title: Noggin (brand)

text: Noggin is an American entertainment brand launched on February 2, 1999, as a joint venture between MTV Networks (owners of Nickelodeon) and Sesame Workshop. It started out as a cable television channel and interactive website, both centered around the concepts of imagination, creativity, and education. Since its launch, the brand has expanded to include a mobile streaming app and multiple defunct programming blocks worldwide.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: When launched as a TV channel, Noggin was mainly aimed at pre-teens and teenagers. Programming was divided into three distinct blocks: one for pre-teens and teens, an early morning block for preschoolers, and a nighttime block for reruns of "retro" programs. The channel heavily drew from Sesame Workshop's back catalogue. In its first three years, Noggin made several original shows: the live-action educational show "A Walk in Your Shoes", the short-form puppetry series "Oobi", the game show "Sponk!", and the variety series "Phred on Your Head Show".


title: Noggin (brand)

text: In April 2002, the Noggin channel ended its retro block and extended its preschool and teen blocks to last 12 hours each per day. The preschool block aired from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, and the teen block (now titled "The N") ran from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. The older-skewing shows that made up Noggin's original tween and teen lineup aired exclusively during The N. Imported series from the Nick Jr. block began to overtake Noggin's daytime lineup as it grew, and most of the Sesame Workshop branding that had defined the network's early years was dropped. Despite this, Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop continued a co-production partnership for Noggin until 2009, when the channel closed.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Noggin started out as an experimental brand, and its on-air commercials stressed imagination and thinking through themed short films that were often surreal and abstract. Before the brand was overtaken by Nick Jr., Noggin's marketing team sought out "sick and twisted" independent animators to make their on-air presence look unique. After Noggin introduced its daytime block for preschoolers, it was rebranded with a more consistent brand identity, with the more experimental material being confined to The N. The Noggin brand was dormant from 2010 until 2015, when it was announced that Noggin would be returning as a mobile streaming app, which launched on March 5, 2015.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Until 2019, Noggin's brand was defined by its versatile character logo: the bottom half of a smiling face. The upper half of the logo featured various icons that represented a certain topic or idea that the head was "thinking of" (e.g. a beaker to reflect science, flowers to reflect springtime). In the network's early years, hundreds of different "toppers" were designed for the logo, and they were used throughout Noggin's commercials and website. The face in the logo was allowed to wink, show its teeth, and make expressions based on the theme, making it interactive and showing it as a character of itself. Noggin's artists were given a lot of creative freedom for their designs, with one rule being that the toppers should always complement the Noggin face, not outshine or overpower it.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Noggin's logo was featured in a large amount of original shorts and animations that ran between shows on the channel. Noggin's marketing team intentionally looked to hire "sick and twisted" independent animators to create station ID commercials, hoping that they could each bring their own personal design elements to the logo. The goal was to make the logo, as well as the channel as a whole, "look unlike any other network."


title: Noggin (brand)

text: After Noggin extended its preschool daytime block in 2002, a new set of "topper" designs were introduced, based on traditional children's art such as crayon drawings and paper crafts. In 2019, Nickelodeon retired the original Noggin face logo along with former hosts Moose and Zee. The logo was replaced with a lowercase "noggin" wordmark written in purple, while Moose and Zee were replaced with "more recognizable" characters from Nickelodeon's preschool shows.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: The first and most significant service established under Noggin was a cable and satellite television channel, operating from February 2, 1999, until September 28, 2009. During its first few years, Noggin's lineup mainly showed reruns from Sesame Workshop and Nickelodeon's libraries. Classic episodes of "The Electric Company" and "3-2-1 Contact" were broadcast in hopes of attracting teenagers and Generation Xers who watched those shows growing up. The providers had over 5,000 hours of library material to broadcast.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Noggin's first original show for 6- to 12-year-olds was "A Walk In Your Shoes", which was made because Noggin felt that this age group was "underserved when it comes to new, quality educational television." A live game show aimed at pre-teens, "Sponk!", premiered a year afterwards. "Sponk!" was one of many series that featured viewer-submitted content from Noggin's website, along with the animated "Phred on Your Head" and its spin-off "URL with Phred". In 2002, the channel divided itself into two blocks: a daytime block for preschoolers and a nighttime block, The N, for teens.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Noggin consistently received ratings that were substantially higher than Nickelodeon's other sister channels. It was viewed by an average of 529,000 households daily in early 2009. At the time of its closure, Noggin reached nearly 70 million households in the United States (as opposed to the 1.5 million subscribers it reached upon being launched).


title: Noggin (brand)

text: The N was a nighttime programming block on the Noggin channel, aimed at pre-teens and teenagers. It premiered on April 1, 2002, and aired until December 31, 2007. Promotions advertised the block as "The N: The New Name for Nighttime on Noggin." It took several months for Noggin to choose the right name for the block; as reported by "Kidscreen" in 2002, they needed a name to "help distance and distinguish the tween programming from the preschool fare," but the legal department also required the block to maintain a relation to Noggin's main name.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Noggin's preexisting tween-targeted shows — like "A Walk in Your Shoes" and "Sponk!" — only aired during The N from 2002 onward. Noggin LLC produced several original series for the block, including the news program "Real Access", the game show "Best Friend's Date", the animated comedy "O'Grady", and the drama "South of Nowhere". The N was also the U.S. broadcast home of "", the latest iteration of the eponymous Canadian teen drama franchise. From 2007 to 2009, The N had its own short-lived 24-hour channel, but the channel was later closed and merged with Nickelodeon's block TEENick to form TeenNick.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: One of Viacom and Sesame Workshop's goals was to develop Noggin into a "cable-computer hybrid." Noggin.com, the channel's website, was launched in 1999 as a portal for exclusive content. Unlike Nick.com and other previous online ventures, the website was integrated into many television shows. Viewers were encouraged to offer suggestions for programs, such as the tween-oriented game show "Sponk!", through the site. Throughout 2000, Bill Nye of "Bill Nye the Science Guy" answered questions asked by Noggin.com users between airings of his show. User-generated content submitted to Noggin.com was the focal point of "The URL with Phred Show" (whose title is a reference to the Noggin.com URL). In 2001, Noggin launched "Chattervision", which allowed viewers to comment on the network's programming through the website and see their conversations appear live on TV.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: In 2001, CRC Press published "Interactive Design for Media and the Web", which provided an in-depth description of Noggin.com and stated that it included "complex and confounding games that kids will enjoy." Noggin.com was also listed in Dierdre Kelly's book "1001 Best Websites for Kids," published in the same year. In 2004, the site was the recipient of a Webby Award in the "Broadband" category. Later that year, it won first place in the "Brand Image and Positioning" category at the 21st Annual CTAM Mark Awards. 2004 also saw the release of Shell Education's "Must See Websites for Parents & Kids" book, which featured Noggin.com. "Time" Magazine included the Noggin site on its "50 Best Websites of 2004" list. It won a second Webby in the Youth category in 2005. In 2006, John Braheny published "The Craft & Business of Songwriting", which included a brief entry about Noggin.com's musical content (calling it "an innovative and popular site...that presents videos of children's artists"). Jean Armour Polly of Common Sense Media gave the site a positive review in 2007, noting that "young kids will get a kick out of playing games, coloring printable pages, and singing along to music videos all featuring their favorite TV characters." In 2008, it received a Parents' Choice Award and a nomination for a third Webby.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Viacom put $100 million toward online gaming initiatives, such as a subscription-based educational site called MyNoggin, in July 2007. The MyNoggin website was initially scheduled to launch in early September of that year, but was not made available to the public until October. The site's content was curriculum-based and intended for children in preschool through first grade. The games on MyNoggin covered major school subjects and included Noggin characters. In addition to activities, MyNoggin included printable workbooks that expanded upon math and science concepts. Parents were able to monitor their children's growth and activity on the site through daily progress reports. The website was free of advertisements and supported by subscriptions, which were available for online purchase and through prepaid game cards sold throughout 2008. Charter, Insight and Cox Communications customers were given unlimited access to MyNoggin as part of their cable subscriptions. The site also offered a week-long free trial.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: In February 2015, it was announced that Noggin would be relaunched as a mobile streaming app. The app was released on March 5. It includes full episodes of former Noggin shows, as well as some exclusive series and currently-running Nickelodeon series. In May 2015, many shows that had previously been available on Amazon Instant Video were moved to the Noggin app. On November 18, 2015, the app was made available for Android, Apple and Kindle. On April 8, 2016, Alcatel Mobile announced that the Noggin app would come pre-loaded on its Alcatel Xess tablet.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: The app received mixed reviews when it was released. Brad Tuttle of "Time" predicted that paying $6 a month for a streaming app with much less content than Netflix would not be a popular idea with parents. Scott Porch of "Wired" felt that the Noggin app helped Viacom decrease its dependence on cable channels, but noticed that it was only "baby steps toward the no-cable-required model." Amanda Bindel of Common Sense complimented the user-friendly layout and educational content, but felt that it needed more parental controls. In fall 2015, the app received a Parents' Choice Award in the category.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Two international apps based on Noggin have been launched. In November 2015, a Spanish version of the Noggin app was released in Latin America. It includes some shows unavailable on the English app, such as the Spanish dubs of "Roary the Racing Car" and "Rugrats". The Spanish app had its own Facebook page and a section on the MundoNick website. A Portuguese version was released on November 21, 2015.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: On September 21, 2020, it was announced that versions of Noggin would launch in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Austria as an Amazon Prime Video premium add-on. The UK version of Noggin replaced the existing "More Milkshake!" service.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: The Noggin name was used for an otherwise unrelated programming block on Nick Jr. UK from May 2004 until September 2005. It ran for two hours every night and included reruns of syndicated British television series for children. The block was renamed to Nick Jr. Classics. On January 30, 2006, Noggin was launched as a block on TMF in the United Kingdom, this time in the style of the US Noggin. The channel was available exclusively to Freeview subscribers at the time. It ran every weekday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Between 25 September 2006 and sometime in 2009, it was replaced by Nick Jr on TMF but the Noggin branding was restored in early or mid 2009 before TMF closed on 26 October 2009. Noggin continued for a short time on TMF's successor, VIVA, until March 2010, around the time Nickelodeon UK rebranded as a whole and removed Noggin from Viva, moving the Moose and Zee segments to the main Nick Jr. channel where they remained until January 2013.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Nickelodeon featured a Noggin programming block as part of its lineup from 1999 to 2001. The block was originally titled "Noggins Up" and became "Noggin on Nickelodeon" during its second year on the air. It showcased one tween-oriented program every weekday, including "A Walk In Your Shoes" and "On the Team". The timeslot proved successful in attracting thousands of visitors to the Noggin.com site. Nickelodeon revived the block for a single day on April 7, 2003, to advertise the restructuring of Noggin's lineup. Commercials for the Noggin channel were also played between each regular program. Following the block's removal, premiere episodes of Noggin series were frequently simulcast on Nickelodeon and Noggin.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: TV Land aired a one-night Noggin special in 1999. Spanning two hours, the special featured reruns of "The Electric Company", along with commercials for Noggin. On-air continuity during the block included guest appearances by actors who had starred on "The Electric Company".


