NFL Full Contact Premiered on TruTV Featuring NFL Kickoff 2009

NFL Full Contact premiered Monday night on truTV one night after Super Bowl XLIV. NFL Full Contact is an hour-long truTV program (minus commercials) that goes behind the scenes of an NFL football game. The first episode of NFL Full Contact on truTV featured the NFL Kickoff 2009 game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and the events leading up to it and after, including a Tim McGraw and Black Eyed Peas pre-game concert. This fast-paced television program will hold football fans' interest. The program shows viewers all the work that has to be done make this sports spectacle presentable to millions of fans across the country.

NFL Full Contact Premiered on truTV: Lots of Preparation Needed for Game Days

NFL Films has not been the same in over a quarter of a century, since the gripping narration of John Facenda (who narrated them from 1965-1984, according to his biography at Wikipedia). I've found very little interesting related to NFL Films since the era of that legendary voice. NFL Films hasn't totally escaped that shadow of Facenda, who used to make the NFL come alive so dramatically. But this new truTV program did pique my interest throughout.

In the first episode of NFL Full Contact, several of the game's behind the scenes workers are shown setting up and helping to facilitate the game presentation, including that of cameraman Bob Angelo, who grew up in Pittsburgh. He has trouble getting into Heinz Field, and while filming the game, he runs out of film briefly during overtime, which the Steelers won on a field goal over the Titans. Angelo tries to make connections with the players and coaches before the game starts, so he has a better chance of not being considered a pest when he's trying to get those "money shots" during game time.

Issues of crowd control and placement for the park concert (because of a shortage of people and people heading to the stadium during the end of the concert which affected the look of a large crowd) were big issues featured on the premiere episode of NFL Full Contact on truTV. A man impersonating Tim McGraw was wandering around without proper credentials and was thrown out by the Event Producer Dan Parise, who emanated a real sense of attitude and self-importance during the first part of the episode, but became more mellow as things progressed during the evening. The staff responsible for crowd control had to worry about drunks, medical situations, and even one missing child until she was found safe.

NFL Full Contact on truTV: Adequate for Post-Super Bowl Withdrawl Symptoms

More aspects of the show included Tim McGraw having to have his footballs to throw during his stage time, which Stage Manager Gary Natoli had a problem finding. And Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas had dressing room issues that had to be dealt with. Briefing and prepping Rich Eisen for his NFL Total Access program was highlighted in a production meeting before he went on the air, but that didn't keep audio problems from plaguing one of Eisen's interviews during his show and even more such snafus for the post-game show.

NFL Full Contact on truTV will give fans who need more post-Super Bowl NFL-related entertainment something to suckle on since it's months away before any training camp reports and pre-season action arrive. Next week's show is scheduled to cover the hoopla at Cowboys Stadium.

Sources for this article about the premiere of NFL Full Contact on truTV:

"Kickoff", NFL Full Contact, originally aired February 8, 2010, truTV

John Facenda: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Facenda, Wikipedia