The BIGGEST BROADCASTING CONTROVERSY of the 1981 NFL Season | Redskins @ Bears (1981)

[@richardsiemion5903]

I love your channel. Wanted to suggest a butterfly effect video for you …. I’ll just name the game and when you look into it and the ramifications of it … it’ll write itself. 2001 Week 5 San Diego @ New England

[@PGar58]

Frosty the Snowman is fine. Frosty Returns is an absolute dumpster fire. Even John Goodman couldn’t save that steaming pile of excrement. There is literally NOTHING redeeming about it.

[@marquan1976]

FACTS

[@matthewdaley746]

Elisabeth Moss was lucky that her career managed to survive from that truly bad beginning, as it had absolutely no way to go, but, up, period.

[@matthewdaley746]

@@marquan1976 Yeah, Andrea Martin is, so, totally insufferable, as well, even when it's just her voice, it's a complete disaster, unquestionably.

[@luisreyes1963]

Thanks for sharing, but what does it that has to do with NFL Football? 🤨

[@matthewdaley746]

@@luisreyes1963 He was responding to JG9's mentioning the cartoon, and, while, were on the subject, the, Rankin-Bass, Christmas Specials, all look terrible, and, when the story can't make up, for, it, they're basically unwatchable, absolutely.

[@RicoBurghFan]

Where do you find these stories? You are hands down the best sports researcher on KZbin.

[@Seanpatf66]

I went to this game. 3 things I remember , sitting near the Bears’ entrance 1) Len Walterschied hurt his knee , and He walked, gingerly, to the locker room. I yelled out that I loved his toughness. He waved at me. 2) At Halftime, I yelled at Vince Evans for playing an awful half. He gave me a dirty look. 3) WBBM, had a camera crew there trying to get fan reaction. I suggested the bears send Head Coach, Neil Armstrong to Mars.

[@lsmftymf]

Len Walterscheid. Damn! Now there's a name from the past. Always reminds me of Len Walter, business reporter for 52 years at Chicago's WBBM Newsradio Ssssssssseventy-Eight (pardon my John Madigan), the Bears' flagship station back in 1981. On the air, Walter sounded like Death Sucking on a Life Saver.

[@redmustangredmustang]

It's funny that Vince Evans got to be in the NFL for years especially when he landed with the Raiders.

[@Lourdes-pf9gf]

Good video as always! You’re the main reason why I got into football, hearing these interesting stories!

[@donaldsalkovick396]

That sounds so gay

[@MarkAHoltz]

And yet, that station manager is still better than Dan Snyder.

[@CTubeMan]

I don’t know you, but I suspect you’re better than Dan Snyder.

[@MarylandTerps]

Your Frosty the Snowman analogy was both hilarious and on point haha

[@KWCline91]

I prefer A Christmas Story than Frosty to be honest here.

[@forestgeorge8855]

I love Frosty the Snowman. Frosty Returns is the one that stinks.

[@Tubewings]

Shand ultimately retired from WTVR in 1983, two years after this incident. I don't know if it was age-related, considering he was 66 at the time of his departure, or he was pressured to retire because of possible subsequent incidents like this one.

[@raymondhopwood9393]

I wonder how many station managers lost their jobs after making such incredible blunders like this?

[@forestgeorge8855]

I’m from Richmond and I still live in the Richmond area, but closer to Sandston now, near the airport. I was only 5 when this happened … so I have no memory of this … or even if my dad cared, since he was a diehard Skins fan in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Dad passed over 19 years ago, so I can’t ask him. It’s nice to hear you do a story from our region, though.

