Mostly complete copy of first Super Bowl telecast finally surfaces

The first Super Bowl was held in 1967, pitting the NFL champs Green Bay Packers vs. the upstart AFL champs, Kansas City Chiefs.

Two networks telecast that first Super Bowl, but, amazingly, neither CBS nor NBC saved a copy. The only archival video from the game is courtesy of NFL Films, which shot from the sideline.

That was until a mostly complete video recording of the CBS broadcast finally surfaced after decades in a Pennsylvania attic. The tape has been restored, but because of rights issues remains out of the public view.

Speaking for other diehard Packer fans, let's hope the NFL and the tape owner reach agreement so the rest of us can see the game that started the Super Bowl frenzy that now consumes America like no other single event.

Review: "That First Season"

Just got through reading the Kindle version of "That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory" by John Eisenberg. It's a look at Vince Lombardi's first season as head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers, way back in 1959.

I'm a longtime diehard Packer fan, jumping on board in 1971, just as the Lombardi era was drawing to a close (and leading to two decades of futility). So, I was really looking forward to this read, which isolates an amazing accomplishment: the Packers went from a one-win season in 1958 to a winning season in 1959, setting the stage for an appearance in the NFL championship game in 1960, and five NFL championships or Super Bowl titles between 1961-67.  

Just what did Lombardi do to reinvent a struggling, undersized, thoroughly demoralized organization, laying the foundation for a decade of success to follow? What did he do to turn raw, misjudged or just average players into a mix of Hall of Famers and bit players who dominated their opponents? What were the secrets behind Lombardi's offensive strategy, which was to dramatically condense the playbook to roughly a dozen plays -- but run those dozen plays to perfection, making the Packers unstoppable even when you knew what play was coming?

For business people, those are intriguing questions, because they can translate to all kinds of workplace issues and challenges. So, for me, I not only embraced the book as a Packer fan but a manager looking for new ideas.

Unfortunately, the book goes so deep in the weeds on game-by-game action that the story behind Lombardi's strategic thinking gets only superficial treatment, repeating oft-told stories about Lombardi's brutal conditioning programs, verbal abuse of grown men and the focus on execution over gameplan creativity.

I picked up a lot of nuggets from a Packer-fan perspective and would recommend "That First Season" to hardcore Cheeseheads, but for casual fans or business people looking for some self-help reading, it's a pass.

The Dope Sheet

The Dope Sheet is loaded with detail about the Green Bay PackersBrett Favre's return to Lambeau Field is huge in so many ways, but for Pakcers fans like myself, it's secondary to what is a huge game for the Packers' playoff chances this season. 

If you're a Packers fan, you might be familiar with The Dope Sheet, a weekly publication the Green Bay Packers began distributing to the media way back in 1921. In recent years, they've posted it on their website for all to read. It's information overload but in this day and age, it's a welcome read for fans who can't get enough (here's the 27-page PDF version for today's game).

In the old days, TDS might have been a dozen pages. For today's game, it's 27 pages. And, yeah, since it's coming from the team, there's some biased reading. But there's also insights and detail you can't get anywhere else. Makes for good preparation, something you won't get from all the talking heads who are clueless most of the time.