CBS Sports - The NFL Today Intro (1983)

[theskeptic2010]

This is my all time favorite NFL on CBS theme

[MacHead1984]

This CG sucks now, but back then, it was astonishing.

[ptdennis1906]

Does anyone agree with me that this old intro is based on John Elway ?

[daboys1215]

This is the way themes should be. NO VOICE OVERS!

[troydawg47]

LOVED THIS INTRO AS A KID WATCHING IT ON CHANNEL 10 IN PHILADELPHIA.

[breaks0]

@troydawg47 Ya back when the Eagles sucked royally and nearly half the games were blacked out every year. It's too bad the national stuff got you all excited and then there was either no game on or you could tune it to watch the Niners, Bears, Cowboys, Skins, Giants or whoever kick our ass most of the time, or else listen to it on WIP b/c it was blacked out.

[mrwrestlingtape1]

@breaks0 My Eagles still stink. We choke a game we dominated against the Falcons and now if we lose to the Giants this week the season is over already :(. We never win Super Bowls either.

[breaks0]

@mrwrestlingtape1 Sunday pretty much depends on whether vick can play effectively (if at all). I wouldn't worry too much about the Giants since they may not even be the 2nd best team in the division right now. .

[lakevin]

This opener is 10x better than the slop we see today.

[Kelski1998]

NFL on Fox set up 4 accounts to dislike this!

[bmasters1981]

@Kelski1998 Why? What, in their opinion, is so wrong with this that FOX would set up four accounts to dislike it?

[bakerandbaker1]

They want people to forget about NFC football on CBS. Of course, that is practically impossible, given the large number of baby boomers.

[Kelski1998]

@bmasters1981

Its a joke!!!!!

[bmasters1981]

@Kelski1998 Ah! I thought you were literally speaking. Didn't know it was figurative.

[bakerandbaker1]

Yeah, on Youtube it's a popular meme to say "the x amount of haters of this video are probably x." It's kind of annoying but people still do it anyways.

[SilverEspeon26]

0:04 Pac-Man

[1nativeaustintexan]

Wow! All I need is my old Betamax video player,and a Member's Only jacket.And some quarters to play Galaga.

[cbaldwinjr]

Their computerized runner is too upright. He's probably going to fall to a 4th or 5th round pick because he doesn't utilize his hips effectively and didn't have much competition--Mel Kiper, Jr.

[bakerandbaker1]

I think he should be fortunate if he's selected Kipe, considering he's an amputee. It's very obvious: look at the gap between the thigh and calf, and between the upper and lower arms. The knee and elbow joints would normally take up more space. Instead it's four small ball joints. This makes him an already intriguing choice because of his potential flexibility, but the mobility he demonstrated at the combine is nothing short of shocking.-Todd McShay

[idster7]

back when the NFL wasn't on that garbage FOX network.

[HockeyMetalRPG]

Memories of coming home from Playing pop warner games on Sunday mornings then sitting down to watch the NFL. AHHHH to be an 8th grader again.

[rumberoprimero]

Nothing got rid of a Sunday morning hangover like this intro...thanks for the post.

[MrBassplayer3]

Oh man does this bring back memories in front of the old RCA Color set!!

[Hokageramon]

OMG I beeen looking for this ty ty ty wow!!!!!!!!!! They should re do the graphics with the fox 50 one

[luridplanet]

The CG must have cost 50,000 bucks then. Now you can do it for the price of your PC

[unicronrocks]

Best pregame intro ever! Back before the annoying Fox NFL twits took over....

[bailorg]

Did CBS ever use the music from 0:35-0:40 in a longer form?

I would swear that I have heard it before and I doubt it was just from this intro because I was only two years old in 1983.

[daboys1215]

@bailorg I believe longer versions were used as "bumpers". I was only 10 in '83 so I barely remember but this is the theme when I started watching football. How I miss the good ole days.

[boyjones12]

Brent, Irv, Phyllis the beauty Queen and Jimmy the Greek who got canned for telling the truth.

[jeagler]

how does one do that?

[wittmann205]

The NFL in it's "Hey Day"! Games now don't mean half as much........

[tpirfan]

Just watched the ESPN film on Jimmy "The Greek." GREAT FILM, but I could see a whole film devoted to "The NFL Today." Call it "You Are Looking Live!"

For "The Greek" film, they got comments from Brent, Irv and Phyllis and thought "Bring that team BACK!" I agree with bmasters. Let's bring it down a bit from the crap on Sunday mornings now.

