February 5, 2012 Super Bowl Sunday

[CaliforniaMama]

Originally Posted by wolf

Folks who are older than the SuperBowl remember when there were two separate football leagues, National Football League and American Football League, rather than this conference nonsense.

You mean there was a BEFORE?!? I thought it always WAS!

[infinite monkey]

I like to believe that the Super Bowl is like that god dood...no beginning, no end.

But...

For four decades after its 1920 inception, the NFL successfully fended off several rival leagues. However, in 1960, it encountered its most serious competitor when the American Football League (AFL) was formed. The AFL vied heavily with the NFL for both players and fans, but by the middle of the decade the strain of competition led to serious merger talks between the two leagues. Prior to the 1966 season, the NFL and AFL reached a merger agreement that was to take effect for the 1970 season. As part of the merger, the champions of the two leagues agreed to meet in a "world" championship game for professional American football until the merger was effected.

Lamar Hunt, owner of the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs, first used the term "Super Bowl" to refer to this game in the merger meetings. Hunt would later say the name was likely in his head because his children had been playing with a Super Ball toy (a vintage example of the ball is on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio). In a July 25, 1966, letter to NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, Hunt wrote, "I have kiddingly called it the 'Super Bowl,' which obviously can be improved upon." Although the leagues' owners decided on the name "AFL-NFL Championship Game," the media immediately picked up on Hunt's "Super Bowl" name, which would become official beginning with the third annual game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl

[wolf]

I remember the ABA vs. NBA thing too. The ABA was WAY cooler and much more hip, and they had that awesome red, white, and blue ball, with a much more freewheeling and relaxed style of play.