HCE
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- Joined
- Apr 28, 2012
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I'm from Norway and growing up I had zero exposure to American football. No games televised on local channels, no results reported on in newspapers, etc. And this was before the arrival of the internet.
After my parents bought a satellite dish, I one day came across a college football game on a channel called Screensport. It must've been in 1991, I believe, I was 17 years old. I don't remember exactly why but my interest was piqued. I started watching and figuring out the rules on my own. If you know nothing going in, the rules aren't all that intuitive. Until I figured out the down and distance system, I remember wondering why the players and crowd would sometimes celebrate a 2-yard run but be unhappy with a 7-yard run. I especially enjoyed the tactical part of the sport and the way you could score from any position on the field, at any time.
I can clearly remember when I fell in love with the sport. It was watching the 1991 Sugar Bowl between underdogs Notre Dame and favored Florida. I stayed up watching it live but Florida dominated early and took a 15-0 lead. It was the middle of the night and I figured the game was done, so I went to sleep. The next day I watched a recording of the rest of the game and saw Notre Dame completely take over with Jerome Bettis scoring 3 rushing touchdowns in the final quarter, including two long ones behind a dominating offensive line.
That come-from-behind reversal combined with the pageantry of college football (and possibly the commentating team of Michaels, Gifford and Dierdorf) really cemented my feelings about the sport. I've always enjoyed rooting for the underdog.
At this point I was hooked and I was able to find a relative who had a cable channel that televised the Super Bowl live and he recorded the game for me on VHS that year. It wasn't a very competitive game, the Redskins pummeled the Bills, but I loved everything about it. The halftime show is still a favorite.
The following year, every Notre Dame game was televised on either Screensport or Eurosport and I kept cheering for Mirer, Bettis and Brooks. I remember the snow game against Penn State as another brick in the wall that was my growing love for the game.
No channels were televising the NFL, though, but at this point I was so into the game that I settled for listening to Armed Forces radio broadcasts of games on an old AM radio in the basement where the reception was best, along with watching CNN's offering of a weekly half-hour "NFL Preview" show with Ron Meyer and 10-second game hightlights on Monday mornings before going to school. Why did I pick Miami as my favorite team? Dan Marino, simple as that. From the very start, I always loved the vertical passing game, there was something just so beautiful about those long, perfect arcs that hit receivers in full stride 40-50 yards down the field. And no one threw a better ball than Dan.
I do still remember how during that '92 season, the Dolphins and Cowboys emerged as my two favorite teams. However, Dallas went on to win the Super Bowl and that settled things for the underdog-lover in me. Miami was my team.
After my parents bought a satellite dish, I one day came across a college football game on a channel called Screensport. It must've been in 1991, I believe, I was 17 years old. I don't remember exactly why but my interest was piqued. I started watching and figuring out the rules on my own. If you know nothing going in, the rules aren't all that intuitive. Until I figured out the down and distance system, I remember wondering why the players and crowd would sometimes celebrate a 2-yard run but be unhappy with a 7-yard run. I especially enjoyed the tactical part of the sport and the way you could score from any position on the field, at any time.
I can clearly remember when I fell in love with the sport. It was watching the 1991 Sugar Bowl between underdogs Notre Dame and favored Florida. I stayed up watching it live but Florida dominated early and took a 15-0 lead. It was the middle of the night and I figured the game was done, so I went to sleep. The next day I watched a recording of the rest of the game and saw Notre Dame completely take over with Jerome Bettis scoring 3 rushing touchdowns in the final quarter, including two long ones behind a dominating offensive line.
That come-from-behind reversal combined with the pageantry of college football (and possibly the commentating team of Michaels, Gifford and Dierdorf) really cemented my feelings about the sport. I've always enjoyed rooting for the underdog.
At this point I was hooked and I was able to find a relative who had a cable channel that televised the Super Bowl live and he recorded the game for me on VHS that year. It wasn't a very competitive game, the Redskins pummeled the Bills, but I loved everything about it. The halftime show is still a favorite.
The following year, every Notre Dame game was televised on either Screensport or Eurosport and I kept cheering for Mirer, Bettis and Brooks. I remember the snow game against Penn State as another brick in the wall that was my growing love for the game.
No channels were televising the NFL, though, but at this point I was so into the game that I settled for listening to Armed Forces radio broadcasts of games on an old AM radio in the basement where the reception was best, along with watching CNN's offering of a weekly half-hour "NFL Preview" show with Ron Meyer and 10-second game hightlights on Monday mornings before going to school. Why did I pick Miami as my favorite team? Dan Marino, simple as that. From the very start, I always loved the vertical passing game, there was something just so beautiful about those long, perfect arcs that hit receivers in full stride 40-50 yards down the field. And no one threw a better ball than Dan.
I do still remember how during that '92 season, the Dolphins and Cowboys emerged as my two favorite teams. However, Dallas went on to win the Super Bowl and that settled things for the underdog-lover in me. Miami was my team.