CBS Sports Open Animations early 80s

From CBS, here are the clean versions of the opens for IROC, NBA, NFL, College Football, CBS Sports Saturday, NCAA Basketball and US Open Tennis. What you see here is just the animations and music, they would later be mixed with game footage and soundbites to produce the actual game opens.

[@ScoopNemeth]

Those animations are badass! There's one thing missing, the voice of Don Robertson! "CBS Sports Presents..." says Robertson.

[@bmasters1981]

Seeing as you like this, I think you might like this as well: a montage I made (cobbled together from full game broadcasts uploaded by user Stephen Barnett) of billboards from The Prudential College Football Report (CBS Sports college football studio halftime show w/Jim Nantz [1985-88] and Greg Gumbel [1989]; Pat Haden, Ara Parseghian and Mike Francesa were the analysts alongside Jim and Greg during the run of that studio show). kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaGQnHtuqZWUqNE

[@bmasters1981]

I'm glad that this was posted. The ones from 80stvthemes were good, but very low quality. Now, with this clip, I can see them exactly as they looked on television then.

[@entertainmentsportsandmore5783]

4:24 College Basketball on CBS theme (1981-1987).

[@entertainmentsportsandmore5783]

2:10 CBS College Football theme (1984-1986). First one of used theme music and intro was beginning in the Super Bowl XVIII on CBS coverage between the L.A. Raiders vs. Washington Redskins...

[@thomastripp9002]

Even though I was born in 1989, I love these old-school CBS Sports intros/themes, especially the College Football one they used from 1984-86 and the NBA on CBS one from 1983-89. Thankfully, I collect vintage sports games on DVD to experience these memories in some form.

[@bmasters1981]

I liked how the "CBS Sports NCAA" title card was formed, with the animated arena segmenting off, and three of the segments forming the "NCAA" portion of the title, with the hoop and backboard disappearing, and the basket and ball coming in from the right and the CBS Sports horizontal logo coming down from the top; the title then flashed.

[@saveamerica423]

This is f*cking awesome! Thank you so much!

[@JeterSwisherFan88]

I remember the NFL and NBA on CBS ones like it was yesterday, especially considering I was born in the early 80s.

[@danalong1237]

2:11, the CBS College Football open that was originally used for Super Bowl XVIII earlier in 1984!

[@DrForbin001]

nobody remembers that either!

[@sir945]

2:10 The Best College Football Intro I Have Ever Heard.

[@entertainmentsportsandmore5783]

First one was used for the Super Bowl XVIII coverage between the L.A. Raiders against the Washington Redskins...

[@manuginobilisbaldspot424]

@@entertainmentsportsandmore5783 And it followed the theme that was debuted on CBS for the intro of Super Bowl XVI between the 49ers and Bengals. And was even crazier is that it lasted...until CBS changed it after debuting their still used college football theme during the intro of Super Bowl XXI between the Giants and the Broncos.

[@softrockrules]

At one time the lead NFL Football Announcer for CBS missed games for the US Open Tennis tournament.

[@kristopherversteegt2939]

Then from 2000-2011, the number 2 NFL Football announcer, Dick Enberg, missed week 1 for the Men's Championship at the US Open.

[@danalong1237]

7:39-8:17, RIP US Open on CBS 1968-2014; the US Open of Tennis will always be one of the cornerstones of CBS Sports!

[@pigmeatmarkham898]

7:55, RIP Twin Towers skyline

[@RickinBaltimore]

You are looking LIVE at the Boston Garden, where the Celtics look to clinch another NBA Championship over the Los Angeles Lakers....

[@rockvilleraven]

Brent Musburger, now the radio voice of the Las Vegas Raiders.

[@Rebmetpes4]

Every dayumm year either the Boston Garden or Great Western Forum; good ol Bird n Magic I tell you what!

[@bakerandbaker1]

From at least 1982 to 1986, where they switched to the "Pots and Pans" intro in Week Four of their coverage.

[@EmceeNolan]

It was still in use at least in week 1 of 1986--I have the 49ers/Bucs season opener from that year with that theme used. They obviously switched over some time in the middle of the season.

[@Cjl99]

That March Madness theme at 4:25 is sweet! Love how it goes all jazz/funk solo at 4:46

[@scottmanning2545]

Cjl99 This Is exactly what CBS needs to do this year for March Madness. I would love to see them Relive NC State's Miracle Championship game victory in 1983 because that was a classic.

[@kristopherversteegt2939]

6:38 and you can hear the sax louder and clearer than you would at 4:46. I don't know why but I always think of the JEOPARDY! theme when I hear that part of the NCAA Basketball on CBS theme song.

[@huskobon]

Awesome raw animations.

[@juliansmith9503]

Back in the day CBS had the best intro music for their NFL coverage but the NBA theme on CBS put it over cause you can't think of Magic Johnson Lakers and Larry Bird's Boston Celtics

[@darren2514fv]

I remember ABC Australia using CBS style intros in the 80s

[@marcus813]

Thanks for posting this! I loved watching CBS' intros back in the day and it's nice to see them again. They had the best intros in the sports TV biz.

