For those of us born after November 22, 1963, it has always been something of a mystery for our parents, uncles, and grandmothers to talk about phenomena that everyone alive that day understood later in life. where exactly they were and what exactly they were doing That was the moment I heard the terrible news from Dallas.
For those who weren’t born yet or are too young to remember the night of November 17, 1968, or whose father, brother or aunt was a huge sports fan, NBC is an equally unforgettable cultural moment. provided. As the Jets took a 32-29 lead over the Raiders and the clock struck 7:00, televisions everywhere in the Eastern and Central time zones suddenly heard a cacophonous sound coming from a football stadium in Oakland, California. Stand up and switch to grassland. Located in Maienfeld, Switzerland.
And as hundreds of thousands of enraged football fans threw bottles of Peel’s and Rheingold at television screens and 10,000 calls flooded NBC headquarters in New York, disrupting switchboards, the Raiders’ game ended 42 Scored two touchdowns in seconds. A long bomb from Darryl Lamonica to Charlie Smith, followed by a fumble recovery by Preston Riddlehuber on the kickoff.
They won the game 43-32. Jets fans didn’t know it at the time, but what was born that day was a unique way for the Jets to lose in a game they couldn’t afford to lose, one that left a mark on the Jets’ colorful history.
Not a single Jets fan actually saw it happen.
They spotted 11-year-old actress Jennifer Edwards frolicking in a Swiss field dressed as ‘Heidi’.
It wasn’t supposed to be that way. NBC promised this right away.
“I wanted to see the outcome of the game more than anyone else,” NBC Chairman Julian Goodman told the Post about an hour after the fight occurred. “We deeply regret this error. It will not happen again.”
56 years later, the same thing happened again.
This time it wasn’t about football or NBC. This time it was on CBS, and this time it was the last of Billy Joel’s 100th anniversary concert. Residency performance at Madison Square Garden. The concert itself took place on March 28th. CBS had been promoting the concert nonstop for weeks. If you watched enough NCAA tournaments, you probably saw more of Billy than Danny Hurley.
That was clearly a big deal.
Except the Masters ran a little longer on Sunday. That meant “60 Minutes” started about 30 minutes late. In other words, he started “Tracker: Camden” 30 minutes late. This meant that Cartoon Billy was not seen boarding the LIRR from Cartoon Hicksville Station to Cartoon Penn Station until after 9:30.
The show was just what you expected. Billy Joel may not be your cup of tea.But he sells many Of tea. Since his monthly MSG residency began in January 2014, all tickets have sold out. One by one, for 10 years. When he plays shows on tour, he and his band fill football and baseball stadiums.
His fans are devoted. They may not quite reach the fanatical level (or should I say) of Springsteen fans…
(My friend and colleague Peter Bott describes their followers this way: “From the 12-inch imports of Mary Had a Little Lamb and the album Nebraska It’s like a badge of honor to play a random B-side, say “Rosalita” or “Jungleland.”
…But with this in mind, there is no need for Billy himself to actually sing the lyrics to “Piano Man.” He always has 20,000 people doing it for him. This is the best singalong ever. One of the best meta moments of all time. billy joel himself He was caught on camera singing along to “Piano Man” in the bottom of the 8th inning of Game 3 of the 2015 World Series.
Then, around 11:27 a.m. Sunday, Billy attached his harmonica, struck out the first few familiar piano notes, and was off. Now, Billy Joel’s demographics aren’t quite the same as Taylor Swift’s. I’ll admit that by then my eyes were a little droopy. By the time I got to know Davie (he’s still in the Navy), his wife could barely keep up. But the final chorus was approaching. We were ready for that.
Then, as Billy grunted about Mike smelling like beer, the camera turned to an ecstatic fan sitting at the bar screaming hoarsely to get bread in the jar…
good. It stopped. cold. And soon the news arrived. And news is important. I make a living from news. But once again, 56 years after “Heidi,” a poor worker didn’t get the memo from the CBS lawsuit, used a modicum of common sense, and, at 11:30 p.m. If we’re all still watching, we’re definitely all in the mood for Melody.
NBC’s Julian Goodman and his cronies never had to worry about social media. His CBS offspring weren’t so lucky. The poison started early and often. Billy himself once sang this in “Angry Young Man.” “I believe I am past the age of consciousness and righteous anger.”
At least that line was proven wrong for one day.
