Sports Media Report
NFL Network’s new documentary series The Timeline from NFL Films continues with A Tale of Two Cities, a two-part film examining the rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, and the incredible impact each franchise has had on its city.
Part 1 of A Tale of Two Cities premieres Tuesday, December 15 at 8:00 PM ET on NFL Network and Part 2 premieres Saturday, December 19 following the New York Jets at Dallas Cowboys Thursday Night Football game. Two-time Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner and actor Sam Elliott lend their voices to the film.
A Tale of Two Cities features sitdown interviews with several prominent members of the 49ers-Cowboys rivalry including Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Jerry Jones, Troy Aikman, Eddie DeBartolo, Steve Young, Jimmy Johnson, as well as politicians Diane Feinstein, Condoleezza Rice and Ron Kirk.
On the surface, no two cities could be more different than San Francisco and Dallas. But thanks to a unique football relationship that evolved over the course of three decades, they came to have much in common. In these two distinct locations, two football and cultural stories were being written simultaneously, until one day they would be so intertwined as to produce a third narrative: the tale of the greatest NFL rivalry of the Super Bowl era.
Among the topics discussed in A Tale of Two Cities are:
· The Cowboys’ victories over the 49ers in the playoffs in three consecutive seasons from 1970-72
· How the Cowboys helped to change the national perception of the city of Dallas
· The struggles the city of San Francisco faced in the late 1970s
· How the 49ers rose to prominence in the 1980s through the hiring of head coach Bill Walsh and the selection of Joe Montana and Jerry Rice in the NFL Draft
· The trade of Charles Haley from the 49ers to the Cowboys
· The playoff meetings between the 49ers and Cowboys in the 1990s
A Tale of Two Cities includes interviews with the following people and more:
Troy Aikman – Former Cowboys quarterback
Dwight Clark – Former 49ers tight end
Eric Davis – Former 49ers cornerback
Eddie DeBartolo – Former 49ers owner
Tony Dorsett – Former Cowboys running back
Dr. Harry Edwards – 49ers special consultant
Sen. Diane Feinstein – Former Mayor of San Francisco
Charles Haley – Former 49ers and Cowboys defensive end
Grant Hill – Former NBA player and Cowboys fan
Jimmy Johnson – Former Cowboys head coach
Daryl Johnson – Former Cowboys fullback
Jerry Jones – Cowboys owner, president and general manager
Joe Montana – Former 49ers quarterback
Ken Norton Jr. – Former 49ers and Cowboys linebacker
Carmen Policy – Former 49ers president
Condoleezza Rice – Former Secretary of State and 49ers fan
Jerry Rice – Former 49ers wide receiver
Rob Schneider – Comedian and 49ers fan
Emmitt Smith – Former Cowboys running back
Roger Staubach – Former Cowboys quarterback
Steve Young – Former 49ers quarterback