If they did bring back Brent, Irv and Phyllis, it would - unfortunately - not be the same without "The Greek."

[TheComicfreak10]

Hey! I saw that too!

[emich28]

Great idea. Was that one of the first ever Pre Game shows for any sport?

[tpirfan]

Not sure on the first-ever, but it was the show that all others - for al other sports - are measured against. Not one of them can match this incarnation of "The NFL Today."

Another item: I didn't know that they actually had Brent, Irv and Phyllis on ESPN all day last Monday. They did a little mock-up thing and it was SO AWESOME!!!!

[rwa2play]

I think Brent (or someone else on the 30 for 30 Greek movie) said that it was the first of it's kind.

When that theme starts playing, you KNEW it was a football Sunday. :)

[ixcuincle]

@tpirfan Yeah, I heard about that movie. Didn't get a chance to watch it, but I know the ESPN MNF guys let the NFL crew hang around for a bit to open the Steelers - Broncos game last week. Was great to see Brent , Phyllis, and Irv intro Monday Night Countdown.

Just wish there was some way to watch that movie.

[Adeon55]

Oooh It's compooter aminated!

[outgoing37]

this was when the NFL was the SHIT

YOU ARE LOOKING LIVE.lol

[sportstruth5]

Anyone know where the full version of the theme is from the :34 second mark?

[OneBigmutha1109]

Damn, I want these days back. The days where I was a kid, watching football on saturdays and sundays. Ordering pizza, with my friends, playing football in between games on the street. No worries of bills, car payments, rent, raising my kids. I know, wake up, its called reality. LOL! To be there again though.

[coldiron1971]

I hear ya bigmutha. great times.

[NowhereMan1966]

Yeah, man, I hear ya. Thumbs up!

[PJSkins26]

I think when CBS regained TV rights to televise NFL Games in The late 90's they at first used this theme once again for The NFL Today. Then changed it a year or two later.

[Jeff051176]

Yeah I wish CBS had kept and would bring back this theme, it rocks!

[raidernation7878]

this is the TRUE NFL Today theme music, I hate the one they use now

[ytownteddy]

Alright, now who's up for some activision atari football? You know, where the yellow guys play the blue guys and when you run through one end of the screen you come out on the other side? Any takers?

[ytownteddy]

No doubt it took a team of 20 geniuses and a computer as big as your house to pull off this intro, back in those days.

[tamagoMMA]

I loved that game.

[NowhereMan1966]

Heh. My guess is they would have used a Cray or a Control Data 7600 super computer for the graphics, although even by 1983, some "smaller" computers could have done the graphics albeit they would by machines most of us would not have back then.

A bit OT, but I always got a big kick out of Atari's "Combat" were sometimes you hit the tank it would fly all over the screen as it spun around.

[nomadcowatbk]

@NowhereMan1966

iPhones probably have more power than those

[NowhereMan1966]

@nomadcowatbk

Yeah, most likely, the CDC 7600 had a central processing core with 128K (not megs or gigs) of RAM and it could have support co-processors of 64K of RAM each, typically something like 11 or 12. I don't know if the I-Phone can multi-task like that or not, but the CDC 7600 had the co-processors do most of the dirty work, thus freeing up the main core for important things. I know a guy in his early 70's who used to run those computers. I used to run old DEC's myself.

[NowhereMan1966]

@nomadcowatbk One thing though, the CDC 7600 can get a bit ornery at times and it was water cooled.

[GeddyRules2112]

"You are looking live . . ." Man, NOTHING got me more pumped up as a young kid then that opening.

[Jeff051176]

Same with me, I always looked forward to hearing Brent Musberger say that, the 80's rocked!

[nsteve1968]

lol long time ago @ cowboy

[nsteve1968]

you are looking live at sold out rfk

[Cowboys6x]

Redskin Fan?

[nsteve1968]

83 i was in the 1oth grade brent the man

[thedude19766]

USA should make a pre show called the WWE today and usa the old NFL today theme

[SCE2AUX]

I remember when those type of graphics would have made a computer football game a best seller.

[richiebear1969]

Jimmy "The Greek" before he made his infamous black athlete comment.

[yoda9999]

I use to get up every Sunday morning to watch this.

[crispinh1]

anyone have a copy of the bumper music that plays in the last 5 seconds of the clip

[toastietube]

Reminds me of my father's 1982 Toyota Supra. That was all futuristic, too.