title: Noggin (brand)

text: On May 28, 2021, the Nick Jr. channel introduced an hour-long block of programming from the Noggin app every Friday. Series featured in the timeslot include the Noggin originals "Kinderwood" and "Noggin Knows", the CBeebies acquisitions "Hey Duggee" and "JoJo & Gran Gran", and various interstitials played during commercial breaks.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: In November 2005, Noggin signed its first merchandising agreement with the online marketplace CafePress. Themed notebooks, cards, mousepads, and clothing were sold on the Noggin website from then until 2009. The shop was created to satisfy parents who had been requesting merchandise since the brand's launch. Angela Leaney, Noggin's senior vice president of brand communications, stated that Noggin had "a huge, loyal following and we could not resist the calls from our audience, for Noggin merchandise, any longer." CafePress co-founder Fred Durham added that Noggin attracted strong interest from his company because of its "dedicated fan base," and that his goal was to share the products "with [Noggin's] millions of fans through quality branded merchandise." Christmas ornaments, which were only sold during the month of December, became the shop's best-selling items of 2005.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: In 1995, the Children's Television Workshop (now known as Sesame Workshop) began planning its own educational cable channel as a new home for most of its programming (other than "Sesame Street") such as "Cro" (which had aired on ABC for two seasons). The channel was to be called "New Kid City" and was planned to be CTW's "own niche on the dial with shows that emphasize educational content"; but CTW later abandoned the concept.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Meanwhile, Nickelodeon began planning an early interactive educational channel called "Big Orange"; in addition to Nickelodeon, other Viacom divisions (such as Viacom Interactive) were involved with the project. After Nickelodeon's president Geraldine Laybourne left in 1996, the "Big Orange" project was put on indefinite hold. By 1997, Nickelodeon retooled the project into "Noggin", a syndicated television series which would meet the FCC's new requirements for educational programming. A pilot was produced by Nickelodeon, Simon & Schuster, and Paramount Television based on Nick's short series "Inside Eddie Johnson". Viacom hoped to grow Noggin into a major brand with educational electronic publishing products, a website, and possibly a cable channel that would focus on educational content, complementing entertainment-oriented Nickelodeon. In March, Nickelodeon revealed they would launch a commercial-free Noggin channel in 1998.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: On April 28, 1998, Viacom and CTW put together an initial investment of $100 million to start the first strictly educational television channel for children. Both organizations wished to combine television and online services to create a "kids' thinking channel," which was named Noggin (derived from a slang term for "head") to reflect its purpose to educate. Noggin's primary goal was to provide informative entertainment for children aged 6–12. CTW initially planned for it to be an advertiser-supported service, but later decided that it should debut as a commercial-free network.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: To develop ideas for original series, Noggin partnered with schools across the United States to research what would "make fun educational" for grade schoolers. In 1999, it provided each school involved up to $7,100 to run focus groups with students and teachers. The students' opinions and reactions to different activities were recorded and used to improve the content shown on Noggin.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: On February 2, 1999, the Noggin channel launched to over 1.5 million subscribers via national satellite television provider Dish Network. It was marketed as both a satellite television station and a digital network.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Sweepstakes were a major part of Noggin's early advertising. In April 1999, it sponsored a contest in which viewers who submitted the correct lyrics of "The Electric Company" theme song had a chance to have their electric bills paid for a year. In 2000, Viacom's Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop distributed packages of school supplies (called "Noggin's Master of Suspense Kits") to 50,000 U.S. teachers as part of a sweepstakes designed to "celebrate creative, thoughtful educational instruction."


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Noggin made an effort to create more interactive programming in 2001, utilizing its website as a way to include viewer participation in many of its shows. It released a tween-oriented game show titled "Sponk!" in September, which included participation from children online and allowed Noggin.com visitors to chat with the hosts. "The URL with Phred Show", which focused on content submitted to Noggin.com from viewers, launched in the same month.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: In 2001, the Jim Henson Company sold its stake in Noggin to Sesame Workshop along with the rights to "Sesame Street"s characters. In March 2002, Noggin manager Tom Ascheim announced plans to restructure Noggin's schedule to cater to preschoolers during the day and older children at night. On April 1, 2002, Noggin expanded its preschool and tween blocks to last 12 hours each. The preschool block, also called "the daytime block," lasted from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. The tween and teen block ran from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night, and it was retitled "The N."


title: Noggin (brand)

text: In August 2002, Sesame Workshop sold its 50% share of Noggin to Viacom. The buyout was partially caused by SW's need to pay off debt, in addition to its interest in partnering with other broadcasters. While this limited Sesame Workshop's control over the network's daily operations, it did not affect the company's influence on the programming lineup as Viacom entered a multi-year production deal with Sesame Workshop shortly after the split and continued to broadcast co-produced series (such as "Play with Me Sesame"). As part of the arrangement, Noggin became the U.S. broadcaster of several shows made by the Workshop without Noggin's involvement, such as "Tiny Planets" and "Pinky Dinky Doo".


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Following the split, creative executives from Noggin toured New York schools in search of ways to improve the channel's programming and continuity. Amy Friedman, senior vice president of development at Noggin, decided to model the channel after a well-run preschool. These ideas took effect in April 2003, when Noggin's slogan was changed to "It's Like Preschool on TV." The changes also included revised branding and a new lineup, divided into thematic blocks based on key curricular knowledge. On December 31, 2003, a Nielsen Media Research report confirmed that the redesigned Noggin channel was available in 37.1 million households.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: On February 23, 2009, Viacom announced that the Noggin channel would be replaced by a 24-hour channel based on Nickelodeon's long-running Nick Jr. block. The N, on the other hand, would be merged with Nickelodeon's TEENick block to form a standalone channel aimed at teenagers, known as TeenNick. The move, which was intended to make all channels in the Nickelodeon family easily recognizable, took place on September 28, 2009, at 6:00 a.m. local time. Although several Noggin shows (along with the Moose and Zee interstitials) were carried over to the Nick Jr. channel, all Noggin continuity was later phased out completely by March 1, 2012.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: On January 29, 2015, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman confirmed that the Noggin brand would be relaunched as a set of mobile subscription services. Commercials for the service have aired regularly across all Nickelodeon channels since the apps' release.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: On May 10, 2019, Viacom announced that the Noggin app had reached 2.5 million subscribers and that it would receive a major upgrade. In June 2019, Nickelodeon unveiled a new Noggin logo, which was used on the redesigned Noggin website and app.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: Noggin held live events to promote its shows. At the 2001 North American Trade Show in Minnesota, Noggin presented a replica of the set from "Oobi". In spring 2002, Noggin launched a live version of its "Play with Me Sesame" series, featuring mascot characters and music from the show. In May 2002, the Jillian's restaurant chain offered "Noggin Play Days" each Wednesday afternoon, where attendees could watch a live feed of Noggin with themed activities and meals.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: In March 2004, Noggin partnered with GGP shopping malls to host a free educational program called Club Noggin. It debuted at five test malls in April of the same year. Attendance at the first few events exceeded expectations, leading GGP to bring Club Noggin to over 100 malls across the United States. The monthly events were hosted by trained YMCA leaders, who gave out Noggin posters and merchandise to attendees. Each meeting was themed around a different Noggin character and encouraged visitors to create art projects based on the character. Donovan Patton of "Blue's Clues" made appearances at Club Noggin in July 2006 to promote his show's tenth anniversary. In 2005, Club Noggin received a Silver Community Relations Award in the International Council of Shopping Centers' MAXI Competition.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: In August 2005, Noggin and Highland Capital Partners produced "Jamarama Live", a music festival that toured the United States. It began in October and continued until late 2006. Laurie Berkner, a musician on "Jack's Big Music Show", performed at many Jamarama venues on the East Coast. The festival also included meet-and-greet opportunities with a mascot costume of Moose A. Moose. The characters hosted karaoke, face-painting, and storytelling sessions during intermissions. Reviewers for "Time" Magazine compared Jamarama to a family-friendly version of Lollapalooza. Jamarama proved more popular than other children's stage shows running at the time, such as those featuring Mickey Mouse. Noggin executives considered on-air advertisements a major contributor to the event's success. After the tour ended, a DVD set including Jamarama performances was released.


title: Noggin (brand)

text: In November 2005, a Noggin float appeared at America's Thanksgiving Parade. In November 2006, Noggin hosted an online charity auction on its website, called the "Noggin Auction." Viewers could bid on props from different Noggin shows. In August 2007, Noggin partnered with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and sponsored its annual Trike-A-Thon program.


title: Cabin fever

text: Cabin fever is the distressing claustrophobic irritability or restlessness experienced when a person, or group, is stuck at an isolated location or in confined quarters for an extended time. A person may be referred to as stir-crazy, derived from the use of "stir" meaning "prison".


title: Cabin fever

text: A person may experience cabin fever in a situation such as being isolated within a vacation cottage out in the countryside, spending long periods underwater in a submarine, or being otherwise isolated from civilization, for instance during a stay-at-home order or under martial law. During cabin fever, a person may experience sleepiness or sleeplessness, have a distrust of anyone they are with, or have an urge to go outside even in adverse conditions such as poor weather or limited visibility. The concept is also invoked humorously to indicate simple boredom from being home alone for an extended period of time.


title: Cabin fever

text: Cabin fever is not itself a disease and there is no prognosis. However, related symptoms can lead the sufferer to make irrational decisions that could potentially threaten their life or the life of the group with whom they are confined. Some examples would be suicide or paranoia, or leaving the safety of a cabin during a terrible snow storm that one may be stuck in.


title: Cabin fever

text: One therapy for cabin fever is as simple as getting out and interacting with nature directly. Research has demonstrated that even brief interactions with nature can promote improved cognitive functioning, support a positive mood, and overall well-being. Escaping the confinement of the indoors and changing one's scenery and surroundings can easily help an individual experiencing cabin fever improve their mental state. Going outside to experience the openness of the world will stimulate the brain and body enough to eliminate feelings of intense claustrophobia, paranoia, and restlessness associated with cabin fever.


title: Cabin fever

text: There is little evidence of those suffering from cabin fever seeing therapists or counselors for treatment; most sufferers simply discuss their symptoms with family or friends as a way of coping with feelings of loneliness and boredom. However, there are cases of "cabin fever" that are diagnosed as mid-winter depression, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD).


title: Cabin fever

text: The concept of cabin fever was used as a theme in Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1866 novel "Crime and Punishment", Chaplin's 1925 film "The Gold Rush", Stefan Zweig's 1948 novella "The Royal Game", the 1980 horror film "The Shining" and "The Simpsons" episode "Mountain of Madness." In the 1996 film "Muppet Treasure Island" the crew of the "Hispaniola" sing a production number about succumbing to cabin fever. The 2019 psychological horror film "The Lighthouse" depicts the story of two lighthouse keepers who start to lose their sanity when a storm strands them on the remote island where they are stationed. The television show Mythbusters had Adam and Jamie simulate a cabin fever scenario. The hosts concluded that the myth of cabin fever was plausible since the hosts did develop some psychological symptoms commonly associated with cabin fever.


title: I'll Be There for You (The Rembrandts song)

text: "I'll Be There for You" is a song by American pop rock duo the Rembrandts. The song was written by David Crane, Marta Kauffman, Michael Skloff, and Allee Willis as the main theme song to the NBC sitcom "Friends", which was broadcast from 1994 to 2004. American rock band R.E.M. was originally asked to allow one of their songs to be used for the "Friends" theme, but they turned the opportunity down. "I'll Be There for You" was subsequently written and Warner Bros. Television selected the only available band on Warner Bros. Records to record it: the Rembrandts. In 1995, after a Nashville radio station brought the song to mainstream popularity, Rembrandts members Danny Wilde and Phil Sōlem expanded the theme song with two new verses and included this version on their third studio album, "L.P." (1995).


text: The extended version of the song was released to US radio on May 23, 1995, and was issued in the United Kingdom on August 7, 1995, as the first single from "L.P." Following the song's release, it reached the top 10 in Australia, New Zealand and Norway, as well as in Ireland and the United Kingdom in both 1995 and 1997. In Canada, the song reached number one for five weeks and was the most successful single of 1995, while in the United States, the song reached number 17 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and topped the "Billboard" Hot 100 Airplay chart for eight weeks.


text: The title theme of "Friends" was initially going to be "Shiny Happy People" by American rock band R.E.M., but when the band rejected the offer, Warner Bros. Television instead decided to recreate R.E.M.'s sound by enlisting the Rembrandts to write an original theme. The Rembrandts did not want to record the song, but since they were the only available band on Warner Bros. Records, they relented to the company's demands. The original lyrics of "I'll Be There for You", a single verse as needed for the length of the series' opening credits, were co-written by "Friends" producers David Crane and Marta Kauffman, with songwriter Allee Willis. The Rembrandts members Phil Sōlem and Danny Wilde later lengthened it by writing the second verse and bridge. The music was composed by Kauffman's husband, Michael Skloff.


text: The original theme, which is under one minute long, was later re-recorded as a three-minute pop song. After Nashville program director Charlie Quinn, along with radio announcer and music director Tom Peace, looped the original short version into a full-length track and broadcast it on radio station WYHY, it became so popular that they had to re-record it. "Our record label said we had to finish the song and record it. There was no way to get out of it," lead singer Phil Sōlem said. The handclaps at the end of the first line of the song were a last-minute addition, with Sōlem admitting that it was a wise decision and naming it the best part of the track. The three-minute version of "I'll Be There for You" was serviced to American contemporary hit radio on May 23, 1995. In the United Kingdom, a CD single and cassette single were issued on August 7, 1995. On May 12, 1997, the CD and cassette were re-issued in the UK to commemorate the video release of the first season of "Friends".


text: In 2009, the song was listed by "Blender" as one of the "50 Worst Songs Ever". Conversely, several magazines have listed the song as one of the best TV theme songs, including "Paste", "Complex", and "Observer".


text: "I'll Be There for You" topped the US "Billboard" Hot 100 Airplay chart for eight weeks and also peaked atop the "Billboard" Hot Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Top 40 charts. At the peak of its popularity, the song was not available as a commercial single, therefore becoming the first song to top the Hot 100 Airplay chart without appearing on the Hot 100. On the "Billboard" Hot 100, when it was later released commercially along with the band's next single, it reached number 17 as a double A-side with "This House Is Not a Home". In Canada, the song peaked at number one for five consecutive weeks and was the most successful single of 1995. In the United Kingdom, it reached number three on the UK Singles Chart, and it peaked at the same position on the Irish Singles Chart the same year. In Scotland, it topped the country's singles chart. The song sold 322,000 copies in the UK during 1995.


text: While the song did not immediately make a significant commercial impact in Australia, peaking at number 86 in October 1995, it soon re-entered the ARIA Singles Chart in August 1996 and peaked at number three on the week of October 13, spending a total of 20 weeks in the top 50. In 1997, when re-released in Europe, the song reached the top 10 in Ireland and the United Kingdom once more, placing two positions shy of its number-three peak in both countries. This re-release also saw the song reach the top 40 in Flanders, France, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. As of May 2021, "I'll Be There for You" has sold 925,000 copies and has been streamed 20.7 million times in the UK since streaming figures were introduced in 2014. According to the Official Charts Company, the song is streamed an average of 96,000 times a week.


text: The video features the band performing in a studio while the cast of "Friends" join in. Some scenes are shot in black-and-white. The Rembrandts members Phil Sōlem and Danny Wilde disclosed during a live interview on "The Today Show" on September 20, 2019, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the song that the video was shot on the set of "SNL" (Studio 8H).


text: Several formats of the single feature snippets of six tracks from "L.P." These tracks are "Don't Hide Your Love", "End of the Beginning", "Lovin' Me Insane", "Drowning in Your Tears", "This House Is Not a Home", and "What Will It Take".


text: On the 25th anniversary of the show, Jonas Brothers appeared in a music video of the theme song featuring Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sophie Turner and Danielle Jonas.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The 2009 NFL season was the 90th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). The 50th anniversary of the original eight charter members of the American Football League was celebrated during this season.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10, with the reigning Super Bowl XLIII champion Pittsburgh defeating the Tennessee in overtime. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at Sun Life Stadium with the New Orleans Saints defeating the Indianapolis Colts in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Colts and Saints began the season 14–0 and 13–0 respectively. This was the first time in NFL history two teams started 13–0 or better.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The 2009 NFL Draft was held from April 25 to 26, 2009 at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. With the first pick, the Detroit Lions selected quarterback Matthew Stafford from the University of Georgia.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Bill Carollo resigned to become the Director of Officiating for the Big Ten Conference. Don Carey, brother of NFL referee Mike Carey, was promoted from back judge to take Carollo's place.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Several rule changes were passed at the league's annual owners meeting in Dana Point, California during the week of March 23.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game was on August 9, 2009 at 8:00 pm EDT on NBC. The Tennessee Titans defeated the Buffalo Bills 21–18, and both wore "throwback" jerseys celebrating the two franchises' AFL origins. It was the first time since 1970 that the teams have not been from opposing conferences; also, both Bills owner Ralph Wilson, a 2009 Hall of Fame inductee, and Titans owner Bud Adams have owned their teams continuously since the AFL's inception in 1960, making them the longest-tenured team owners in the league. Both teams made their first Hall of Fame Game appearance since the 1980s (Buffalo last played in Canton in , Tennessee in as the former Houston Oilers).


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The rest of the pre-season matchups were announced March 30, 2009. Highlights, among others, included a rematch of Super Bowl XLIII between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals on ESPN.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The 2009 season began on September 10, 2009. Under the current scheduling system, this is the latest date the NFL can start its season as the season typically starts the weekend after Labor Day, which falls on its latest possible date in 2009.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The playoffs began Saturday, January 9, 2010 with Wild Card Weekend. Divisional playoffs followed the next week. The defending world champions Pittsburgh Steelers did not take part in the post-season as they were eliminated from contention in the final week 17, thus this was the fifth year in a row the NFL crowned a new Super Bowl champion.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The AFC Championship Game was Sunday, January 24, 2010 at 3:00 pm, which saw the Indianapolis Colts come from behind to defeat the New York Jets, 30–17. It was followed by the NFC Championship Game at 6:30 pm which featured many back to back scoring drives by two high scoring Vikings and Saints offenses. But the Minnesota Vikings 4 fumbles and a Brett Favre interception late in the fourth quarter proved to be too much to handle as the New Orleans Saints won 31–28 in overtime which granted the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance in its 43-year history. Super Bowl XLIV was held February 7 at Miami Gardens, Florida's Sun Life Stadium (home of host team Miami Dolphins, who were also eliminated from post-season contention).


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The 2010 Pro Bowl was held on January 31, one week "before" Super Bowl XLIV, at the same site of the league championship game, Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. This was the first time since 1979 (held for the season) that the Pro Bowl was held in the Continental United States as opposed to Hawaii. The NFL also announced that the site and date of Pro Bowl games after 2010 will include playing the game on a rotating basis in Honolulu. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the move was made after looking at alternatives to strengthen the Pro Bowl and to make the end of the season more climactic. As a result of the move, players will not be allowed to play in both the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl in the same year. In addition, ESPN replaced CBS as broadcaster for that game only.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The 2009 season marked the fiftieth season of nine of the league's 32 teams: the Dallas Cowboys, and the Original Eight charter members of the American Football League, whose owners became collectively known as "The Foolish Club." The fifth league to use the AFL moniker (previous leagues in 1926, 1934, 1936–37, and 1940–41, all had failed) began play in 1960 and would form the major portion of the American Football Conference (AFC) when the NFL completed its merger with the AFL in :


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The Bills and Jets used AFL-era throwback uniforms as their alternate jerseys prior to 2009, and continued them beyond that. The league had the other six teams use a third jersey replicating those from the AFL in their heyday. Each of the Original Eight played against another original AFL team, one at home and one away, on two "AFL Legacy Weekends", and had a special 50th Anniversary AFL patch on the throwback uniforms. In a waiver given by these eight, they would wear the anniversary throwbacks a maximum of four times a season, whereas all of the other teams have a limit of twice per season. The Patriots and Raiders wore the throwbacks the maximum four times, while the Bills, Chiefs (Texans), Chargers, Jets (Titans), and Titans (Oilers) were worn three times. The Chargers also wore their regular powder blue alternate jersey of the current design for two other allowed games. In the second game of two meetings opposite of the first game for their divisional matches against the Raiders and Chiefs, the Chargers wore their newer look powder blue jerseys against the Raiders in week 8, and also celebrated their 50th Anniversary in the modern powder blue jerseys against the Chiefs later in the season during Week 12, when the meeting against those two clubs shifted to San Diego. The Broncos elected to wear their throwbacks only twice (the team wore the infamous 1960–1961 brown and yellow throwbacks with the vertically-striped socks) and wore their regular orange alternate jersey of the current design in the other two allowed games, giving the team six different uniforms over a 16-game season. Both of the games involving the orange jerseys involved the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers—two "old" NFL teams before the merger, with the Steelers joining the Broncos in the AFC in 1970 as a result of the merger.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: An AFL patch is already a permanent part of the Kansas City Chiefs' jerseys, in honor of team and AFL founder Lamar Hunt, who died in December 2006. The program kicked off on August 9 in the 2009 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game with the Bills playing the Titans (Oilers). Besides the Legacy Games, the Chiefs wore Dallas Texans uniforms in one home game against the NFC's Dallas Cowboys, who also wore throwbacks, while the Cowboys hosted the Raiders in a Thanksgiving Day game in Arlington, Texas. (The Chiefs and Cowboys throwbacks both feature team-colored jerseys, making it the first dark color vs. dark color game since the Bears-Cowboys 2004 Thanksgiving game.) For all games other than those cited above, the Original Eight wore their 2009 uniforms, each with a team-specific 50th Anniversary shoulder patch, save for the Titans, who wore the AFL 50th Anniversary logo on all uniforms. For the legacy weekends, on-field officials working the Original Eight's games also had their own throwbacks – shirts with Chinese-red stripes, and an AFL chest and cap logo. The fields for the regular season games were painted in the innovative designs introduced by the AFL in the 1960s (for instance, the Broncos' end zones are painted in an argyle pattern).


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Although the Dolphins and Bengals were both part of the AFL, they did not join the league until 1966 and 1968, respectively. The Dolphins played in three of the Legacy games (wearing their current uniforms), while the Bengals were not part of the events.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: After the season, the Patriots adopted their AFL-era throwbacks as their new third uniform for 2010, while the Broncos continue to paint their end zones at Invesco Field at Mile High in the argyle pattern, similar to the Steelers decision to paint the south end zone at Heinz Field in plain diagonal white lines after their 2003 preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles honoring the 60th anniversary of the Steagles season.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: It was the fortieth season since the AFL–NFL merger was officially completed in 1970, and also the sixtieth season since the All-America Football Conference merged with the NFL, adding the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers to the league. No celebrations were held for any of those teams, but San Francisco reverted to their old colors (lighter shades of red and gold from their glory seasons of five Super Bowl victories) in an unrelated move.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The NFC's Dallas Cowboys also celebrated their fiftieth season in 2009. After the NFL had rebuffed Lamar Hunt's overtures to place an NFL team in Dallas, saying they had no plans to expand, the league granted the Cowboys a franchise in 1960 in reaction to Hunt's AFL Dallas Texans. The NFL's Cowboys franchise started out in with a record of no wins, eleven losses and one tie, but has since gone on to appear in eight Super Bowls (the only other teams to appear in eight was the Pittsburgh Steelers on February 6, 2011, the New England Patriots on February 1, 2015), and the Denver Broncos on February 7, 2016, winning five of them, tied for second with the San Francisco 49ers and the New England Patriots, behind only the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ironically, the Texans' franchise, which left Dallas to become the Kansas City Chiefs, won Super Bowl IV, two years before the Cowboys won their first. Though there was never an actual game between the Dallas Texans and the Cowboys, the 2009 "throwback" game played against Kansas City (Dallas Texans) and the Dallas Cowboys was played as "The Game that Never Was." The [Dallas] Cowboys won the game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, 26–20 in overtime. Interestingly, the visiting Cowboys wore home throwback jerseys, so both teams wore home uniforms.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears, two of the oldest teams of the NFL remaining in the league, marked their 90th seasons in 2009. While the Packers did not join the NFL until 1921, the team marks its founding with the team's creation in 1919. The first "Sunday Night Football" game of the season featured the two teams, pitted in "The League's Oldest Rivalry."


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Likewise, the Minnesota Vikings celebrated their being in existence for 50 years. The team traces its existence to the founding of the AFL in 1959, but although they participated in that league's inaugural draft, they were instead lured to the NFL before playing a game. (The Oakland Raiders replaced Minnesota in the AFL.) The Minnesota team, not named the Vikings until after they joined the NFL and did not take any of their drafted players with them, were granted their own expansion draft by the NFL and did not play until 1961. As such, the Vikings were only in their 49th season, and will celebrate their 50th NFL season in , while the Detroit Lions will be in its 80th season in the NFL, and their 76th in Detroit. Last season, Detroit reintroduced its throwback jersey, while Minnesota continues using theirs. None of the teams held significant celebrations in 2009.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: After one season with the New York Jets, Brett Favre retired again from football on February 11, 2009 and was released on April 28, 2009, making him a free agent. On May 4, 2009, rumors began nationwide on the Internet, radio and t.v. outlets about him coming out of retirement again and possibly joining the Minnesota Vikings, his division arch-rival when he was with the Green Bay Packers, also meeting with Vikings head coach Brad Childress that week. On May 11, in an indication of Favre's possible return, it was reported he was scheduled to have a procedure on his torn biceps tendon on his throwing arm he injured when he was with the Jets and it was either a surgical or non-surgical process but wasn't confirmed throughout May. On June 15, 2009, he revealed he had surgery on his right torn biceps tendon and considered on playing again. On July 15, 2009, he informed the Vikings that he would make his decision of coming out of retirement or not by July 30, 2009, the day Vikings training camp started. On July 28, 2009, two days early before training camp, he informed the Vikings that he would remain retired. On August 18, 2009, it was reported that Favre got on a private jet and was heading to Minnesota to join the Vikings. It was later confirmed and he officially signed with the Minnesota Vikings. He was signed to a two-year, $25 million deal with an option for 2010 for $13 million. On December 6, 2009, Favre played in his 283rd consecutive game, breaking Jim Marshall's long-standing record. The Vikings finished their season with a record of 12–4 and made the playoffs as the number two seed. Favre was voted to the 2010 Pro Bowl, but did not participate and was replaced by Tony Romo.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Free agent quarterback Michael Vick was reinstated on July 27, 2009 after finishing his 2-year prison term and on August 13, 2009, he signed a one-year, $1.6 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles also with an option in 2010 for 5 million. Vick finished the season with one passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns. He helped the Eagles to an 11–5 record and the NFC's number six seed.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: After disagreements between Jay Cutler and the Denver Broncos management, on March 15, 2009, Cutler requested a trade from the team. On April 2, 2009, Cutler was traded to the Chicago Bears from the Broncos along with a fifth-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. In return, the Broncos acquired quarterback Kyle Orton along with the Bears' first and third-round selections in 2009 also the first round pick in 2010. Later in the season on October 20, 2009, the Bears signed Cutler to a two-year, $30 million contract extension up to 2013.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The Indianapolis Colts started the season 14–0, and the New Orleans Saints started the season 13–0, the first time that two teams went that deep into the season without suffering a loss. Unlike the Saints who had not yet clinched home field throughout the playoffs and who legitimately lost their fourteenth game in Week 15, the Colts intentionally lost their fifteenth game in Week 16, giving an opportunity to the Jets to get into the playoffs. After setting the record for consecutive regular season wins over multiple seasons, running their mark to 23, the Colts were up at halftime at home, and then Coach Caldwell benched all his starters for the second half, allowing the Jets to win, and ruining the Colts' try at a perfect season. Indianapolis fans were incensed and heartily booed Caldwell.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: On August 17, 2009 Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable was accused of punching assistant coach Randy Hanson in the face and fracturing his jaw. The incident allegedly took place on August 5 during the Raiders training camp, held in Napa. On October 22, 2009, the Napa district attorney announced that no charges would be filed against Cable. The Raiders finished their season with a record of 5–11.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry died on December 17, 2009. He was placed on the injured reserved list four weeks before the accident. He suffered from injuries after falling from the back of his pick-up truck in Charlotte, North Carolina the previous day.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Chicago Bears defensive end Gaines Adams died on January 17, 2010, a few weeks after the Bears season had ended. He died in Greenwood, South Carolina from cardiac arrest caused by an enlarged heart.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: On January 24, 2010, the New Orleans Saints defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game in overtime by a score of 31–28. The win secured their berth in Super Bowl XLIV, the franchise's first ever Super Bowl.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Later on February 7, the Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl by a score of 31–17. Quarterback Drew Brees was named the MVP.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The St. Louis Rams finish as the NFL's tenth 1–15 or 0–16 team, giving them a record from to 2009 of six wins and forty-two losses. Since a regular schedule began in 1936, only two teams have achieved a comparably bad record over three seasons:


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The New Orleans Saints became the first team in NFL history to lose their last three regular season games and then go on to the Super Bowl and win.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: For the first time since the 1993 season, the AFC's and NFC's top seeds, the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints respectively, played one another in the Super Bowl, where the Saints defeated the Colts, 31–17.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: In a Week 6 game against the Tennessee Titans, the New England Patriots' Tom Brady threw five touchdown passes in the second quarter, an NFL record. The Patriots led the Titans 45–0 at halftime, also a league record, before winning the game 59–0, tied for the league's largest shutout margin since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart of the Carolina Panthers became the first teammates in NFL history to rush for 1,100 yards in the same season. Williams rushed for 1,117 yards, and Stewart ran for 1,133 yards.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: In Week 2, the Arizona Cardinals' Kurt Warner set a new NFL record for completion percentage, completing 92.3% of his passes (24 completions in 26 attempts) in a 31–17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The previous record had been set by Vinny Testaverde in 1993. If postseason games are included, the record holder is Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, who completed 26 of 28 attempts on January 12, 2008, also against the Jaguars.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: In Week 13, the Denver Broncos' Brandon Marshall caught a record 21 catches in a losing effort against the Indianapolis Colts. (The record was previously held by the San Francisco 49ers' Terrell Owens, who had 20 catches in a 2001 game.)


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers became the first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in each of his first two seasons as a starter. (Rodgers, Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers, Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts, and Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams are the only quarterbacks to throw for 4,000 in their first season as a starter. Warner, however, passed for only 3,429 in 2000. Rodgers passed for 4,038 in 2008 and 4,434 in 2009.)


title: 2009 NFL season

text: On January 3, 2010, Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans became the sixth rusher in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards in a season. Johnson also broke the all-purpose yards from scrimmage record previously held by Marshall Faulk.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: In a Week 15 game against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 20, 2009, the Cleveland Browns' Joshua Cribbs returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, giving him eight for his career, and setting a new league record. Cribbs also became one of only two players to score two 100-plus yard touchdowns in the same game. (The feat was first accomplished by Ted Ginn Jr. of the Miami Dolphins in Week 8 of the 2009 season.)


title: 2009 NFL season

text: For the opening game of their new stadium, the Dallas Cowboys distributed 105,121 tickets, setting an NFL record for attendance in a single game. The old mark of 103,467 occurred in October 2005 at a 49ers-Cardinals game at Azteca Stadium in Mexico.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints set an NFL record for completion percentage in a season. Brees was 363 of 514, a completion percentage of 70.6. (The record of 70.55% had previously been set in the strike-shortened 1982 season by Ken Anderson of the Cincinnati Bengals. Brees sat out the last game of the 2009 season since New Orleans had secured home-field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs.)


title: 2009 NFL season

text: On January 10, 2010, the Arizona Cardinals defeated the Green Bay Packers 51–45 for a combined total of 96 points, setting a new NFL playoff record for total combined points scored. This game has been given the nicknames "The Shootout", and the "Nobody Stopping Nobody Game".


title: 2009 NFL season

text: On January 24, 2010, the NFC and AFC championship games averaged 52.9 million viewers, making it the most-viewed conference championship day since the two games in 1982 averaged 60.2 million viewers. Fox's telecast of the Saints' 31–28 overtime win over the Vikings earned a 30.6 fast-national Nielsen rating (57.9 million viewers), marking Fox's biggest audience ever for an NFC championship game. It was also the second largest all-time audience for any conference title telecast, trailing only the 1982 49ers-Cowboys game (68.7 million viewers on CBS).


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Excluding Super Bowl telecasts, the Saints-Vikings game was the most-viewed television program since the "Seinfeld" finale in 1998. Meanwhile, CBS earned a 26.3 fast-national rating (46.9 million viewers) for the Colts–Jets AFC championship game in the early window, marking the largest audience for an AFC title game since NBC earned 47.5 million viewers for Patriots–Dolphins in 1986.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Super Bowl XLIV surpassed the 1983 finale of M*A*S*H, as the most viewed program in history. It was watched by 153.4 million people. Compelling story lines included the city of New Orleans and its ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina, as well as Colts quarterback Peyton Manning's attempt at a second Super Bowl ring.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Eight teams hired new head coaches prior to the start of the 2009 season, while two made their interim coaches permanent, and another moved from one team to another after being fired by a team:


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The 2009 season was the first season for the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, replacing Texas Stadium in Irving.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Dolphin Stadium was renamed Land Shark Stadium after a naming rights deal was signed with the Land Shark beer that was sold Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville restaurant chain.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: This season also served as the last season for Giants Stadium, as both the New York Giants and Jets moved into a new stadium for 2010. The Giants exited with an auspicious 41–9 loss to Carolina on December 27, while the Jets defeated the Cincinnati Bengals by a 37–0 score in the season finale on Sunday night, January 3, 2010.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: After having no major uniform changes for the 2008 NFL season, the trend of at least one major uniform change per season among the 32 teams returned with two major uniform changes, as well as one with some minor modifications.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The San Francisco 49ers, who had been long-rumored to be returning to their 1964–1995 uniforms (and have had the red variation of those uniforms as their third uniform since the 2002 season) did so for this season. The team returned to a brighter, scarlet red and a less metallic "49ers gold" as its team colors, replacing the darker cardinal red and the more metallic "49ers gold" which the team has worn since it last overhauled their uniforms in 1996. The new uniforms were unveiled on April 25, 2009.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The Jacksonville Jaguars got new uniforms for the 2009 season. Team owner Wayne Weaver reportedly wanted to "clean up" the look, feeling that the team has too many uniform styles. The changes aren't a complete overhaul, but similar to the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings' recent overhauls. The new uniforms were introduced at a press conference on April 22.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The Detroit Lions designated their popular 1950s-era throwbacks as their third uniform and completely dropped their unpopular black jerseys. The team had not worn the throwbacks from 2005–07 to make room for the Matt Millen-designated black jerseys. In addition, the team unveiled a new helmet logo on April 20, updating "Bubbles" with a fiercer look and wordmark, with modified uniforms. Those logos were accidentally leaked by NFL.com in their online shop, then quickly removed on March 23, 2009.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: Besides the above-mentioned throwbacks for the 50th anniversary season of the AFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wore their "Creamsicle" throwbacks for the November 8 home game against the Green Bay Packers, in conjunction with the creation of the Buccaneers Ring of Honor. The Buccaneers defeated the Packers 38–28, the only home game the team won in 2009.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The St. Louis Rams wore their 1973–1999 blue uniforms in select home games to honor former owner Georgia Frontiere, who died in early 2008 (too late to inform the NFL about wearing a throwback uniform in her honor during the 2008 season; the team instead opted for a memorial patch) and also celebrate the tenth anniversary of their win in Super Bowl XXXIV. Ironically, the Rams cut ties with its last two remaining offensive players from the "Greatest Show on Turf" era during the offseason by releasing Orlando Pace and Torry Holt for salary cap reasons plus opting for a rebuilding mode after a 2–14 season in 2008 (second only to the Lions' historic 0–16 season) and no trips to the postseason since the 2004 season. Defensive end Leonard Little is the only player remaining who wore the pre-2000 uniforms again in 2009. These uniforms were worn on October 11 against the Vikings and December 20 against the Texans.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and Pittsburgh Steelers retained their throwback alternates worn in previous seasons. The Atlanta Falcons wore replicas of their first season uniforms from , in lieu of their all-black uniforms. The Tennessee Titans wore a Number 9 decal on the back of their helmets to honor former Titans quarterback Steve McNair, who was killed on July 4, while the Philadelphia Eagles wore a decal with the initials of Jim Johnson, their longtime defensive coordinator who died on July 28. The Seattle Seahawks also unveiled a lime green jersey with blue shoulders, to pay tribute to the new Major League Soccer team with whom they share Qwest Field. The jersey No. 71 was retired for former offensive lineman Walter Jones on December 9, 2009.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: The Miami Dolphins, after a four-year hiatus, brought back their alternate orange jerseys and wore them against the New York Jets on October 12.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: This was the fourth season under the television contracts with the league's television partners: CBS (all AFC Sunday afternoon away games and one Thanksgiving game), Fox (all NFC Sunday afternoon away games and one Thanksgiving game), NBC (16 Sunday night games and the kickoff game), ESPN (17 Monday night games over sixteen weeks), NFL Network (eight late-season games on Thursday and Saturday nights, including one Thanksgiving game and a Christmas night game), and DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket package. These agreements with CBS, Fox and DirecTV were extended two years through the 2013 season on May 19, 2009, and NBC's contract was also extended through that same season on August 19 of the same year; these extensions were done so they all coincided with the 2013 expiration date on ESPN's contract.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: CBS celebrated their 50th season of NFL coverage; CBS has covered NFL games from 1956 to 1993 and again from 1998 to the present. Ironically, CBS which was ordered by the NFL not to give American Football League scores during its NFL broadcasts of the 1960s, now covers the AFC, while Fox covers the NFC. This season was also the fortieth consecutive season that "Monday Night Football" has been a permanent part of the NFL schedule, though the league had played games on Monday night sporadically before this. "Monday Night Football" originally aired on ABC before switching to ESPN in 2006, when the two networks' sports operations were merged. The first Monday night of the regular season featured two AFL Original Eight games, a doubleheader with the Bills at the Patriots and the Chargers at the Raiders.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: NFL Network continued to have coverage disputes with major cable providers. In particular, Comcast, the largest cable provider in the United States, was considering removing the network from its lineups on April 30, 2009, shortly after the draft but before the start of the preseason. Comcast was carrying the network on a digital sports tier and negotiations continued past the April 30 deadline as NFLN would continue on Comcast, which ended with a resolution on May 19 that could open the door for other major cable providers such as Cablevision and Cox to carry the network on a what would be equal to Comcast's digital classic tier, with around 10 million subscribers. However, the most notable holdout, Time Warner Cable, still is nowhere near a deal. Additionally, the NFL Network created a new "Red Zone Channel" starting with the season openers September 13. Comcast-owned Versus has signed a deal to carry United Football League games on Thursday nights; the tail end of the UFL schedule overlapped with the first few weeks of the Thursday night NFL package. In related news, the NFL has reached a settlement with DISH Network over the satellite provider's decision to move NFL Network to a higher tier. NFL Network has also dropped the use of the names "Run to the Playoffs" and "Saturday Night Football", opting to standardize all of its broadcasts under the "Thursday Night Football" banner. The Saturday night and Friday night games airing on the network was marketed as "Thursday Night Football Special Edition."


title: 2009 NFL season

text: This was also the first NFL season after the DTV transition in the United States, which had originally been scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009 but was delayed until June 12, 2009. Hawaii made the digital switchover on January 15, 2009. (Low-power translators will still be allowed to broadcast in analog until at least 2012, and cable providers will continue to distribute analog signals for the foreseeable future.)


title: 2009 NFL season

text: After fifty seasons as a player, coach, broadcaster and video game maven, John Madden retired on April 16 from his position on "Sunday Night Football". Cris Collinsworth moved from NFL Network to NBC to assume Madden's in-game analyst role with Al Michaels; Matt Millen replaced Collinsworth on NFL Network, while Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison replaced Collinsworth and Jerome Bettis as studio analysts on NBC's "Football Night in America" pregame show. In addition, Tony Kornheiser left "MNF" and former Raiders and Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden replaced him.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: In radio, it was reported that the league was exploring ending its contract with Westwood One or sharing games with another network due to Westwood One's financial problems. The Sports USA Radio Network, ESPN Radio and Sporting News Radio were mentioned as possible partners; Fox Sports Radio was notably excluded from consideration. Sports USA currently carries Sunday afternoon games by agreement with individual teams, while ESPN carries the NBA and Major League Baseball, the latter causing a potential schedule conflict between Sunday Night Football and Sunday Night Baseball, plus the MLB Playoffs. Sunday night, Monday night, Thanksgiving and all other Thursday and Saturday games are covered by the contract. Of the offers, Westwood One was the high bidder (and reportedly the only one offering guaranteed money), ESPN requested a longer-term deal, the Sporting News offered a revenue-sharing plan in lieu of rights fees, and Sports USA was described as a "long shot." After a restructuring shored up the company's financial situation, Westwood One in March 2009 earned a two-year extension for all of the night games, paying US$33,000,000 for the two-year deal.


title: 2009 NFL season

text: In addition to the official feature game package, three networks will carry nationwide radio broadcasts of Sunday afternoon games. The newest such network is Compass Media Networks, which has signed deals with eight teams. Sports USA and Westwood One will carry games from the other 24 teams. Dial Global, which previously backed Sports USA's coverage in 2008, will instead handle Compass's package for 2009.


title: Hey Joe

text: "Hey Joe" is an American song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and has been performed in many musical styles by hundreds of different artists. The lyrics tell of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico after shooting his unfaithful wife. In 1962, Billy Roberts registered "Hey Joe" for copyright in the United States.


title: Hey Joe

text: In late 1965, Los Angeles garage band the Leaves recorded the earliest known commercial version of "Hey Joe", which was released as a single. They re-recorded the song and released it in 1966 as a follow-up single, which became a hit in the US. In October 1966, Jimi Hendrix recorded "Hey Joe" for his first single with the Jimi Hendrix Experience.


title: Hey Joe

text: The authorship of the song has been contested, and different recordings have credited its writing to either Billy Roberts or Dino Valenti, or have listed it as a traditional song. "Hey Joe" was registered for copyright in the US in 1962 by Billy Roberts, a California-based folk musician. Scottish folk singer Len Partridge has claimed that he helped write the song with Roberts when they both performed in clubs in Edinburgh in 1956. Roberts may have drawn inspiration for "Hey Joe" from three earlier works: the song "Baby, Please Don’t Go to Town" written by his girlfriend Niela Horn (later Miller), which uses a similar chord progression based on the circle of fifths; Carl Smith's 1953 US country hit "Hey Joe!" (written by Boudleaux Bryant), which shared the title and the "questioning" format; and the early 20th century traditional ballad "Little Sadie", which tells of a man on the run after he has shot his wife. Niela Horn Miller's song "Baby Don't Go to Town" was recorded as a demo tape in 1962, but was not released until 2009 when it appeared on her album "Songs of Leaving".


title: Hey Joe

text: Billy Roberts performed "Hey Joe" regularly in the late 1950s and early 1960s, without copyrighting it, and some other performers including Pete Seeger recognised that it had been developed from Niela Miller's song. In 1962, Roberts registered the song as his composition at the Library of Congress, and recorded a demo tape of it. Niela Miller separately registered some of her songs, including "Baby, Please Don’t Go to Town". Seeger offered to testify on her behalf so she could claim part of the credit for "Hey Joe", but this was not pursued. Roberts also played the song when touring with his friend Dino Valenti. When Valenti moved to California in 1963 he began performing it himself, and copyrighted it in Los Angeles as his own composition.


title: Hey Joe

text: Roberts later regained the composing credit, but a share of the publishing income was retained by the Los Angeles publishing company. Other sources (including singer Pat Craig) claim that Roberts assigned the rights to the song to his friend Valenti while Valenti was in jail, in order to give him some income upon release. Rights to the song were administered from 1966 into the 2000s by the music publisher Third Story Music (now Third Palm Music); there the author is listed as Billy Roberts.


title: Hey Joe

text: Singer Tim Rose recorded the song in 1966, and copyrighted it as his own arrangement of a traditional song. No documentary evidence has been forthcoming to support an assertion that "Hey Joe" is a wholly traditional work. Rose later told writer Richie Unterberger that he had learned the song in 1960 from folk singer Vince Martin.


title: Hey Joe

text: The lyrics to "Little Sadie" often locate the events in Thomasville, North Carolina, and "down in" Jericho, South Carolina (a large rice plantation in the lowlands); Roberts was born in South Carolina. Variations of "Little Sadie" have been recorded under various titles (including "Bad Lee Brown", "Penitentiary Blues", "Cocaine Blues", "Whiskey Blues") by many artists, including Clarence Ashley (1930).


title: Hey Joe

text: The lyrics are written in two stanzas with a short repeated refrain. The first stanza has a bystander locate Joe walking with a gun in his hand and asks about his intentions. Joe answers with the main refrain that his girlfriend did him wrong and he wishes to shoot her. In the second stanza, Joe is preparing to go on the run to Mexico in order to evade capture and avoid the police. The lyrics have been interpreted in two different casts of opinion with the first cast claiming that the lyrics point to the flight of Joe to Mexico as his quest for freedom from oppression in avoiding the law. The other approach to the lyrics has been to read the "woman-done-me-wrong" song as "ugly and misogynist, with Joe's air of unapologetic defiance" being unjustifiable according to writer David Stubbs.


title: Hey Joe

text: Roberts' song gained fans in the Los Angeles music scene of the mid-1960s, which led to fast-paced recordings in 1965 and 1966 by the Leaves, the Standells, the Surfaris, Love, the Music Machine, and the Byrds, swiftly making the song a garage rock classic. Both Valenti and the Byrds' David Crosby have been reported as helping to popularize the song before it was recorded by the Leaves in December 1965.


title: Hey Joe

text: The Leaves, who had been introduced to the song while attending performances by the Byrds (who had yet to record their own version of the song) at Ciro's in Los Angeles, recorded and released three versions of "Hey Joe" between 1965 and 1966. Their first version was released in November/December 1965, but sold poorly. The band's third recorded version of the song became a hit in May/June 1966, reaching No. 31 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and No. 29 on the Canadian RPM Magazine charts. The Leaves' version is the only recording of the song to reach the Top 40 of the "Billboard" chart.


title: Hey Joe

text: The Surfaris’ recording of the song, released on the B-side of its "So Get Out" single, is sometimes cited as being the first rock recording of the song, but a number of reliable sources contend that the Surfaris' version dates from 1966, well after the Leaves' original 1965 version. There is some dispute over exactly when the Surfaris' recording of the song was released. Some sources list its release date as being late 1965 and other sources list it as being June 1966.


