Television and Entertainment
The game was televised in the United States by NBC, with Dick Enberg handling the play-by-play duties and color commentator Merlin Olsen in the broadcast booth. Len Berman and his NFL '82 castmates, Mike Adamle (who also covered the Vince Lombardi Trophy presentation ceremony), Ahmad Rashad and Pete Axthelm anchored the pregame, halftime and postgame coverage. NBC's national Nielsen rating of 48.6 was the second-highest for a Super Bowl broadcast, trailing only the 49.1 garnered by Super Bowl XVI on CBS the year before.
Super Bowl XVII was dedicated to University of Alabama Coach Bear Bryant who died on January 26, 1983. A moment of silence was held in his memory during the pregame ceremonies.
The Los Angeles Unified School District All-City Band played during the pregame ceremonies. Later, actress Leslie Easterbrook performed the national anthem.
The coin toss ceremony featured Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Elroy Hirsch. Dolphins captain Bob Kuechenberg called "tails," and the coin came down "tails." However, referee Jerry Markbreit became confused by the similar design of both sides of the coin and incorrectly thought "heads" had landed. After a short discussion with his head linesman, Dale Hamer, Markbreit corrected his mistake before the kickoff.
The halftime show was produced by Bob Jani Productions and titled "KaleidoSUPERscope", and featured the Los Angeles Super Drill Team.
Following the game, NBC aired the premiere episode of The A-Team, beginning the tradition of the game's host network airing programming after the game.
The game was shown live in the UK for the first time when Channel 4, Britain's newest channel (launched 2 November 1982) covered it. Additionally, the Super Bowl was shown live in Canada on CTV, which also simulcasted NBC's coverage.
This Super Bowl has appeared on NFL's Greatest Games under the title Hog Day Afternoon. A fictional version of the game, wherein the Dolphins lose by one point to the 49ers due to a missed field goal in the closing seconds, is also referenced in the film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
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Famous quotes containing the word television:
“It is among the ranks of school-age children, those six- to twelve-year-olds who once avidly filled their free moments with childhood play, that the greatest change is evident. In the place of traditional, sometimes ancient childhood games that were still popular a generation ago, in the place of fantasy and make- believe play . . . today’s children have substituted television viewing and, most recently, video games.”
—Marie Winn (20th century)