A look back at the Jimmy Johnson AI Super Bowl tribute video
During the Super Bowl last month, Fox broadcasted a highly criticized AI video tribute to Fox Sports analyst Jimmy Johnson, but now it all makes sense.
On Monday, Jimmy Johnson announced he would be retiring from Fox Sports after 31 years as an analyst for the network. That checks out, as just last month, Fox broadcast a four-minute tribute video to Johnson during the Super Bowl.
A look back at the AI-generated Jimmy Johnson tribute
The video tribute to Johnson was completely AI generated. It chronicled each step of his career, starting from his time as a young defensive lineman at Arkansas alongside Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, to his time as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech in 1965, then leading the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowls in the ‘90s, leading the Miami Hurricanes to a national championship, and finally becoming an analyst at Fox Sports.
Here’s a look at the video, which aired on Super Bowl Sunday:
Although the video highlights Johnson’s incredible career and impact on the NFL, it was widely criticized for the AI, which can sometimes come across as creepy. There were also times in the video in which Johnson’s voice (he narrated the video) didn’t match up with his AI-generated self.
Johnson, however, said at the time that he personally loved the tribute.
“I’ve got to thank my family for allowing me the time to accomplish some of those things,” Johnson said during the Super Bowl broadcast, when he saw the complete video for the first time. “I was blessed to have great players, great assistant coaches and great friends. Thank you.”
At the time, Johnson was asked if this was goodbye, and he replied, “one day at a time”. It seems that indeed it was a goodbye.
“I can truly say because of my family and because of you all, I’ve never been happier than in this time of my life,” Johnson said. “Happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”
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