With the Eagles destroying the Giants in the divisional round, Birds fans can relax on Sunday and watch the two remaining playoff games this week. It will be the Bengals-Bills on CBS then the Cowboys-49ers on FOX. The winner of the latter of these two games will face the Eagles in Philadelphia next weekend.
A stress-free NFL Sunday is awesome. Eat pizza or chicken wings, drink your beverage of choice and put your feet up? I love it.
Before watching this playoff series, I started thinking about all the different networks that show NFL games: FOX, CBS, ESPN, and NBC. We also have the Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football setup. I like some of these shows better than others. I discovered one reason for this: the introductory theme song.
Nothing pumps you up like hearing that dramatic overtone before a game. Let’s have a little fun. I’m going to rank the intros and give you some thoughts on each.
For reference, this awesome Twitter video includes clips of the theme songs from all four networks. The order goes to CBS, FOX, NBC then ESPN:
I have a Pavlovian reaction to hearing all this.
Let’s classify them…
5.CBS
CBS shows always seem weird to me. Most of the football games I watched were broadcast on FOX, given the network’s contract to broadcast NFC games. Every time the Eagles played on CBS, something went wrong. Oh, is it a CBS game with the Patriots, Colts or Ravens in town? Yeah, that feels like a loss.
The vibes are off when I hear this and while it’s still a good piece of music, I leave it in fifth place.
4. Amazon Prime
Amazon’s entry into the NFL theme song catalog works, but it’s too new for me to say whether it could stand the test of time and become as anthemic as what these other TV networks have done for years.
Here’s a rendition of the song if you need a refresher:
3.ESPN
I think it’s perhaps the most iconic of them all and, sure, it’s great, but it doesn’t have the same reach as the two above. ESPN’s theme makes me feel like the Eagles are about to blow out Washington at FedEx Field.
Sounds a bit like John Williams’ “Superman” theme, doesn’t it?
2. CNB
This is the most epic of all intros. The legendary John Williams actually did the score for this! The NFL’s marquee game of the week has the heaviest theme song. Well done, NBC.
1. FOX
In the same way that hearing a familiar song can transport you back in time, so can this FOX theme song. This intro is pure nostalgia. It paints a picture in my mind: It’s a late Sunday afternoon, the Cowboys are in town, the Linc is awesome, and Lito Sheppard is about to intercept Drew Bledsoe for a run home.
I’m as nostalgic for the FOX theme song as I am when I hear “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” after downloading it from LimeWire as a kid.
It’s perfect. The best music for the biggest spectator sport.
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