[@daveporter0217]

Coincidentally, I am a rare Bears fan in Richmond

[@luisreyes1963]

An optimist, eh? 😕

[@NosferatusCoffin]

A big decision by Gibbs came out of this game. This was the game when he went almost exclusively to the one-back set and gave Riggins the bulk of the carries. Before that, RB was musical chairs between Riggins, Joe Washington and Wilbur Jackson, with Terry Metcalf filling in occasionally. Though, he was mainly a receiving back that year. As noted, the Redskins almost made the playoffs after that 0-5 start and were literally 3 seconds from them, but the Giants kicked a last second FG with 3 seconds left in OT to beat Dallas and grab the last wild-card spot. Had the Skins gotten into the playoffs that year, the 49ers dynasty might not have started that year. They were playing as well as anyone down the stretch.

[@CTubeMan]

Shand: What team would you like to watch? Richmond residents: Washing… Shand: IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU WANT!!

[@-phenom-]

I hate to divert from the topic, but can we all just agree that at the 4:09 mark of the clip we see a ref give one of the best "touchdown" calls I've ever seen!?! Not only can we see the emphatic emotion of the call, but he literally bends his body in a somewhat unnatural position and holds it there for the world to enjoy. Glorious!

[@barrymarootner504]

This theory is taking place in politics. Who do you think is better? Republicans or democrats? But here we go having no other choices.

[@anthony0358]

I have downvote this video because of the criticism of frosty the snowman”. A better example would be the Rose Parade. That airs early on New Year’s Day when most people are tired

[@PGar58]

Yeah but at least Bob Eubanks co-hosted it for several years. Bob to me seems kind of prickly but is likeable all the same.

[@matthewdaley746]

Frosty Returns, absolute atrocity.

[@matthewdaley746]

@@PGar58 Playoff, lessens its greatness.

[@runrafarunthebestintheworld]

Even though I'm tired I still like watching the Rose Bowl parade. That's not really a criticism. Plus they obviously have to do it before the Rose Bowl game. More like these other meaningless Christmas specials are the worst. Pfft

[@matthewdaley746]

@@runrafarunthebestintheworld FREEFORM, airs the meaningless, Christmas Specials, and, the sequels of the few that are actually good, including the, Guilty Pleasure, Rudolph's Shiny New Year.

[@WaltGekko]

After the 0-5 start, the Redskins would finish 8-8 and a year later in the strike-shorted season won it all.

[@matthewdaley746]

They, also, lost, the, SB, with, a team that was arguably better, than, their 1991 team, won their second, SB, with, a team that was worse, than, all of them, and, proceeded to miss, the, Playoffs, the next two years, the NFC East, was murder, completely.

[@Patrick-hm4eg]

It would happen again. In 2009 the Fox station in Richmond AND the station in Norfolk didn't carry the final game of the season.

[@TheSonicsean]

JG9 with the hottest of takes on Frosty the Snowman over here

[@donaldpaluga]

So JG9's REAL name is Burgermeister Meisterburger?

[@geoffroi-le-Hook]

I lived within radio range of Richmond for the 2000-2006 seasons. Their main sports radio station had Westwood One doubleheaders on Sunday afternoons for most of those years, but there was one season with the Redskins. And there were a few stray games from the Atlanta Braves as well (I think that was before the Expos moved)

[@billygsell3625]

Holy shit, The stations at Richmond, VA are the ones i watch when i grew up. NFL must give Richmond, VA a football team in the near future.

[@ccsd0601]

Wow, @ 2:41, is "Richmond" really misspelled within the television channel graphic?🤦🏿‍♂️

[@drewzuhosky6826]

It _is!_

[@geoffroi-le-Hook]

as long as they don't spell Virginia with only two I's

[@altfactor]

Richmond is close enough to Washington that not only the Commanders (formerly Redskins) are a "local" team, but so are the Washington Nationals, Washington Capitals, and Washington Wizards. I would think the Washington "big four" pro teams are probably also the "local" teams in the Tidewater region (Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Hampton/Newport News/Portsmouth) as well.

