RIP Steve Sabol

[Norrin Radd]

The November wind is like a pirate. RIP to a legend.

One of the great things NFL Movies ever did.

 

[DanOregon]

I really thought I was the only kid who did that. Saturday morning in my junior Raider uni with pads, helmet and pants rolling all over the front lawn emulating Stabler lofting that pass to Clarence Davis...Freddy B hauling one in with two toes inching toward the sideline, Stabler and the Holy Roller...

 

[buckweaver]

I don't think this is just a pre-ESPN thing, y'all. I grew up on "NFL Films Presents" airing on ESPN or ESPN2 every single afternoon in the 1990s. Watched 'em almost every day in the summer. Like Batman, I developed somewhat of an encyclopedic knowledge of the first 25 Super Bowls that way. And I had a friend who could do a fantastic Facenda when we were playing touch football in the street.

RIP to the man who taught me more about football history than anyone else on the planet.

 

[Cubbiebum]

I don't think this is just a pre-ESPN thing, y'all. I grew up on "NFL Films Presents" airing on ESPN or ESPN2 every single afternoon in the 1990s. Watched 'em almost every day in the summer. Like Batman, I developed somewhat of an encyclopedic knowledge of the first 25 Super Bowls that way. And I had a friend who could do a fantastic Facenda when we were playing touch football in the street.

RIP to the man who taught me more about football history than anyone else on the planet.

Agreed. Like I said, Sabol introduced me to the NFL and I was born in 1985.

 

[Tom Petty]

NFL Films is one of the great propaganda machines in human history.

I mean that in a positive way. Absolutely adore their work.

RIP.

absolutely.

 

[SockPuppet]

All things are better in moderation and I think we were better off when we just got to see the NFL Films weekend highlights or halftime highlights. Now, every game, highlight, replay is over exposed like a Kardashian. And along with that overexposure is too much talk and analysis. Give me a 30-minutes NFL Films summation of the previous Sunday's games narrated by Facenda.
Sincerely,
Dinosaur

 

[SockPuppet]

"The game starts with a whistle ... and ends with a gun."

And this

 

[BNWriter]

The obit from SI: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/football/nfl/09/18/steve-sabol.ap/index.html

Those films are great to watch and reflect on. Was in a bar yesterday when Steve Sabol's picture flashed on the screen, but none of us at the table saw anything to indicate why he was being shown, and of course, it was not easy to hear. So to see this RIP notice is shocking, just shocking....and sad. RIP, Mr. Sabol.

 

[Norrin Radd]

"The game starts with a whistle ... and ends with a gun."

And this

The November wind . . . is a swashbuckler.

[/BrooklynBridge]

 

[dixiehack]

The autumn wind ...

 

[Inky_Wretch]

I enjoyed this column about the impact the Sabols had on the NFL.

http://theclassical.org/articles/the-genius-of-steve-sabol

 

[Blitz]

I just heard about this on NFL football game tonight.
RIP to a guy who really did some great things with cameras and film.
He's been a big part of my nearly half-century of existence.
And there was never the arrogance that you so often see with other sports presenters.
Good work, Steve. Followed in your accomplished father's foot(ball)steps.

 

[Riptide]

It really is good fortune to be that happy with your work and your career path.

 

[CHETtheJET]

The most important hour of the week. A chance to see the rest of the NFL. It was on in our MKt Sat. 7 pm ( ny) with Tom brook shier and pat summer all... I'ld yell at my dad to. Drive faster if we were out on the road
.

I don't think there is a single sports fan in the pre-ESPN era who cannot say they were impacted by NFL Films' interpretation of the game. RIP.

Yep. True here.

Long before instant highlights and full-game replays were popular, Sabol and NFL Films produced something called the NFL Game of the Week, a half-hour breakdown of one good game, complete with insights, different camera angles, music, the whole bit. Back in the pre and early cable days, it was like watching a game that didn't air in your market the previous Sunday. Was syndicated on different stations in different markets.