for the technology by which it was taken. We’re
looking for the game, the year, the outcome,
and – if you’d like A LOT of extra credit, why was
this image so technologically advanced?
This image was captured in New Orleans’ then-Superdome during the 1981 Sugar Bowl by Sports Illustrated photographer, Heinz Kluetmeier. It’s notable not only because it captures University of Georgia freshman, Herschel Walker, scoring from a yard out, but also because it was the first time a photographer used strobe lights in a domed stadium. Notice, in the full image below, how bright the players appear.
We’re also running a photo from Kluetmeier because the legendary SI photographer died on Tuesday at the age of 82. Here is fellow SI staffer Jon Wertheim‘s obituary.
Three of Kluetmeier’s most notable offerings have already been used by us as Fan Teasers. He was in rink at Lake Placid for Team USA‘s stunning upset of the Soviets in the 1980 Winter Olympics (Week 71 Fan Teaser). It served as Sports Illustrated‘s cover on its March 3, 1980, issue. Beyond the name of the magazine and the date it contained no other text on the cover; a first in SI‘s history. He also happened to have is underwater camera set up in 2008’s Beijing Olympics and caught American Michael Phelps out-touching Serbia’s Milorad Cavic in the 100-meter Butterfly (Week 61 Fan Teaser). And his image of Jackie Joyner-Kersee from the longjump in the 2008 Seoul Olympics (Week 93 Fan Teaser).
More of Heinz Kluetmeier’s incredible work from the pages of Sports Illustrated.
If you’d like to see which shots Kluetmeier most admired, check out this 2008 article in Sports Illustrated where he discusses some of his all-time favorite photos.
Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.