The Heidi Game

[etaoin22]

(mentioned in another thread)

Yesterday was its 40'th anniversary.

I dont think it corresponded to the Canadian NFL feed at that time, and i was busy doing other things usually, but i read Sporting News with its concatenation of great old-time sportswriters for a quarter and a dime, and stats and transactions in baseball. It was hotly discussed there.

[heelsrule1988]

Can you imagine if this happened today? It never would, but man... the repercussions would be huge.

[Estonut]

Can you imagine if this happened today? It never would, but man... the repercussions would be huge.

You think the repercussions weren't huge? Believe it or not, that game is still being discussed today.

[etaoin22]

Believe it or not, that game is still being discussed today

i am tempted to write a self-thread-referential link, in order to prove the point.

[BigDrawMan]

the PA lottery drawing is shown every nite at 7
during the Stiller game, the audio goes off and the pic shrinks

[ne1410s]

Whatever happened to Jennifer Edwards?

[macrae1234]

I was actually watching the game WPTZ Plattsburgh telecast the Jets and with antenna we could pick it up near Cornwall where my family lived. I had gone home for the weekend.

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

I am too young to remember the Heidi game.

[moonie]

I was sick in bed with really swollen glands. I was watching from my bed on a small black and white set. When the game went off, I just reached up to my headboard where there was a radio (where I secretly listened to baseball games during the school year when my parents thought I was sleeping).

I did 'hear' the final 2 minutes of the game. I remember telling my dad what had happened, and he wouldn't believe it. Back in those days, there wasn't a TV show that showed highlights.


You had to wait until the next Saturday when "This Week in the NFL" (or some show to that effect) came on, which gave you the NFL Films highlights narrated by John Facenda (the 'voice of God').

[earendel]

Can you imagine if this happened today? It never would, but man... the repercussions would be huge.

It may not happen in just that way, but last Sunday CBS had to stop showing the Bengals/Eagles game "because of NFL rules" (according to the announcer). Now granted that was an ugly game and the network may have done fans a favor in not showing it, but still, to stop showing a game when the outcome is in doubt is not a good thing.

[peacock2121]

Another false memory of mine.

In my memory, I was much younger than 13 when this game happened.

[jarnon]

It may not happen in just that way, but last Sunday CBS had to stop showing the Bengals/Eagles game "because of NFL rules" (according to the announcer). Now granted that was an ugly game and the network may have done fans a favor in not showing it, but still, to stop showing a game when the outcome is in doubt is not a good thing.

Here in Philadelphia, Fox showed the whole horrible thing, while CBS broadcast a different game.

[trevor_macfee]

I was 6, and I think I remember watching "Heidi" with my mother and my sister that night. I wasn't interested in the football game at all.

Now that I've "grown up," I'd be livid that they cut off the game. I'm not sure that's really a sign of maturity, though, or of misplaced priorities.

After all, it wasn't a Redskins game.

[littlebeast13]

Can you imagine if this happened today? It never would, but man... the repercussions would be huge.

It may not happen in just that way, but last Sunday CBS had to stop showing the Bengals/Eagles game "because of NFL rules" (according to the announcer). Now granted that was an ugly game and the network may have done fans a favor in not showing it, but still, to stop showing a game when the outcome is in doubt is not a good thing.

CBS shouldn't have been showing that game in the first place. Philadelphia's road games are carried by Fox....

lb13

[danielh41]

Can you imagine if this happened today? It never would, but man... the repercussions would be huge.

It may not happen in just that way, but last Sunday CBS had to stop showing the Bengals/Eagles game "because of NFL rules" (according to the announcer). Now granted that was an ugly game and the network may have done fans a favor in not showing it, but still, to stop showing a game when the outcome is in doubt is not a good thing.

CBS shouldn't have been showing that game in the first place. Philadelphia's road games are carried by Fox....

lb13

CBS used to carry all Sunday games in which the road team was an NFC team (although by that rule, they still shouldn't have been showing that game). I'm too young to remember the Heidi game, but I do miss hearing Pat Summeral do the promo for "Murder, She Wrote" at some point late in the game.

[earendel]

It may not happen in just that way, but last Sunday CBS had to stop showing the Bengals/Eagles game "because of NFL rules" (according to the announcer). Now granted that was an ugly game and the network may have done fans a favor in not showing it, but still, to stop showing a game when the outcome is in doubt is not a good thing.

Here in Philadelphia, Fox showed the whole horrible thing, while CBS broadcast a different game.

D'oh! It was Fox that aired the game, not CBS. But the point still stands.