[@LogoAttitude]

Baltimore and Washington are separate media markets but the same metro area Baltimore's teams are thus also local to Virginia

[@WaltGekko]

I get why they did that. Famously in New York 10 months earlier on December 14, 1980, WCBS-TV (Channel 2 in New York) chose NOT to air a Saints-Jets game even though they could have aired it because the game was sold out, instead showing Cardinals-Eagles (leaving the game for a moment of silence at The Dakota as this was the weekend after John Lennon had been killed). That was the infamous game the Jets lost to the Saints at Shea Stadium, preventing the Saints from going 0-16 (also after Johnny Carson famously used that for a joke of "The NFL Holiday Kickoff featuring the New Orleans Saints singing "I'll be 0-16 for Christmas"). After that, the NFL required home sellouts to air no matter what as I remember.

[@Musicradio77Network]

This would be a subject for another video.

[@donaldpaluga]

HEY-YO!

[@thatsmrtguy4935]

But this was an away game

[@WaltGekko]

@@thatsmrtguy4935 Yes, but I was pointing out what happened 10 months before this and why that never happened again.

[@daviddaniels8623]

Oregon tried this as well when they played Lions games due to Joey Harrington playing there

[@geoffroi-le-Hook]

There were Packer Radio affiliates in Mississippi during the Favre era

[@Jason_Maier]

It was the first Gibbs era (81-92) where the Redskins wore white jerseys/burgundy pants at home for most games IIRC.

[@LogoAttitude]

2:07 I think the Ravens are more popular in much of Virginia now because they have been more successful over the last 22 years than the Commanders

[@bradvitz2531]

I am sure you are completely wrong. more than before sure, but more outright NEVER.

[@Rockhound6165]

Couple of things. #1, Virginia just wasn't Redskins country, it was rabid Redskin country. I live relatively close to Virginia and go there often and can attest that the Redskins are basically the only team Virginia cares about. They don't even care that much for the Nationals or Caps and I don't think Virginia knows the Wizards exist. #2, the Redskins of 1981 weren't as bad as their record reflected. Gibbs came in and it took a while for his system to take hold. Yes they lost their first 5 games but then went 8-3 down the stretch. This carried over to the next season where they went 8-1 and won the Super Bowl and remained relevant for over a decade. They had 1 losing season under Gibbs.

[@matthewdaley746]

Yeah, he had a really great tenure, with, Washington, but, if he had stayed retired, it would have been truly, Immaculate, speaking of which, for, all of the NASCAR success, he's never living it down, if Denny Hamlin never wins a, Championship.

[@waluigithemaster6864]

Hmm, a Week 6 matchup between a lousy Chicago team and a lousy Washington team. Where have I heard this one before? 🤔

[@MustacheDLuffy]

Tonight

[@MustacheDLuffy]

In both teams defense the redskins won the super bowl 2 years later and the Bears 4 years later

[@cpcva724]

A few years ago the fox station in Richmond didn't carry a Washington game due to extremely poor play right along with the the Norfolk station 100 miles away.

[@matthewdaley746]

I remember I missed Emmitt Smith break the record because the Falcons were playing the Saints, and, there was a local interest because of, Michael Vick, and, Aaron Brooks, terrible.

[@billbeliakoff5589]

No matter how bad the Bears are, if he tried that in Chicago to see if we would rather watch the Packers or Vikings he'd be drawn and quartered.

[@matthewdaley746]

Lions, far, worse, unquestionably.

[@geoffroi-le-Hook]

You couldn't in Chicago, but in Rockford / Peoria / Quad Cities or Champaign-Decatur-Springfield you could

[@billbeliakoff5589]

@@geoffroi-le-Hook I don't know about Rockford, it's far enough north and east to be Bears territory.

[@PGar58]

The closest NFL team to the Seahawks is over 800 miles away. Easily they would have the largest land area where they’d probably be the preferred team.

[@matthewdaley746]

Until the Kraken were invented, it was a, three-hour, flight from Seattle to play any other franchise, really just insane.

[@MustacheDLuffy]

@@matthewdaley746 Mariners?

[@matthewdaley746]

@@MustacheDLuffy In, their, actual-respective, sport.

[@geoffroi-le-Hook]

well, they have Alaska, ...

