Len Dawson – Nick Buoniconti.
SUPER BOWL XVI – January 24, 1982
Bengals – 49ers

This week – as the Super Bowl XLIV video production crews are enjoying some time in the Miami sun – we look back at Super Bowl XVI and a much different climate. For some reason the NFL awarded the 1982 game to Pontiac, Michigan – in JANUARY. Had they never been there?

We arrived prior to the big event to tape “Inside the NFL”, HBO’s premiere sports program with former players Len Dawson and Nick Buoniconti. What we found was a wind chill below zero that required us to run power lines from our hotel rooms just to keep the production van from freezing overnight.

The next morning when we pulled up to the Pontiac Silverdome we found that CBS had created an astonishing heated tent city outside the stadium, wrapping all of their remote game trucks and the areas between them in plastic to keep the crews and equipment functioning. (Remember – never let your producer suffer – cold, hunger, thirst – any discomfort.)

Cold won’t stop a football game and it’s only another obstacle to be overcome for a video production company. After creating a studio in the press box for the talent and crew, we shot Len and Nick and headed for home.

While we were disappointed to be gone before Diana Ross sang the anthem, leaving early also meant that we missed halftime featuring Up With People…so all in all………

Check out this clip from the completed show and the voice of legendary announcer John Facenda.