At the time it was played, the first championship game between the upstart American Football League (AFL) and the NFL back in January 1967 was not called the Super Bowl. The owners were not sure that the game would catch on, so the now-famous title was not used. The founder of the American Football League, Lamar Hunt, apparently came up with the name Super Bowl when he saw his children playing with a rubber ball called a Super Ball. The name caught on and, shortly after the New York Jets beat the Baltimore Colts in 1969, the moniker became the official name of pro-football’s championship game.

In 1960, Lamar, a Dallas businessman, established the American Football League (AFL) as a direct competitor to the NFL. Why would someone play for the upstart AFL? It’s all about the money, and the AFL offered much higher salaries. Big college stars such as “Broadway” Joe Namath turned down the NFL and chose to play for the new league.

In 1967, the two leagues decided to play a championship game. The first two years of this championship didn’t create that much interest, but in 1969, “Broadway” Joe, who played QB for the AFL’s New York Jets, made a proficient announcement that changed football forever. Joe loved publicity and was a true celebrity. Joe dated famous women, charmed the TV cameras and did commercials in women’s pantyhose (actually sounds a bit like Pats QB Tom Brady, sans the pantyhose).

Before the infamous 1969 game, Namath guaranteed that the Jets would beat the much more established NFL Baltimore Colts team. At that time, fans of the NFL did not think much of Lamar’s rival AFL, and therefore Joe’s boisterous claim infuriated everyone and created a lot of media attention.

“I guarantee it!” became a rallying cry, and when the Jets did beat the Colts, the AFL could claim parity with the NFL, and the championship game was a hit.

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