[daboys1215]

Man I love this. Takes me back to childhood. One of the best, if not the best, opening themes ever.

"You are looking live at......................"

[TandemRotor46]

Any idea where there is some actual audio of 'You are looking live....'?  I haven't been able to find it anywhere.

[daboys1215]

I haven't been able to find it either. I'll keep looking though. I'll let you know if I find something.

[devswartz]

They will never use this theme on TV again, but there is no doubt it is a classic...one of the catchiest custom-made sports themes of all time.

[Airborn365]

Firstly, they used this music (or a variant of it) for a 10-year span (1976-85), then used it again for the pregame show only in '93 and again starting in '98.

Back then (prior to 1994), pregame shows were only a half hour long, and they were worth watching.

[mrmonty86]

Bring that theme back next season.

[firmingitup]

Why does that guy running remind me of Slim Goodbody?

[superoctane]

This was my all time favorite opening for the nfl today show...It looked so futuristic for its day...The song was a great build up to an excellent sports show...CBS had the dominant NFC games back then.

[cicio428]

CBS should bring this theme back for its pregame show. It is a classic!

[a1cjlock]

I hope so as well! They always try something new every two or three years, but they always keep coming back to the classic theme we all love

[thedude19766]

@cicio428 they should do old school NFL Today next year

[bmasters1981]

@thedude19766 They should, no doubt about it. Of all the studio designs of "The NFL Today," and of CBS Sports, that I saw in my lifetime, I'd like for them to go back 26 or 27 years to this wooden one. When this studio was in force, the program really was at its peak, not some bush-league imitation as it is today.

[thedude19766]

@bmasters1981 I am pretty much in the early 90's NFL Today set

[bakerandbaker1]

Yeah, That one's decent, except for the neon CBS Sports logo on the blacony above the desk. Where are we, at an open air beer garden in central park? Come to think of it, that actually doesn't sound too bad...

[bmasters1981]

@thedude19766 You do have a point-- the '90s design does have one facet of the previous, and that is that (if you look closely) it has the title as a banner, something that the previous one had in spades (and something that I really enjoyed about that studio, to boot).

[bakerandbaker1]

IDK; count me in the minority, but Studio 43 looks great. It really fits the current color scheme of CBS Sports, which I really like. What they should do is incorporate the CBS Sports logo into that circle they use (in place of the gold one at the start of the clip), the current NFL Today script, replace all other elements except for the red elements with differing shades of blue and make the computer models solid instead of lined. Use that sequence as the intro. Oh yeah, and use this music!

[ycdtotv]

@cicio428 Bring back the theme music and bring back Musberger! "You are looking live at...." When he started with that, you KNEW it was time for some FOOTBALL!!!

[breaks0]

@cicio428 It kicks the shit outta what they used in the 70s.

[e521soediv]

back when half of the tv screen wasnt covered in network logos and "news tickers" and shit

[Inuyashathe3rd]

I'm 25 and I grew up with this theme. CBS needs to bring it back for the nfl today

[MDub83]

Hands down....best CBS NFL Theme Ever...

[Metaldog67]

ytownteddy ur soooooooo right wit dat shit son!!!!!evry freakin week!! ugh!lol!

[schmoove2k6]

Does ANYONE have the old NFL Primetime theme from 1989???

[OrangeSFO]

that running back's really slow. I could catch him.

[terjer01]

CBS needs to bring this music back, it is truly soul-stirring, awe-inspiring stuff. I think that would enhance the broadcast beautifully.

[MYYOUNGHEARTBEATS]

How come back in the day the focus was on whether or not the Dolphins could upset the Redskins, or the Redskins could upset the Raiders in the Super Bowl, but now it's whether or not Tom can beat Eli after getting sacked by Gisele all night in his waterbed in the guest suite?

[CatW2Kidz]

I used to like the old cast of Brent, Irv, Phyllis, and even the Greek-the one thing I remember most about Jimmy is that he rarely went against Dallas in the pregames-before he was axed for the comments made and the before the Cowboys nosedived in the late 80's

[ytownteddy]

Great theme! Back in the days when you would tune in at 4 pm to watch "your name here" vs. the Dallas Cowboys on CBS. They were on every...friggin...week.

[kcmetro1]

That reminds me of how ABCSPN handles the Lakers these days...

[GeneralZodFDNY77]

Oh so true, so true.

