At the end of last night’s Indianapolis Colts-New England Patriots game, CBS took the time during a blowout to pay tribute to analyst Dan Dierdorf. The AFC Divisional Playoff game in primetime was Dierdorf’s last for CBS and in all probability, the last he’ll call on network television.
Dierdorf did not want a taped tribute so it was up to play-by-play man Greg Gumbel to initiate one in the waning moments of the game. This video is courtesy of The Big Lead.
At that moment, the public relations departments of ESPN and Fox also paid tribute. It’s rare you see other networks do this. ESPN PR maven Bill Hofheimer tweeted a photo of Dierdorf with Monday Night Football partners Al Michaels and Frank Gifford.
Late-game salute to @CBSSports' Dan Dierdorf on his final broadcast. Legendary career also included 200 #MNF gms. pic.twitter.com/yvjuN2pWUS
— bill hofheimer (@bhofheimer_espn) January 12, 2014
Fox Sports public relations guru Dan Bell also chimed in.
Great job by @NFLonCBS tonight with their tribute to a true class act Dan Dierdorf.
— Dan Bell (@danpbell) January 12, 2014
And Fox Sports PR master Lou D’Ermilio took the time to offer this tweet.
Congratulations to Dan Dierdorf on a terrific career as a player and @NFLonCBS analyst. Sure the @CBSSportsGang will miss him.
— Lou D'Ermilio (@FOXSportsLouD) January 12, 2014
And while the Twitterati jumped on Dierdorf for parts of his analysis, I thought he had a decent game for him to go out. There were some questionable thoughts especially when Dan opined that Patriots punter Ryan Allen should have eaten the ball and allowed himself to be tackled at the two yard line after a high snap or attempted to throw it away as he did and it resulted in a safety. And there were other parts of his commentary that got fans up in arms, but overall, no one can question his longevity in the booth and his strong work during his ABC days.
Congrats to Dierdorf on his long NFL career as both a player and a broadcaster and being able to go out on his own terms.
