The Blackout That Stopped Monday Night Football

Published on August 14th, 2025 9:30 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


It was October 27, 1997. Dolphins vs Bears. Monday Night Football. Soldier Field.

The night was clear, temperatures in the mid-40s, wind off Lake Michigan. Miami came in 5-3. Chicago was 2-6. Dan Marino vs Erik Kramer.

Early in the second quarter, with Miami leading 10-3, the lights went out. Complete blackout.

An electrical transformer feeding the stadium failed. The outage hit parts of Chicago's South Loop. Concession stands went dark. Scoreboards shut off. Television cameras lost signal. The broadcast feed dropped to black.

Players walked the sideline in confusion. Coaches used flashlights to go over plays. Referees gathered near midfield. Security tried to calm fans. The PA system was silent. No music. No announcements.

Fans lit lighters, waved glow sticks, used early flip-phone screens for light. ESPN filled dead air with sideline interviews and looping replays. The game clock was frozen at 12:13 in the second quarter.

The outage lasted 27 minutes.

When power returned, the field lights needed several minutes to reach full brightness. Both teams went through stretching routines to avoid injuries after the long pause. Momentum was gone. Energy reset.

When play resumed, Miami struck first. Marino connected with O.J. McDuffie for a short touchdown. The Bears responded with a Kramer-to-Rashaan Salaam score. From there it became a shootout.

Marino finished with 302 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Kramer threw for 317 yards and 3 touchdowns. Karim Abdul-Jabbar rushed for 115 yards and a score. Curtis Conway caught 2 touchdowns for Chicago.

The final score: Dolphins 36, Bears 33. The 69 combined points were the most in Dolphins-Bears history to that date. Both teams combined for over 800 yards of total offense. Miami improved to 6-3. Chicago dropped to 2-7.

The blackout was the first in Monday Night Football history. It triggered a league review of stadium electrical systems. Soldier Field replaced multiple transformers and added redundancy circuits. The NFL issued new guidelines requiring stadiums to maintain backup power sources, conduct pre-game load testing, and have on-site electricians during all prime-time games. The 1997 Soldier Field blackout remains a key case study in live sports broadcast risk management and stadium infrastructure planning.