NFL Network's re-broadcast of Super Bowl I on Friday night should have been a "historic moment," but it instead was a "major disappointment," according to Michael David Smith of PRO FOOTBALL TALK. The network mostly showed "its own analysts ... talking over the game." The commentary "wasn’t particularly interesting, didn’t offer much historical insight or actual analysis of the game, and served only to detract from what should have been a big event for NFL Network." NFL Media might have thought the special "needed that kind of filler content because the NFL Films footage didn’t include all the moments between plays." Another concern was that the broadcast might have "seemed jarring to viewers if the broadcast had been full of stops and starts." But even then, the filler content "could have been so much better." The "good stuff" -- like an interview with Pro Football HOFer Len Dawson, who played for the Chiefs in the game -- "was far too brief." The "bad stuff" on the telecast "went on way too long" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 1/16). In N.Y., Richard Sandomir notes given the choice between "letting viewers immerse themselves in lost history and overproducing, NFL Network took the latter course." Viewers got a "studio talk-a-thon," and it is unlikely they "cared what network voices like Terrell Davis, Daniel Jeremiah, Willie McGinest or Elliot Harrison had to say about the game." The impact of the in-game commentary "was to silence the actual NBC Radio call" by Jim Simpson and George Ratterman. It was "overkill to have seven people take turns talking from the network’s studio." While some was "relevant and interesting," it "should not have been done during the game" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/17).
LESS IS MORE: AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Ken Fang noted instead of allowing the audience to hear the NBC Radio broadcast overlaid on top of the NFL Films footage, viewers "heard the NFL Network panel talk over the footage with a few instances to listen to Simpson." It was a "big disappointment for viewers who were hoping to see what the fuss over the lost footage was about" (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 1/16). THE MMQB's Peter King writes he "loved the Super Bowl I show," but "didn’t love the massive studio involvement." King: "Didn’t need all those voices talking over some of the greatest moments in the first Super Bowl" (MMQB.SI.com, 1/18).
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: In Dallas, Barry Horn noted NFL Films Senior Producer David Plaut prior to the broadcast airing "apologized for the 'primitive' look of the game even if it has been all gussied up with colorization and audio enhancements" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/16).
