All kidding aside, unfortunately as the years (decades?) pass by without another SB, what's lost was just how significant the Jets' SB win was at the time, "AFL vs NFL-wise"
I would argue that our win against the powerhouse Colts (and the broadway joe craze) was a major reason why the AFC started to gain respect in the new NFL merger, and ultimately why football viewership grew exponentially in the following years. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The merger didn't actually happen until after SBIII (happened in 1970, although the negotiations had been happening since 1966). I've heard people say that the NFL was actually planning on pulling out of the merger if the Colts would have won but I've never seen anything close to confirmation of that.
we don't have more SB apps or wins but this game was probably the most significant game in pro football history so we have that.
I am interested to hear opinions from those alive at the time or those of you who are great historians. Say the Colts demolished the Jets 41-3 or something making Namath's guarantee look pretty pathetic... Do you there would there would've been a merger? If not, do you think there would be an AFL / NFL today? Do you think there would be a New York Jets football team today? just curious at it's significance.. Thanks
Interesting questions. I do think there would've eventually been a merger because the talent level of the AFL was improving year by year. A Jet loss might've delayed the merger and, may have limited the number of 'AFL' teams absorbed into the expanded NFL. But as it turned out, after the Jets' SB win, Kansas City (who narrowly beat the Jets 13-6) went into Super Bowl IV as a 12-13 point underdog and throughly manhandled the Vikings 23-7 and showed they were clearly the better team. The Chiefs, Jets and Raiders were better than the Vikings in '70. 1. Each of those AFL teams had QBs (Dawson, Namath & Lamonica) that were much better than CFL castoff Joe Kapp who Weeb Ewbank prophetically predicted would get knocked out of the game if he tried running the ball himself against KC's behemoth D-line and LBs. Sure enough Kapp got laid out by big Aaron Brown and had to be replaced by journeyman Gary Cuozzo. 2. Lemar Hunt who originally (and unsuccessfully) tried to land an NFL franchise before starting the AFL was in favor of the merger. Al Davis who he pegged as AFL Commissioner was convinced the AFL was generating a large enough talent pool to make a go of it on its own and compete with the NFL was against any merger and when the merger was announced, he resigned as Commissioner and returned to the Raiders. Super Bowls I - Super Bowl VIII: AFL - 4 (NYJ in SB III; KC in SB IV; Miami in SB's VII & VIII). NFL - 3 (GB in SB's I & II; Dallas in SB VI) (SB V: the 1st SB after the merger was between two 'NFL' franchises historically-speaking [Colts-Cowboys] with the Colts installed as an 'AFC' team). Side note: the '63 Chargers were the 1st team from the AFL that some from both leagues privately cited as better than the '63 Bears (who beat the Giants 14-10 in the NFL Championship game at Wrigley Field). As a matter of fact, the Chargers challenged the Bears to a post-championship game at a time and place of the Bears' choosing. The Teddy Bears declined the invitation.
The merger had been announced prior to Super Bowl 3. If the Jets lost Super Bowl 3, then the AFL would have been viewed in a lesser light than it is. Joe Namath would likely not be a Hall of Famer if the Jets lost Super Bowl 3.
I don't think there is any chance he is a HOFer w/o that game. Joe was vitally important to the overall game of professional football and a huge reason why was the guarantee and winning the SB.
Yeah, he is probably not in without that game. However, if we say that, then does that mean he would have made the Hall of Fame if he retired after the 1969 season? By then he had five good years with a Super Bowl title. Or did he need the good years in 1972 and 1974 to push him over the top?
I think 5 years is too short, he probably needed just to play a few more years regardless of what he did.
It's significance I argue a lot with other steeler fans or patsies. They're getting tired of hearing it already
Without a doubt the NY Jet win cemented and legitimized the merger. Prior to SBIII pundits were predicting 'another blowout for the NFL' and the AFL was years away from being competitive. Oooops.
Re: #2- I remember Al was vehemently against the merger. He wanted to destroy the NFL, not join it. I think the merger, against his wishes when he was AFL Commissioner, was the beginning of his long- running feud with the league. The man could hold a grudge...
Merger talk started in the mid- 60s when the Oilers agreed to a future contract with John Brodie. Al Davis was pushing the league to steal as many NFL stars as possible and lots of cash was being offered, just as it was to Larry Czonka and others when the WFL was formed. The NFL owners, very worried about the bottom line, were amenable to a merger. I suspect that, had the Jets not won, the merger would've been like the NBA- ABA merger, where only a few of the more successful teams would've been absorbed while the others were dissolved.
You guys should watch the America's Game 1968 Jets: The Super Bowl Champions A 1 hr worth watching and story worth showing on the silver screen in itself
I'm surprised that people are still wondering about this. The Wikipedia page on "AFL-NFL merger" is actually very good on it. From a technical point of view the Jets winning had absolutely no effect on the merger. Contracts had been signed in 1966 that specifically detailed how the merger was going to work, and a law had been passed in Congress that same year giving the new league an antitrust exemption. A specific aspect of that law was that the two leagues guaranteed that every AFL team would join the merged league, and none would move. This law only applied to professional football, which is why the NBA-ABA merger a few years later went very differently. There had already been two years of a common AFL-NFL draft. There was absolutely zero chance of ever going back. What that game did affect was the perception of the AFL, and it did so profoundly. If the Jets had lost (and especially if they had lost badly) the AFL teams would have had a much tougher road in being treated as equals, but that game proved to the media that the two leagues were equal, which was extremely important. Notice that I said the media - the NFL owners and fans were, in fact, still not convinced after the Super Bowl that the AFL was any good. Prejudice is hard to beat down. It actually took 2 more games to end serious debate. One is obvious - Kansas City's easy victory over Minnesota in Super Bowl IV - but one is completely underappreciated because it was so bizarre that it mattered. It was the exhibition game between the Jets and the Giants in the Yale Bowl on August 17, 1969. The Giants weren't any good and the Jets were one of the best teams in football, yet NFL fans and owners still thought the Giants should win. It was the first time the two teams had ever played each other, and both teams took it very seriously. Of course, the Jets destroyed the Giants 37-14, which directly led to two things: Allie Sherman got fired, and no one in New York ever said another word about the AFL being inferior to the NFL. Even that didn't end the sniping around the league - well into the 1970s original NFL teams had a winning record against original AFL teams overall, and old-time NFL fans still claimed that the AFL was inferior. It would have been far worse if not for Super Bowl III (and IV). The other effect of Super Bowl III was that it immediately increased the "coolness" factor of the NFL. The NFL teams were boring, while the AFL teams were exciting, and Joe Willie's bravado and talent suddenly made the league far sexier, and much bigger business as the baby boomers entered their peak spending years.
He still shouldn't be in HOF and he shouldn't had been MVP. It should had been Snell he rushed for 121 yards and 1td. Or it should had been Sauer he had 133 yards receiving. Hell Beverly should had gotten before Namath he had 2ints.
