Fifty-five years ago, NFL broadcasts were not nearly as smooth as they are today.
In what would become known as the "Heidi Game," NBC once cut away from a shootout between Joe Namath's New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders to show the television film Heidi.
The gist of the story: the Jets and Raiders game ran long thanks to scoring a ton of points and two rivals producing a good amount of penalties playing against each other, so much so that they ran past the broadcast window of the game.
As a result, fans across the country missed out on the Raiders' thrilling comeback win.
Ahead of Sunday Night Football, NBC celebrated the anniversary of the Heidi Game, inviting actress Jennifer Edwards to tell the story and introduce Sunday night's rematch.
The infamous “Heidi Game” was 55 years ago week. Phenomenal cold open essay by @SNFonNBC starring “Heidi” actress Jennifer Edwards. pic.twitter.com/waPIxcuCYq
— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) November 13, 2023
Many fans watching at home enjoyed the cheeky call-back to a time before national networks knew to never, ever turn away from an NFL game.
This is great. https://t.co/7fsuVLmGPc
— Jimmie Tramel (@JimmieTramel) November 13, 2023
Bravo, NBC. Bravo https://t.co/KyOVnIYREU
— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) November 13, 2023
Absolutely fantastic. https://t.co/BjwE9Y7RwN
— A . 함 (@GiantAsianMan) November 13, 2023
But one person was not so entertained by the bit—Joe Namath, who was quarterbacking the Jets team that went on to lose that fateful night in November.
I never did like that little Heidi girl…
— Joe Namath (@RealJoeNamath) November 13, 2023
It was Namath and the Jets who would get the last laugh in 1968 though, winning the rematch with the Raiders when they met in the AFL Championship Game, and going on to defeat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
