publicly, and webster felt he'd never received the acknowledgment that his years in the nfl had caused his problems. >> mike would call this his greatest battle. he'd say it was like david and goliath, over and over, because it was. he was taking on something that was bigger than him. he took on this battle for the right reasons. he was the right person to do it. unfortunately, it cost us everything. >> narrator: just two years later, in 2002, mike webster died. >> 15 seconds to air. stand by all cameras. ready with slow-motion... >> narrator: the first broadcast of monday night football in 1970 marked a turning point in the game's popularity and its revenues. >> take tape. (upbeat music playing) >> i think the nfl has done an incredible job at marketing itself and turning itself into a spectacle, a sort of cultural part of our lives. (lively music continues) >> it became an entertainment show. >> it became a happening. >> ♪ are you ready for some football? a monday night invasion... ♪ >> narrator: the glory and the violence of football was beamed into tens of millions of american living rooms during primetime. >> ♪ here come the hits, the bangs, ♪ the blocks and the sp