After the first two Superbowls in which the Packers and Bart Starr spanked the AFL upstart, it was widely thought that the AFL would always be the weaker conference. As Bart Starr departed the big show, the other legendary Quarterback moved in Johnny Unitas. The New York Jets represented AFL with their outspoken mod quarterback Joe Namath. So there you have it The Baltimore Colts were set to demolish the Jets. However Joe Namath who made the Superbowl poolside interview famous, guaranteed a Jet victory. I watched that game and remember that the Jets had great receivers like Don Maynard and George Sauer. They had a stalwart running back in Matt Snell. Namath, however received almost all the credit. To add insult to injury the New York Mets later that year, smacked around the Baltimore Orioles in theWorld Series. Interestingly the first two winning quarterbacks in the Superbowl (Starr twice and Namath) both hailed from University Of Alabama.
The First three losers of Super Bowls came back to win one within a decade, that string was broken by the Minnesota Vikings who came back but still have not won one.
1 comment:
Thanks for reviving memories of first Superbowl, which I saw on a 12" black n white TV at friends Ralph & Charice in Nampa, ID. I wasn't much of a football fan but Ralph was deep into this event. Broadway Joe Namath was legendary on and off the field. Vikings had their own Joe (Kapp) who pursued a movie career and then was UCLA coach. But Namath was the guy and made a biker movie, CC Rider or something like that. He was no Olivier. My last Superbowl party was in an apartment building party room and the TV was not hooked up to an antenna or cable and the game was broadcast on Ch 29. You absolutely need an antenna. What a mess! Haven't been to a bowl party since then.
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