Stepping Back in Time: Super Bowl 1967


The Super Bowl is today! It's almost become a holiday in it's own right. But not in 1967. The first Super Bowl occurred on January 15, 1967 in Los Angeles, CA. The stadium had plenty of empty seats that sold for what was considered an exorbitant $12.00 each! This historic first gridiron battle was between The Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers won 35-10. The head coach of the Packers was the legendary Vince Lombardi. One of the commentators at that game was Frank Gifford. To read more about this historic event read this wikipedia link about all things Super Bowl I!
The Super Bowl in 1967 was certainly not the event that it is today. Super Bowl ads did not become 'famous' until 1973 when Noxzema ran a commercial for their shaving cream featuring Joe Namath. In fact, a 30 second TV commercial airing during that first Super Bowl sold for a mere $42,000 which is nothing compared to todays price tag of almost 3 million for that same 30 seconds! Culturally, our nation was embroiled in war both at home with the civil rights movement in full swing and overseas with the Vietnam war. We were going through growing pains openly expressed in the music of the day (Beatles, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and The Byrds) and the newly opened Broadway musical 'Hair'. The first 'Rolling Stone' magazine was published in 1967 and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was formed. Seat belts were finally going to be added to our cars! To read more about this tumultuous time click on the link! It's an incredible site that tells you all about 1967. For instance, the average price of a home was only $7,300 and a gallon of gas was a mere .33 cents!
So what were we doing for Super Bowl parties in 1967? Not much. It wasn't until years later that this became the food event that it is today. Read more about Super Bowl parties and food here. The halftime program in 1967 was less than amazing. Two marching bands played along with the American Trumpeter Al Hirt. Who? This guy. I can tell you that 1967 was the year Bugle Corn Chips were introduced (you can still find them in the chip aisle) and Tang was brand new! Foods that were popular then were of the 'fussy' variety but did include buffalo wings and fondue. Foodtimeline.org offers much more information on the popular food of the 1960's at this link.
So while you're making your party preparations and setting up the coffee table as a grazing station, putting out card tables or TV trays, filling your dining room table with crocks of chili and foot long sandwiches and chilling the beer; remember the humble beginnings of this truly American Event. After all, it is currently second only to Thanksgiving for food purchases!