THS ComMedia

This Blog has been specifically created for Mr. MacArthur's ComMedia Class at Tolland High School for the Spring Semester, 2006. We will be following the big stories of the next few months and how they're covered (or not covered) in the media (MsM and Alt!).

Name:
Location: Tolland, Connecticut, United States

A child of the 60's, graduate of Tolland High School, the University of Connecticut, and Wesleyan University, ready to begin his 34th year teaching -- all at Tolland High.

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Short History of the Super Bowl -- Part I

The Game

Super Bowl XL. It's become an "extra large" event, but it didn't start out that way. In fact, there are no existing tapes of Super Bowl I, because both networks that broadcast it (NBC and CBS) later taped over the tapes! Can you imagine?

Well, Super Bowl I wasn't that big a deal. It was the National Football League, founded in 1920 and represented by Coach Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers, against the Kansas City Chiefs of the upstart American Football League. The Packers were big favorites, and they won easily 35- 10. Max McGee, reserve split end for the Packers and the oldest man on the filed, scored two touchdowns for Green Bay, including the first Super Bowl touchdown ever.


The Packers won again in Super Bowl II, and then, in 1969, the Super Bowl became Super, thanks to Joe Willie Namath. A top college quarterback for the legendary Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama, Namath eschewed the established NFL to sign a contract with the New York Jets for the then unheard of sum of $400,000. Namath was brash. He wore white shoes, a fu manchu mustache, and for a commercial endorsement, panty hose. They called "Broadway Joe", because he liked the nightlife and, a bachelor, he liked the ladies. The Baltimore Colts -- yes, they used to play in Baltimore before they moved to Indianapolis. And like the Steelers, they played for years in the NFL -- had sailed through the regualr season and were made sixteen point favorites by the bookmakers. When writers asked Namath if he actually thought the Jets had the slightest chance of winning, he said: "I don't just think we'll win. I guarantee it." Millions tuned in just to watch the cocky, long-haired kid get taken to the woodshed by the crewcut Earl Morrall and the Colts. (Note: 1969 -- height of the Vietnam War and the "Generation Gap".) The Jets won*, 16 - 7, and the AFL immediately became legitimate. Not long after that, the football powers-that-be decided that rather have a rivalry between two competing business, the American people would be better served by a monopoly. The AFL owners were welcomed to the fold, and the rest is American History (XL).

* Some people believe that in order to ensure a Jets win, Coach Weeb Eubank sold his to the Devil. As part of the deal, 1969 would be the only time the the Jets will ever play in a Super Bowl, much less win one.

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

the Super Bowl this year sucked, and has gotten progressively worse...the half time show was garbage, even the older crowd didnt really like it. Even the national anthem sucked, i mean how do you mess that up so bad? the bad game combined with the bad half time show only left the commercials, and only 15% of those were good...this year just sucked...they build you up with all the hype and that just makes it worse...-Romitti

11:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i think romitti is right by saying the super bowl this year sucked..the anthem..half time show..some of the commercials..but since i like the steelers, the game didn't suck. I think that just because in their opinion "bad teams" are in the super bowl doesn't make it suck...now if the patriots were in it playing against the seahawks i would think it sucks cuz none of my favorite teams are playing. but everyone else who be saying that it was awesome. the NFL needs to get better performers to do the halftime show cuz it has been getting worse. i just hope that next years would be better..


-nicole morehouse-

9:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this is all true, yes the superbowl sucked this year and im glad im not the only one who thinks this. i mean the steelers are ok, but just like everyone else said, the halftime show was a dissapointment and the only thing that kept me by the t.v. were the commercials, and there wernt even many good ones this year... i guess you just have to suck it up and hope that they dont screw it up next year.

-Osgood*

6:19 PM  

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