[@matthewdaley746]

@@geoffroi-le-Hook A remote outpost, definitely.

[@marcus813]

TV 6 VP and station manager John Shand should've had a pulse on Richmond's NFL fandom given that he was a day 1 employee at the station. Washington might have been bad, sure, but that doesn't mean that its fans in Richmond were gonna ditch them entirely.

[@WaltGekko]

He might have seen what WCBS-TV (Channel 2) in New York did 10 months earlier when they chose NOT to air a Saints-Jets game that was sold out (in that situation, they opted for Cardinals-Eagles) which was a success in that case (though the NFL after that changed the rules so that can't happen anymore with home games).

[@Backpackfiles]

10-year-old me, and another afternoon of wishing Vince Evans had spiked the ball to the ground on every single play.

[@Backpackfiles]

@Coogan The back ups were Mike Phipps & Bob Avelini. Sweet Lord.

[@Backpackfiles]

@Coogan Yeah, and Mac came in '82 and was way better than those three "quarterbacks".

[@crittoneida958]

I think this was legendary joe gibbs first win as a head coach IIRC....

[@daveporter0217]

I'm guessing most Redskins fans flipped to the NBC game on WWBT 12 out of spite.

[@northstarpokeshipper2148]

And what was the game on that station?

[@daveporter0217]

@@northstarpokeshipper2148 Not sure (I wasnt born until six years later). If I had to guess, Channel 12 would have had the Steelers, Dolphins, or possibly the Colts (who couldn't start until 2 because of Baltimore blue laws).

[@nicholass7563]

It’s been 100 years and the bears still need a QB

[@alejbr4]

meanwhile this past yr mlb was taking games out of markets all yr pissing people off

[@chrisguardiano6143]

I remember visiting Vancouver BC about a decade ago and there was a major controversy similar to this one involving the Toronto Blue Jays & the local RSN, Sportsnet Pacific which is the network that Blue Jays games are on in Canada, very similar to how Cubs games were available nationwide for many years on WGN. Instead of showing that day's Blue Jays game, Sportsnet Pacific decided to go against company policy & show a different MLB game between the Yankees & Red Sox the Blue Jays bitter division rivals. Their reasoning for this was because the Blue Jays were out of the playoff race & that the Red Sox-Yankees game had more meaning for the playoff race. However the Blue Jays are pretty much the most popular MLB team in Vancouver as in the rest of Canada & people were quite upset about this, so much so that they flooded the Rogers customer service line with complaints. There was so much outrage that Sportsnet Pacific had to cut away from Red Sox-Yankees to show the final 5 innings of the Blue Jays game.

[@geoffroi-le-Hook]

I remember seeing a few Blue Jays games on RDS in the summer of 1996.

[@jasonpaul5]

I have dirt on the NFL too! Thursday Night Football sucks. It's fun to watch when Prime stops caring and the audio is off by several seconds. It's when Prime reduces to the USFL-quality football we all enjoy. Prime, btw, stopped caring at the end of the third quarter.

[@iangraham9988]

As an Oregonian, I would argue it’s half Seahawks and half 49ers

[@jeffanderson3962]

Im a Seahawks fan in OR but I tend to agree its really close.. There's also a ton of Broncos, Raiders and Steeler fans around.

[@therealuncleowen2588]

What kind of a name is Joe Gibbs? He won't amount to anything special.

[@mrbake6933]

Leave Frosty the Snowman out of this! How dare you throw shade on Frosty.

[@OfficialJaguarGator9]

Loved Frosty as a kid, but man, it does not hold up well at all

[@aaronholcomb237]

I have watched quite a few of these old football videos and have seen a lot of horse collar tackles in them.

[@mrg8581]

RC Cola advertisement on Soldier Field scoreboard. 1:37.

[@geoffroi-le-Hook]

notice the (lack of) Bears logos on the field as well

[@frankez99]

And that footage of the Redskins and Bears made the game look like the Redskins won 400-0 😅.

