NFL on CBS music 1960s . In the ' 60s and early ' 70s , CBS used a marching band - like composition called " Confidence " ( taken from Leon Carr ' s score from the 1964 off - Broadway musical " The Secret Life of Walter Mitty " ) as their theme . 1970s . By 1975 , CBS had several themes ( technically , CBS had different opening songs and graphics per crew ) to open their broadcasts . They ranged from David Shire ' s " Manhattan Skyline " from the " Saturday Night Fever " soundtrack to " Fly , Robin , Fly " by the Silver Convention . From roughly , 1977 - 1979 , CBS used the disco - style version of John Williams ' main theme from " Star Wars " . 1980s . Starting in 1980 , CBS frequently used the beginning guitar riff of Heart ' s " Crazy on You " when they went to commercial . In 1981 , CBS changed the game opening music and kept it through the 1985 season . The 1981 - 1985 " NFL on CBS " theme was a peppy , fanfare - styled theme . The patriotic - like opening graphic showed the Stars and Stripes morphing into the words " National Football League . " For their Super Bowl XVI coverage at the end of the 1981 season , CBS ' theme music eventually became the theme for " CBS Sports Saturday / Sunday " . The music itself , could be considered a hybrid of the then , " NFL Today " theme and their original college basketball theme . Beginning in 1986 , CBS adapted a theme that has affectionately been referred to as the Pots and Pans ( because of the background notes often resembled the banging of pots and pans ) theme . This particular theme was an intense , kinetic , synthesizer - laced theme . In 1989 , the " Pots and Pans " theme was revamped to give it a more smooth , electronic style . This theme was also known for integrating the play - by - play announcer ' s voice - over introduction into the theme , it integrated three voice - over segments , one for the visiting team , home team , and game storyline to set the game storyline into the broadcast . This practice was common with CBS Sports themes of the 1980s . For CBS ' coverage of Super Bowl XXI at the end of the 1986 season , CBS featured an intensely bombastic , highly energetic and catchy theme . This theme ( composed by Lloyd Landesman ) ultimately became the theme used for CBS ' college football coverage ( which was also the case for the theme CBS used from 1984 - 1986 after debuting it for Super Bowl XVIII ) for the 1987 season ( this theme was actually loosely based on the " Pots and Pans " theme ) . The postshow for Super Bowl XXI was supposed to feature the song " One Shining Moment " but due to postgame interviews taking so long , CBS never aired it . They ultimately changed the lyrics from " The ball is kicked " to " The ball is tipped " , and now airs it at the end of their NCAA Men ' s Division I Basketball Championship coverage . For CBS ' coverage of Super Bowl XXIV at the end of the 1989 season , they introduced a brand new theme . The theme was a considerably more traditional and standard ( but still peppy and bombastic ) , theme than the one of the past four seasons . The theme was used until the 1991 NFC Championship Game . 1990s . For CBS ' coverage of Super Bowl XXVI at the end of the 1991 season , CBS once again introduced a brand new theme . Composed by jingle writer Frankie Vinci , the new theme had a bombastic , epic and strikingly catchy hook , with the rest of the composition featuring a jazzy feel with some electric guitar mixed in . CBS used this theme until the end of the 1993 season ( when they lost the NFC television package to Fox ) . However , CBS Radio Sports continued using the Vinci theme music leading up to CBS ' return to the NFL in 1998 . When CBS returned to televising the NFL in 1998 , they kept the 1992 – 1993 melody , but rerecorded the theme with updated instrumentation . The 1992 theme lasted seven seasons on television ( 1992 – 93 , 1998 – 2002 ) . 2000s . For the 1999 - 2000 and 2001 - 2002 seasons respectively , CBS tweaked the now familiar theme music . The 1999 - 2000 version had heavier sounding notes while the theme used for the 2001 - 2002 seasons ( debuting during CBS ' coverage of Super Bowl XXXV ) was a more brisk , whimsical and light - hearted sounding composition . As a precursor to the eventual changeover in music for the 2003 season , CBS utilized the E . S . Posthumus song Pompeii during the intro of the 2002 AFC Championship between the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans . The song used since the beginning of the 2003 season was composed by Los Angeles electronic music group E . S . Posthumus and is called Posthumus Zone . For the 2005 season , CBS frequently played a rap - inspired remix of " Posthumus Zone " entitled " Rise to Glory " featuring DJ Quik and Bizarre . " Posthumus Zone " was performed by Eminem .