ESPN OTL: John Lennon Murder, 30th Anniversary

[aheartwork]

The night of the 30th aniversary I was in strawberry fields. I remember that night and I still get the goosebumps.

The influence of this men will never leave NYC.

[supermassivebends]

While I have a lot of respect and admiration for John as a musician and activist, the way he treated Julian was deplorable

[TheOusooner56]

Even though Howard Cosell delivered the news, it was Gifford who just a moment before during commercial convinced Cosell to break the news. A very tragic but important moment in TV history! Thanks for posting!

[pakitovillanueva]

Mark David Chapman put the revolver and make "pim,pam,pum"

[Albert18264]

Such a shame and waste of talent , the world needed John Lennon over the next 30 years , no doubt he would of made more records may have got together with the rest of the Beatles for a one off show maybe , and probably would have tried to sort out all the wars in the world with a peace protest . What has that peice of maggot shit in jail that murdered him given the world apart from sadness ? , hope he rots in hell .

[krazymath]

93 likes - 0 dislikes

who's gonna be the asshole?

[TheOusooner56]

@krazymath not me



[goodlukeing]

Thanks for smothering a tribute of an amazing music legend with football crap.

[banklikefrankwhite1]

the best way to go is m&d c

[Larrymarx]

THis story was well !

[zenmachinefilms]

I too remember when it happened. I was 17 and we were watching the game like everyone else, and when Howard made his statement an incredible pall fell over my family. I kept asking my dad if maybe they were wrong, maybe it wasn't true. But of course my hopes were not to be. Reflecting back, it still seems like yesterday.

[psu68born]

@zenmachinefilms i was only 11 and didnt ta the time realize how great john lennon was, I found out the next morning watching the news you know i have friend who one time said 6 years makes a huge difference when it comes to certain things and this proves she is right

[tomahawk703]

OTL

[stevepwnz]

I am always amazed by the quality of american archive video footage . Its great that stuff like this has been preserved properly so that future generations can experience it . Could you imagine if the master tapes had simply deteriorated away!

[cmf43210]

Ironicaly Howard Cosell was going to take John Lennon to CBGB'S and do some cocaine and bang some Gay stroippers the following night.

[reneperezz]

"this is going to shake up the whole world" :(

[wdm6480]

Howard Cosell....what a phony! I'm sure he was thinking that it was a close game and questioned it's relevance to the upcoming play, but years later Howard would say on ESPN, that he knew it should be he who made the announcement of John's death because he and Lennon had a close relationship. Which I question after hearing this. What relationship?....he interviewed him once....C'mon!

"Alriggggght....I'll get it in"....he says. Then, years later he gloats about it? Phony!

[dsmscenester]

@wdm6480 Does it really matter now to start complaining about that. Regardless of what Howard said later, the fact is he was unsure whether to announce it or not. Frank Gifford told him that he needs to go with it. 

[76WestSports]

@wdm6480 May be Howard really did feel he should have made the announcement. I don't know what was in his mind, however, for those who perceived Cosell as this dictator who tried to take over Monday Night Football and hog the spotlight, the behind the scene audio with Cosell asking Gifford's thought tells me that he was not this selfish radical the print made him out to be.

[poussyledzep]

RIP GREAT MUSICIAN OF ALL TIME

[oobah2]

1:02 he sound like just a pretentious dick... like "how dare he usurp the daily news by dominating it with his death...". Fuck you, Walter Cronkite.

[commentoria]

@oobah2 I don't think he was saying how dare he usurp the news. I think he was saying it appreciatively.

[Burco1]

Great video. It is amazing how quickly the whole event transpired!

[golfsmoore]

yea, thanks for sharing.

[houndsofroses]

why is he smiling? isnt this a serious issue?

[psu68born]

who are you referring to??who smiled?

[TheLeilisa]

what's the ideal height for football?

[flwhrtrb]

fairandbalanced what talent do you have? can you spell the word guitar muchless actually have the skill to play one? i am a conservative as well and dont agree with alot of lennons beliefs towards politics or religion. just because i dont agree doesnt take away the fact i feel lennon was the greatest songwriter ever. he was human and had family and that should always be respected.

respect the fact people watch this video because they are fans of john lennon and dont like any negative comments

[eric829]

what i find most chilling about this piece is cosell's statement that "it's only a football game" ... we use sports (die hard patriots/red sox fan from massachusetts) to temporarily escape reality. we use music (also been a songwriter since 1994) to escape and/or ease reality's pain. to have everything juxtaposedlike this, it must have been heart wrenching for cosell to break the news to the world. Lennon and Cosell: thank you both for your contributions to society, and about how life should be.

[francis1971]

This is a very interesting moment in time. Thanks for sharing this.

[THECHAMPdotCom]

@Fairandbalanced82 Lol....liberal, yes. Nut, yes. No talent? Certainly not.

[graydog28]

Great video - THANKS for sharing.

[stevenlennon1979]

thankyou for uploading this video, I have seen Paul many times live in concert never the chance to see john for obvious resons, but this saturday I get to pay my respects by seeing the tribute band to the beatles, (the bootleg Beatles) .. its a very respectful video to a tue legend who stood for peace, love, wisdom, and aspiration to all, he gave the world a gift, he will be flying over liverpool asking us not to cry but to sing, thats the man he was.. A true legend forever in history

[ebonygentleman79]

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments on the video. To me, Lennon was a revolutionary. I was only a baby myself when he passed, but I respect what he did for music and what he did socially. He wanted to inspire people not to settle for the status quo. His death was senseless, and a loss for everyone. May God rest his soul.

