Sports
A January 5th, 1969 Barroom Argument Launched The Super Bowl
Joe Namath and Lou Michaels exchanged words.
The date January 5th, 1969 is not celebrated for its significance by anyone in the National Football League or at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But January 5th, 1969 is the date that the modern Super Bowl probably started in a bar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Super Bowl wasn’t always the Super Bowl; in fact it wasn’t until Super Bowl III in 1969 that the game came to be known by its current name. The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFL-NFL World Championship game back on January 15th, 1967, and the Packers beat the Oakland Raiders in the second AFL-NFL World Championship game. That was it—the NFL had the superior product, and the AFL just wasn’t up to snuff. The World Championship game wasn’t even as compelling as an NFL Championship Game.
That all changed in 1969. The NFL heirloom and sanitized story is that New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath guaranteed a victory over the Baltimore Colts, and he backed it up as the Jets beat the Colts 16-7 in Miami. What people don’t talk about is how Namath made the boast in a barroom fracas and how even with Namath guaranteeing the victory, Super Bowl III tickets were still available at the box office the day of the game.
The Namath guarantee is the stuff of legend. The Jets won and Namath probably made the Pro Football Hall of Fame based on that Sunday afternoon in Miami.
Funny thing about that is Namath wasn’t even the best player on the field that day. Jets fullback Matt Snell had a great day, and the Jets defense made critical plays.
The real story behind Super Bowl III, which launched the NFL to new heights, started in a Fort Lauderdale bar. Colts kicker Lou Michaels, whose brother Walt was the Jets’ defensive coordinator, was a central character in the guarantee. In a sense, Lou Michaels was an innocent bystander, or at least said he was.
“I must say, Joe was a very cocky individual. I never expected that from Joe when he walked into the place. He had a fur coat on. I will never forget it. A fur coat down in Miami,” Michaels said in 1992, recalling the boast.
“And he points over to me, instead of saying, ‘Hi, I’m Joe Namath.’ I thought he was going to introduce himself and say hello. He points over to me and says, ‘we are going to kick the shit out of you and I’m going to do it.’” Michaels wasn’t sure what to make of his introduction to Namath.
But Michaels quickly found out that it was an act, sort of like the Cassius Clay-Muhamed Ali boxing news conferences before 1967, or Fred Blassie’s wrestling interviews on TV from the 1960s.
“I just happened to stay out a little while and in walks Joe where I happened to be, I wish it never happened,” Michaels said.
“It was like the president died or something. It was such a big thing.”
Michaels spent years telling the story.
“They keep wanting to know the same story, just what I told you, over and over. There is nothing else to it. We had a few words, we talked back and forth and that’s the whole thing. I said Joe… in the old days…”
“But we picked up the tab for everybody. But that was Joe. It’s just that I thought he would be a lot more mellow, a nicer guy, he wasn’t nice at all. When you get a gift and you are such a good football player, you don’t go around telling people how good you are, you let people tell you how good you are.”
Namath and Michaels never crossed paths again, but Michaels did have to deal with his brother Walt. That caused a problem.
“It was kind of rough. Everyone assumed we were going to win,” Michaels said. “Being a 21-point favorite or 19- or whatever you want to call it. Everyone felt it was just going through the motions. I spoke to John Steadman (who was the sports editor for the Baltimore News-American at the time), who asked me a particular question: ‘What are you going to do with your Super Bowl money?’
“I promised my priest in my parish back home in Swoyerville, Pennsylvania, where I live, $5,000 if we won. Walt didn’t put up nothing and he kind of ribbed him after the game. He told the priest after the game and… the padre was a little upset about it. So the only thing I could do is I say, ‘Father, I tried my best and I can’t give you the $5,000. I will give you a thousand dollars.’
“He was very upset about that, and Walt went over and ribbed him a little and he says, ‘I understand I cost you a little money there.’ It didn’t bug me. We were such a great favorite, and when you go down like that, I think that game will be mentioned or noted as probably the all-time biggest upset that ever happened in football, and I happened to be part of it.”
Lou and Walt didn’t speak to each other after the game.
“We didn’t talk for a little while, you know how that was. I resented… well I thought we were supposed to win and my brother was doing a lot of bragging about it. He ran home real quick and put up the World Champion sign in all the pubs and his picture because he was the defensive coordinator.
“And I do have to give him credit. They defensed us, and they did the job and they beat us. There are no alibis to it. It’s just the fact that whenever you play and get out on that field, you wanted to win. You can’t do it all the time.”