title: Hey Joe

text: Three other Los Angeles bands recorded the song in 1966: the Standells with the title "Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go", included it on their 1966 "Dirty Water" album; the Music Machine recorded a slow, moody, fuzz-laden version of the song in late 1966; and Love included a version on their debut album, "Love", recorded in January 1966 and released on Elektra Records in April. Love's Bryan MacLean was introduced to the song by David Crosby during 1965, while MacLean had been a roadie for the Byrds. Love's lead vocalist, Arthur Lee, claimed in later years that it was Love's version that turned Jimi Hendrix on to the song as well as most of the other Los Angeles acts who covered the song. Love's recording of "Hey Joe" features slightly different lyrics than most versions of the song; for example, the lyric "gun in your hand" became "money in your hand" in Love's version. The Byrds recording of the song also features the same altered lyrics as Love's version. Love guitarist Johnny Echols claims that Love's and the Byrds' lyrics are the authentic ones. According to Echols, the Leaves (with whom they were friends) had heard Love performing the song and asked them for the lyrics. He rewrote them to play the Leaves a "dirty trick", accidentally authoring the version that everybody got to know.


title: Hey Joe

text: The Byrds included a recording of the song, titled "Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go)", on their 1966 album, "Fifth Dimension". The lead vocalist on the Byrds' version was David Crosby, who was instrumental in bringing the song to the group and in popularizing the song within the larger L.A. music community. Crosby had wanted to record the song almost since the band first formed in 1964 but the other members of the Byrds had been unenthusiastic about the song. By the time of the recording sessions for "Fifth Dimension", several other bands had enjoyed success with covers of "Hey Joe", leaving Crosby angered by his bandmates' lack of faith in the song. Byrds' guitarist and band leader Roger McGuinn recalled in an interview that "The reason Crosby did lead (vocal) on 'Hey Joe' was because it was "his" song. He didn't write it but he was responsible for finding it. He'd wanted to do it for years but we would never let him. Then both Love and the Leaves had a minor hit with it and David got so angry that we had to let him do it."


title: Hey Joe

text: General consensus within the band and among critics was that the Byrds' version wasn't an entirely successful reading of the song and was inferior to previous recordings of the song by Love and the Leaves. In later years, both McGuinn and the band's manager, Jim Dickson, criticized Crosby's vocal performance on the song for not being powerful enough to carry the aggressive subject matter and expressed regret that the song had been included on "Fifth Dimension". Crosby himself later admitted that the recording of the song was an error on his part, stating "It was a mistake, I shouldn't have done it. Everybody makes mistakes."


title: Hey Joe

text: The song went on to become a staple of the Byrds' live concert repertoire during 1966 and 1967. The band also included the song in their performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, which is included on the 2002 "The Complete Monterey Pop Festival" DVD box set as well as on the 1992 "The Monterey International Pop Festival" CD box set.


title: Hey Joe

text: When Jimi Hendrix was exploring a more rock-oriented sound in New York City in 1966 with his group Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, "Hey Joe" was one of the first songs he performed regularly. His arrangement used a slower tempo reminiscent of Tim Rose's recent single version, which he had heard on a juke box. Looking for musical acts to produce, Chas Chandler, the ex-bassist for the Animals, checked out Hendrix. By chance, the first song Hendrix performed during Chandler's visit was "Hey Joe", a song Chandler was interested in promoting. As a result, Chandler decided to take Hendrix with him to England in September 1966, where he would subsequently turn the guitarist into a star.


title: Hey Joe

text: Released in December 1966, Hendrix's version became a hit in the United Kingdom, entering the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart in January 1967 and peaking at No. 6. The single was released in the United States on May 1, 1967 with the B-side "51st Anniversary", but failed to chart. Nevertheless, it was listed at No. 201 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2010. In 2000, "Total Guitar" magazine ranked it as the 13th greatest cover version of all time. In 2009, it was named the 22nd greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1. "Far Out" and "American Songwriter" both named it Hendrix's third-greatest song. In 2019, the British Phonographic Industry awarded "Hey Joe" its Silver certification, signifying sales of over 200,000. However, it is unknown whether this applies to the original recording or a subsequent live version.


title: Hey Joe

text: "Hey Joe" was the last song Hendrix performed at the Woodstock festival in 1969 and as such, it was also the final song of the whole festival. The song was performed after the crowd, comprising the 80,000 who had not yet left the festival, cheered for an encore.


title: Hey Joe

text: Cher recorded a version of "Hey Joe" on Imperial Records in late 1966, which peaked at number 94 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart. It was included on her 1967 album, "With Love, Chér". An AllMusic review noted that her version "makes for some fun" but was "not so spectacular" and "clearly the wrong material for this great singer." French singer Johnny Hallyday covered the song in French in 1966. His version reached No. 2 in Wallonia (French-speaking Belgium).


title: Hey Joe

text: Marmalade recorded a version of the song in 1968 because they needed a B-side to their single "Lovin' Things" in a hurry, and because they thought it was a traditional song and as such, the band would get the songwriting royalties from it. Marmalade guitarist Junior Campbell stated in interview that "Jimi Hendrix's version had already sold about 200,000 copies and then we sold about 300,000 on the flip of 'Lovin' Thing'. But then the following year, the bloke who'd written the bloody song suddenly turned up out of the woodwork!". Frank Zappa recorded a parody of the song, titled "Flower Punk", on the Mothers of Invention album "We're Only in It for the Money" in 1968. The song was one of several on the album that parodied the fashionable hippie lifestyle. Lyrics in Zappa's version included "Hey Punk, where you goin' with that flower in your hand?/Well, I'm goin' up to Frisco to join a psychedelic band."


title: Hey Joe

text: Wilson Pickett released a version of the song that reached No. 59 on the US Hot 100 in August 1969, No. 29 on the US R&B chart, No. 42 on the Canadian "RPM" magazine chart, and No. 16 on the UK chart. Patti Smith released a cover of "Hey Joe" as the A-side of her first single, backed with "Piss Factory", in 1974. Her version is unique in that she includes a brief and salacious monologue about fugitive heiress Patty Hearst and her kidnapping and participation with the Symbionese Liberation Army. Smith's version portrays Hearst as Joe with a "gun in her hand".


title: Hey Joe

text: In Wrocław, Poland, several records were set for mass performances of "Hey Joe". The latest was on May 1, 2012, when 7,273 guitarists played the song outdoors.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at the age of 12, and became a friend of director Max Reinhardt. During World War I he served in the Imperial German Army, initially as an infantry company commander on the Eastern Front. Murnau later transferred to the German Army's Flying Corps, as an observer/gunner, and survived several crashes without any severe injuries.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: One of Murnau's acclaimed works is the film "Nosferatu" (1922), an adaptation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula". Although not a commercial success, owing to copyright issues with Stoker's estate, the film is considered a masterpiece of German Expressionist cinema. He later directed the film "The Last Laugh" (1924), as well as a 1926 interpretation of Goethe's "Faust". He emigrated to Hollywood in 1926, where he joined the Fox Studio and made three films: "" (1927), "4 Devils" (1928) and "City Girl" (1930). "Sunrise" has been regarded by critics and film directors as among the best films ever made.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: Murnau travelled to Bora Bora to make the film "" (1931) with documentary film pioneer Robert J. Flaherty. Flaherty left after disputes with Murnau, who then finished the film on his own. A week before the opening of "Tabu", Murnau died in a Santa Barbara hospital from injuries he sustained in an automobile accident that occurred along the Pacific Coast Highway near Rincon Beach, southeast of Santa Barbara.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: Of the 21 films Murnau directed, eight are considered to be completely lost. One reel of his feature "Marizza, genannt die Schmuggler-Madonna" survives. This leaves only 12 films surviving in their entirety.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe was born in Bielefeld. By the age of seven, he was living in Kassel. He had two brothers, Bernhard and Robert, and two stepsisters, Ida and Anna. His mother, Otilie Volbracht, was the second wife of his father, Heinrich Plumpe (1847–1914), an owner of a cloth factory in the northwest part of Germany. Their villa was often turned into a stage for little plays, directed by the young Friedrich, who had already read books by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays by the age of 12. Plumpe would take the pseudonym of "Murnau" from the town of that name near Lake Staffel, south of Munich, where he lived for a time. The young Murnau was said to have an icy, imperious disposition and an obsession with film. Some reference sources list him as being almost tall, others however list him with a more modest 193 cm (6 ft 4).


