John Facenda. My aunt, who moved to Chagrin Falls, Ohio, said, “The only thing I really miss from Philly is John Facenda and that soothing Italian gangster voice.”

Few people realize that the glory of the NFL originated in New Jersey, where an entrepreneur named Sabol made the young league mythic by setting game films to music and literate voiceover narration. The keystone was a man named John Facenda, a Philadelphia news anchorman who had, gasp, talent for looking at film, reading a script, and turning those things into poetry.

Why this post? My wife mentioned him when I showed a pic of the hottest weather girl in Philadelphia. So, yeah, I’m old. But I’d rather have Facenda back (or his NFL Films successor Harry Kalas) than a ninny in a skintight dress.

But I grant you she IS hot.