The Greatest Game Ever Played

Today is an important anniversary in the history of the National Football League.

Fifty years ago today, the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants played for the NFL championship. At the end of the fourth quarter, the score was tied.

And, for the first time, a professional football game went into overtime.

I've seen the highlights from the game before, but they were always in the original black-and-white — the way TV viewers saw it on Dec. 28, 1958.

But, to mark the 50th anniversary, ESPN Films and NFL Films created a special colorized presentation of the game film. For the first time, TV viewers could see the Colts and Giants in the uniform colors that the fans at their games saw in 1958.

It also includes commentary from several people who participated in the game — although some of the people who might have had the most interesting insights (Johnny Unitas, Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry, Weeb Ewbank) are no longer around.

The film was first broadcast a couple of weeks ago.

Oddly, it does not appear to have been scheduled for broadcast today — on the actual anniversary.

However, you can see it on New Year's Day on ESPN Classic from 6-8 p.m. (Central).