nfl films: my passion

nfl films... i'm sure you've heard of it. intricate and complex football patterns . . . . perfectly matched with majestic and uplifting music . . . . spliced together in glorious slow-motion sequences! that ring a bell? yeah, i thought so! of course it does...
they're the best. i can't really come up with another word that describes them any better... they're quite simply the best at what they do! to borrow an expression that far out dates my years... no one else can hold a candle to their body of work!! just as much as nbc controls the world of late night television and ken burns controls the documentary genre, nfl films controls the art of making a highlight film. their work is untouchable! they have done for the sport of football something that any other sport could only dream about. they've established a film archive so big, that it covers everything from the simple rugged game of the 1890s, to the precise and technologically advanced game of last week. and not only that, but their finished product is lush with artistic qualities! it's art in its purest form.

now enough of this encomium... let us commence with the facts:

this rag-tag organization was started by a young, but visionary ed sabol back in 1962. sabol, who was born in atlantic city, spent his formative years in philadelphia. he attended blair academy in new jersey, where he lettered in football, track, and swimming. further establishing his athletic presence, he was a lead-off man in the 400-yard relay, for ohio state's 1937 big ten & national aau championship teams. strangely enough, after college he tried his hand on broadway, appearing in rogers & hammerstein's musical where do we go from here. like many men his age, he served his country in world war ii, spending one and a half years as a rifleman in gen. george s. patton's 4th infantry division.

believe it or not, it was a 16mm movie camera given to sabol as a wedding gift, that helped him go from the european theater to your [and my] home-living room theater. by '62, sabol was at an interesting crossroads in his life. while making money selling overcoats for his father-in-law's philadelphia company, he spent his free time filming his son's high school football games.

[eureka!]

he started his own film production company, blair motion pictures (named for his daughter... and ironically the very prep academy from which he attended). under this name, he threw out a laughable bid 0f $3,000 (doubling the closest bidder), to have the rights to film the 1962 nfl championship game between the green bay packers and new york giants, at yankee stadium. after all, it wasn't like he didn't have any experience! he had gained film expertise from documenting much of his son's childhood, and as for artistic flair . . . . he was on broadway . . . . wasn't he?!

you bet yer bottom dollar he was! sabol's unique background came to a once-in-a-lifetime culmination, when he aired his ensuing film pro football's longest day at toots shor's new york restaurant. pete rozelle called it the best football film he'd ever seen, and in 1964, nfl films was born. the league's agreement came under the premise that they would promote the nfl and preserve the history of the game . . . . and boy, have they ever! from team highlights, to championship games, and year end reviews . . . . nfl films has produced the best stuff. there are countless titles out there. i encourage you to sit back, and indulge yourselves. you won't regret it.