The Best and Worst Super Bowl Trash Talk 1967-2007

It didn't take long for the trash talk to set in in what was briefly known as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The first such game was played in the Los Angeles Coliseum with not one, but two major television networks televising the game. CBS had the exclusive broadcast rights to NFL games with the AFL games on NBC in those days.

It wasn't until 1970 that the game became known as the "Super Bowl". Lamar Hunt, the then Owner of the Kansas City Chiefs who just passed away a year or so ago, got the idea from a Christmas gift his son received, Hasbro's Super Ball. Like most boys my age I had one of those in those days, until it broke a lamp or something. But I digress.

The price of a ticket to the big game was all of $10. That has changed considerably over the last 41 years, you'd be lucky to get a watered down soft drink fior that now. What hasn't changed is that even in those days "when dinosaurs ruled the Earth", trash talk in the media before the game was around. It wasn't as prevalent as now, when it seems to be the rule of the day, but it did exist.

Here for your reading pleasure are a few examples of Super Bowl trash talk over the years, the effect, if any, it had on the game, and hopefully it will bring back some memories to longtime Super Bowl watchers and give a history lesson to younger fans.

In the first game, which took place on Jan. 15, 1967, the Green Bay Packers of the older and more established NFL were prohibitive favorites over the Kansas City Chiefs of the upstart AFL. The AFL was only in its' infancy having been started in 1960. Vince Lombardi of the Packers didn't just want to just beat the Chiefs, he reportedly wanted to destroy them to strike a blow for the mighty NFL.

But Fred "The Hammer" WIlliamson of the Chiefs, so named for his habit of clubbing opposing receivers across the head with his forearms, didn't care that Lombardi and the Pack were heavily favored. Williamson took it upon himself to try to intimidate the Green Bay wideouts with comments like: "two hammers to Dowler and one to Dale ought to be enough" to knock the star pass catchers out of the game, referring to Boyd Dowler and Carrol Dale of the Pack.

Willaimson yapped incessantly about his patented "hammer" technique during the week before the game while the Packers weren't sure whether to seethe or laugh. Well, the Green Bay Packers got the last laugh as their squad began pulling away on their way to a 35-10 victory. In the second half, Fred "The Hammer" Williamson was knocked out cold by Packer running back Donny Anderson. After trainers administered the smelling salts and Williamson was getting to his feet, Packer guard Fuzzy Thurston stood by...humming the 60's folk song "If I had a Hammer".

Williamson was selected to replace "Dandy" Don Meredith on ABC's Monday Night Football in 1974. "The Hammer" didn't fare any better than he had in the Super Bowl, as ABC replaced him with Alex Karras after the preseason in a last minute desperation move.The poor guy must have been abysmal to get booted while Howard Cosell remained. "The Hammer', just as in his Super Bowl appearance, became the nail.

In the 70's, after the Super Bowl had exploded into the American conscience forever, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys had quite a rivalry, meeting twice in a period of 4 years in the Big Game. The Steelers won in a squeaker the first time, winning 21-17 and Cowboys safety Cliff Harris apparently didn't learn from Fred "The Hammer" Willaimson's example of a few years earlier.

Steeler star receiver Lynn Swann had missed part of the AFC Championship with a concussion and spent a few days in the hospital before the Super Bowl. Harris repeatedly questioned Swann's toughness, called him "soft", football parlance for a "wuss", and warned Swann about going across the middle of the field. It was clearly an attmept to get into Swann's head. It didn't work any more than The Hammer's harangue in Super Bowl I.

Swann had only 4 catches, but for a whopping 161 yards and a touchdown. To add insult to injury, or vice versa, Cowboys tough guy "wannabe" Cliff Harris, who resembled Snidely Whiplash a bit, taunted Steeler kicker Roy Gerela who had just missed a 36 yard field goal. Harris grabbed Gerela, patted him on the helmet and made comments I'm sure were not of the "keep your head up" variety.

Jack Lambert of Pittsburgh, who was a tough guy, grabbed Harris and body slammed him to the turf WWF-style. An official was standing nearby but kept his hankie in his pocket as Harris whined to the ref like a 10 year old who had his lunch money taken.

Later in the 70's the same two teams met again in the Super Bowl and Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson took it upon himself to trash talk Steeler Quarterback Terry Bradshaw. In what was an apparent attempt to grab the spotlight on two star-studded teams, Henderson said of Bradshaw: "Bradshaw is so dumb, he couldn't spell 'cat' if you spotted him the C and the A".

