Playoff Showdown

Song - Showdown

Artist(s) - Robert J. Walsh

Released - 1996

Primetime Usage - 1997-05

Contained on - Hollywood Film Music HFML 15.04 (Reel Adventure)

Featured Highlight - Texans @ Titans, 2005


Whereas last week's highlight celebrated the awkwardness of Week 17 with a truly obscure NFL Primetime song, this week's highlight—the first of the 2016 playoff season—will showcase an instantly recognizable one.  "Showdown," the second featured track by Robert J. Walsh, is probably the most action-movie-esque piece in Primetime's history.  It doesn't work as a stand-alone piece on the level of a lot of of the more electronic or pop-sounding songs, but it fits as a mood-setter or accompaniment accent better than perhaps any other track on the show.  That's why it's surprising to me, after looking through a bunch of episodes with Showdown, that it wasn't used for very many good games.  The one I picked—a bout between two bad teams from late in NFL Primetime's final season—is more notable for its humorous, bumbling ending than anything else.  Well, I guess it would also be the late Steve McNair's last win as a Titan, but it's not like his career was anywhere near over at this point.  Anyway, enjoy the video.

As for obtaining this song in (legal) clean form…  good luck.  I have no idea where music from the Hollywood Film Music Library (founded by Walsh himself) can be accessed.  I touched on this in my Bad Company post, but it seems to be separate from the "Hollywood Music" library currently contained on FirstCom's website.  Showdown can easily be found on a some of the bootleg rips/youtube posts online, though.