When It Was Just a Game

Great book to help remember what the Super Bowl was like when it started.

Review:
The Super Bowl has grown to national holiday status in the United States, with the game being one of the top rated television shows every season, parties and gatherings are occurring with many of the people not knowing anything about the game of football, and other entertainment associated with the game such as commercials and the halftime show have taken on lives of their own.

What can be forgotten, however, is that the game started as the idea of Pete Rozelle, the commissioner of the more established National Football League, as a championship game between the champions of his league and those of the relatively new American Football League. That first game, won by the NFL’s Green Bay Packers 35-10 over the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, has a colorful story of its own. This book by sports historian Harvey Frommer tells that story from oral recollections of many who played in the game and were important figures behind the scenes as well.

Gathering stories from many different sources, the book shares thoughts, insights and anecdotes about all aspects of this first championship game. It wasn’t called the Super Bowl at first, but was used informally by many at the event. There are excellent stories about the mindset of the two coaches, Vince Lombardi of the Packers and Hank Stram of the Chiefs. Some of the stories on Stram came from previously unpublished memoirs of Stram. Most came from players and they ranged from play calls during the game to what the coach was like in the locker room and away from the practice field.

However, the book is far from one that is just about the sport, the players and the coaches. There are many entertaining and revealing stories about other aspects of this first “world championship” game. Broadcasters for the two networks that telecast the game share their experiences. Staff members of the teams and leagues share many anecdotes about other logistics that had to be addressed, such as ticket sales for a game that did not have the heavy hype that the Super Bowl has today. Getting everyone on board for such a game also took a lot of work. Frommer takes all of these aspects, obtains information and stories from people who were there, and weaves them together in a terrific blend of storytelling and narrative that makes the reader truly understand what it was like to put together that first championship game.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Taylor Trade Publishing for an advance review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Did I skim?
No
Pace of the book: It will be a fast paced read for readers who are familiar with the teams, the history of the game or have researched football history. As I did not fit into any of these categories, it was a bit slower for me as I took my time reading many of the stories.

Do I recommend? Yes - not only readers who are interested in football history will enjoy this book, but also readers who are only familiar with the phenomenon that the Super Bowl has become today should read this. It will give those readers a sense of what the event was like at that time and appreciate what it has become today.

This was an interesting book in that it was mostly taken from interviews and though it was good being a fan of football and of the Packers, I really only found out a few things from this book that I did not know from reading other books. One that on an average the Chief players were bigger than most of the Packers and of course much younger. This was an advantage but also a problem for them in that the much more experience Packers were able to take advantage of mistakes that were made by the Chiefs and the Packers as the Chief players mention played flawless and were mechanically sound. Some of the Packers players mentioned that they noticed watching film that because of their size the Chiefs made fundamental mistakes and were able to get away with it because they could over power their opponents, not with the Packers who took advantage of those and found their weakness and was able to win the game. There is also a small back story in how the two leagues formed and for me that was a good part. Also that the Chiefs were just as happy as the Jets when they won Super Bowl III and the Chiefs would be back and win Super Bowl IV. Overall not a bad book especially the stories from the players, wives, children, and announcers. Overall a good book.

With the NFL season about to kick off, 32 football teams are dreaming of their chance to achieve the pinnacle of their sport. Over the next few months, these squads will battle it out for a chance to play in the biggest game of them all – the Super Bowl.

However, while the Super Bowl is one of the most iconic and anticipated events not just in the sporting world, but in the culture in general, it hasn’t always been that way.

Sports author and historian Harvey Frommer takes us back to a time before the NFL was king, to a time when two leagues came together for the first time under circumstances where success was far from guaranteed.

“When It Was Just a Game: Remembering the First Super Bowl” brings together research and interviews from across the decades, offering the insights of key players in the massive gamble that was the AFL-NFL World Championship Football Game.

Back in the 1960s, the NFL ruled the football roost. And the owners liked it that way. However, while the league had successfully fended off challengers in the past, a new upstart league was threatening to upend their traditional ways. The American Football League got its start in 1960, and for a while, it was an easy outfit for the NFL to dismiss. The older league scoffed at the high-flying, high-scoring dynamic of the AFL; most felt it was something less than “real” football.

But in just a few short years, the AFL began hitting the NFL where it hurt, able to sign significant talent and land lucrative television contracts. It wasn’t long before the writing on the wall was clear, and so NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle led efforts for the leagues to enact a merger. Said merger led to an agreement to consolidate under the NFL’s umbrella.

But first, there was the little matter of the championship game between the legendary NFL stalwart Green Bay Packers and the high-octane AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs – a game that the NFL was desperate to win, while the AFL had nothing to lose.

The final score was 35-10 in favor of Green Bay, but while some chose to see that as proof of NFL superiority, it wouldn’t be long before the AFL would show that it deserved its place at the table.

Frommer has meticulously assembled the thoughts of dozens of people connected with that first championship game (it should be noted that while people were using the term “Super Bowl” almost from the beginning, that term only became official with Super Bowl III). There’s a lot from the two coaches – football legends Vince Lombardi and Hank Stram – as well as memories from their respective families. Numerous players are included, as are members of the media.

Frommer’s forte is oral history and he has assembled a great one here, filled with smaller stories from behind the scenes to go along the big stories of the Big Game. It’s an engaging time capsule, a portrait of another era in which, far from being the centerpiece of the sports calendar, what would become the Super Bowl was more or less just another football game. Hearing these stories from the men who were there in their own words will be a real treat for any fan of football and its long and storied history.

It’s remarkable to think that an event watched by hundreds of millions of people annually couldn’t even sell out that inaugural contest. Over the years, the game has changed – and the league with it – but “When It Was Just a Game” offers a look back to a time before the sport was a billion-dollar business.

Back to a time when it was just a game.

As a diehard Packers fan (I bleed green and gold), I’m not entirely sure I can be completely unbiased in reviewing “When It Was Just A Game”. What can ever be better than a comprehensive history of the first Super Bowl?

The book is an excellent resource that covers almost every facet of what went into the epic 1967 game between the Packers and the Chiefs. It’s packed with facts and direct quotes from people ranging from the players to the fans and everyone in between. Not the least of it is from the recently deceased legend Frank Gifford. Reading how it was at the beginning of what has become such a large event is a good reminder of what the game is meant to be at the start of this new NFL season.

“When It Was Just A Game” is the perfect gift for any football fan you may have on your holiday list. It’s a must-have for any Packers fans out there. GO PACK GO!