ONLY ON 3: UNCW professor remembers attending first Super Bowl

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Communication Studies professor at UNCW took part in a serious game in the history of sports, specifically football. Dr. David Weber went to the first ever Super Bowl, and today he talked with us about the big game.

“It’s one of the few occasions where everybody is doing the same thing at the same time. One of the few occasions anymore where that’s so,” said Weber.

In 1967, Weber was living in California. His father was a season ticket holder to the then Los Angeles Rams. He was offered an opportunity to go to a very special game being played at Los Angeles Memorial Colosseum.

“At that time, the first game, everybody thought that it was going to be really a nothing game,” said Weber.

It didn’t seem like it at the time, but Weber was taking part in American history, the very first Super Bowl.

“To see the Super Bowl become what it is, it’s difficult to describe it really,” said Weber.

He recalls paying about $10 to see the Green Bay Packers play the Kansas City Chiefs.

“I mean think about a Super Bowl being played today where a third of the seats were empty,” said Weber.

But that was the case in ’67. It wasn’t even called the Super Bowl.

“…the first AFL/NFL Championship Game,” Weber remembered.

Weber was rooting for the Packers, the team favored to win. He remembered trying to join in with others heckling the Chiefs.

“I can’t remember what it was I said but I said something about Dawson, like “Hey Dawson, your pants are dirty,” whatever I said, and my father cut me short. He said “These guys are professionals,” he said “treat them with respect. These guys do what they do and they try hard”,” said Weber.

To no surprise, the Packers won, but even if the game itself wasn’t very exciting, the memory certainly is.

“I’ve never seen an inauguration, I’ve never been to war, I’ve never done a lot of things, but I have been to the first Super Bowl and that has some historicity.”