NFL Countdown: David trumps Goliath as AFL reigns supreme
In 1969, the New York Jets claimed a victory that would shape the future of the National Football League. Without it, the NFL, as we know it today, may not exist. This was a coming-out party for the AFL. It was also a timely reminder for all the doubters and naysayers. The new NFL was here to stay.
David vs. Goilaith stories provide us with some of the most memorable moments of sporting drama. These snapshots of history endure long after those involved have passed. They are the lifeblood of all sports, the moments in time that are never forgotten. It is a reminder to all fans that nothing should be taken for granted.
Who can forget when James "Buster" Douglas stopped the feared Iron Mike Tyson? Or the 1980 Winter Olympics, Miracle on Ice? Or Leicester City defying 500-1 odds to lift the English Premier League title?
The NFL's original giant-killing moment came courtesy of the Joe Namath-led New York Jets in Super Bowl III, with the role of Golaith played by the Baltimore Colts.
Since the merger in 1966, NFL teams had dominated their AFL counterparts, and the same was expected as the teams prepared to meet at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
A guarantee from the Jets' charimatic leader created a legend
The Colts entered the game as 17-point favorites. They had put together a season in which they'd suffered only one defeat and had delivered shutouts against their last four opponents. The Jets came in 10-4, after emerging from the supposedly weaker AFL.
Their talismanic quarterback, Joe Namath, was undaunted by the task of facing the rampaging Colts, and three days before the game, while making an appearance at Miami's Touchdown Club, Broadway Joe, was heckled by a Colts fan, who informed him that the Colts were going to "kick his ass on Sunday."
His famous response is now part of NFL folklore:
"Hey, I got news for you. We’re going to win Sunday. I’ll guarantee you."
On Jan. 12, 1969 Joe Namath guaranteed a Jets win before he played in Super Bowl III
Here is a feature we did with Namath, Walter Iooss, Neil Leifer and Brent Musburger retelling the game through SI photographs https://t.co/1rs679SjTd
The prediction seemed laughable at the time, and the bookies in Vegas agreed, pricing the Jets up as 7-1 outsiders. Jets head coach Weeb Ewbank didn't share his quarterback's confidence and was far from impressed with Namath's comments, believing they would only act as motivation for the already favored Baltimore Colts.
Namath would not back down, but instead doubled down on this previous prediction and continued to bait the Colts by saying:
"We’re a better team than Baltimore. There are maybe five or six better quarterbacks than Morrall in the AFL."
As the tension built up, the situation almost became physical before the game had even kicked off, when Namath got into a verbal altercation with Colts defensive end, Lou Michaels, at a nightclub the day prior to the Super Bowl.
By the time kick-off arrived, the Orange Bowl felt like a powder keg. Immediately, the Colts' much vaunted defense began to exert itself on the game. But the Jets, fueled by the confidence of their charismatic leader, would bend, but refused to break, and the game remained scoreless at the end of the first quarter, but only just.
The turning point of Super Bowl III came at the start of the second quarter. Baltimore forced a fumble as the first quarter drew to a close, which they managed to recover on the Jets 12-yard line. It looked certain that they would open the scoring. However, Baltimore quarterback Earl Morrell was dramatically intercepted in the end zone two plays later.
The ball deflected off Colts tight end Tom Mitchell after Morrall's pass was tipped, ricocheting high into the air, before landing in the grateful arms of Jets cornerback Randy Beverly.
On the ensuing New York drive, Namath would march his offense up the field, finishing with a four-yard touchdown run from Matt Snell.
Here is Benny Snell's great uncle, Matt Snell, scoring the only TD of Super Bowl III, the Joe Namath "guarantee game." #Steelers https://t.co/Ph81FFULMk
It seemed to deflate the Colts and breathe further confidence into the Jets, and three successful field-goals had them up 16-0 early in the fourth quarter. The game, as a contest was over, and New York, at the urging of Namath, began to eat into the clock, calling only run plays for the entire fourth period.
53 Years Ago Today...the football world changed forever.
Super Bowl III, Joe Namath's iconic victory trot https://t.co/RM2HfhArDy
Although Baltimore did manage a touchdown, it was far too little too late as the Jets slayed Don Shula's mighty Colts 16-7, and gave birth to the almost mythical legend of Broadway Joe Namath.