Photo Credit: NFL on CVS
By Sam Neumann on

CBS’s The NFL Today went back to 1975 for an afternoon.

For all intents and purposes, it could’ve been an absolute disaster. But instead of making you feel like you might need to crawl under a couch from all the cringe, CBS kept its viewers looking live for 60 minutes, and made a pregame show honoring 50 years feel like appointment television when it’s usually just background noise for the other 17 weeks of the season.

And it did so at a time when we desperately needed something authentic to cling to, when we’re genuinely nostalgic for an era that felt more real than our current media landscape. In an era drowning in AI-generated slop and soulless content, CBS made you feel why nostalgia matters, why we shouldn’t take shortcuts and use a hologram of Brent Musburger, instead of the real one.

But there’s no easy way out when everyone commits to the bit. James Brown, Bill Cowher, Nate Burleson, and Matt Ryan all ensured that wouldn’t be the case. From the hair on their head to the hair on their chin and everything in between, they nailed every bit of the retro look they were going for. And so did the broadcast, between the graphics, cutaways, and even the Jeep ad. CBS made you feel like you woke up from a Saturday Night Fever and were placed firmly in front of a black and white Zenith.

And speaking of committing to the bit, while other announcers donned blazers, Ian Eagle and J.J. Watt went all-in on the bit.

Eagle got in on the fun with his perfect 1970s mustache and period styling, looking like he stepped right out of a Burt Reynolds movie. His whole look, from the wider lapels to the earth-toned tie, felt authentically pulled from the era without crossing into parody.

Even J.J. Watt, towering over Eagle in the booth with his own retro look, showed that the current crew understood they weren’t competing with the past but honoring it. Watt did so by embracing the throwback aesthetic, complete with oversized glasses, period-appropriate styling, and even his posture seemed to channel that looser, more relaxed broadcasting vibe of the ’70s.

The whole production felt like a love letter to an era when sports broadcasting had more personality and less corporate polish. And everyone on social media seemed to agree.

The overwhelmingly positive reaction revealed something deeper than simple nostalgia. This throwback worked because it reminded viewers what we’ve sacrificed in the name of modern broadcasting.

Compare that to what we usually get on Sundays. Most pregame shows now feel like they were assembled in a boardroom by people who’ve never watched football for fun. The hosts all sound like they went to the same media training camp where they learned to say absolutely nothing in the most polished way possible. Every set looks identical, every take comes with seventeen disclaimers, and nobody dares to actually have a personality.

The original NFL Today had swagger and personality that modern broadcasts actively discourage. Hosts could be distinctive without worrying about trending on social media for the wrong reasons. The production values prioritized entertainment over brand safety.

More networks need the courage to embrace this kind of creative risk-taking. Not every broadcast needs to be a throwback, but every broadcast should remember that sports are supposed to be fun, and so is watching them.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann