'Running With the Night'

We talked some in the last post on NFL Films about "The Autumn Wind." It's a really good example of how NFL Films imbued the game with an aesthetic of the great saga. There are better ones for sure, but this offers a taste. Maybe it's because of the violence of football (I shudder watching some of this now) or the fact that it's played outdoors, but there was something about the game that lent itself to NFL Films' sensibility. With that said, it took a particular eye to really see that and bring it out.

Also, a little more from the Raiders. What's interesting about this clip is that Todd Christiansen, who played in the game, remembers this moment--not through his own eyes--but actually through the voice of John Facenda. Talk about meta. The memory was made bigger, was made epic in the remix, not in the original cut.

But you can see why. In Facenda's version, it's not "In came Marcus Allen to seal the game" or "In came Marcus Allen to score a touchdown." It's "On came Marcus Allen, running with the night." Never has there been a more beautiful appropriation of Lionel Richie.

I've been trying to write about what it will mean when football leaves me. It's something more than just the game itself. But I haven't named it yet.