'The NFL Today' turns 40

Those of us who were around in the mid-1960s remember when NFL games were blacked out in the home team's market, ostensibly as a safeguard against a decline in attendance.

It was a lucky break if, for example, you were a Giants fan living in New York and the weather patterns were such that the rabbit ears were able to capture the snowy picture of a home game from Yankee Stadium on the CBS affiliate in Hartford, Conn. Back then you tuned in (or tried to) 30 minutes before kickoff because CBS' "The NFL Today" was the only show where you could watch live pregame reports from all of the NFL stadiums. Its host was the former Giants star Frank Gifford, who was situated in front of a bank of monitors showing live feeds from around the league.

"The NFL Today" became TV's first half-hour pro football pregame show on this date 40 years ago. All these years later there exists a bevy of preview shows starting Wednesday with HBO's "Inside the NFL" and continuing through to Sunday's kickoff.

Under the leadership of marketing-savvy commissioner Pete Rozelle, pro football in the 1970s became America's No. 1 spectator sport. As the game evolved, so did the "The NFL Today." In 1975, CBS began the process of producing three separate live pregame, halftime and postgame shows to accommodate the different game times. Also that year, the network tapped Brent Musburger, Irv Cross and Phyllis George as hosts.

Musburger was the veteran journalist and anchorman and Cross the ex-player, but the addition of George — the former Miss America of 1971 — brought a whole new element to NFL coverage: the lifestyle report. With pro football no longer just for the men of the house, George's features gave viewers a glimpse into the personal lives of players and coaches. The athletes often opened up to the vivacious George, like the time strait-laced Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach told her, "I like sex as much as Joe Namath does. I just have it with one woman."

George left "The NFL Today" in 1978 and was replaced by Jayne Kennedy. Two years earlier, the oddsmaker Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder joined the cast as a game prognosticator. After a 12-year run, Snyder was fired for remarks he made to a Washington, D.C., TV reporter about the physical abilities of black and white athletes.

"The NFL Today" took an unexpected four-year hiatus when CBS lost the rights to NFC games to Fox after the 1993 season. Today, the show is locked in a heated ratings tussle with "Fox NFL Sunday." (In a touch of irony, "The NFL Today" is currently anchored by former Fox studio host James Brown, while Fox's show prominently features onetime "NFL Today" regular Terry Bradshaw.)

As the battle between the networks rages on it's also worth noting how seamlessly pregame shows morphed into hourlong productions, yet another indication of the pro football fan's thirst for last-minute information.

While we fondly recall the Gifford days, we have to marvel at the state-of-the-art technology now employed by each of the networks. At "The NFL Today," there's a new studio with a bi-level set that includes a 6mm LED screen, 24 flat-screen HD monitors, holographic screens and ergonomically designed desk.

Much like the league it covers, "The NFL Today" has come a long way in 40 years.