Everyone knows the Super Bowl is a massive, billion-dollar spectacle now, but back in 1967, it was basically just an experiment. People didn't even call it the Super Bowl yet. It was officially the "AFL-NFL World Championship Game," which is a mouthful that luckily didn't stick. The winner of Super Bowl 1, the Green Bay Packers, didn't just win a football game; they defended the honor of the entire established NFL against the "upstart" American Football League.
It’s wild to think about today.
Imagine a world where the two best teams in the country play on two different networks at the same time, the stadium is 30,000 seats empty, and the players are basically hungover. That was the reality on January 15, 1967, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. If you weren't there or watching on one of the two channels broadcasting it, you missed the birth of a monopoly.
Why the Green Bay Packers Had Everything to Lose
Vince Lombardi was stressed. That’s probably an understatement. The legendary Packers coach wasn't just worried about winning a trophy; he felt the weight of the entire National Football League on his shoulders. The NFL was the "old guard," the prestigious league that had been around for decades. The AFL was the flashy, pass-heavy newcomer that NFL owners looked down on.
Lombardi was reportedly shaking before the game. He told his players that they weren't just playing for Green Bay, but for the pride of the NFL. If the winner of Super Bowl 1 ended up being the Kansas City Chiefs from the AFL, it would have been an absolute embarrassment for the senior circuit.
The Packers came in as 14-point favorites. That’s a massive spread for a championship game.
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The Chiefs Weren't Just Random Underdogs
Kansas City, led by Hank Stram, was actually a powerhouse. They had a creative offense and a defense featuring future Hall of Famers like Bobby Bell and Buck Buchanan. But there was this lingering narrative that AFL players were "NFL rejects." The tension in the tunnel was real. You had guys who had been hearing for years that they weren't "real" professional football players finally getting a shot at the kings of the mountain.
The Max McGee Legend: No Sleep and a Borrowed Helmet
If you want to talk about why the winner of Super Bowl 1 is such a storied topic, you have to talk about Max McGee. This is the kind of stuff that would never happen in 2026. McGee was a veteran wide receiver who didn't expect to play much. He’d caught only four passes all season.
So, naturally, he went out on the town the night before.
He didn't get back to his room until about 6:30 AM. He figured he’d just sit on the bench, nursing a headache while Boyd Dowler did the heavy lifting. Life had other plans. Dowler went down with a shoulder injury on the second series of the game. McGee, who reportedly didn't even have his helmet on the sideline because he’d left it in the locker room, had to borrow one and head onto the field.
What happened next is the stuff of sports myth. McGee caught seven passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown was a one-handed snag that he reached back for—it was pure instinct and maybe a little bit of "I'm still buzzed" bravado. He became the unlikely hero for the Packers. Honestly, it’s one of the greatest "clutch" performances in history, especially considering he probably shouldn't have been able to see straight.
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Breaking Down the Game: How the Packers Pulled Away
The first half was actually close. At halftime, the score was only 14-10. The Chiefs were holding their own. Len Dawson, the Chiefs' quarterback, was picking apart the Packers' defense with short, efficient passes. The AFL looked like it belonged.
Then the third quarter happened.
The turning point was an interception by Green Bay safety Willie Wood. He returned it 50 yards to the Kansas City 5-yard line. It sucked the air out of the Coliseum. Elijah Pitts ran it in for a touchdown shortly after. From that point on, the Packers' conditioning and Lombardi’s disciplined "Power Sweep" started to grind the Chiefs down.
- Final Score: Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 10.
- Attendance: 61,946 (The only Super Bowl ever to not sell out).
- MVP: Bart Starr, who was clinical, completing 16 of 23 passes.
The Packers proved that, at least for one more year, the NFL was the superior league. Lombardi was relieved. After the game, he famously said that the Chiefs were a good team but didn't compare to the teams in the NFL. It was a bit of a dig, but that was just the culture back then.
The Lost Tapes and the Media Circus
One of the weirdest things about the winner of Super Bowl 1 is that for a long time, we didn't have a full recording of the game. Both CBS and NBC broadcast the game—the only time that ever happened—but because videotape was expensive, they both recorded over the game footage to save money. Seriously. They taped over the first Super Bowl to record soap operas or game shows.
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It wasn't until much later that a nearly complete version was pieced together from various sources.
The Two-Ball Controversy
Did you know they used two different footballs? When the Packers were on offense, they used the NFL’s "The Duke" ball by Wilson. When the Chiefs had the ball, they used the AFL’s J5-V ball, which was slightly long and skinnier, supposedly better for passing. It was a weird compromise that highlighted just how separate these two entities still were.
Why We Still Care About the Winner of Super Bowl 1
The Packers winning solidified the Lombardi era as the gold standard of football. It gave the NFL the leverage it needed, but it also set the stage for Joe Namath and the Jets to pull off their massive upset in Super Bowl III, which finally proved the AFL's legitimacy.
Without the Packers' dominant performance in the first game, the "Super Bowl" might have just been a footnote or a failed gimmick. Instead, it became the foundation of a cultural phenomenon.
If you're a fan of the sport, you have to respect the grit of that 1966 Packers squad. They were older, they were under immense pressure, and they were led by a coach who demanded nothing less than perfection. They weren't just playing for a ring—they were playing for the history books.
Key Takeaways for History Buffs and Fans
- Don't underestimate the "boring" basics. Lombardi’s Packers won because they executed the same three or four plays better than anyone else in the world. They didn't need trickery; they needed execution.
- Preparation matters, but sometimes "stuff" happens. Max McGee is the proof. You can prepare all you want, but sometimes your backup receiver is going to have to win the game for you while hungover.
- The "Super Bowl" name was an accident. AFL founder Lamar Hunt saw his daughter playing with a "Super Ball" toy and the name popped into his head. It was originally a joke, but it stuck.
To truly understand the NFL today, you have to look back at that sunny afternoon in Los Angeles. The Packers weren't just the winner of Super Bowl 1; they were the bridge between the old-school "three yards and a cloud of dust" era and the modern sports spectacle we see every February.
If you want to dig deeper into this era, look for the 2016 NFL Network restoration of the game. It uses the cinematography of NFL Films to recreate the broadcast, and it’s probably the closest we’ll ever get to seeing what it was actually like to be in the stands that day. Check out the book When Pride Still Mattered by David Maraniss for the definitive look at Vince Lombardi’s life during this period. It explains the psychological toll this specific game took on him and why he was so obsessed with a 25-point victory.