[raamjames1]

@ebonygentleman79 I was 11 years old. I am still in shock over it,

[Celebrity729]

@ebonygentleman79 Yes and may God send Mark David Chapman to hell for eternity and all his descendants alongside him. Amen

[bassboyz9]

Good GOD, I was only a 13 year old teenager who just recently discovered the beatles a few months before the shooting. I remember watching this game and pulling for my fav.team (dolphins) when Howard Cossell announced that Lennon was shot . I turned to my brother and asked him, "Was Lennon a beatle ?" That day changed my life forever ! I'm 43 with a beautiful 20yr old daughter whom also loves the beatles and have actually met Sir Paul.I will never forget this broadcst it changed my entire life.

[wdm6480]

@bassboyz9 Wow! reading your comment and thinkinghow we both were so moved and changed by this event. Same age too. But wait!.....I'm a Pats fan!

[deLasChivas]

good person, but people calm down he was still only a man. no use in losing ur sanity for him.

[Mpls21]

@deLasChivas

He was much more than "a man." He... his music... got me through things I never thought I could survive... it's more than the death of a musician... it's the memories... the times we lived to his music.

[deLasChivas]

@Mpls21 I can understand that. but he was so damb contreversial some of the things he did were unecessary. and way out of line. but still i understand and yeah he was a good man.

[antdude]

I wonder why they couldn't delay the announcement until after the game ended.

[joejacky33]

@antdude I wondered the same exact thing, considering how close the game was to being complete.

[NYGSonline]

Now when you see this video, you can the SportsCenter logo on the ESPN BottomLine, and its mean that SportsCenter is now airing on ESPNews, from 3-6pm and 7-11pm, the ESPN bug saids "SportsCenter, Now on ESPNews".

[abomb676b]

Simmons!

[TheAwfulWaffle00]

The hospital where John Legend went is now a CVS. The hospital moved around that block. The exact aisle where the doctors tried saving him is now shampoo aisle. I just went there today. It was weird that before shampoo was being sold, one of the greatest men to ever lived died in that exact spot.

[BWRedux]

@TheAwfulWaffle :

"The hospital where John Legend went is now a CVS"

I think you meant John Lennon. John Legend was just 20 days away from turning 2 years old when Lennon was shot. But both are great singers ;)

[TheAwfulWaffle00]

@BWRedux Ohh sorry LOL. I get confused typing both sometimes.

[xxjuice87xx]

whats the name of the song that the fans are singing in the background?

[TallTallDaddy1]

Typical of ESPN, the headset conversation during the commercial break is fantastic archival material. Really well researched and produced. Not even that sh*tbagTom Rinaldi could ruin it for me...Kudos to ESPN. I too remember where I was when I heard, it still makes me so sad.

[lakersteve]

“imagine no possessions.” At his death in 1980, his estate was worth in excess of $275 million.

[10Dec1971]

This happened two days before my ninth birthday. I woke up the morning of December 9 and my mom told me "John Lennon was shot and killed last night." I was shocked. I knew who he was. Couldn't believe it.

Dawn

[mcgurkryans]

Kudos to Frank Gifford. All these years, and I never knew about that exchange. Fascinating archival stuff...

[steelerfan397]

Will Ferrell @10:42

[mooghead]

@BWRedux

It never ceases to amaze me that no matter what the subject someone somewhere always has to turn everything into a race thing. What made you say what you did? Your words are the first time I have EVER seen anyone make a race connection with John Lennon's death. Why did you mention all those people?

[BWRedux]

@mooghead : I totally get where you're coming from. It never ceases to amaze me either. I was just in a silly, goofy mood and when you couple that with boredom, well, I tend to behave like a jackass. The reason I mentioned the folks I did: Rodney King is easy to figure out. I mentioned Nicholson because he basically said the same thing Rodney did in 'Mars Attacks' (which was written by Jonathan Gems). I mentioned Markus because he posted the video. Sorry to offend. I was just bored & stupid.

[rayannina]

Reminiscent of another tragic event that I found out the details of via a sports broadcast: the 1989 Loma Prieta quake. The first report I saw, I realized the voice reporting it wasn't one of the newscasters I was familiar with (I was a broadcast major in college at the time). Then it hit me -- it was Al Michaels, in Candlestick Park in SF for game 3 of the World Series. Surreal.

Thx ebonygentleman79, for posting this, and @sportsguy33 for linking to it.

[meholba1]

heartbreaking still :(

[zynjan]

never utter the assholes name again,the killers name should be changed to worm shit

[bduddy55555]

Cosell talks the same way, even during the commercial...

[baleswb]

awesome piece thanks for posting!

[chipnotized]

Simmons



[brownsfan8585]

great piece RIP John

[toodiesel]

please thumb down waltgosh, he's just trying to get to featured comments by playing to the crowd

[waltgosh]

You may say that I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

[rmholt1]

Dont hang on it - Howard cant not hang on it. Wow when I heard it it seemed to last forever.

[rmholt1]

Dont hang on it - Howard cant not hang on it.

[dsmscenester]

Amazing back story of how Cosell made the announcement. It was Frank Gifford who told Howard to go ahead and break the news, after Howard expressed uncertainty to do it or not. 

[dawsoncomedy]

Simmons

[Frozintoe]

they should've done a 30 for 30 on this

[KennethKaniffFromCT]

@Frozintoe I don't know about that. That 30 for 30 series is great but there's already enough Lennon murder documentaries and other than the fact that it was announced on Monday Night Football, there's no parallel between Lennon and sports.

[YERBLUES87]

((ºJº)) PRESENT!!!!!!