The Jets victory is arguably the most important win in NFL history. It put the AFL on par with the established league. The NFL suddenly had a hot property, the Super Bowl would go to become a national holiday and the most-watched TV event of the year. Lou Michaels had no idea that a chance barroom showdown with Joe Namath on January 5th, 1969, would lay the foundation in turning the Super Bowl into a national obsession.
(from the book America’s Passion: How a Coal Miner’s Game Became the NFL in the 20th Century)
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
Sports
The Golf Landscape Shifts as the LPGA and TMRW Sports Announce the launch of WTGL—the Women’s Tomorrow’s Golf League.
Building on the tech-infused, arena-based success of the men’s TGL, this new league is designed to bring women’s golf into a high-octane, prime-time environment. Here is everything you need to know about the launch, the players, and the financial landscape of WTGL.
What is WTGL? The Future of Women’s Golf
WTGL is a tech-driven, indoor simulator league that features the world’s best LPGA stars. Unlike traditional 72-hole stroke play across vast courses, WTGL matches are held in a custom-built arena, combining a massive simulator for long shots with a dynamic, motorized chipping and putting complex for the short game.
Key Dates for 2026 and Beyond
* Inaugural Season: The league is scheduled to debut in Winter 2026-27.
* The Schedule: Matches will take place during the LPGA offseason (typically between late November and January), ensuring no conflict with the traditional tour schedule.
* Venue: All matches will be played at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida—the same state-of-the-art, 1,500-seat venue used by the men’s TGL.
Who’s Involved? Teams and Ownership
While the full roster of players and team names is still being finalized, the “founding fathers” and investors of the league are already making waves.
The Power Players
* TMRW Sports: Led by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and CEO Mike McCarley, the group provides the technological backbone and the SoFi Center venue.
* The LPGA: Commissioner Craig Kessler has championed WTGL as a “pillar of visibility” to grow the fan base and commercial value of the athletes.
Early Ownership & Investors
The team structure will mirror the men’s league, with city-based franchises.
* Alexis Ohanian: The Reddit co-founder and lead owner of Los Angeles Golf Club (LAGC) has expressed “first right of refusal” for a women’s team in LA.
* Celebrity Backing: Current TGL investors like Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Michelle Wie West are expected to play significant roles in the expansion of the women’s division.
Nelly Korda
Athletes: Who Will Compete?
While the official roster will be released throughout 2026, the league is built specifically for LPGA Tour Stars. Fans can expect to see the biggest names in the game—potentially including icons like Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko, or Rose Zhang—competing in a “mic’d up” environment that emphasizes personality and team strategy.
Money, Profits, and Sponsorships
The financial outlook for women’s golf in 2026 is at an all-time high, and WTGL is a major catalyst.
2026 Financial Landscape
A record-breaking $132 million across 33 events.
WTGL Commercial Model is Expected to follow the TGL blueprint: high-value media rights and “simulcast” sponsorship.
Title Sponsor will be SoFi which remains the primary venue partner, with more league-wide sponsors to be named in mid-2026.
Investment Strategy will include Teams being sold as high-growth tech/sports assets, similar to NWSL or WNBA franchises.
Sponsorship Value
The draw for sponsors like FM Global, Ally Financial, and KPMG (who are already heavily invested in the LPGA) is the demographic. TGL’s inaugural season drew the second-youngest audience in sports (behind only the NBA). WTGL aims to capture that same Gen Z and Millennial interest, offering brands a “prime-time” window that traditional golf often misses.
Craig Kessler LPGA Commissioner
Why It Matters: The Growth of the Game
WTGL isn’t just a new tournament; it’s a shift in how golf is consumed. By moving the game into a 2-hour, fast-paced format, the LPGA is looking to:
* Increase Visibility: Putting female athletes on national TV during the winter months.
* Highlight Personalities: Using mic’d up players to build “fan-to-athlete” connections.
* Drive Innovation: Proving that women’s sports can lead in the “Sportainment” category.
> “WTGL creates another global stage for our athletes—one that helps fans connect more deeply with them and continues to elevate the visibility and growth of women’s golf.” — Craig Kessler, LPGA Commissioner
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Very few football experts in January of 1969 thought the Jets could be competitive against Baltimore.
On January 11th, 1969, the thinking about the nearly officially named Super bowl was this. Baltimore was going to beat the New York Jets and the game would not be close. The National Football League would continue to show its superiority in the biggest game of them all, the Super Bowl. In 1967, Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers easily beat the American Football League’s Kansas City and in 1968, Lombardi’s Packers defeated the American Football League’s Oakland Raiders. Of course, what was omitted in that thinking was that Lombardi’s Packers beat almost everyone and won NFL Championships in 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967.
