2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class

Correct. And because of that he had never been a major candidate before and I get that there are 60 candidates but I can't beleive those on the selection committee are now like, well I guess we can at least have him in the pool to consider.

 

To be fair, think of how many wins the Bears have contributed to the rest of the NFL over the decades.

 

For those of us who grew up listening to Facenda and thinking “Man, that’s the NFL!” IMO it’s a shame he’s not already in. I think his contributions via those early days NFL Films are more than worthy, and probably moreso than several others on that list.

 

Cannot remember but doesn't the Pro Football Hall of Fame have a radio-TV honor named for Rozelle?
Put in Facenda, Cosell and Berman that way.
EDIT: MileHigh beat me to it.

 

Chris Berman? Really?

 

I think Musburger is hurt by the fact that he has not done any work on NFL broadcasts for over 30 years, with the exception of a couple years on Raiders radio, but he deserves the Rozelle award. Musburger with the NFL Today basically invented the pregame and half-time studio shows. The show moved us out of watching marching bands.

 

I think Berman should be in, and I am not particularly a fan of Berman.

He has a Super Bowl ring allegedly, he might as well have a gold jacket.

 

Oh shit. I forgot all about that. Wonder if it's streaming somewhere?

 

Berman was, I hate to admit it, must-watch TV in the early 1990s. I'm not sure what kind of pioneer he was though. Prime Time took the concept of post-game shows to the next level. An hour-long football highlight show! Be still my beating heart!

Berman was part of it, but he just did the same shtick there he always did on SportsCenter. He had good rapport with Tom Jackson and Robin Roberts too. I think the break-up of that crew was not only the signal of a downfall for that show, but it was also when Berman himself jumped the shark when everyone with half-a-brain realized he was never going to alter his schtick. (Some of us who grew up with him later encountered him in a professional setting, and well, it's better left unsaid.)

This is all opposed to Musberger, around whom NFL Today was completely based around. He richly deserves the Hall.

So does Mike Adamle for NFL '78! (Crickets ...)

I do think it's funny that NFL Today is lauded, while NBC's equivalent shows are basically completely forgotten. NBC didn't really catch up until the mid-80s with Costas and cool shit like the Ten Minute Ticker! Holy living fuck! Scores every 10 minutes! What crack cocaine are you mainlining me with?

 

The forgotten NBC shows are odd too if you remember that the AFC was pretty dominant at the time. Steelers! Raiders! Dolphins!

Goes to show that the NFC teams had then, and probably still have to a certain degree, quite a bit more TV primacy. Bigger markets don't hurt.

Still, NFL Today did have competition. Behold! Where else can you relive a 5-0 classic between two also-ran AFC teams!

NBC probably had CBS beat on the score graphic front, but CBS had retro cool when they'd just pan over the top of the Greek's big board.