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For the Show of the Game 12.12.02 | The recent death of Roone Arledge at the age of 71 marks the passing of a remarkable figure who had a major influence on mass culture in America. By changing the way television covers sport, Arledge not only altered the character of sporting events, he also transformed television-viewing habits and the way television presents reality. Although the marriage of television and sport had been consummated well before Arledge took up his college football post at ABC television, the relationship would never be the same. Not content to simply present the games themselves, Arledge believed that fans must be drawn into the contests. Thus, televised sport was viewed first as programming and then as sport. If the fans did not enjoy the game, then Arledge was bent on insuring that they would enjoy the program. As an assistant on NCAA football telecasts, Arledge laid out his vision of the future in a now legendary 1960 memo. He wanted hand-held cameras on the sidelines of college football games to show close-up shots of pensive coaches, intense players and pretty cheerleaders. Hi Mom!, the title of Arledge’s first television program, became the most common phrase in American sport, as athletes shouted the greeting whenever they became aware of the camera’s presence. All aspects of the game experience were captured for the home viewer. Arledge deployed sideline microphones to pick up the sounds on the field: the hard-hitting tackles and the tremendous volume of crowd noise. He focused on the fans in the stands, the marching bands and what is termed "all the color and pageantry of college football." He put cameras on cranes, in jeeps and in the air aboard helicopters and blimps to offer yet another angle and different perspective. The new focus on the fans invited a certain amount of exhibitionism in the stands that at times spilled over onto the field. Fans would bring banners with messages of support for the teams, and they learned quickly that if they mentioned the televising network they were more likely to get on camera. Even obscenities were caught by roving cameras, resulting in feigned shock from the announcers while no doubt delighting the director and producer. In 1961 Arledge began producing Wide World of Sports for ABC, bringing unknown sports to America, some from obscure (at least to Americans) locations around the globe. It was the first show to use satellite feeds and stop-action sequences, and it won four Emmys its first year. Arledge presided over the first live sports telecast from the Soviet Union and introduced Howard Cosell to television audiences with his interviews of Muhammad Ali that quickly became the stuff of legend. In 1964 Arledge purchased U.S. television rights to the Innsbruck Winter Olympics for a miniscule $200,000, thus initiating the television love affair between the Olympic games and the American public. One of the keys to this success was the "Up Close and Personal" technique Arledge used to introduce unknown athletes. The emphasis was on star quality, triumph over adversity, and the struggle and competition inherent in sport. Unfortunately this technique has degenerated into saccharine melodrama and self-parody. In 1968 Arledge put the Summer Games from Mexico City on prime time television. Bob Beamon’s world record-setting long jump and the drama of African Americans John Carlos and Tommie Smith raising their gloved fists on the medals podium helped to make these games a memorable event in televised sports. In 1972 in Munich, the games were made even more memorable by the Palestinian attack on the Israeli athletes. Arledge took over directing the telecast for more than 17 straight hours; ABC collected 29 Emmy Awards as a result (click here for short video clip of broadcast). In 1970 Arledge’s creation of Monday Night Football put the NFL in prime time and introduced the best tag-team on the national sports scene. Don Meredith and Howard Cosell verbally jousted as the good ole’ boy and the loudmouth New York Jew to the delight and outrage of millions. It was a ratings bonanza and liberated televised sport from the confines of the weekend. Monday Night Football also marked the turning point at which Arledge wrested approval of network announcers away from the NFL and back to the networks. In addition to all these innovations, Arledge brought NBA basketball to ABC in 1964 after NBC had dropped it. Then, when the NBA walked out on ABC, Arledge created The Superstars, which he slotted opposite the NBA on CBS and buried them in the ratings. "Roone’s Revenge" was followed by The Woman Superstars, Super-Teams, Battle of the Network Stars, Challenge of the Sexes, and Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes, and a host other trash sport imitators. Roone Arledge’s accomplishments at ABC Sports led to his move to ABC News where he continued to transform television. He left behind a sports television culture that was much broader in scope and more diversified in programming, which necessitated changes in the print media coverage of sport as well. The impact of television coverage led to a massive infusion of money into the games, leaving sport both inflated and diminished. It is now a much larger part of our consciousness, but in some ways it is less glorious in its character as it is now part of the entertainment industry. Arledge, for better or for worse, is largely responsible for both of these contradictory trends. Richard C. Crepeau is a professor of history at the University of Central Florida in Orlando Related Sites |