title: F. W. Murnau

text: Murnau studied philology at the University in Berlin and later art history and literature in Heidelberg, where director Max Reinhardt saw him at a students' performance and decided to invite him to his actor-school. He soon became a friend of Franz Marc (the Blue Rider artist based in Murnau), Else Lasker-Schüler and Hans Ehrenbaum-Degele. In World War I Murnau served as a company commander at the eastern front. He then joined the Imperial German Flying Corps and flew missions in northern France for two years; surviving eight crashes without severe injuries. After landing in Switzerland, he was arrested and interned for the remainder of the war. In his POW camp he was involved with a prisoner theater group and wrote a film script.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: After World War I ended, Murnau returned to Germany, where he soon established his own film studio with actor Conrad Veidt. His first feature-length film, "The Boy in Blue" (1919), was a drama inspired by the Thomas Gainsborough painting. He explored the theme of dual personalities, much like Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", in "Der Janus-Kopf" (1920) starring Veidt and featuring Bela Lugosi.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: Murnau's best known film is "Nosferatu", an adaptation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (1922), starring German stage actor Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok. The release would be the only one by Prana Film because the company declared itself bankrupt in order to avoid paying damages to Stoker's estate (acting for the author's widow, Florence Stoker) after the estate won a copyright infringement lawsuit. Apart from awarding damages, the court ordered also all existing prints of the film to be destroyed. However, one copy had already been distributed globally. This print, which has been duplicated time and again by a cult following over the years, has made "Nosferatu" an early example of a cult film.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: Murnau also directed "The Last Laugh" (German: "Der letzte Mann", (The Last Man), 1924), written by Carl Mayer (a very prominent figure of the "Kammerspielfilm" movement) and starring Emil Jannings. The film introduced the subjective point of view camera, where the camera "sees" from the eyes of a character and uses visual style to convey a character's psychological state. It also anticipated the cinéma vérité movement in its subject matter. The film also used the "unchained camera technique", a mix of tracking shots, pans, tilts, and dolly moves. Also, unlike the majority of Murnau's other works, "The Last Laugh" is considered a "Kammerspielfilm" with Expressionist elements. Unlike expressionist films, "Kammerspielfilme" are categorized by their chamber play influence, involving a lack of intricate set designs and story lines / themes regarding social injustice towards the working classes.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: Murnau's last German film was the big budget "Faust" (1926) with Gösta Ekman as the title character, Emil Jannings as Mephisto and Camilla Horn as Gretchen. Murnau's film draws on older traditions of the legendary tale of Faust as well as on Goethe's classic version. The film is well known for a sequence in which the giant, winged figure of Mephisto hovers over a town sowing the seeds of plague.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: "Nosferatu" (music by Hans Erdmann) and "Faust" (music by Werner R. Heymann) were two of the first films to feature original film scores.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: Murnau emigrated to Hollywood in 1926, where he joined the Fox Studio and made "" (1927), a movie often cited by scholars as one of the greatest of all time. Released in the Fox Movietone sound-on-film system (music and sound effects only), "Sunrise" was not a financial success, but received several Oscars at the very first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929. In winning the Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production it shared what is now the Best Picture award with the movie "Wings". The first Academy Award for Best Actress went to Janet Gaynor for this and two other films that year; afterward, each award was limited to work in a single film. In spite of this, Murnau was financially well off, and purchased a farm in Oregon.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: Murnau's next two films, the (now lost) "4 Devils" (1928) and "City Girl" (1930), were modified to adapt to the new era of sound film and were not well received. Their poor receptions disillusioned Murnau, and he quit Fox to journey for a while in the South Pacific.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: Together with documentary film pioneer Robert J. Flaherty, Murnau traveled to Bora Bora to make the film "" in 1931. Flaherty left after artistic disputes with Murnau, who had to finish the movie himself. The movie was censored in the United States for its images of bare-breasted Polynesian women. The film was originally shot by cinematographer Floyd Crosby as half-talkie, half-silent, before being fully restored as a silent film — Murnau's preferred medium.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: Murnau was gay. Murnau joined the German air force as a radio operator in 1916. In December of 1917 he had to make an emergency landing in Switzerland and was interned until the end of the war. His friend and lover, the poet Hans Ehrenbaum-Degele also served in the war but was killed in the eastern front in 1914. This had a profound effect on Murnau, who drew from the horrors of loss, sacrifice and the violence of war in his film work. It was Ehrenbaum who introduced Murnau the work of expressionists such as Franz Marc and Else Lasker-Schüler.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: On March 10, 1931, a week prior to the opening of the film "Tabu", Murnau drove up the Pacific Coast Highway from Los Angeles, California in a hired Packard touring car. Murnau's valet, Eliazar Garcia Stevenson (September 2, 1900 - October 4, 1985), swerved to avoid a truck that unexpectedly veered into the northbound lane. The car overturned after striking an embankment, throwing all occupants out of the vehicle. Murnau suffered a head injury and died the next day at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital,


title: F. W. Murnau

text: A service was held for Murnau at the Hollywood Lutheran Church on March 19, 1931. His body was transported to Germany, where he was entombed in Southwest Cemetery in Stahnsdorf (Südwest-Kirchhof Stahnsdorf), near Berlin, on April 13. Among the attendees of his second funeral were Robert J. Flaherty, Emil Jannings, and Fritz Lang, who delivered the eulogy. Greta Garbo had a death mask of Murnau commissioned, which she kept on her desk during her years in Hollywood.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: In July 2015, Murnau's grave was broken into, the remains disturbed and the skull removed by persons unknown. Wax residue was reportedly found at the site, leading some to speculate that candles had been lit, perhaps with an occult or ceremonial significance. As this disturbance was not an isolated incident, the cemetery managers were considering sealing the grave. As of October 2022, the skull has not been recovered.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: American author Jim Shepard based his 1998 novel "Nosferatu" on Murnau's life and films. The book began as a short story from Shepard's 1996 collection "Batting Against Castro".


title: F. W. Murnau

text: In 2000, director E. Elias Merhige released "Shadow of the Vampire", a fictionalization of the making of "Nosferatu". Murnau is portrayed by John Malkovich. In the film, Murnau is so dedicated to making the film genuine that he actually hires a real vampire (Willem Dafoe) to play Count Orlok.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: In the fifth season of "American Horror Story", subtitled "" (2015), Murnau is a mentioned character who, sometime in the early 1920s, travels to the Carpathian Mountains while doing research for the film "Nosferatu". There, he discovers a community of vampires, and becomes one himself. After returning to the United States, Murnau turns actor Rudolph Valentino and Natacha Rambova into vampires to preserve their beauty. Valentino later transforms his fictional lover, Elizabeth Johnson, into a vampire, and she goes on to become The Countess, the central antagonist of the season.


title: F. W. Murnau

text: In the film "Vampires vs. the Bronx", released in 2020, homage is paid to Murnau by making reference to him in the film via a company named "Murnau Properties", whose logo was the woodcutting view of Vlad the Impaler. Murnau Properties was the shell company owned by vampires, whose plan was to take over the Bronx via property acquisitions and blood acquisitions.


title: Beach volleyball

text: Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the court. Each team also works in unison to prevent the opposing team from grounding the ball on their side of the court.


title: Beach volleyball

text: Teams are allowed up to three touches to return the ball across the net, and individual players may not touch the ball twice consecutively except after a touch off an attempted block. Making a block touch leaves only two more touches before the ball must be hit over. The ball is put in play with a serve—a hit by the server from behind the rear court boundary over the net to the opponents. The receiving team typically uses their three touches to pass the ball, set it up for an attack, and then attack the ball by sending it back over the net. Meanwhile, the team on defense typically has a blocker at the net and a defender to cover the ground. The rally continues until the ball is grounded on the playing court, goes "out", or a fault is made in the attempt to return the ball. The team that wins the rally scores a point and serves to start the following rally. The players serve in the same sequence throughout the match, changing server each time a rally is won by the receiving team.


title: Beach volleyball

text: Beach volleyball most likely originated in 1915 on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, while the modern two-player game originated in Santa Monica, California. It has been an Olympic sport since the 1996 Summer Olympics. The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) is the international governing body for the sport, and organizes the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships and the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.


title: Beach volleyball

text: Beach volleyball is a variant of indoor volleyball, which was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan. Beach volleyball most likely originated in 1915 on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, at the Outrigger Canoe Club. According to a 1978 interview of an Outrigger Canoe Club member, George David "Dad" Center put a net up there, and the first recorded game of beach volleyball took place. In 1920, new jetties in Santa Monica, California created a large sandy area for public enjoyment. This planted the seed for beach volleyball development in that region. The first permanent nets began to appear, and people soon began playing recreational games on public parts of the beach and in private beach clubs. Eleven such beach clubs appeared in the Santa Monica area, beginning in late 1922. The first inter-club competitions were staged in 1924.


title: Beach volleyball

text: Most of these early beach volleyball matches were played with teams of at least six players per side, much like indoor volleyball. The concept of the modern two-man beach volleyball game is credited to Paul "Pablo" Johnson of the Santa Monica Athletic Club. In the summer of 1930, while waiting for players to show up for a six-man game at the Santa Monica Athletic Club, Johnson decided to try playing with only the four people present, forming two two-man teams for the first recorded beach volleyball doubles game. The players realized that with fewer players on the court, a taller player's height advantage could be neutralized by a shorter player's speed and ball control. The popularity of the two-man game spread to other nearby beach clubs and eventually to the public courts. The two-player version of the game is the most widely played version as well as the only one contested at an elite level.


title: Beach volleyball

text: Beach volleyball grew in popularity in the United States during the Great Depression in the 1930s as it was an inexpensive activity. The sport also began to appear in Europe during this time. By the 1940s, doubles tournaments were being played on the beaches of Santa Monica for trophies. In 1948 the first tournament to offer a prize was held in Los Angeles. It awarded the best teams with a case of Pepsi. In the 1960s, an attempt to start a professional volleyball league was made in Santa Monica. It failed, but a professional tournament was held in France for 30,000 French francs. In the 1950s, the first Brazilian beach volleyball tournament was held, sponsored by a newspaper publishing company. The first Manhattan Beach Open was held in 1960, a tournament which grew in prestige to become, in the eyes of some, the "Wimbledon of Beach Volleyball".


title: Beach volleyball

text: In the meantime, beach volleyball gained popularity: in the 1960s The Beatles tried playing in Los Angeles and US president John F. Kennedy was seen attending a match. In 1974, there was an indoor tournament: "The $1500.00 World Indoor Two-Man Volleyball Championship" played in front of 4,000 volleyball enthusiast at the San Diego Sports Arena. Fred Zuelich teamed with Dennis Hare to defeat Ron Von Hagen and Matt Gage in the championship match, Winston Cigarettes was the sponsor. Dennis Hare went on to write the first book on the subject of beach volleyball: "The Art of Beach Volleyball".


title: Beach volleyball

text: The first professional beach volleyball tournament was the Olympia World Championship of Beach Volleyball, staged on Labor Day weekend, 1976, at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, California. The event was organized by David Wilk of "Volleyball" magazine, based in Santa Barbara. The winners, the first "world champions", were Greg Lee and Jim Menges. They split US$2,500 out of a total prize purse of US$5,000.


title: Beach volleyball

text: "Volleyball" magazine staged the event the next year at the same location, this time sponsored by Schlitz Light Beer. In 1978 Wilk formed a sports promotion company named Event Concepts with Craig Masuoka and moved the World Championship of Beach Volleyball to Redondo Beach, California. Jose Cuervo signed on as sponsor and the prize purse. The event was successful and Cuervo funded an expansion the next year to three events. The California Pro Beach Tour debuted with events in Laguna Beach, Santa Barbara and the World Championship in Redondo.