I gotta root for the Steelers?
June 27, 2022 9:38 AM   Subscribe

On December 19, 1976 a Piper Cherokee light aircraft crashed into the upper deck of Memorial Stadium, 6 minutes after the end of the NFL AFC division playoff game between the Baltimore Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers. The stands, unlikely as it might seem for a playoff game with decent weather, had already emptied out and no one was killed. Circumstances had arranged themselves in such a way that the fate of dozens hinged on the course of the game played out below them. Section 1: A short film from Dorktown (Jon Bois, Alex Rubenstein and Dorktown previously)
posted by figurant (18 comments total) 16 users marked this as a favorite
 
The first 5 minutes of this film are set up for the plane crash, and even though you know the plane is going to crash, you're on the edge of your seat with tension for the following 36 minutes. It's the damndest thing and Jon/Alex are either insane or brilliant and likely both in large quantities.
posted by deezil at 9:58 AM on June 27, 2022 [6 favorites]


The other talent is that somehow they make it compelling enough for non-sports fans as well. And the digression into Black Sunday is perfectly right - there isn't a chance in hell the NFL would allow that anymore.
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:14 AM on June 27, 2022 [3 favorites]


HOW HAVE I NEVER HEARD ABOUT THIS?!?!?! i live literally 5 blocks from where this happened. this is bonkers! (also jon bois is a national treasure and i am so honored to have him do a google maps flyover thing of my neighborhood)
posted by capnsue at 10:44 AM on June 27, 2022 [2 favorites]


That’s “The Peelers”.
posted by Going To Maine at 11:16 AM on June 27, 2022


Incidentally, the author of the book that Black Sunday was based on went on to create a series of psychological thrillers in which various FBI agents worked with and against a psychiatrist with a unique diet plan.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:36 AM on June 27, 2022 [10 favorites]


What's truly amazing is how casually the air traffic is treated in the weeks (!) leading up to the incident. Buzz a stadium or other building today and you're gonna get an impromptu F18 airshow.
posted by maxwelton at 11:37 AM on June 27, 2022


FBI agents worked with and against a psychiatrist with a unique diet plan

Is potato?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:52 AM on June 27, 2022 [5 favorites]


Silence of the Yams
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:53 AM on June 27, 2022 [11 favorites]


Watched this yesterday with my teenage boys and it's a testament to Jon's skills that even the kid who has literally zero interest in sports was spellbound-- and then watched the next Bois/SB/Dorktown video that came up after. ("The Search for the Saddest Punt in the World," if you're curious).

What's truly amazing is how casually the air traffic is treated in the weeks (!) leading up to the incident.


The video left me with the distinct impression, though it wasn't clearly stated, that maybe the loony pilot's secret U.S. government covert mission handlers (seriously, this video is wild!) might have had something to do with the FAA's hands-off approach.
posted by martin q blank at 11:57 AM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]


It’s Stillers

Younger me was an ardent Stillers fan (quit the NFL years ago) and I still remember when this happened. I would have been 10.
posted by terrapin at 12:07 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]


btw, on Twitter, Jon shared a "movie poster" for this. It's... wow.
posted by martin q blank at 12:15 PM on June 27, 2022 [2 favorites]


martin, seek out the other Jon Bois / SBNation video series called Pretty Good, and please watch the episode called "The Dumbest Boy Alive". Make sure everyone goes to the bathroom beforehand.
posted by deezil at 12:43 PM on June 27, 2022 [6 favorites]


thanks! I've watched a bunch of Pretty Good but not that one.
posted by martin q blank at 1:10 PM on June 27, 2022


Thinking more and more about it - kinda surprised I didn't see the parallels to the gun control debate (and which Bois is very much pro control). The guy with all the red flags, still being able to get his hands on a plane and doing the unthinkable.
posted by drewbage1847 at 9:51 PM on June 27, 2022


All of Jon Bois' videos are incredible. Besides Pretty Good and all the rest of Dorktown, also check out Fumble Dimension, where he and Kofie Yeboah do terrible things to sports video games, and definitely watch The Bob Emergency (part 1 / part 2).
posted by rifflesby at 12:41 AM on June 28, 2022 [1 favorite]


Oh god, the Bob Emergency. I'm currently in the process of finalizing a job where the hiring lead / my potential future boss is named Bob. I really hope I get the contract signed soon so I can send him that video and make him regret his decisions.
posted by saturday_morning at 4:15 AM on June 28, 2022 [2 favorites]


So, I'm a little put off by all the drama, when the video clearly states the pilot was waiting until the game was over. It's not like he was gonna do his trick at 5:05 pm no matter what. The reason the stands were clear is because he waited. Still entertaining, but the premise is clickbaity.
posted by hypnogogue at 8:11 AM on June 28, 2022


Uh, hypnogogue... the whole point of the video was that he wasn't waiting until the stands were clear, and that there would have been some fans still in that section if the game had run just about any other way. Not sure where you're getting the idea that the guy who was operating a plane in a blatantly unsafe manner for the entire day was taking pains not to risk lives, just because he waited for five minutes past the official game end time.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:39 AM on June 28, 2022 [3 favorites]


« Older Potatoes, Crispy.   |   The Hungry Ghost: the problem of heroic... Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments