Volume I No. 40
 12-06-02
 Roone Arledge 
 { A True Visionary of Television Sports Broadcasting } 
 author: Vance Cureton
 © Copyright 2002

 What an unlikely, if sad, coincedence that the rant published 
 immediately preceding this one was concerned with the the 
 declining quality of broadcast television. The plague of idiotic 
 sportcasts and sportscasters. And the unneccessarily coarse 
 tone of some news programs. Especially those on cable television 
 stations.

 Well, last night it was announced that a true visionary of sports 
 television is no longer with us. Roone Arledge has passed.

 It cannot be overstated the impact that Roone Arledge had upon 
 the landscape of sports broadcasting over the last thirty years or 
 so. His accomplishments are legendary. Arledge introduced the 
 concept of a weeknight primetime football game. At that moment
 in the evolution of television history { 1969 } Arledge's proposal,
 was thought of in many broadcasting circles, as pure folly. And 
 it was believed that the show - and the entire concept of primetime
 professional football, would surely fail. 

 Now, the ABC Monday Night Football franchise - to use a cliche - 
 is as American as apple pie. Monday Night Football is in effect a 
 successful primetime program that's been on continuously for 33 
 years. And no other television program will perhaps, ever match 
 that kind of continuity. And all of this came about because of Roone 
 Arledge's extraordinary premise that NFL football could be more 
 than just a Sunday-type of ball game.

 There were other successess that Arledge could claim. The now 
 defunct Wide World of Sports, that was for many, many, years a 
 staple of ABC's Saturday afternoon television. In the days before 
 cable, Wide World of Sports was where the true fan, and the casual 
 sports viewer alike, could watch rebroadcasts of important professional 
 prize fights. Several memorable Ali fights come to mind.

 And of course, there were the segments that featured obscure 
 sports from around the world. Sports featuring atheletes with funny 
 sounding names. And for that one broadcast - Wide World of Sports
 - could take the enraptured American viewer to some far away land
 he'd never seen or heard of. An exercise taken for granted today,
 now that satellite broadcasting from every corner of the globe has
 become routine. A feat not yet imagined, when Wide World of 
 Sports ruled the airwaves.

 Roone Arledge was also responsible for several technical innovations. 
 And with such innovations there is always a monetary risk. We have 
 Arledge to thank for instant replay, slow motion, and freeze-frames. 
 Devices, without which, modern sports broadcast would seem barren. 

 Arledge turned sports broadcasting into something other than just a 
 staid picture on a television screen. He turned the most mudane of
 sports broadcasts into events full of glamour and presense. - And one
 final all important ingredient was rarely missing.

 Quality.

 Perhaps for the sports aficionado Roone Arledge will be remembered
 most for the men he hired. Jim McKay became the voice. The one 
 voice for the emotional live broadcasts of the tradegy at the 1972 
 Munich Olympic games.

 But mostly it was Arledge's hires for Monday Night Football that will
 never be forgotten. Because they were controversial at the time. 
 Men like the extraordinary Howard Cosell and Don Meredith. And later 
 Alex Karras. And O.J. Simpson. Even Joe Namath and Fred Williamson
 once manned the Monday Night Football booth. Roone Arledge was
 not afraid to take a chance on a new face who possessed a little
 personality. As more than a few of his hires were not professional 
 broadcasters.

 Although these men - not all of whom succeeeded - were controversial. 
 They never became more of a story than the game itself. But they 
 - all in their myriad ways, added a special ingredient to the games that 
 made Monday Night Football a can't miss broadcast. 

 -- And sometimes it did not matter if the two teams on a particular
 night were dormats. It was still Monday Night Football. 

 The world of 2002 is certainly a different place than the 70's, 80's, 
 or 90's. And Arledge's influence at the end was minimal due to a major 
 illness he was battling until his final day. Now there are far too many 
 sports shows where the announcers try to become a part of the event 
 - or an event all into themselves.

 Arledge seemed to know instinctly the difference between a colorful 
 broadcasting style that enlivened a show. And controversy for the 
 sake of controversy. Or to be even more blunt about it. The difference
 between Good Taste and Bad Taste. His one major misstep might 
 have been the cloyingly morose Monday Night booth of Al Michaels, 
 Dan Fouts, and comedian Dennis Miller.

 But for the most part, Roone Arledge got it right. His signature shows 
 were often full of technical innovation and delightful commentary. 
 Buffoonery was rarely part of the mix.

 His vision will be missed.
 

 ReadingPost.Com
 © Copyright 2002

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