Steve Sabol helped make the NFL what it is today. (Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE)
“Today, the entire National Football League mourns a great loss. It is impossible to measure, or truly comprehend, the impact that Steve Sabol and NFL Films have had in the growth and popularity of the NFL. He was a true visionary. It was Steve and his father, Ed, who first had the idea of recording professional football’s greatest moments and blending them with words of poetry and music. Steve was an artist who loved telling stories about the game of football. As a result, he brought generations of fans closer to the game by exposing them to the sights and sounds in a way that no one else ever has.
“As chairman of the broadcast committee, I had the opportunity to work closely with Steve over the years. I know a lot of passionate football fans, but I never met anyone who loved the game more purely, or was more passionate about preserving its history, than Steve was.
“The films he created and the highlights he captured were amazing. I still get goose bumps every time I watch one of the Patriots’ America’s Game series.
“He spent his life preserving the legacy of the National Football League and its many legends. In doing so, he became a legend in his own right and leaves a legacy that football fans will enjoy for generations to come.
“On behalf of my family and the New England Patriots, we extend our deepest sympathies to the Sabol family and all those who are mourning his loss.” – Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots.
Many words were said and written yesterday after the passing of Steve Sabol at the age of 69. But those were some of the best and capture the essence of Steve Sabol, NFL Films and the NFL. Every time we hear the signature music that has come to be associated with NFL Films, we can’t help but smile and think of Steve and the legacy he created.
The passion and love many of us have for the game is embodied in that. Steve Sabol fought a battle for 18 months after learning he had a brain tumor only a month after he was so joyous when his father, Ed, was elected to the Hall of Fame. Steve wondered that day whether his 95-year-old dad would make it until the August enshrinement ceremony, because he had been ill.
Little did he know he would begin having those thoughts about himself very soon. Now, he is gone before his dad, who founded NFL Films and made it and the NFL into what it is today.
When Ed Sabol was chosen as one of the 15 finalists for the Hall of Fame two years ago, as one of the 44 selectors, I admittedly had a problem with that. Ed and Steve had already won the Hall of Fame’s Rozelle Radio and TV Award. I believed that was tribute enough. I believe, and still do, that busts in the Hall of Fame and enshrinement should be reserved for those that directly impacted the results on the field: players, coaches, general managers, owners.
Not film makers, no matter how good they were. What would that lead to, I wondered, in a difficult process every year that leaves out numerous deserving players. Should we put Roone Arledge in the Hall of Fame for creating Monday Night Football? Or Chet Simmons for cajoling Pete Rozelle into televising the NFL draft? There are numerous other examples of those that had significant impact on how we watch or learn about the game.
The selectors that day in Dallas who presented Ed Sabol were very persuasive. It didn’t change my mind, but it did others and Ed Sabol ended that day as a Hall of Famer. At that moment, I also wondered, how long would it be until those that championed Ed’s cause would then push for Steve to also be enshrined? After all, Ed started the business and ran it, but Steve was truly the creative genius behind it.
Now, I feel there is only one thing the Hall of Fame should do. There should be no election. There should be no voting process. Quite simply, by acclimation, and without taking a spot away from a player, coach or administrator, a bust of Steve should be commissioned and placed next to his dad in Canton. Nothing would be more fitting or deserving.
And hopefully, Ed Sabol will be around to see it happen.
