Saturday, November 25, 2017

The Freakin' (Thanksgiving) Weekend (1971)

Happy Thanksgiving.


I'm disappointed that I messed up and reversed the uniform colors from the original Sports Illustrated cover. I colored it with my daughter on Thanksgiving 2017, and I didn't have my computer in front of me at the moment. Oh, well ... artistic license.


The Stantons label it "The Game of the Year" in The Football News ("America's Number One Football Weekly"). In that publication's poll, Nebraska is No. 1 with 176 voting points (in whatever way they tabulated that), and Oklahoma is No. 2 at 164. There's then a 30-point dropoff to No. 3 Alabama. Harry Devold's preview of the game compares its intrigue to the Texas-Arkansas game of 1969, Michigan State-Notre Dame of 1966 and Army-Notre Dame in 1946.


That is some fine weekend TV-sports viewing right there. I want to see it all. Also on Thursday, Nov. 25, 1971, Dick Cavett appears to have a lively nightcap planned for our holidays.

24 comments:

  1. Love the idea of a Sports Illustrated cover coloring book.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tudor is one of the sponsors of ABC's broadcast of this Nebraska-Oklahoma game, Bill Flemming tells us. That's good--probably means some electric-football and/or NFL Strategy commercials are coming our way.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, here's the NFL Strategy commercial where the guy and the woman appear to be enjoying NFL Strategy while on a date at home.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Now we have Bud Wilkinson walking some silent, volunteer LSU freshmen through a demonstration of the hot, new wishbone offense that has swept over CFB71.

    ReplyDelete
  5. MONY is no more--at least not as a standalone entity that would go out and pay the likes of New York Jets wide receiver Richard Caster to go and stump for it. Was MONY also the company that would have some guy in his regular clothes run through a bunch of football players for touchdowns to indicate he had gotten rich or whatever?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Interesting ... Bill Flemming introduced the Nebraska coach as Bob duh-VAN-y, and I always thought it was duh-VAIN-y.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jerry Tagge is going to end up playing some for the Green Bay Packers, and it was so neat that he was from Green Bay, Wisconsin.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, excellent ... that Bullets-Hawks game on ABC on Nov. 26, 1971, is to feature Bill Russell's debut as a TV commentator.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well, that's it. Oklahoma got a touchdown, and then Nebraska got a touchdown. So that made it 35-31 in favor of the Cornhuskers.

    ReplyDelete
  10. HOFSTRA____14
    __________________F
    C.W. POST___12

    C.W. Post faces Delaware Dec. 12 in the Boardwalk Bowl (to be broadcast on ABC).

    ReplyDelete
  11. Also on Nov. 25, 1971, Texas beat Texas A&M, 34-14, to clinch the Southwest Conference. The Longhorns play Penn State in the Cotton Bowl.

    Arkansas (5-1-1) finished second behind 6-1 Texas because of the Razorbacks' tie with—ouch—Rice (1-4-1).

    ReplyDelete
  12. Nebraska, the Big 8 champion, will be playing Alabama in the Orange Bowl. Oklahoma will be playing Auburn in the Sugar Bowl, and a third Big 8 team, Colorado, is headed to the Bluebonnet Bowl against Houston. Bud Palmer ventures on the Prudential College Scoreboard that the Big 8 is “about” the nation’s conference.

    Also today: Mississippi 48, Mississippi State 0.

    Later tonight: No. 7 Georgia vs. Georgia Tech.

    ReplyDelete
  13. OK, after some technical difficulty, Prudential comes back from a house ad to happily report that it has "established phone contact" with Bear Bryant. Here's Merrill Harmon standing at a Prudential podium, looking down, clutching the curly-corded, goldenrod handset to his ear and working through his questions for the Alabama coach:

    -- Coach, how much of the game did you get to see of the game that just concluded?

    -- What were your impressions?

    -- Were you expecting that type of scoring?

    -- Now, of course, you're going to be playing Nebraska in the Orange Bowl; how well can you scout a team on television?

    -- Now, one point ... what are the keys with the wishbone as opposed to ... uh ... well, a team like Nebraska, a team with tremendous strength and a team that's had great defense this year?

    — Coach, you’re going to be playing Auburn this Saturday on ABC television, I’m just wondering the reaction of your players watching Nebraska and knowing this Auburn game is coming up. Would it take any edge off at all?


    Every so often, ABC switches to a black-and-white photograph of Paul "Bear" Bryant.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh, my! Brian's Song with James Caan and Billy Dee Williams shows Tuesday night on ABC! I read about the filming of that all summer long in the Chicago Tribune.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Caan was fresh from filming The Godfather.

      Real Chicago Bears were paid $50 a day to work as extras in Brian's Song. The Chicago Tribune noted that the Bears’ typical exhibition-season per diem was only $13.

      Delete
  15. Alabama slugged previously unbeaten Auburn, 31-7, to set up a 1-2 matchup in the Orange Bowl. Both No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Alabama are 11-0. Oklahoma (9-1) slipped to No. 3 after its loss to the Cornhuskers. Michigan (11-0) and Penn State (10-0) are Nos. 4 and 5. There will be one more regular-season poll and then one after the bowl games.

    ReplyDelete
  16. It would've been a freaking liberal joy to go over to the Allen Ludden/Betty White house for a dinner party in 1971. You'd probably run into Jack Klugman and Brett Somers. You'd probably all play the home version of Password. Maybe Tony Randall would swing by and sing a couple of 1920s pop songs. There might be some exotic cheeses served on Triscuits--maybe some mixed nuts. I'd love it!

    ReplyDelete