Before it had a Roman numeral
We remember the first Super Bowl. It was on our 13th birthday. Green Bay of the National Football League against Kansas City of the American Football League. The Packers never trailed, and they really stomped the Chiefs in the second half.
For some reason the first touchdown is etched on our mind. Bart Starr threw it to a fellow named Max McGee, who would have been a bench warmer except that the starter in his position -- it might have been Boyd Dowler -- got injured. McGee caught another one later in the day as well -- quite a game for him. Later on, as we recall, he confessed that he was pretty hung over.
The NFL was expected to dominate the game, and so it was no big whoop that Green Bay prevailed. It wasn't until Joe Willie Namath shocked the world a couple of years later that anybody thought the AFL had a chance. Then the Super Bowl really got on everybody's screen.
Nowadays, of course, it's a spectacle bigger than Janet Jackson's boob. Too bad "In Living Color" isn't around with its alternative halftime show. Now that was something else. Does anybody remember who was the entertainment at the first Super Bowl halftime? No, it wasn't Chubby Checker's turn yet. We had to look it up. A familiar name, but we never would have guessed.
There have been some pretty bad Super Bowls over the years. We're hoping for a good game today. Our readers have predicted a 49ers win, but we're not so sure. The Niners lost to, and got tied by, the lowly Rams during the regular season. Which proves that it's possible to get their number. The Ravens are on an emotional high, and their quarterback, spotty in previous playoffs, has been on the money throughout this post-season. We don't think a blowout is in the offing. We'll root for San Francisco, for sure, but the underdog is hungry enough.
At Blog Central, we'll try to rally the family to watch the spectacle, but it could be a tough sell. At least one screen around here is definitely going to be showing the Puppy Bowl.
| Posted at 9:47 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (10)
You made me look it up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vt8kve-dEWE#!
Posted by TheD Man | February 3, 2013 10:42 AM
The Super Bowl for me and many others is not about the game, there are much more exciting games during the playoffs. But it is a great day to share your love of the game, hang with friends and family, and enjoy the potluck of life!
Posted by Bad Brad | February 3, 2013 11:09 AM
Must be something about turning twelve. The first Super Bowl I remember vividly was III. Colts vs. Jets. Unitas with his crew cut and Namath with the collar length hair and those white shoes. Being a tom boy and watching the game with my Dad I am not sure now who my Dad was rooting for--the Jets were the underdog-- but those white shoes won me over. That game, the players, the styles said a lot about where our country was at that point in time and I suppose that tom boy as well.
www.nfl.com/.../Greatest-Super-Bowl-moments-Namath-s-guarantee
Posted by teresa | February 3, 2013 11:29 AM
Hope it WON'T BE one of those blowout games like the one and only Superbowl I went to in 1985. In that game the 49ers blew out the Dolphins; and by the third quarter the 49ers were sending in most of the non-starters just to give them some minutes on the field.
Posted by Dave A. | February 3, 2013 11:30 AM
I never see the score 16-7 without thinking of the 3rd Super Bowl.
Posted by Bill McDonald | February 3, 2013 11:35 AM
What's with this Puppy Bowl? My wife just came in to record the Puppy Bowl. If the Super Bowl has a 14 point spread it will probably have more viewers and no lip-syncing.
Posted by Lee | February 3, 2013 12:56 PM
After that first game, Paul Hornung and Slappsie Maxie McGee flew to Vegas, where we (Jantzen) were having a sales meeting, to intro our next line of sportswear. In those days, our International Sports Club of celeb athletes included Hornung, Frank Gifford, Bobby Hull, Bob Cousey, Dave Marr and others, and Paul was to be part of our meeting.
Their Super Bowl bonus was a whopping $8500 each....which both Paul and Max immediately lost to the house. Among our entourage was one of our contractors from Philadelphia, who also happened to be a very adept and successful gambler. Lou took Hornung and McGee under his wing, went back to the tables and helped them both retrieve their Super Bowl winnings.
Successful sales meeting ensued, and Paul and Max left town with their success intact and in hand as well.
Posted by veiledorchid | February 3, 2013 1:18 PM
The first game was David versus Goliath, not expected to be competitive, a sparsely attended event. For some reason I can remember bailing on the broadcast to shoot buckets at a local park, because a January thaw had melted the snow and the thermometer hit 40.
Posted by Newleaf | February 3, 2013 2:38 PM
21-20, SF.
Posted by Mojo | February 3, 2013 3:28 PM
I can say, technically, that I was with my parents to watch that first Superbowl. I say "technically" because, at that moment, my only interests in life involved sucking down amniotic fluid like a fish and kicking the hell out of the inside of my mother's uterus.
Posted by Texas Triffid Ranch | February 4, 2013 8:41 AM