The era Still Lives...

Old Shield/NFL Films

New(current) Shield/NFL Films

It was a sad day for the NFL yesterday, and for the fans of this great game we enjoy called FOOTBALL. The NFL lost a great man, and the founder of NFL Films, Steve Sabol. Sabol had been battling brain cancer for the past 18 months. This is not going to be a long post, just wanted to get my point across of what NFL Films meant to this 35-year old fan of America's finest sport.

I can still recapture that moment when I heard and saw former Head Coach Jerry Glanville tell the official, "The NFL stands for 'Not For Long' if you continue to make calls like that." Guess I had to change the quote just a little because this is a family friendly sports blog. There were a few bleeps in his comments to the ref. Technology and quality of video change every day. But as I remember the old school, rough footage of that time, I remember those days, and in the back of my mind, actually miss those days.

I remember waking up in the early hours of the morning just to catch the NFL Films production of the Atlanta Falcons season in review, and what to look forward with the coming season. I would find myself trying to catch the other 31 teams as well. The raw footage was priceless with players and coaches miked. Now I can get that footage at my fingertips on my phone, and still get plenty of sleep.

Mark A. Kirkley: twitter @makirkley
I am a loving husband, father.  God and family are #1 in my life.
Kennesaw State Univ alum in Journalism. 
Academic librarian/writer/blogger. "Your thoughts are better organized 
when they are written."

The memory of Steve Sabol will live on forever. So the next time you turn on the TV to watch NFL Network, or log on to NFL.com, just know Sabol's imprint is somewhere on that TV screen or monitor.

Even though you didn't know me Steve, thank you for bringing the NFL into my home.

Don't forget to follow me on twitter @makirkley.