News Report

The news of John Lennon’s death broke during a Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots football game on the night of December 8th, 1980. The sports announcer for the game, Howard Cosell speaks during a time out with three seconds left in the game, and tells all that are watching the horrible news. In a way to segway into breaking the news, Cosell reminds those watching that no matter who comes out victorious during this matchup, it is “just a football game”.

Cosell, seemingly thinking out loud, proclaims that it is hard to go back to the game after hearing the news of the murder of Lennon. Still, as the game goes on, Cosell can’t help but repeat his earlier announcement and express his shock and sadness. Watchers and listeners of the game are told that after the game is over, all of the details that are known so far will be reported on Nightline.

It is interesting that the announcer chose to disrupt the game rhetoric with the upsetting news of Lennon’s passing, but it certainly does speak to the level of notoriety Lennon held. Lennon did not have much involvement in football, but he was still a household name. Now, the passing of celebrities is usually reported digitally, on Twitter or Instagram. It doesn’t seem to be a likely scenario that the death of a celebrity who is not in some ways involved in the event/sport being broadcasted, would be reported in such a way as Lennon’s passing was over the football broadcast. The influence Lennon had on all sorts of people, from different walks of life with different interests and hobbies is apparent in the breaking of the terrible tragedy. Lennon, here, is a figure that viewers are supposed to resonate with and feel the loss of, and the media helps to attain that reaction to.