Now They Make New Movies in Old Black and White

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, all of those who have passed through the great tribulation, I welcome you to the day after.

"The day after what?" you might be asking yourself. Simple. The day after the supposed NFL Network imposed apocalypse was going to descend upon our nation like fans of the Grateful Dead converging on a midnight veggie burrito vendor. If you took the prudent advice of the brains behind Prosso Speaks, you either went to a friend's house or a sports bar to watch last night's battle between Texas and Wisconsin. Me? I took the former option instead of standing way too close to strangers in a Waco Buffalo Wild Wings for 4 hours.

With all that said, what was the quality of the product from NFL Network? The game itself (which is obviously the most important facet) was an intriguing back and forth matchup featuring an injury to the league's most recognizable player (see Favre, Brett), an almost devastating miscue by one of the game's best receivers (Memo to Mr. Owens: Perhaps buttery popcorn is not the best thing to throw on yourself in the midst of a touchdown celebration if you still need to play another half of football), and ultimately a 10-point win by the Cowboys that will go a long way towards clinching home-field for the NFC playoffs, or as I'm going to call it, "The Quest to Take Down the Great Satan in the Desert". It's a bit wordy, but it will grow on you.

The most notable downside to the broadcast? Bryant Gumbel sounded like he was hosting "Antiques Roadshow" instead of the first NFL matchup between 10-1 teams in 17 years. I realize that years of hosting a sports show on HBO might do a bit to dull your enthusiasm in the booth, but I'm pretty sure that the immortal Gus Johnson could have generated more excitement than Gumbel if he was stuck announcing orders at Sonic than Gumbel produced during one of the marquee games during the '07-08 NFL season.

Speaking of great moments in sports broadcasting:

• The aforementioned Gus Johnson during the 2006 Sweet Sixteen matchup between UCLA and Gonzaga.
  
  
• The immortal (at least in Texas) ending between Plano East and Tyler John Tyler in the 1994 5A State Football Playoffs. This is exactly why people from Texas are mocked throughout the country, and I love every minute of it.


• Martin Tyler verbalizes his man-crush on Steven Gerrard after the Liverpool skipper equalizes in the 90th minute of the 2006 F.A. Cup Final.


• Finally, the world-famous call by Al Michaels during "The Miracle on Ice"