[@HouseBowlrz]

Back in 1981, there were still some teams in Central Time Zone that played home games at 1300 local time (1400 Eastern) which would have interrupted the Atlanta game and brought folks into the Dallas game well into the second quarter. Perhaps that's what he was thinking ...

[@WaltGekko]

I think by then that was only in Chicago by then and in Baltimore, where the blue laws forbid sporting events from starting before 2:00 PM ET in those days. I remember that because in 1978, that forced a Jets-Colts game in Baltimore to have to be moved to WPIX-TV (Channel 11) in New York because WNBC-TV (Channel 4, NBC's owned and operated station) had to carry Game 5 of the Dodgers-Yankees World Series that began at 4:00 PM. Starting with 1979, any Jets-Colts game in Baltimore would be scheduled for a 4:00 PM kickoff as the NFL began after the 1978 season scheduling one of the Jets and Giants for 1:00 PM and the other for 4:00 PM. This was done so New York got a 4:00 PM game no matter what as there were several times where New York got NO 4:00 PM game at all because of that before then.

[@SuperAV21]

Official JaguarGator9, what's the point of typing "Redskins" in the description of each of your videos when Washington (D.C.) is the primary team, which you ban yourself from verbally saying team's former name in all of them?

[@jasonfire3434]

11:20 he actually says it too lol. Not a big deal honestly just feels weird compared to the other teams

[@SuperAV21]

@@jasonfire3434 This question is for Official JaguarGator9 in particular, though.

[@stevenvitte]

@SuperAV21 Check out my comment. I address this too. I totally get why JG9 doesn't say it, but for historical reference purposes, though...

[@a.grimes4202]

They‘ll always be the Redskins to me. Where was everyone when they called themselves the Football Team? Personally, that offends me more, since they were implying that every other NFL team was a mere team, but not a _football_ team.-- and they didn’t even have a winning record in 2020 or 2021, making their sense of superiority all the more ridicu--oh, wait, they’re the “Commanders” now?! WTF?!

[@SuperAV21]

@@a.grimes4202 This Washington football franchise, itself, has to be known as the "Commanders" going forward, no matter how strong the previous name has on certain people such as you have. They [WSH] had to change their name twice over a two-year period or the NFL & their sponsors would've cut them off on funding as well as finances in the wake of protests for the late George Floyd (murdered by Minneapolis policemen).

[@lutherjennings6565]

In Week 9! The network pulled the Cardinals Redskins game was pulled from WTVR 6 in favor of Cowboys Eagles game!!!

[@lsmftymf]

13:23-13:32 Is this what you all came for?

[@frankez99]

Hail to the Redskins, forever

[@CTubeMan]

This unofficial Official Jaguar Gator 9 historian will remind everyone you made videos about the following: 1. How Virginia stations were forced to cut away from the end of the Cleveland-Washington game in 1971 by NBC. 2. The disastrous results of a poll the CBS affiliate in St Louis conducted in 1990. 3. How the CBS affiliate in Shreveport also made a bad broadcasting decision due to not knowing the pulse of the city.

[@luisreyes1963]

Soldier Field, before it mutated into "The Bidet By The Lake". 😩

[@matthewdaley746]

The, GM, for, the 1985 Bears, just died, and, with, the recent death of Elizabeth, Virginia McCaskey firmly cemented her title, as, "The, Person Who Most Continues To Live Truly Out Of, Spite," nothing's getting better, with, the Bears, until she finally realizes that her upcoming, 100th, Birthday, really needs to be her last, as much, for, Chicago's sake, as, for, hers.

[@jearbear4327]

Damn, another CBS disaster

[@loganmosher5935]

Well CBS Still Airs Frosty The Snowman And Frosty Returns To This Day With The Latter Frosty Returns Turns 30 This Year BTW I Live In The Quad Cities Which Is A Secondary Market For The Bears And Yes It Has A CBS Affiliate Called WHBF Channel 4

[@matthewdaley746]

An unpredictable apocalypse, absolutely.

