that year (the infamous Oilers/Dolphins game), and ABC hired Fran Tarkenton the next season to keep the 3 man booth going when Don didn't show up.
To Bob T
I have a challenge for you. I saw your post of the "Howie Sucks" sign at the Bucs game. But can you locate the funniest? Let me explain. I'm old enough to remember many times fans tried to get their message out about Howie. But, by far the funniest was in the fall of 1980 when the whole country was on a "Who shot JR?" craze from the hit TV show "Dallas". On a Monday night game, around the same time as the Bucs game you cited, in the fall of 1980, an energetic fan held up a sign that said "Howie Shot JR!" What made it hilarious is when the camera fixed on the sign, Howie himself commented by saying something like "Isn't that cute" ... at that precise moment, the "Shot JR" portion of the sign dropped, revealing the new morphed sign "Howie Sucks!" I thought Dandy Don was going to split his sides. I have tried everywhere, in vain, to locate a you tube of that hilarious moment. Do you have it in your vast archive of MNF memorabilia?
At any rate, thanks for the sign you were able to produce. You brought back wonderful memories to this 'old man!' I will always be grateful.
Paul in Maitland
pswest Wrote:
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> To Bob T
> I have a challenge for you. I saw your post of the
> "Howie Sucks" sign at the Bucs game. But can you
> locate the funniest? Let me explain. I'm old
> enough to remember many times fans tried to get
> their message out about Howie. But, by far the
> funniest was in the fall of 1980 when the whole
> country was on a "Who shot JR?" craze from the hit
> TV show "Dallas". On a Monday night game, around
> the same time as the Bucs game you cited, in the
> fall of 1980, an energetic fan held up a sign that
> said "Howie Shot JR!" What made it hilarious is
> when the camera fixed on the sign, Howie himself
> commented by saying something like "Isn't that
> cute" ... at that precise moment, the "Shot JR"
> portion of the sign dropped, revealing the new
> morphed sign "Howie Sucks!" I thought Dandy Don
> was going to split his sides. I have tried
> everywhere, in vain, to locate a you tube of that
> hilarious moment. Do you have it in your vast
> archive of MNF memorabilia?
> At any rate, thanks for the sign you were able to
> produce. You brought back wonderful memories to
> this 'old man!' I will always be grateful.
> Paul in Maitland
Hi Paul,
I have all but 2 1980 MNF games- Wk 1 dallas at washington and wk 12 LA at NO.In addition, there was a Thurs night game LA at Tampa (wk 2)and SD at Mia (wk 12), and Pit at Hou (wk 14)- I have those 3 as well. If you can give me a hint of the teams involved, I can probably find it and post it on YouTube.