The First Super Bowl Wasn't Called Super Bowl

# The Heidi Game Gets Its Revenge: January 15, 1967

On January 15, 1967, the first-ever Super Bowl took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, though it wasn't actually called the "Super Bowl" yet—it was officially the "AFL-NFL World Championship Game." This legendary contest between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs would become the foundation of what is now America's most-watched annual sporting event.

The game was the culmination of a merger agreement between the established National Football League and the upstart American Football League, two leagues that had been bitter rivals competing for players, fans, and television revenue. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle orchestrated this championship showdown as part of the peace treaty between the warring leagues.

Head coach Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers entered as heavy favorites, representing the venerable NFL. They faced Hank Stram's Kansas City Chiefs, champions of the "inferior" AFL. The media narrative was clear: the established NFL would crush their pretender opponents and prove the AFL was minor league football.

What unfolded was more interesting than a simple blowout. The Chiefs actually hung tough in the first half, trailing only 14-10 at halftime. Kansas City's defense pressured Packers quarterback Bart Starr, and their offense, led by quarterback Len Dawson, showed they belonged on the same field. For thirty minutes, AFL supporters had hope.

But then Lombardi's Packers came out for the second half and systematically dismantled the Chiefs, outscoring them 21-0 in the final two quarters. Green Bay's 35-10 victory seemed to confirm everyone's suspicions about the talent gap between the leagues. Max McGee, a backup receiver who had snuck out the night before assuming he wouldn't play, caught seven passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns after starter Boyd Dowler was injured.

The game drew 61,946 fans to the Coliseum—thousands of empty seats visible in the 94,000-capacity venue. Tickets cost between $6 and $12, and the game didn't even sell out! This would be unthinkable today, when Super Bowl tickets cost thousands of dollars and the game captivates over 100 million viewers.

Both NBC and CBS broadcast the game simultaneously, the only time this has happened, with each network's announcers calling the action. The television rights cost a combined $1 million—today, a 30-second commercial costs over $7 million.

The halftime show featured the University of Arizona and Grambling State marching bands along with jetpack demonstrations—quite different from modern celebrity extravaganzas. The game established traditions that endure today, though no one that afternoon could have imagined this would evolve into an unofficial American holiday.

Bart Starr was named the game's Most Valuable Player, earning a Corvette for his efforts. The victory would be Lombardi's second consecutive championship, with the legendary coach leading Green Bay to victory again in Super Bowl II the following year before retiring.

While the AFL would prove itself competitive in subsequent championship games—especially Joe Namath's shocking upset in Super Bowl III—this first meeting established the template for American sports' greatest spectacle, transforming a simple football game into a cultural phenomenon that transcends sport itself.

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI