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CNN Sunday Morning
Interview With Bob Hille
Aired September 07, 2003 - 07:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: You know, for this segment, I feel like I need a Lazy Boy, maybe some chips, even a frosty cold soda, something like that. Well, football fans got a small dose of pigskin frenzy Thursday night when the Redskins beat the Jets in the first game of the NFL season, but as you well aware, today is the big day when most of the other teams make their season debut on the gridiron.
Bob Hille, executive editor of "The Sporting News" now joins us from St. Louis to talk a little bit about what he had to look forward to. He has some picks of the best and worst NFL fans.
Thanks for joining us this morning. How are you doing?
BOB HILLE, EXEC. EDITOR, THE SPORTING NEWS: Good, Sean. How are you? We're about a little less than six hours away. You better get that Lazy Boy ready.
CALLEBS: Well, indeed, and the remote. And the remote. Let's talk about some of the fans. Not necessarily the most -- the team that -- the ones that support their team the most, but the ones that have the reputation for being the best and worst, perhaps for other teams, for things of that nature. And Philadelphia has to come to mind?
HILLE: Well, it's going to be interesting to see the game on Monday night. The Eagles open a new stadium. Their fans have been famous at the old stadium, the Vet, for 32 years of being the toughest in the league.
They went so far as having a magistrate, a court, and a jail at the stadium. That tells you a little bit about a group of fans who would boo an injury to a player who could have been incapacitated...
CALLEBS: Michael Irvin.
HILLE: Exactly.
CALLEBS: I mean that was...
HILLE: In 1999.
CALLEBS: ...that was stunning by any standards. Of course, they're legendary for booing Santa Claus.
HILLE: Absolutely. They set a Redskins mascot on fire one year and then cheered as they watched him go up in flames. So it's an interesting group. It's going to be interesting, like I said though, with this stadium, a new stadium. The fans are close to the field. Are they going to be able to be in the game as much as they've been in the past?
CALLEBS: And then we have also the Raiders, worst fans. Cardinals, Bengals and Dolphins. But those last three are the worst fans, not because they're mean and ornery. Just because it's hard for them to get up and cheer for their team for some reason.
HILLE: Absolutely. I mean, that's kind of the difference we make between the two in the sense that you can go to a Cardinals game in Tempe and see more fans of the opposing team than of the home team.
CALLEBS: Well, I think that says a lot about that whole area indeed. What about the best fans? Those folks at Lambeau Field, they own the team as a whole. They've always supported them. And you know, they love it up there. The colder, the better.
HILLE: The tickets are handed down from family to generation to generation. The waiting list is long. And that's to get out and watch a team in sub zero weather. It's really an interesting situation and one of the great venues in the league.
CALLEBS: Also, the Steelers, you know, I mean, I go back to the '70s when they had those. It was an amazing team because I lived just outside there. Browns great, as well. You know, the chiefs, that's surprises me. Why do you say they're among the best?
HILLE: Well, they're probably underdeserved in the sense that you look at that team, and the fans are out there tailgating every morning. They're out there. They stand through the whole game. It's really a great festival for those fans. Arrowhead Stadium is a great venue, too.
CALLEBS: I still take issue with you on that one, but we'll get to that later on. What about places to play as well? Man, the Vet again, Philadelphia just stinks.
HILLE: Yes, that was a tough one.
CALLEBS: Gone now.
HILLE: The place I think a lot of people don't talk about that's tough to play is the Cowboys Stadium at Texas Stadium, where the shadows are tough because the hole in the roof.
Great fans, too. You know, they say that hole in the roof is there because God can watch the game that way.
CALLEBS: But too bad the players can't see it very much with the sun coming at those crazy angles. And I know that Jerry Jones is already making more noise about getting a new stadium. And that doesn't seem that old.
HILLE: It doesn't seem that old, but it's a different configuration from what we see in stadiums now. You saw the game the other night at Fedex Field, which is one of the great new venues in the league. I think it's just like what you're seeing in baseball, that everybody wants a new field to play on.
CALLEBS: Let's talk a bit about the game itself. Your thoughts on who could make it to the Superbowl, some of the teams to watch. I got to admit, living here in Atlanta with the Georgia Dome, my heart broke a bit when Michael Vick went down in that pre-season game.
HILLE: And you know, Sean, that's really a key to what we talk about when we talk about the NFL season. It's become such a fast and violent game, that to stay healthy is probably the first thing you want to do.
You look at a team like the Tampa Bay Bucaneers that have 19 of their 22 starters back...
CALLEBS: Right.
HILLE: ...it's going to be a very good team again, but they're one Brad Johnson injury away.
CALLEBS: Yes.
HILLE: He's their quarterback. If he gets hurt, they've got big problems.
CALLEBS: Quickly, what about Heidi's Vikings here? Absolutely no chance, right?
COLLINS: Yes.
HILLE: Probably very little chance, but certainly better than they were last year.
CALLEBS: Depends if Randy Moss wants to play or not, right?
HILLE: That's exactly right.
CALLEBS: OK, thanks a lot for joining us. Enjoy the day. We'll have you back later on this season to talk about -- see how things went. How about that?
HILLE: Sounds very good.
CALLEBS: OK, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 7, 2003 - 07:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: You know, for this segment, I feel like I need a Lazy Boy, maybe some chips, even a frosty cold soda, something like that. Well, football fans got a small dose of pigskin frenzy Thursday night when the Redskins beat the Jets in the first game of the NFL season, but as you well aware, today is the big day when most of the other teams make their season debut on the gridiron.
Bob Hille, executive editor of "The Sporting News" now joins us from St. Louis to talk a little bit about what he had to look forward to. He has some picks of the best and worst NFL fans.
Thanks for joining us this morning. How are you doing?
BOB HILLE, EXEC. EDITOR, THE SPORTING NEWS: Good, Sean. How are you? We're about a little less than six hours away. You better get that Lazy Boy ready.
CALLEBS: Well, indeed, and the remote. And the remote. Let's talk about some of the fans. Not necessarily the most -- the team that -- the ones that support their team the most, but the ones that have the reputation for being the best and worst, perhaps for other teams, for things of that nature. And Philadelphia has to come to mind?
HILLE: Well, it's going to be interesting to see the game on Monday night. The Eagles open a new stadium. Their fans have been famous at the old stadium, the Vet, for 32 years of being the toughest in the league.
They went so far as having a magistrate, a court, and a jail at the stadium. That tells you a little bit about a group of fans who would boo an injury to a player who could have been incapacitated...
CALLEBS: Michael Irvin.
HILLE: Exactly.
CALLEBS: I mean that was...
HILLE: In 1999.
CALLEBS: ...that was stunning by any standards. Of course, they're legendary for booing Santa Claus.
HILLE: Absolutely. They set a Redskins mascot on fire one year and then cheered as they watched him go up in flames. So it's an interesting group. It's going to be interesting, like I said though, with this stadium, a new stadium. The fans are close to the field. Are they going to be able to be in the game as much as they've been in the past?
CALLEBS: And then we have also the Raiders, worst fans. Cardinals, Bengals and Dolphins. But those last three are the worst fans, not because they're mean and ornery. Just because it's hard for them to get up and cheer for their team for some reason.
HILLE: Absolutely. I mean, that's kind of the difference we make between the two in the sense that you can go to a Cardinals game in Tempe and see more fans of the opposing team than of the home team.
CALLEBS: Well, I think that says a lot about that whole area indeed. What about the best fans? Those folks at Lambeau Field, they own the team as a whole. They've always supported them. And you know, they love it up there. The colder, the better.
HILLE: The tickets are handed down from family to generation to generation. The waiting list is long. And that's to get out and watch a team in sub zero weather. It's really an interesting situation and one of the great venues in the league.
CALLEBS: Also, the Steelers, you know, I mean, I go back to the '70s when they had those. It was an amazing team because I lived just outside there. Browns great, as well. You know, the chiefs, that's surprises me. Why do you say they're among the best?
HILLE: Well, they're probably underdeserved in the sense that you look at that team, and the fans are out there tailgating every morning. They're out there. They stand through the whole game. It's really a great festival for those fans. Arrowhead Stadium is a great venue, too.
CALLEBS: I still take issue with you on that one, but we'll get to that later on. What about places to play as well? Man, the Vet again, Philadelphia just stinks.
HILLE: Yes, that was a tough one.
CALLEBS: Gone now.
HILLE: The place I think a lot of people don't talk about that's tough to play is the Cowboys Stadium at Texas Stadium, where the shadows are tough because the hole in the roof.
Great fans, too. You know, they say that hole in the roof is there because God can watch the game that way.
CALLEBS: But too bad the players can't see it very much with the sun coming at those crazy angles. And I know that Jerry Jones is already making more noise about getting a new stadium. And that doesn't seem that old.
HILLE: It doesn't seem that old, but it's a different configuration from what we see in stadiums now. You saw the game the other night at Fedex Field, which is one of the great new venues in the league. I think it's just like what you're seeing in baseball, that everybody wants a new field to play on.
CALLEBS: Let's talk a bit about the game itself. Your thoughts on who could make it to the Superbowl, some of the teams to watch. I got to admit, living here in Atlanta with the Georgia Dome, my heart broke a bit when Michael Vick went down in that pre-season game.
HILLE: And you know, Sean, that's really a key to what we talk about when we talk about the NFL season. It's become such a fast and violent game, that to stay healthy is probably the first thing you want to do.
You look at a team like the Tampa Bay Bucaneers that have 19 of their 22 starters back...
CALLEBS: Right.
HILLE: ...it's going to be a very good team again, but they're one Brad Johnson injury away.
CALLEBS: Yes.
HILLE: He's their quarterback. If he gets hurt, they've got big problems.
CALLEBS: Quickly, what about Heidi's Vikings here? Absolutely no chance, right?
COLLINS: Yes.
HILLE: Probably very little chance, but certainly better than they were last year.
CALLEBS: Depends if Randy Moss wants to play or not, right?
HILLE: That's exactly right.
CALLEBS: OK, thanks a lot for joining us. Enjoy the day. We'll have you back later on this season to talk about -- see how things went. How about that?
HILLE: Sounds very good.
CALLEBS: OK, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
