Forgive my ignorance, but what was wrong with Howard Cosell making the announcement?
In short, imagine someone doing a parody of Howard Cosell doing an announcement about a death. And you’ve got the right idea.
Hey, me too!
For me, 9/11 was the Tony Bruno Extravaganza, so yeah, I do see a pattern there…
Lennon had made a guest appearance during a MNF game in '74:
As I understand it, Cosell liked him quite a lot, and was devastated to learn that he had been killed.
Well, Howard was an obnoxious asshole, so I didn’t really need to hear that from him.
I was in my mid-20s, and can’t remember what I was doing when I heard. It surely says something about me that my first thought was, “so much for the Beatles getting back together.”
(Of course, the possibility of a Beatles reunion was one of those rumors that surfaced about every 25 minutes during the 1970s. Several years later, George Harrison would say, “As long as John Lennon remains dead, there will be no Beatles reunion.”)
I got it from Howard as well. I was devastated. To this day, that murder has more emotional impact on me than any other well-known person’s death.
I was 10 and have absolutely no idea. My parents never listened to the Beatles so I didn’t know who in the world he was. Given that my dad was a MNF diehard, I imagine it was via Cosell, but have no specific memory to that effect.
*I got it from Agnes
She got it from Jim
We all agree it must have been
Louise who gave it to him
…She then gave it to Daniel
Whose spaniel has it now
Our dentist even got it
And we’re still wondering how*
- Tom Lehrer
I was working at the local library (I had a high school job as a page). I didn’t hear about it until I got home, when either my mom told me or I heard it on the news. My guess is it was all over the news. I still remember drinking diet RC Cola, munching Bavarian pretzels, and watching the news coverage.