Epic, Part Zero

Song - Performance

Artist(s) - John Devereaux

Released - 1987

Primetime Usage - 1990

Contained on - KPMLP 1376 (Performance), KPM 14 (Performance)

Featured Highlight - Saints @ Rams, 1990


"The 'epic track that wasn't," is probably what you could call "Performance."  It definitely does have the feel of the other epic-type songs on NFL Primetime (International Statement, Olympic Action, Crush), but it was only used briefly (perhaps just once) and not for a game that anyone would've considered crucial or memorable.  It is a little more boring & repetitive than those other tracks, so maybe that was a factor.  Or it could just be that Performance got lost in the shuffle.  Whatever the reason, I don't think it's a big deal that the song didn't last.  It was written by prolific KPM composer John Devereaux.  There's surprisingly little info about Devereaux online, but he has a lot of good stuff on KPM.  He also composed the song, "The Nightmare Begins," which was apparently used multiple times on Spongebob Squarepants.

Speaking of being lost in the shuffle, there were the 1990s Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams.  We all recall the cinderella Kurt Warner 1999 season, but what many don't remember is that the Rams had the worst record of any NFL franchise over the first 9 years of the decade (the Bengals ended up winning that honor).  They also tried to fix languish fan interest by moving the team to Missouri, a move that fits the definition of "mixed results" given that the Rams are now back in L.A. just 21 years later.  Anyway…  this decline started in 1990, when a team that had gone to the NFC Championship the year before went an unceremonious 5-11.  The only clip I have with "Performance" features them blowing a lead at home against a middling Saints team.