Song #350: "The NFL on CBS Theme (1990-1992)"--CBS Sports

The first sports theme to appear in our countdown, very early on, was from NBC. But, at heart, I've always been a CBS Sports fan.

I think it goes back to my childhood with fall Sundays spent with Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier, and being fed Washington Redskins games every week due to the "regional" nature of football coverage, then and now. Add to that the NBA, The Masters, U.S. Open Tennis, then, the addition of college basketball and football in the early 1980's, and most major events were found on what was called "The Tiffany Network".

Overall, they had, in my mind, the better theme music overall, as this will not be the only CBS theme in our countdown.

As for the NFL, they had several themes through the years, none more known than the long-time theme song for "The NFL Today", plus one used through much of the 1980's affectionately referred to as "The Pots and Pans Theme" due to the undertone instruments.

Today's song debuted at Super Bowl XXIV in 1990, when the 49ers destroyed the Broncos, and only lasted two seasons, replaced at the start of Super Bowl XXVI two years later. Under utilized, and underrated, I've always loved this song. Classy, great crescendo, and, if you listen carefully, a quick ode to the, at that point, still-to-be-debuted CBS Sports theme for Major League Baseball, their coverage of that beginning three months later in April, 1990 and appeared in our countdown a week ago.

I think I've listened to this song 500 times in the last 2-3 weeks, recapturing just how good this theme is. I'm not exaggerating.  :)

I've posted the opening to Super Bowl XXIV so you can hear how the theme worked in the context of a broadcast. You can also enjoy some Bud Bowl II and a brief promo using an ingenious idea, "CBS Sports '90: The Dream Season", as the network, in one calendar year, had the Super Bowl, the NCAA Tournament, The All-Star Game (when it mattered a lot more), The World Series, The NBA Finals, College Football, The Daytona 500, The Masters, U.S. Open Tennis, and were starting to promote their Winter Olympics coverage later in the decade. A full version of that promo is here.

Plus, you get to hear Summerall, my voice of football. What's better than that??