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Thirty-five years ago today on Dec. 8, 1980, football fans around the United States tuned in to "Monday Night Football" for a matchup between the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins.

But the audience's attention turned away from the game when "Monday Night Football" commentator Howard Cosell delivered the shocking news that the Beatles' John Lennon was shot and killed outside of his New York City apartment.

"Remember, this is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses," Cosell told the viewers. "An unspeakable tragedy, confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous, perhaps, of all the Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead … on … arrival. Hard to go back to the game after that news flash, which in duty bound, we have to take."

You can hear the shocking moment in the video below.

Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@NBCNews