[@80srocknroller]

Awesome and I grew up watching sports

[@coreylevine3856]

Born in 1971 i remember all those CBS Sports broadcast back in the 1980's

[@KNS1996DFS]

I think that CBS won a Sports Emmy for its NFL coverage, but I can't be sure. If only the could somehow indicate this in their onscreen graphics...

[@JoeBobTarheel]

They did

[@vetmar41]

On The 80s TV Theme Supersite Potpourri Sports section, There are some videos of CBS Sports Intros except CBS Sports Saturday. I clicked on those, some of them are playing & the CBS Sports Saturday 1982 video doesn't because it says, ''The webpage cannot be found''.

[@patrickgreene2593]

How Lexington,KY was picked to host Final Four in '85 still baffles me to this day!@4:30 mark! I always thought Syracuse's Carrier Dome was big enough to host that event, but never did.

[@dananddougworldcup]

No worse a venue than The Pit in Albuquerque two years earlier.

[@DNSKansas]

Patrick, the open at 4:30 was from the 1984 Mideast Regional final, Illinois vs. Kentucky at Rupp. But I get your point. Also, the NCAA did not play at an official on-campus site after the Bird-Magic final of '79.

[@patrickgreene2593]

So that's what happened. I get it now.

[@Jmnor60]

They’re basketball royalty Kentucky....no explanation necessary

[@untexan]

The NCAA still plays in a few on-campus venues for the early rounds if they’re big enough. Boise State was going to host one on their campus this year until the 2021 tournament was centralized in Indy.

[@UNCJerry77]

Love the NCAA Basketball theme! Close second would be the NBA on CBS theme.

[@CaptainHenroyMorgan]

Hooray for upbeat music and 3d objects moving from one place to another! ah, the 80's. someday, people will be making fun of the 00's.

[@NickintheATL]

Isn't anyone glad just to get to see these instead of rambling off making requests?

[@rockvilleraven]

Sports Saturday was the renamed version of their Anthology show Sports Spectacular.

[@walkerbrown8591]

This is so great.

[@bmasters1981]

Another thing I wonder: about the CBS Sports opening ID with "Presents" in magenta in a Colonial-type font (which was, according to this clip, used for college hoops)-- was that the only place where that version was used?

[@Survivor87]

NBA on CBS = the best and it happened to cover exactly the greatest years of the NBA, 75-90

[@bakerandbaker1]

Actually, just double-checked. The "Emmy" intro was actually used from 1981 to Week Two of the NFL regular season in the fall of 1986.

[@jefferyespj]

Great work

[@Railfan2103]

Thank you very much! Great quality!

[@damienchance2622]

Great memories

[@bakerandbaker1]

the cbs college football theme from this era: so underrated

[@fullervisiondotnet]

The sad part is that they changed it to an inferior tune that's still here 35 years later.

[@MrWrestlingman85]

It seemed like CBS had all the events back in the day.

[@hamursh]

I think Cranston Csuri Productions worked on some of these intros.

[@jaycordova]

Curious where you got all of this. I have a lot of it clean from 1" tape (all the Feigenbaum stuff for sure), but I do not have everything you have here. I think I've got one or two CBS items posted but have a large library. Nice collection of stuff you have in this single clip. I have the Cranston/Csuri items, but only on VHS. Do you have all of this on 1" or did you dub/digitize from 1" to some other high quality format?

[@reachforthetop9]

I never noticed that subtle nod to the Emmy Awards CBS won for it's NFL coverage! Kind of self-promoting, but cool!

[@skykid3000]

Do you have a clean version of the later NBA Intro CBS used in their final year of covering the NBA?

[@jahiln]

Are we sure this from the early 80's and not mid 80's or early 90's? Hard to believe these intros would have CGI at a time where movies like Tron and the Last starfighter could barely pull it off.

[@marcus813]

Can you upload the 49ers-Bucs open? As a longtime Bucs fan, I'd love to see it.

[@Rebmetpes4]

Childhood I tell ya!

[@marcus813]

It was slightly different in 1981 & 1982. It was dumped after January 1986 for "pots & pans."

[@CraigFoye80]

Gotta love this one at 1:41!!

[@corylemmon5825]

killer... oh so good

[@EmceeNolan]

The NFL one is from 1981-1986. I know this for a fact.

[@marvy3022]

no, it's from '83, dumbarse.

[@Misterioso]

Computerz graphhics was teh futurez!!!!!!

[@RashaTwain]

I don't see why not? Their mostly simple vector graphics with textures.

[@swampfire3000]

2:19 its saturn!

[@TimEric4d3d3d3]

I hear SNL sax at 4:54

[@ChrisSmith-1983]

What about NASCAR?

[@EmceeNolan]

I'll see if I can.

[@Tubewings]

Does anyone know when the NFL on CBS used the "Emmy" opening?

[@EmceeNolan]

The 2000's are so awful people will more likely be crying than laughing.

[@Tubewings]

@bakerandbaker1 I meant when they had the Emmy statuettes in that particular opening.

[@8bitnitwit]

DVNO!