Who could have imagined what would become of the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, played in Los Angeles at the Memorial Coliseum on Jan. 15, 1967.
According to the NFL, the average ticket price for the big game was $12. But then again, it was then, just another playoff game to determine the champion of both major NFL leagues.
Actually, it was just a “game” until 1969.
Who could’ve thought that a child’s toy would’ve been the inspiration for the name of the greatest spectacle in professional sports? It’s safe to say that not even Lamar Hunt, the man who is credited with coining the “Super Bowl” name, could have thought that his idea — let alone the game itself — would become the cultural phenomenon that it is today.
To understand fully, we have to go back to Lamar Hunt’s inability to acquire an NFL franchise so he started his own league, the American Football League, with slightly different rules to make the game more exciting.
Then came “Broadway” Joe Namath and Jack Kemp of the Buffalo Bills as interest in the AFL exploded.
Before the 1966 season, Hunt, who was also the owner of the Chiefs, reportedly wrote a letter to Pete Rozelle, then Commissioner of the NFL, to inquire about a match between the winner of his AFL champion and Rozelle’s NFL champion.
“If possible, I believe we should ‘coin a phrase’ for the Championship Game,” Hunt wrote, according to Michael MacCambridge’s book, “America’s Game.” “I have kiddingly called it the ‘Super Bowl,’ which obviously can be improved upon.”
Hunt reportedly got the name “Super Bowl” after watching his kids play with a “Superball” capable of wild bounces and spins. According to MacCambridge’s book, Rozelle didn’t like the “Super Bowl” because it lacked sophistication. Neither did AFL owners.
In fact, media tried branding the first game as “The World Series of Football,” but it went nowhere. A few players started throwing around Hunt’s “Super Bowl” term and it took off. By Super Bowl III, in 1969, there was no more denying.
From $12 a ticket in ‘67, economy priced tickets for Super Bowl 58 began at $7,000. Already, Vegas has sold out of parking spots for private jets as the “game” is now a spectacle. An event of massive proportion, and super exciting for those who can afford to attend.
“You don’t have to be a football fan to celebrate the Super Bowl,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.
“Whether it’s to see who wins, watch the halftime show and commercials or just get together with friends, this is the biggest party since New Year’s Eve.
Spending is expected to be at one of the highest levels we’ve seen. And retailers are ready whether you need food, team jerseys, decorations or a new TV.”
“From a commercial perspective, there’s no other sporting event — nationally or globally — that’s like the Super Bowl,” said Mike Edwards, an associate professor of community sport at NC State. An estimated 60% of all Americans viewed the 2023 Super Bowl, he said.
“I don’t think there’s any question that the NFL is the Super Bowl’s biggest winner when it comes to who’s making the most money from the event,” Edwards said. “It’s a commercial success for them.”
Except for sports betters, profits and losses won’t be on the minds of the 115 million Americans expected to be tuning in Sunday. It is a spectacle and many Americans love spectacle, bigger the better..
Let’s face it, football is the most popular sport in America. According to the nonprofit Pew Research Institute, one of the country’s most respected contemporary public opinion organizations, football is the favorite of 53% of Americans, followed by baseball at 27 percent, basketball at 9 percent and soccer at 3 percent.
Say what you will about the Super Bowl, it demonstrates in dramatic fashion that two organizations, filled with energetic players can meet on the field of battle, on the world’s biggest stage and physically compete for dominance for more than one hour.
Despite the power, the prestige and celebrity of winning the Super Bowl, it never fails that after the game is over, the two teams make it a point to meet at the center of the field to shake hands, congratulate each other on victory, before moving on.
It is a show of compassion and good will, that I believe, induces a positive feeling of sportsmanship that keeps bitterness from creeping into the game.
Now, if only we could teach politicians to demonstrate the same sportsmanship, the nation would be so much better off.
But if the past is any predctior of the future, they won’t, so enjoy the Super Bowl and just be happy Congress has nothing to do with it.