[SFFOOL76]

with Pat Summerall announcing, lol. It's like that with the Red Sox and Yankees.

[tpirfan]

I remember the first pregame show when CBS got the NFL back for the '98 season. They did the wrapround live look-ins of the stadiums and Jim Nantz said "Brent, this one's for you 'You are looking live...'" That was a very cool gesture and a salute to one of the best in the biz.

[nygn07]

CBS, please bring this theme back-- And what's wrong with retro graphics? We have throwback uniforms, don't we?

[bmasters1981]

That's correct-- we do have throwback uniforms. If the NFL allows throwback uniforms, then why shouldn't it allow its television partners (FOX, CBS, NBC, ESPN) to go back to the way that it used to be done?

[tpirfan]

THANK YOU!!!! This was what the NFL on television was all about. Forget the goofy grap. Give me the Mod Squad of Sunday morning TV - Brent, Irv and Phyllis. Tack on The Greek and THAT was must-see TV.

[yoda9999]

Being a Niners fan, I always looked forward to this show on Sunday mornings.

[SFFOOL76]

Nothing better to start your day to watch a pregame show at 9:00 am , and watcing a 10:00 am game then go on for the rest of your day.

[JTWRZK]

Sorry, dude. I didn't mean to badmouth your team. Actually hope they beat New England tomorrow. But I wasn't impressed with my one visit to New Jersey.

[JTWRZK]

Oh, and lest we forget..."you're looking live at The Meadowlands...home to 97 of the 108 known chemicals in the universe and tons of LT's cocaine...and the New York Giants!" In the 80's, hated the Giants worse than Dallas!

[wiseass2147]

I'm a big Giants fan, yet i can't really dispute any thing you wrote! My aunt used to live near Elizabeth, NJ, and my mom would drive my sis and i there from ny, we'd pass the stadium and smell the absolute worst oder outside our cat's liter box! My sis and i dubbed the area "stinkland." "Garden State" my ass, more like the"Oil Refinery State." And LT and the coke. *sigh* brings back so many memories.

[JTWRZK]

"You're looking live into the portal of Hell (Veteran's Stadium/Texas Stadium), where Satan's minions take on America's REAL team, the Washington Redskins!"

[bigdlee1027]

"You are looking Live.........." Luv when Brent opened up from stadium to stadium. "and you are looking live at veteran stadium, where the eagles and cowboys....." I luv that sh*t man. Go Cowboys!!

[Jeff051176]

Amen, I get chills when I see this. Brent's "You are looking live" was the best. Except the Cowgirls suck buddy!

[sadalite]

that was awesome!!

[majormannfred]

Madden and Summerall team on CBS was the best ever in doing NFL games. Today announcers talk way too much.

[JPPT1974]

They are the best if not the best!!

[jpez123]

this theme was the best ever! cbs used it for 93 and 94 when they first came back with the nfl.

[SFFOOL76]

93/94 was when they lost football until 1998.

[hotredboy84]

The NFL on CBS did not use this music during the 98 year there was some different music they used from the 93, 94 season.

[SuperBowlExpert]

Actually, CBS did use this theme in 1998...it just sounded a little different than the 1983 version.

[tpirfan]

...and CBS needs to go back to this! Sorry, that "Posthumous" or whatever it is they have now doesn't do it for me. This still works 25 years later.

[bassaquarius]

this one is the best of them all...

[iyison]

Good just good

[WillWill45]

Is this real?

[mikek107]

Yes it is real. What are you like, 19 ??

[WVECSpirit]

So THAT'S where FOX got the idea of football playing robots from.

[jeffreywolfe2007]

classic theme -- instantly makes you think College Basketball on CBS after the first second, and I loved that cheezy computer football guy when i was a little kid

[BRUCWAR68]

Does anybody have a clip of the CBS NFL opening which was used from 1981 to 1983? It started out with the CBS eye on a black background and then changed to show the words THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE in bold, patriotic colors across the whole screen with a really cool instrumental played in the background. As a young teenage punk, this opening used to really inspire me. Yes, I know how corny and silly this sounds.

[trachembrod]

cool memories...the best was w/ phyllis george and how s/would play football w/ roger staubach and other stars.

[Judgment]

So long ago in my life, and I still remember this! I have a sudden urge to watch an episode of Saturday Supercade after looking at this intro.

[jrosalez]

I hate that god awful theme. So old fashioned. The new CBS NFL theme is so much better. I get chills everytime I hear it.

