Match Of The Day Opening Credits: 2010 and 1980 (Video)

Match Of The Day unveiled their new opening credits August 14th after the opening day of the Premier League season. The staple of English football, shown on BBC 1 on Saturday evenings, remains one of the most popular shows in the United Kingdom. And deservedly so as it does a grand job of featuring all of the highlights from the day’s games. The punditry, however, leaves much to be desired.

So when this British institution decides to change the introduction to the show, it’s a big deal.

Across Facebook and the Internet Saturday night I read plenty of comments for and against the new opening titles. Personally, I love them because they capture some of the most golden highlights in the memory of English football. And boy do we need that now at this seemingly all-time low. While director James Cameron would probably scoff at some of the poor ways that players from the past were spliced in with modern day heroes, the sentiment is there and it’s one which is trying to tap into our golden memories and emotions, as well as to try to bring the sport back down to earth.

Some of the legends of English football are featured in the video. I dare anyone to go ahead and try to list each player and incident in this video. It’s a treasure trove of English football. And I love it.

Before we go, here’s one of the most famous opening titles from Match Of The Day of yesteryear. The year was 1980. And yes, that is the great Jimmy Hill.