NATIONAL REACTION TO BILL COWHER AND JIMMY JOHNSON LIVE WALK ON

Saturday night in New York, during the CBS NFL Today pregame show, leading to the Tennessee Titans & Baltimore Ravens playoff game, live to a national audience of 12 million, for the first time in the 57 year Hall of Fame history of delivering the news to a nominee that he was now a Hall of Famer. President and CEO David Baker walked on the set at 7:52 pm ET to tell a stunned Bill Cowher he was the 327th Pro Football Hall of Famer from the 29,000 who have played, coached or administered the game.
 

It was a seminal moment in sports television history and NFL history.
 
Then on Sunday in Los Angeles, during the NFL Fox Sports halftime segment of the Seattle Seahawks & Green Bay Packers playoff game in primetime in front of 30 million viewers,  David Baker again “Walked On” the set to surprise and inform Fox talent Coach Jimmy Johnson that he would join his four Fox Sports announcing teammates that were already in the Hall, with his election as the 328th Pro Football Hall of Famer. Having known that Bill Cowher was surprised the day before in the pregame, there was an anticipation that Jimmy would also be informed during the pregame. Still, by waiting until halftime, the moment was so unexpected, that Jimmy cried and was shaken as the Fox studio technical crew erupted with cheers. 
 

Back to back seminal moments in sports television history and NFL history.
 
The national reaction was enormous  “Top Ten All-Time TV moments” trending to the top of social media, Monday coverage on all the national morning shows. President CBS Sports Sean McManus called it “one of the coolest moments in the history of CBS Sports” Baker was named “The Santa Claus of Sports” and a CBS staff called him “David Baker the Memory Maker.” Bleacher Report “The Most Wholesome Man in America”  

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