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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Old-school TV brings
classic momentsIT hit like an epiphany.
An astounding realization, followed by wave after wave after wave of building joy as reality truly hit home.
I'm here today to tell you about something that has changed me in a very deep and profound way.
I have ESPN Classic.
"Oh," my wife said. "Yeah, I saw something about that on our bill."
WHAT?
We've had this for days and I never knew it?!
I had no idea. I stumbled onto it while checking the listings channel. Would it really be there? Dare I dream?
So I hit the number and there it was. Football, college football. Old college football, real college football. With neck rolls and long sleeves and 230-pound offensive linemen.
And -- oh, my goodness! Was it? Is it?
A straight-on kicker.
Yes, it was really happening.
I had ESPN Classic.
I couldn't believe it. I pumped my fists. Right there, before my very eyes, was the 1982 Sugar Bowl.
This was -- and you people know how I feel about outlandish hyperbole, so I don't want to overstate this -- the greatest moment of my life.
The 1982 Sugar Bowl!
This was back when Pitt was PITT instead of Pittsburgh. This was when Dan Marino still had knees and an Afro big enough to join the cast of "Welcome Back, Kotter."
The coaches -- a young Jackie Sherrill would be carried off the field (and when did that tradition end?) -- wore ties.
Receivers were in three-point stances. The TV logos were quaint. To show the scoreboard -- the time, down and distance and score -- the camera took a picture of the actual scoreboard.
"This is great!" I said.
This is like "Lifetime" for men.
I was afraid to turn off the television, for fear it would be gone in the morning, it would have all been a dream. But no, the next day there it was, and I watched the life story of Magic Johnson, complete with old teammates and older newspaper guys sharing their memories. ("Look! It's Dick Enberg!")
And in the end, by the time Magic hugged Larry Bird at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, there was not a dry eye in my house.
I may never leave home again.
Yesterday I watched the 1980 Rose Bowl (featuring Marcus Allen as a blocking fullback). I saw Wayne Gretzky score a goal -- think Harlem Globetrotters against Washington Generals here -- by bouncing the puck off some hapless, unsuspecting opponent's foot.
The best part is that the games, the players, were even better than you remember. This opens up a world of possibilities. I can't wait to see what comes next.
I had always wanted to watch the 1982 Sugar Bowl again. I just never knew it until it happened.
I never knew there could be television like this. They say a special screening of the bowling movie "Kingpin" (hosted by Burt Reynolds) is on the way.
"This is the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life!" I said.
"Really," my wife said.
She sounds happy for me. Don't you think?
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Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com