All Henderson had to show for his trouble was Franco Harris' cleat marks on his chest after the Steeler Hall Of Fame running back, uncharacteristically ran over Henderson on his way to a 22 yard touchdown run in the Steelers' 35-31 victory. Harris usually preferred to run out of bounds or run around tacklers, but he couldn't resist the urge to run over the talkative Henderson.

Terry Bradshaw could spell "MVP" as he was awarded the Most Valuable Player trophy after the game. Bradshaw., who now works in the studio for Fox' NFL coverage, had 318 yards passing and 4 touchdown passes.

In the 80's the Washington Redskins had a defensive end by the name of Dexter Manley. Before the defending Super Bowl champion 'Skins took on the Oakland Raiders in Jan. 1984, Manley loudly questioned Raider runner Marcus Allen's "Manleyness" saying: "we're gonna find out about Marcus' manhood" and suggested Allen didn't like to run between the tackles.

Big mistake as Allen rolled over the suddenly hapless Redskins 38-9 behind Allen's then Super Bowl record 191 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns against the league's #1 run defense. The 'Skins had won 11 straight games and 31 of their last 34, and were the defending Super Bowl champs. None of that mattered as the Raiders just won, Baby and made Washington like it. Not surprisingly, Dexter Mouthly, I mean Manley, didn't have much to say after the "manly" way the Raiders kicked his teams' posterior.

The biggest Super Bowl trash talk blunder committed in the 90's was not a player, but a coach. Bill Parcells, then of the New England Patriots, repeatedly said in the press that week that he told his players "I'll show you how to win the game". Parcells was the entire focus of the press the whole week as the Big Tuna was repeatedly asked about rumors he was about to ditch the Pats for the division rival New York Jets. Rumors that turned out to be true.

In one press conference, Parcells was asked about a rumor that the Jets had offered to rename the Meadowlands Complex where Giants Stadium is located "Parcellsland" to entice him into taking the Jets' job. "Is LSD makin' a comeback?" Parcells replied. Priceless. What was not was the constant focus on Parcells as if he was the only coach in the game, which didn't go unnoticed by the Packers and Coach Mike Holmgren.

In postgame interviews, the Packers referred several times to Parcells' statement "I'll show you how to win the game". The Pack won 35-21 and the Tuna was soon swimming down to Jersey. Later it was revealed that Parcells had numerous phone conversations with the Jets brass from the Patriots Hotel in New Orleans, site of the game.

2 years ago, there was a little war of words between Joey Porter of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jeramy Stevens of the opposing Seattle Seahawks. Concerning Super Bowl XL in Detroit, Stevens said something to the effect that it was a shame that Jerome Bettis of the Steelers, a native of the Motor City, would have to end his career with a loss in his home town.

The media had been all weepy for two weeks about that story as they are wont to do. Bettis, without a Super Bowl ring, ending his career in his home town, yada, yada, yada. Just as the others profiled in this story, Stevens "talked the talk" but didn't "walk the walk". The Seahawks tight end dropped several passes, got called for holding and just generally looked like an idiot for his brash words that he didn't back up.

I saved the best for last. The one instance in which I can recall a player boasting before the Super Bowl and backing it up in a big way. Joe Willie Namath of the New York Jets. Super Bowl III, Jan. 1969. In those days, the AFL was regarded as little more than a minor league. One NFL coach remarked of Namath, in his 4th season out of Alabama by way of Beaver Falls, PA "he'll be playing in his first pro game today", referring to the Jets' date with the 15-1 Baltimore Colts.

The Colts were favored by nearly 3 touchdowns over the representative of a league that was 0-2 in Super Bowls following the merger of the two leagues in 1966. At a pregame "rubber chicken" type banquet in Miami, where the game was being held, Namath was taunted by either a writer or Baltimore player about the Jets not having a chance. Namath replied "not only do we have a chance, we are going to win the game. I guarantee it". Namath compounded things by proclaiming that there were "at least 4 QBs in the AFL better than the Colts' Earl Morrall, and I'm one of 'em".

The Colts and all of the NFL were infuriated and frothing at the mouth to show this cocky, long-haired, white-shoed playboy and his "Mickey Mouse" league who was boss. The Colts overplayed the pass all day, and to his credit, Namath put his ego aside and audibled to runs often, keeping the favorored Colts defense off balance. When "Broadway Joe" did pass, it was usually short, ball control passes in front of a secondary guarding against the deep ball. Weeb Ewbank of the Jets thoroughly outcoached the more acclaimed Don Shula as the Jets shook the football world and forever changed the perception of the AFL-NFL rivalry.