While there have been many books, articles, journals and magazines that have discussed and talked about the AFL-NFL Championships known as “Super Bowl”, this paper will basically talk about the specialty of the Super Bowl III, played on January 12, 1969, at the Orange Bowl, in Miami (Florida)[5]. This was a the first championship bearing the name “Super Bowl” and is remembered as one of the most surprising sports event where the great National Football League champions “Baltimore Colts” were defeated by the American Football League winner “New York Jets” [6].
What was so special about the Super Bowl III? Why is it still remembered as one of the greatest sports event? The answer is basically hidden in the conclusion that we will draw after considering some interesting facts and observations about that game.
Baltimore Colts were undoubtedly one of the best teams at NFL and at the time of Super Bowl III, they were winners of their last 10 matches consistently and allowing only seven touchdowns moreover their team at that movement was legendary and included some great players of that time Johnny Unitas, Earl Morrall, Jimmy Orr, Willie Richardson, John Mackey, Tom Matte, Terry Cole, Bubba Smith and Jerry Hill. This team was multi talented and consisted of the best players whether it was pass pushing, line backing or defending[2]. The Colts were regularly and successfully using zone defense and that gave them an advantage in the NFL considering that the other NFL teams were inexperienced against a zone defense[6]. All of this contributed to them receiving the title of the “greatest team in the pro football history”. Hence all the above was enough to give the confidence to people to predict the victory of Baltimore Colts but let’s see what was stored as surprise.
The start that ended up creating that big day . . .
Joe Namath the NYJ quarterback was set along with the other players of the team; Don Maynard, Matt Snell, Emerson Boozer, Jim Turner, Gerry Philbin, John Elliot, Verlon Biggs. The presence of Johnny Sample gave them a great advantage as he was one of the previous colts and was aware of their basic strategies[2]. One interesting fact is that the NYJ knew very well how to tackle the zone defense which was the most highlighted feature of the Colts during the NFL.
There was very high publicity of this game much before its start, it was obvious that there were a lot of predictions about the winning team however there was a major incident happened when Namath announced at the Miami Touchdown Club that “We’re gonna win the game. I guarantee it.” Now this was a controversial statement and it helped enhance the discussions on this game to the extent that there was a sudden flood of comments from both the teams this resulted in making the game more crucial for both the teams to win and hence it made 12th Jan 1969 a much awaited day.
The surprise which was there for everyone . . .
The start was not very effective talking about the Jet’s, and the initial period showed a gain of only 15 yards but with the progress of the game the situation improved and during the first half and slowly and gradually the lead players like Namath were seen completing consecutive passes, now the significant point to talk here and discuss is basically the strategy and the happenings in the middle of the game. Baltimore Colts feared the speedy Maynard, they found him accepting and forwarding the passes very quickly and therefore the game plan suddenly changed[1]. The colts now decided that in order to check Maynard they will rotate their zone defense system, on the other Hand Maynard was actually injured and was not one of the strongest players now, the colts tried the one-on-one cover, but the Jets continued rushing off tackle and blocked the linebacker due to which they were able to gain first down back-to-back breaking the Colt’s defense effectively, as their main focus was towards Maynard and Namath. Namath was really successful and ended the game after completing 17 passes out of 28. The second half brought more of frustration to the colts as nothing was working for them and against the majority’s predictions NYJ won with a huge margin per the below scorecard[4].
Conclusion
This game will always be remembered for the all round perfection and entertainment that it really provided to the football lovers in America, not only the initial controversies and the exchange of dialogues between players but also the number of viewers, popularity and commercial value makes this a very special and memorable[7].
Works Cited
- Frank MacDonald Baltimore Colts vs. New York Jets, January 12, 1969, Miami Orange Bowl Print. Creative Education, 1983
- J. P Snedeker The Magnificent Seasons:How the Jets, Mets, and Knicks Made Sports History and Uplifted a City and the Country 2006. St. Martin's Press Print.
- NFL Films America's Game 1968 Jets 1998. Print.
- Mark Kriegel A Biography on the Namath 2004 Print.
- Derek Clendering http://www.suite101.com/content/super-bowl-iii-history-a223015, A short summary of facts and tibits about Super Bowl III2010. Published.
- James Buckley A history of the Super Bowl, including chapters on stadiums, television broadcasts, and notable plays. 2000. Print.
- http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/history/recap/sbiii Posted: January 13, 1969
