Where It All Began

From Super Bowl I to Super Bowl LV

Charlie Nolting| Staff Writer

January 15, 1967, would become the start of the biggest sports spectacle in America, the Super Bowl. The battle between the American Football League and the National Football League took place at the Los Angeles Coliseum. This was before they were separate conferences playing under the name of the NFL, before brands like Nike, Riddell, Adidas, and many others ran the equipment game, before Tom Brady was born.

Let’s take it all the way back to 1920 for the beginning of the National Football League. Teams like the Chicago Cardinals and the Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago bears) slowly grew.

Around 40 years later Lamar Hunt wanted to bring football to Texas. After a failed efort, in 1959, he decided to make his own league. This was the start of the American Football League. Teams like the Dallas Texans, New York Titans, Boston Patriots, and others competed against each other.

Fast forward to 1967 when the American Football League champions played the National Football League champions. The battle between the Chiefs and the Packers wasn’t even formally named the Super Bowl at the time, instead it was the AFL-NFL World Championship Game.

Even with the Kansas City Chiefs coming out of an 11-2-1 season comparable to the Packers’ 12-2 season, there was very high speculation that the AFL teams could not compete with those in the NFL. By halftime, the score was 14-10 with a surprising and close performance by the Chiefs. The second half ended up being a shutout making the final score 35-10. Even though Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson came up short against Packers quarterback Bart Starr, this was the start of something great.

The entertainment factor at this event has changed drastically. The game was broadcasted by both NBC and CBS. This is because CBS was the ofcial broadcaster of the NFL and NBC was the broadcaster for the AFL. This was the only Super Bowl to be broadcasted by two diferent TV networks. Additionally, the halftime show shifted from local high school marching bands to elaborate performances by huge artists like Michael Jackson and Beyoncé.

The in-person experience has also changed a substantial amount. Tickets originally sold for around $12 and now sell for an average of $4,500. Attendance hasn’t changed much as the first Super Bowl had around 61,000 fans in the seats and Super Bowl 54, having around 62,000.

Players in 1970 made an average of $23,000 a year which today is worth around $115,000. This is one-twelfth of the average $1.4 million annual present-day salary.

Not only did they make less money, but padding and safety equipment were more-so a decoration compared to today. The leather hat they called a “helmet” back in the ‘20s was far from safe and protective.

It’s safe to say the NFL has changed a lot. From a mess of mixed TV broadcasts to the most-watched sporting event in America. From Len Dawson to Patrick Mahomes. This is the reason we get to have the day we all know as Super Bowl Sunday.