[Voodoorobot]

How hi-tec is that man running?

[sherflouski]

I didn't know technology could simulate cerebral palsy so accurately...

[INFERNO95]

The old theme is better then the current one they are useing.

[hbland]

didn't CBS use this theme when they got the NFL back?

[paintitblak]

CBS used a remastered version of the theme during the '98 season. They used different graphics.

[r70072]

"Heeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrr on CCCCCCCCCCBS"

[historybuffwannabe]

Awesome. I loved when Brent would say "Let's go to Irv Cross in Minnesota." Or whatever. Those were great.

[lasigmaman]

Man, seeing and hearing this again made my day. Ahh, those were the days!

[BradJamesBroncofan]

Early in my youth, I always hoped Brent Musburger would say "You're looking live at Mile High Stadium, home of the defending Super Bowl champions, the Denver Broncos as they host the Philadelphia Eagles" or something along those lines.

[joeyi73]

You are looking live @ RFK Stadium, where Neil Lomax and the Cardinals take on Joe Gibbs and the Washington Redskins.

[JTWRZK]

VoteGingrich stole my line! I used to get goosebumps from the blimp shot looking down into RFK as my Redskins played. "You're looking live at RFK Stadium as the Redskins and Cowboys play for the NFC Championship and a trip to Super Bowl XVII!"

[VoteGingrich]

Absolutly JTWRZK, as a Vikings fan I really enjoyed watching those games in Washington; just as the sun was setting.

Mussberger's into, The Greek's board where he compared the differences...the whole thing was good.

[donnpatc]

@VoteGingrich Well, Vikings fan: you know what *I* as a Redskins fan really enjoyed? (Other than responding to comments three years late?)

GAMES IN DECEMBER IN [take it away Brent]: "METROPOLITAN STADIUM IN BLOOMINGTON, MINNESOTA."

TAKE VIKINGS FOOTBALL BACK OUTDOORS!!!! And bundle up!

[Pirates310]

this theme absolutley sucks!

[VoteGingrich]

This theme sucks? Have you heard the absolute bullcrap that has been pouring over the airwaves since the Greek and Brent left CBS? Look pal, it's pretty obvious you don't like football but the rest of us who do will go to our graves humming CBS's intro.

Vive Le CBS

Vive Le Mussberger

Vive Le You're Looking Live At RFK!

[Pirates310]

i love football but this old song sucks! the new cbs theme is better! football is one of my favorite sports!!! GO GIANTS AND CHARGERS!

[mcg1075]

You obviously are not a true football fan. What Charger fan in their right mind would root for a team whose QB is a crybaby who got his daddy to engineer a trade out of San Diego.

I take it that you were born sometime in the 90s- I don't know of one person over the age of 25 who would say that the original NFL Today theme sucks. Blasphemy!

[Pirates310]

I am a true football fan!!! Who the fuck do you like then?

[mcg1075]

I'm questioning how someone can claim to be both a Chargers and Giants fan. That redneck loser Eli Manning refused to play for the Chargers when they drafted him and, with the help of his loser daddy Archie forced a trade to the Giants. Rooting for both the Chargers and Giants would be like me rooting for the Redskins and Cowboys.

Look at the other comments on this board (along with the user ratings of your comments), and you will realize that your comments represent the minority opnion.

[Pirates310]

well i dont care. i like the giants the most though! I only like the Chargers cause of Tomlinson and Antonio Gates. I know someone who played football with LT so thats the main reason.

[Pirates310]

well i dont care. i like the giants the most though! I only like the Chargers cause of Tomlinson and Antonio Gates. I know someone who played football with LT so thats the main reason.

[palmercomm]

I was born in the last 6 months of the 80s, but I like this.

[Pirates310]

This theme does suck! I love football bud!!! I like the NFL on Fox Theme and The Current NFL on CBS Theme!!!!! Go Giants!!!!!!!

R.I.P. Sean Taylor

[mikek107]

Pirates310 you are so ignorant. Some of us, like myself, grew up in the 80's. That theme is so much better than the FOX theme or the CBS theme. It reminds me of when I was in first grade. What are you some young 21-year-old idiot?

[FOXSportsFan]

The classic theme for the quintessential pregame show.

[Phillymike77]

Bring this theme back, Please!!

[kcbighuge]

cbs had all the best 80s intros. nfl, college football, nba. so good.