The AFL’s New York Jets-NFL’s Baltimore Colts game was the turning point in the popularity of the Super Bowl. The National Football League and most of the football media thought the old league would just be better all the time and that dominance was going to carry on well into the 1970s. There was a thought that somehow the NFL needed to come up with a new formula so that just NFL teams would appear in the Super Bowl. That would make the game more competitive and appealing.
The New York Jets franchise led by the owner Sonny Werblin was the free spending rebels from the rebel league although Werblin was gone as one of the Jets organization’s owners in 1968. New York quarterback Joe Namath had a large contract, wore long hair and played in white shoes. The Colts quarterbacks, Earl Morrall and Johnny Unitas both had crew cuts. Namath was known as Broadway Joe, a nickname given to him by former Colt and Jet offensive lineman Sherman Plunkett. Unitas was known as Johnny U and wore black high-top shoes.
Namath had a public perception of being a playboy who enjoyed New York life to its fullest and was a braggart. Unitas had little to say.
While the Jets coach Weeb Ewbank was studying films of the Colts and analyzing why the Chiefs and Raiders lost, Namath was talking and was ahead of his time as a trash talk pioneer. Except Namath only said two things and was probably only echoing what his coaching staff and teammates were thinking.
Namath said there were four quarterbacks in the AFL who were better than Morrall, the Colts starter and then said, “We are going to win this game. I guarantee it.”
Ewbank had to convince his Jets to keep quiet and play football and not say a thing about beating Baltimore. He was in one way seeking NFL respect but in another way laughing at the Super Bowl. Weeb knew his Jets could win and the AFL was a quality league.
“They weren’t giving the AFL anything,” he said years later. “I thought there were two great teams in Super Bowl I and II. They were fine ball clubs. I don’t think there has ever been much better material than they had at Kansas City. They had great athletes and the Raiders were a good football team.
“In both games, they let themselves get upset. In the first game, they had an interception in the third quarter and the Chiefs weren’t any good in the ballgame after that after Green Bay scored. Then the Raider game, they had a dropped punt and a recovery and then they weren’t in the game anymore.
“When we went into out game, we said no matter what happened, we weren’t going to let it upset us. Whether it be an official call, an interception, a fumble or what. Why we weren’t going to let that upset us. We were going to stick to the game plan.”
But one thing Ewbank didn’t count on was Namath sounding more like Muhammad Ali than the average football player.
Ewbank brought the Jets to Fort Lauderdale to work out prior to the game. The Jets stayed at the Galt Ocean Mile Hotel where Namath was given the same room that Vince Lombardi used the year before. The Jets trained at the New York Yankees Fort Lauderdale spring training complex and he was given Mickey Mantle’s locker. Twists of fate?
Maybe, but Namath broke the athlete’s code. He guaranteed a win. Ewbank was not amused.
“We had gone down there as 17 points underdogs which I liked,” he recalled. “I told the guys don’t pay any attention to what I say because I want to try to make it 21 if I can. Don’t you guys do anything to stir them up. Well, I could have shot Joe when he said that.”
But Namath and the Jets were confident and really believed they were better than the Colts.
“That’s true and I understood Coach Ewbank,” said Namath. “The next day I saw Coach Ewbank and he said my goodness these guys (the Colts) are overconfident and I have been working on that and here you are giving them fuel to get fired up for the game.
“I simply said, Coach if they need clippings to fire them up, then they are in trouble. That was that. He made me aware that he was very upset that I had said what I did and I felt badly about it after that. Fortunately we won.”
The Jets did go out and won 16-7. The AFL had arrived nearly 10 years after Hunt and Bud Adams decided to go ahead with their plan.
The Jets apparently didn’t think too highly of the Tiffany Trophy the organization received for winning the game. The team left it behind in Miami’s Orange Bowl in a backroom and returned to New York.
“The important thing was we won,” said Namath.
Namath, Ewbank and the rest of the Jets permanently etched the term Super Bowl into the American mindset. Namath, the quarterback, became a TV host, sex symbol, rebel, hero and salesman. The Jets victory that day might have been crushing for old line NFL owners and the sports media that fawned over the NFL, but NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle saw a silver lining. In the NFL Publication, The Super Bowl, Celebrating a Quarter of a Century of America’s Greatest Game, Rozelle admitted the Jets’ upset that day mushroomed interest in football.
An excerpt from the book “America’s Passion: How a Coal Miner’s Game Became the NFL in the 20th Century”.
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