Some football fans received a surprise – pleasant for some and unpleasant for others – Sunday afternoon when they turned their television sets to Bangor Fox Network affiliate WFVX (Channel 22).

If they were looking forward to watching Fox’s “headliner” game between unbeaten Philadelphia and once-beaten Pittsburgh, they were sorely disappointed. Not only was the game not on, there was no game of any kind on.

The laugh was on them. Instead of NFL action, viewers were confronted with a repeat of the “Dharma and Greg” sitcom.

Then again, diehard New York Giants fans were all smiles when they realized WFVX was showing a game, just three hours later than usual because the local affiliate made a special request to uphold a longstanding local custom of carrying Giants games when possible.

“Fox, like other networks, gives us three preferences when it comes to picking games,” said WFVX-WVII promotions manager Gene Hardin. “They ask us just before the start of the NFL season our top three teams.”

At the top of WFVX’s list is the New England Patriots – an easy choice given the fervent support the team enjoys in this area. Second is the Giants, given the fact this area still has a strong, loyal group of Giants devotees going back to the years when there were no Patriots. Hardin wasn’t sure of team No. 3.

“We originally had the Giants game, but the network changed it, so we asked to have the Giants back,” Hardin said.

Hardin said affiliates, once they receive network notice of which game they’re initially assigned to air, have two or three days to file a request to change the game.

“Ninety-five percent of the time, they’ll honor our request as long as it’s made within that time window,” Hardin explained.

Fox agreed to replace the 1 p.m. Eagles-Steelers game with the 4 p.m. Giants-Bears game, but the lateness of the change meant it was too late to change it in local editions of the NEWS TV paper as well as the TV Guide. Also, Hardin said even though the station ran promos for the Giants game all week, he neglected to send an update to the NEWS in time for the weekend paper’s sports listings.

“We had a couple of calls from people who wanted to see the other game, but we also had some appreciative Giants fans too,” Hardin said.

WFVX, which has aired just one Patriots game so far this season (vs. Seattle Oct. 17) will air one more, the Jan. 2 regular-season finale at home against San Francisco.

Oh, and one other tidbit for football fanatics… Only 86 munchies/beverages shopping days before the Super Bowl – Sunday, Feb. 6 on Fox.

WVII/WFVX look (America) East

Hardin says his stations are looking into acquiring broadcast rights to a few University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball games from America East.

WVII (and sister station WFVX) plan to air America East games involving Maine for a third straight season and for six of the last eight years.

“We don’t know which ones yet, but I believe we’ll be picking up some games through America East,” Hardin said.

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net