Time for some NFL oldies

**ram29jackson** · 05-09-2012, 09:25 PM

**Hasselbeck** · 05-09-2012, 11:21 PM

**Hasselbeck** · 05-09-2012, 11:33 PM

**ram29jackson** · 06-02-2012, 02:36 AM

**Berowsk** · 06-02-2012, 08:07 AM

I did a 14 page essay on John Facenda. Dude's the man.

**Aso** · 06-02-2012, 08:25 AM

Kcchiefsgames.com

Just register for free and then go to the "Game Room" tab and they have a shit ton of games.

**packersfan4eva** · 06-02-2012, 09:29 PM

**RyanLeaf16** · 06-02-2012, 10:11 PM

I remember the 1993 Chiefs/Bucs game. Great find!

**Berowsk** · 06-03-2012, 02:39 PM

Not really an "oldie" but does anybody else remember this:

I remember using that as my TD celebration all through middle school when playing with friends. Except instead of a goalpost, it was usually a tree lol.

**Senser81** · 06-04-2012, 11:11 AM

Originally posted by Berowsk

I did a 14 page essay on John Facenda. Dude's the man.

Please post excerpts.

**Senser81** · 06-05-2012, 09:58 AM

**Berowsk** · 06-05-2012, 12:11 PM

Originally posted by Senser81

Please post excerpts.

Originally posted by BEROWSK's Essay

They Call It Pro Football is a 1966 documentary created by Steve Sabol, starring John Facenda. The documentary documents the game of pro football, and it’s conventions, rules and positions. It tells the story of the game through clips, and shows montages of players that excel in the position that the narrator, John Facenda, is talking about at that given time. In the documentary, Sabol shows clips of the teams of the day, including the Eagles, Colts, Bears and other teams, performing their every-day on field duties. The goal of the film is to teach the viewer the game through real time examples with real time narration. They Call It Pro Football was made in 1966, when pro football was still an up and coming sport, with it’s popularity exploding following the merger between the American Football League and the National Football League which occurred in June of the same year.

They Call It Pro Football features clips of the game of football with the booming narration of John Facenda. The mode of the documentary takes on the form of an expository documentary. Bill Nichols, a professor here at Indiana University, defines the expository documentary form. “This mode is what we most identify with the documentary. It ‘emphasizes verbal commentary and argumentative logic’ often using a narrator. It assumes a logical argument and a ‘right’ and ‘proper’ answer using direct address and it offers preferred meaning.” (Nichols n.pag.) John Facenda takes the role of the “voice of God”, presenting clear arguments with no counterargument. He labels certain running backs as the best of all time, which for the examples provided, holds true to this day. Facenda speaks of Gale Sayers like he is immortal, but at the same time, he presents the role of the running back in the game of American football.

The game of football plays the part of starring actor in this film. Everything the narrator speaks of is highlighted with clips from the game. The only time the film cuts away from the narrator is to hear a coach explain a play to his players, further describing the game of football. John Facenda, the narrator in the film, was recently inducted into the hall of fame. This is an important note, because in the Hall, along with his name was his nickname, “The Voice of God.” (Teague n.pag.) Facenda was the clear-cut example of a narrator in the expository mode of documentary. The expository mode is also called “the voice of God mode”.

The cinematic elements of the film all add up to make the film a perfect example of an expository documentary. Since the narrator is the only person talking, besides the short cut to the coach, the film creates a “Voice of God”. The classic cinematic elements of a sports documentary are also exceedingly visible. Through the use of slow motion clips of players, clips of celebrations and the deep-voiced narration, one can get a strong gist of a classic sports documentary. This particular sports documentary is extremely similar to the nature documentaries that we studied in class. I could almost see this documentary being categorized with documentaries like Disney’s True-Life Adventures instead of more contemporary documentaries like those we find in ESPN’s 30 for 30. The only shots shown in the film are highly contrasted images of historical football plays and events. The narrator, who is accompanied by an orchestral upbeat track, describes the game and everything going on at that moment on the field. He not only provides historical context for the events, but also play by play for the individual happenings on the field. The high contrast and the slow motion clips make the game seem almost surreal, which NFL Films does a great job of doing. All of the Sabol’s films capture the game and exhibit it to new audiences in a more narrative way, consequently receiving more fans for the game of football.

There's more...

17 pages in all, 11 without the classes stupid formatting, but it then talks about ESPN's 30 for 30 and then relates the two. Sorry for the snoozefest.

**ram29jackson** · 06-07-2012, 03:12 AM

**ram29jackson** · 06-11-2012, 09:10 PM

**ram29jackson** · 06-13-2012, 06:56 PM

Time for some NFL oldies

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