The AFC and NFC Championships; Arguably the most captivating Sunday, Winners go to Super Bowl
By David J. Halberstam 01/22/2025
TITLE GAME – COLLEGE FOOTBALL- IN ATLANTA
Notre Dame has been treated to more consensus national championships (11) than any other school, spanning three Knute Rockne squads (1924, ’29, ’30), Frank Leahy’s dynasty (’43, ’46, ’47, ’49), Ara Parseghian’s ’66 and ’73 teams, the Dan Devine-led ’77 squad and Lou Holtz’s ’88 unit. Losing last night to Ohio State in the title game makes it 37 years. A bizarre year.
After losing to NIU, (Northern Illinois University) the Irish got it together with a fierce turnaround, advancing to the title game against Ohio State last night. The Buckeyes had won the title last in 2014. An unimaginable loss in Game #2 to NIU at enshrined Notre Dame Stadium, the team did the impossible, advancing all the way to the championship game. Marcus Freeman’s Irish almost climbed Mount Everest to its peak.
, and , wrote collectively for CNN after the game. “The supporters of both blue-blooded programs were well represented at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with a fairly equal split of the 77,660 fans in attendance.”
The TVers were Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler on primarily ESPN. From SI this morning, “Herbie was on the call, The emotions poured out of Herbstreit, who brought tears by his alma mater’s victory.” He was the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes from 1989-1992.
Generally, Herbie rarely delivered with great emotion, and almost never yells. Herbstreit won’t emote fire, even when his pants were burning. But not last night when Ohio State went ahead 31-7 and almost blew it. State won it 34-23.
I guess that he’s learned a lot from Al Michaels on NFL’s Thursday Night Football and Brent Musburger on ESPN’s college games.
Mike Tirico gaining more respect on NBC
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You can argue that Mike Tirico has come around.
There’s an old line, “When you work among the best, you’ll grow into the high echelon and sufficient to be among.” He joined NBC in 2016, all his drills at ESPN for 25 years (1996- decades the oldest of the big sporting events hasn’t he’s been gifted with and has grown through – He’s grown into It takes time – The last couple of years which the network grew with erudition.
After 25 years at ESPN/ABC (1991-2016) which included Monday Night Football from 2006 to 2015. He succeeded Al Michaels at NBC in 2022. The luster dulled and the ratings dropped. Monday Night Football faded in attraction, ratings and revenue. NBC Sports under the aegis of Dick Ebersol worked diligently with the NFL’s top brass to create The top echelon of quarterbacks. Tirico made the move to NBC where eventually he was anointed number one.
At ESPN, he always did something somewhere, The Open, The Masters, NBA, college football, college basketball, the FIFA World Cup, and NBC’s coverage of tennis with the U.S. Open and Wimbledon
What he is finally doing now is executing with a richer consistency and stronger tone. Tirico has now developed harmony and a fresher intuition. Partner Cris Collinsworth has triggered chuckles among viewers for years.
