The NFL in 1980's

The NFL Network's Top Ten Things We Loved About the 1980s:

Honorable mention: NFL Films, the Redskins, and the Raiders.

10. Tecmo Bowl Video Game (I had never heard of it, but I was past that age).

9. The NFL Today. CBS's pregame show, starring Brent Musburger, Phyllis George, Irv Cross, and Jimmy the Greek. I liked to watch it more than the actual game. Now I skip the pregame shows and their multiple talking heads. Exception: NBC's Football Night in America. I love Dan Patrick, Tony Dungy, Bob Costas, Al Michaels, and Cris Collinsworth. Dungy has become the moral compass of the NFL. And I do likes me some Terry Bradshaw.

8. Scabs (aka replacement players). Heck, they only played three weeks during the 1987 strike. They did provide a decade's worth of follies.

7. Alcoa's Fantastic Finishes. One of the few highlights program available back then. Came on late Sunday night. I remember it, but just barely.

6. The 49ers. The team of the 80s. Montana, Rice, Randy Cross. Bill Walsh was the epitome of class. My favorite team. Shouldn't the team of the 80's be number one?

5. President Ronald Reagan's calls the Super Bowl winners. Classic. No other president's remarks will ever come close. After the Raiders' Marcus Allen ran all over the Redskins, Reagan told Raiders head coach Tom Flores that Russian Premier Gorbechev had called demanding that America's new secret weapon (Allen) be dismantled.

4. Outrageous coaches: Sam Wyche, Bum Phillips, Buddy Ryan, Jimmy Johnson, Mike Ditka, Jim Mora, Jerry Granville, etc. Playoffs?

3. Da Bears. Ditka. Ryan. Payton. Dent. The Fridge. McMahon (above). SNL skit. The Super Bowl Shuffle.

2. 80s hair and fashion. There was a lot of it. The Boz (above) led the list.

1. John Madden and Pat Summerall. More than John Facenda or Brent Musburger, they were the voice of the NFL. Like Letterman's move from NBC to CBS, when the number one broadcasting team jumped over to Fox it marked the beginning of the end for the NFL on CBS.

Once again, no mention of Herschel Walker. In the 1980's Walker rushed for more yards than any other professional football player - in only 7 years. In fact, in the ten years of the 1980's Herschel rushed for more college and pro yards than any player in football history - a record that stands to this day. He also ranked in the top ten of all NFL rushers in the decade - in only 4 seasons. Yet Herschel is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Cowboys trade of Walker to the Minnesota Vikings on October 12, 1989 was the biggest in NFL history, and should have at least been included as an honorable mention. The Cowboys traded Walker and 4 low round draft picks for 5 players and 8 high picks: 3 in the first round, 3 in the second round, and 2 in the third. Two little known facts about the trade: (1) Dallas paid Walker a $1.25 million bonus to accept the trade - big money back in the day. (2) The Atlanta Falcons considered trading for Herschel before backing out of the negotiations (probably a good thing). The Cowboys used the picks to draft Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson, Alvin Harper, Russell Maryland, and others - setting them up to be the most successful team in the 1990's.