[@matthewdaley746]

@@loganmosher5935 Frosty Returns, is, so, terrible, in retrospect, it, somehow, makes, Frosty's Winter Wonderland, look, like, a, classic, instead, of the shameless, cash-grab, that it actually was.

[@luisreyes1963]

Just like The Star Wars Holiday Special. 😖

[@matthewdaley746]

@@luisreyes1963 Boba Fett's cartoon, incredible.

[@BainesMkII]

This being an awful decision largely came down to the Redskins having a decisive victory. If the Redskins had lost, whether it had been an all-around awful game or a comprehensive dismantling by the Bears, you'd have more viewers after the broadcast *praising* the decision to show a different game. It is also worth noting that diehard fans don't necessarily reflect the viewing tastes of the majority, it is believable that the Redskins were expected to see lower ratings than the alternatives. There is also the "New Coke" effect where people don't truly appreciate something until it is gone; even if the Redskins hadn't turned hot, skipping the broadcast for a week might have "encouraged" fans to tune in to future games.

[@stevenvitte]

You still refuse to say "Redskins" even though that is what they were called for many years. Come on, man. Personal sensitivity over historical accuracy?

[@Austin_Orr]

He said Redskins multiple times and put it in the title of the video.

[@stevenvitte]

@@Austin_Orr Must not have caught him say it then, because I did watch the whole video. Yes, he put it in the video title. My point still stands. He has an obvious hesitancy to say that word.

[@Austin_Orr]

@@stevenvitte he read the newspaper article the about the networks decision on the game and said Redskins.

[@toddbiesel4288]

Richmond had a worse station manager rating than Vince Evans.

[@CTubeMan]

I’d rather watch vanilla ice cream than eat your videos. Those were the options, right?

[@mmfairhill]

The Fox affiliate did the same nonsense at the end of the 2009 season granted Washington was awful then (Coach Zorn would get the boot at the end of the season) They put on Dallas vs. Philadelphia instead (Washington lost to the San Diego Chargers 27-24. Dallas would beat the Eagles 24-0) No station has pulled that crap since. The station manager in the video should have gotten the boot the day after.

[@danielbowden6330]

I recall that. They would play the Falcons or Panthers instead in the late 2000s.

[@cpcva724]

Zorn had been hired as a coordinator of something. Snyder had told Zorn to be head coach or be fired. Zorn knew he wasn't up to the job.

[@marvinwhittaker88]

Why The Washington Redskins had to change their name. What's wrong with being named after an Indian. In that case will The Braves, Blackhawks, and Chiefs have to do the same thing.

[@TimmyTickle]

The names Braves, Blackhawks and Chiefs all suggest “strength, toughness and leadership”… all of which are qualities you want in a sports team. Redskins and Indians, on the other hand… they suggest “generic averageness”

[@marvinwhittaker88]

@@TimmyTickle okay but still why the name change?

[@geoffroi-le-Hook]

If there are butts in the seats in 2020 it doesn't happen. Redskins is a name the pre-Columbians gave themselves as they painted for war. The model for the helmet was a Blackfoot.

[@fumedrummer]

If a QB spikes the ball on every single play, what's the Passer Rating? In several videos, you mention a QB's performance and compare that to the spike-on-every-play score but never say what that score is. Please enlighten me. Thanks!

[@OfficialJaguarGator9]

39.6

[@geoffroi-le-Hook]

The good part about spiking every play is an interception percentage of 0.0% which is where the 39+ points come from. The other factors are completion percentage, yards per attempt, and touchdown percentage.

[@danieljackett4193]

Sorry, but Chocolate is the most DISGUSTING flavor of Ice Cream

[@Davepool-hs7vr]

Do a video between George Halas and George Preston Marshal

[@djbeezy]

I noticed how you go out of your way to not say Redskins. Nobody is offended by that name!! I liked your videos but I lost respect for you because of that.

[@donaldsalkovick396]

Ohio has 2 teams and their team is the Steelers go figure