[littlebeast13]

It may not happen in just that way, but last Sunday CBS had to stop showing the Bengals/Eagles game "because of NFL rules" (according to the announcer). Now granted that was an ugly game and the network may have done fans a favor in not showing it, but still, to stop showing a game when the outcome is in doubt is not a good thing.

Here in Philadelphia, Fox showed the whole horrible thing, while CBS broadcast a different game.

D'oh! It was Fox that aired the game, not CBS. But the point still stands.

Just curious what "NFL Rules" caused them to stop showing it. Is the Louisville area considered to be in Bengals territory?

lb13

[earendel]

Here in Philadelphia, Fox showed the whole horrible thing, while CBS broadcast a different game.

D'oh! It was Fox that aired the game, not CBS. But the point still stands.

Just curious what "NFL Rules" caused them to stop showing it. Is the Louisville area considered to be in Bengals territory?

lb13

The announcer didn't specify, which made me wonder also. As to your second question, I'm not sure whether we're part of the Bengals viewing area or the Colts' (or possibly even the Titans or Rams).

[minimetoo26]

I am too young to remember the Heidi game.

I was very young (not yet five) but I remember my parents being Very Pissed Off. They were seriously huge Raider fans.

[MarleysGh0st]

40 years later, the networks and the NFL still can't schedule a broadcast to end in the allotted time!

[nitrah55]

I didn't see the Heidi game.

I remember the next night, on the Huntley-Brinkley Report, David Brinkley explaining what happened, passing along NBC's apology and showing the end of the game for everyone who missed it.

[silverscreenselect]

D'oh! It was Fox that aired the game, not CBS. But the point still stands.

Just curious what "NFL Rules" caused them to stop showing it. Is the Louisville area considered to be in Bengals territory?

lb13

The announcer didn't specify, which made me wonder also. As to your second question, I'm not sure whether we're part of the Bengals viewing area or the Colts' (or possibly even the Titans or Rams).

The rule is that if the "local" team is playing the second game of the doubleheader (and I'm not sure exactly how they define local), they have to cut away from the early game in time to show the second game in its entirety. Considering where you are, the Rams are probably your "local" team and Fox was obligated to show every single pulse-pounding minute of that epic encounter twixt Rams and 49ers for the 3 or 4 people who actually cared about it.

A few years ago they changed the time of the second doubleheader games to 4:15 from 4:00 in most markets to reduce cutaways and overruns that would cause people to miss either the start or the end of one of the games. The overtime managed to run beyond even that time window.

[macrae1234]

The double header network was CBS and the Double Header game was San Diego at Pittsburgh.
Louisville is not a Primary Market
When a media market's regionally televised game ends before the others, the network (CBS or FOX) may switch to "bonus coverage" of the ending of another game. However, the league imposes a couple of restrictions that are designed to maximize the TV ratings of the late games on the doubleheader network, which tend to record the most NFL viewers during the day (often beating the audience for Sunday night games).
First, bonus coverage offered after any early time slot games cannot be shown past the start of the late time slot (either 4:05 or 4:15 ET). This prevents people from continuing to watch the bonus coverage instead of seeing the beginning of the late doubleheader network's game (which is usually either their local team or the network's featured game). Again, the networks may show highlights of the game after the fact, and usually will at the earliest convenience. The single-header network will sometimes show each play as soon as it ends as part of its post-game show. Of course, any station originally getting the game featured during bonus coverage will stay with it unless they are leaving to show a local team.

Since you are close to Cincinnati you likely got the whole game and are a secondary market for them. The announcers would have made the NFL rules announcement after 4:05/4:15 depending and maybe your station erroneously pulled the plug. If you got only bonus coverage they were correct, In AZ we did not get a Fox early game only the 4:15 AZ/Seattle game

[etaoin22]

This Bonus coverage stuff affects Rogers Sports baseball; they have four channels labelled from E to W, and I suppose at one time only one channel per region got cablecasted, but its four now. That, and the demise of the Expos, means that at non-Blue Jay times, coverage from all sorts of places is purchased, from Seattle especially, but from lots of others as well.

The Blue Jays dont complain about all this other baseball because......

They are owned by Rogers. (Toronto based TV conglomerate, cable channels, video shops, cable systems, CFTO IIRC at one time).

HOWEVER

If the game does not finish by 11PM, THEN... really from anywhere; if there is a different game on another Rogers channel, then that is the BONUS, but if not, it can be anything. But, it stops at 11PM for the beginning of the sports news. Blue Jays always take precedence, always covered until end, and games scheduled for a given channel covered until end.

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

Maddie had to come up with "The Heidi Game" at Quiz Bowl today.