Hawks in Super Bowl tops year’s TV events
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, December 27, 2006
This year’s list of the most memorable television moments of 2006 includes the scripted and unscripted – and one event that was hijacked by higher powers – and fittingly starts with one that incorporates all three.
1. Seahawks in the Super Bowl: Sports fan or not, the Super Bowl is the single biggest TV event every year. And while it didn’t turn out the way most locals would have preferred, Feb. 5 marked the first time the Seattle Seahawks were in the spotlight on the big day, squaring off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL in Detroit.
The Steelers beat the Seahawks 21-10 in a game that was watched by more than 90 million people across the country, according to Nielsen Media Research.
But it was a contest that might most be remembered for terrible officiating – and that isn’t just a Seahawks fan talking. A columnist with seemingly no ties to either team, Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star, encapsulated it clearly enough when he wrote, “(Referee Bill) Leavy and his crew ruined Super Bowl XL.”
A bittersweet memory, indeed, but most local fans won’t soon forget the franchise’s first trip to the game’s biggest stage.
2. Katie Couric: The 49-year-old news anchor’s much-rumored departure from NBC’s “Today” to take over for Dan Rather on the “CBS Evening News” come to fruition this year to much fanfare. Couric’s heavily scripted departure from “Today” was highlighted by some genuine emotion as she left the show in May after 15 years and kicked off her new reign at CBS on Sept. 5.
3. Mel Gibson with Diane Sawyer: It was quite a year for Gibson, but it was capped on television by his interview with Diane Sawyer, who peppered him with pressing questions about his apparent anti-Semitism after the tirade he went on during a arrest for alleged drunken driving.
4. O.J. Simpson’s “If I Did It” interview: Higher authorities (and you don’t get much higher than Rupert Murdoch) eventually stopped a disaster in the making, but that didn’t stop this TV-event-that-never-was from making the list of the most memorable. In the interview that was to be aired on Fox, Simpson was going to discuss, “hypothetically,” how he would have killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, if he’d actually done it.
5. The head butt heard ‘round the world: With most of the world watching, French soccer great Zinedine Zidane shocked everyone by head butting Italian Marco Materazzi during extra time in the World Cup final. Zidane was kicked out of the game, leaving his team to play a man down for the rest of the game, and was unavailable to take a shot during penalty kicks that decided the title, which went to Italy by a 5-3 score.
6. Faith Hill’s reaction at the CMAs: It was a joke, that much is clear. But Faith Hill’s so-called explosion at the Country Music Awards when Carrie Underwood was announced as the winner in their category made its biggest waves on YouTube.com.
7. “Grey’s Anatomy” grows up: ABC’s medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy” emerged from the shadow of “Desperate Housewives” this year with a post-Super Bowl episode that pulled in 38.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen. The show moved to Thursday nights this season and became the first drama in years to grab more viewers than “CSI.”
8. “Heroes” takes over the world: Well, not quite. But NBC generated the biggest buzz with its new show, “Heroes,” this fall. It’s loveable (and despicable) cast of characters and high-action story lines have made it one of the most intriguing new shows on TV.
9. Shootout on “Desperate Housewives”: Creator Marc Cherry and his crew did the near-impossible this year, bringing “Housewives” back to the forefront among TV dramas after a second season that saw a significant drop in quality. It was marked by a shootout in a supermarket during a November episode.
10. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama introduces “Monday Night Football”: It remains to be seen what impact the Illinois Democratic senator’s appearance on ESPN to introduce the Chicago Bears and St. Louis Rams game this month will have, but it was a wise move by a man who’s generating the publicity of a rock star in what may or may not be a run for the presidency.
Victor Balta’s TV column runs Mondays and Thursdays on the A&E page. Reach him at 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.
For more TV scoop, check out Victor’s blog at heraldnet.com/blogpopculture.
Associated Press
Katie Couric’s move to the “CBS Evening News” was among the top TV stories of the year.
