I started pooping my drawers when Unitas came in during the third quarter. So did Namath. I read that he stood on the sidelines muttering, "Fuckin' Johnny U." over and over. I got very nervous when Namath had to leave for an injury and back-up QB Babe Parilli came in, but Namath missed only one play. Matt Snell was an absolute beast that day. It was fun watching Jim Turner kick his three field goals. He was one of those old-school straight-ahead kickers.
I was 14yo and watched the game with my Dad on our brand new 24" Sony Trinitron! We were the talk of the Coop at the time. I remember it being a fairly tight affair. I remember Namath's brash approach to everything and frankly, he was the Aaron Rodgers of his time. Back then, flamboyance was the call of the day. Clyde Frazier with the Knicks, Joe Namath with the Jets, Ali in boxing to name a few. The game itself honestly is a bit sketchy as its only been 5 decades. I do remember that that Jets team was determined to back up Namath's boast though and hit the field with absolutely no fear of the Mighty Colts whatsoever.
For those too young to remember, Super Bowl III was a lot more than simply our team playing in the Super Bowl. It had major cultural and generational overtones. Honest, it did. The NFL was our father's football: stodgy, conservative and militaristic. Players with crewcuts. Coaches with snap-brim hats. Three yards and a cloud of dust. For us teen-agers, the AFL was our kind of football. Guys with longer hair. Namath, Lamonica and Lenny Dawson slinging the ball all over the field. A lot of the players were rebels or NFL rejects. (Don Maynard, for example, had a short stint with the Giants but didn't stick, although he did play in the 1958 Championship game against the Colts). When we got together on the playgrounds, we wanted to play like the AFL. We desperately wanted the Jets to show the world that the AFL wasn't some kind of minor-league football. We were disappointed that in the first two Super Bowls, Lombardi's Packers had handled the Chiefs and Raiders so easily. Lombardi was the ultimate symbol of the establishment and the stodgy NFL. (Ironically, in real life, he was a fairly liberal Kennedy Democrat). To us, Namath was more than a football player. The white shoes, the longish hair and the fuck-you swagger were all a big middle finger to the establishment. Who else would guarantee a victory? You hadto love a QB who would get into a bar-room scuffle with a Colts defensive lineman (Lou Michaels) just days before the Super Bowl. Namath had the balls of a burglar. When the Jets won, we saw it as vindication for our generation and for the whole anti-establishment attitude we all had. Yeah, Dylan was right. The times were a-changing.
Hey, that TV was the shit back then. Top of the line for the middle class folks! My Dad treated that TV like it was gold. It was our very first color TV... Good times
I can see it in my minds eye. A 24" floor model monstrosity. A wireless remote control so you could surf through the 4 available channels? (ABC, NBC, CBS & PBS?) Wireless remote was the height of high tech.
It shows boss. My father in law is into Fishing and he took me with him a few times. Loved the drinking part but not much the patience required to catch the fish. I am however big on TV myself. Partially because that luxury came to our house mid 80's. I was jealous of kids who had TV at their homes.
