You’ve seen the Roman numerals. You’ve seen the $7 million commercials. But honestly, if you stepped into a time machine and landed on the day of the very first championship, you probably wouldn’t even recognize it.
It wasn't even called the Super Bowl. Not officially, anyway.
The game that changed American culture forever happened on January 15, 1967. It wasn’t a national holiday. It wasn't a sellout. In fact, it was kind of a mess behind the scenes.
When Was the First Super Bowl Held and Where?
The first Super Bowl was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Kickoff was at 1:15 p.m. local time.
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If you were in LA that day, you might have been one of the people who decided to stay home. Despite the massive 94,000-seat capacity of the Coliseum, more than 33,000 seats sat empty. Imagine that today. A Super Bowl with tens of thousands of empty bleachers staring back at the cameras.
People complained about the ticket prices. They were "exorbitant."
How much? Twelve dollars. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $113 in 2026 money. Even at that price, fans in Southern California weren’t convinced. Plus, the game was blacked out on local TV. If you lived in Los Angeles, you couldn't watch it unless you were actually in the stadium. Some people reportedly tried to use high-gain antennas to pick up signals from stations in San Diego or Bakersfield just to catch a glimpse.
The Name Nobody Liked
The NFL Commissioner at the time, Pete Rozelle, hated the name "Super Bowl." He thought it was tacky. Gimmicky. He wanted something that sounded more like a board meeting, so the official title was the AFL-NFL World Championship Game.
The name we use today actually came from Lamar Hunt, the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs. He saw his daughter playing with a "Super Ball" toy—those high-bouncing rubber balls from the '60s—and the name just sort of stuck in his head.
The Battle of Two Leagues
To understand why this game mattered, you have to realize the NFL and the AFL basically hated each other.
The NFL was the established, "classy" league. The AFL was the upstart, the rebellious kid on the block. They had been in a bidding war for players for years. When they finally agreed to merge, they decided to have their respective champions face off to see who was actually better.
- The Green Bay Packers (NFL): Coached by the legendary Vince Lombardi.
- The Kansas City Chiefs (AFL): Led by Hank Stram.
Lombardi was incredibly stressed. He felt the weight of the entire NFL on his shoulders. He reportedly told his players that they weren't just playing for a trophy—they were playing for the pride of their league. If they lost to the "inferior" AFL, it would be a humiliation.
What Happened During the Game?
It was actually a close game for a while. At halftime, the Packers were only leading 14-10. The Chiefs were holding their own.
Then came the third quarter.
A pass from Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson was intercepted by Willie Wood, who returned it 50 yards. That play basically broke the spirit of the Chiefs. The Packers ended up scoring three unanswered touchdowns in the second half.
Final score: Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 10.
The hero of the day wasn't even supposed to play much. Max McGee, a veteran receiver, had spent the previous night out on the town (breaking curfew) because he didn't think he’d see the field. When starter Boyd Dowler got hurt early on, McGee had to come in—reportedly hungover—and ended up catching seven passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
The TV Chaos
This is the only Super Bowl in history to be broadcast on two different networks at the same time: CBS and NBC.
CBS held the rights to the NFL, and NBC held the rights to the AFL. Both networks paid $1 million to air the game. They used the same video feed but had their own announcers and cameras. It was a massive ratings war. NBC ended up winning the viewership battle by a small margin, pulling in about 26 million viewers compared to CBS's 24 million.
Surprisingly, the tapes of this game were largely lost for decades.
Back then, videotape was expensive. Networks would often "wipe" tapes to reuse them for soap operas or news. It sounds crazy now, but for years, no complete broadcast of the first Super Bowl existed. It wasn't until 2016 that the NFL was able to piece together a full version using footage from various sources.
The Halftime Show (No, No Rihanna)
Don't expect pyrotechnics or flying stages if you look up the 1967 highlights.
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The first halftime show featured:
- The University of Arizona Symphonic Marching Band.
- The Grambling State University Marching Band.
- Trumpeter Al Hirt.
- Two guys in jetpacks (which was actually pretty cool for 1967).
- Hundreds of pigeons released into the air.
It was more like a local parade than a global concert.
Why This History Matters for Fans Today
Knowing when the first Super Bowl was held gives you a lot of perspective on how far the sport has come. We went from $12 tickets and empty seats to a global phenomenon that stops the world for a Sunday every February.
If you want to dive deeper into the history, here are a few things you should do:
- Check out the "Lost" Broadcast: The NFL Network occasionally airs the reconstructed version of the 1967 game. It's fascinating to see the old-school equipment and the slower pace of play.
- Visit the Hall of Fame: If you’re ever in Canton, Ohio, they have the original "Super Ball" that inspired the name, along with Vince Lombardi’s personal notes.
- Watch the Documentary: Look for "When It Was Just a Game" on streaming platforms. It features interviews with the players who were actually there before the Super Bowl became a billion-dollar industry.
The game on January 15, 1967, wasn't just a football game. It was the moment professional sports in America changed forever. It proved that the merger would work and that the "Super Bowl" (even if the Commissioner hated the name) was here to stay.